Georgia Lodging Outlook 2026

Published on August 9, 2025

On Tuesday, August 5, 2025, the Georgia Chapter of the Cornell Hotel Society collaborated with the Georgia Hotel & Lodging Association to host the annual Georgia Lodging Outlook breakfast seminar.  A crowd nearly 500 area hotel industry professionals were in attendance.  This year’s event was held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Downtown Atlanta.

Jim Sprouse, President of the Georgia Hotel & Lodging Association, and CHS Georgia chapter President Sam Woodworth MMH ‘16 provided welcome remarks.  Sam then handed out two complimentary online course certificates donated by eCornell. 

The first panel addressed the importance of sporting events for Atlanta area hotels, with a focus on the impact of next year’s World Cup tournament.  Ramon Reyes, managing director of the Omni Atlanta Hotel moderated a discussion with Dan Corso (President of the Atlanta Sports Council) and William Pate (Presient and CEO of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau).

Mark Woodworth ’77, Principal of Woodworth Core Group led a panel of local area experts that presented their outlook for 2026:

  • Robert Mandelbaum ‘81 – Research Director, CBRE Hotels
  • Cindy Estis Green ’79 – CEO & Founder of Kalibri Labs
  • Charlene Lopez, EVP and Chief Sales Officer for the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau

CHS Georgia thanks for the Georgia Hotel and Lodging Association for their generous donation to the CHS Georgia Chapter scholarship fund.

 

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