NEW YORK—Randy Smith, chairman and co-founder of STR, was named the 2016 Albert E. Koehl Award winner by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association (HSMAI). Smith was honored at last night’s Adrian Awards Dinner and Reception at the New York Marriott Marquis.
Smith, and his late wife Carolyn, founded STR in 1985 as a two-person, U.S. hotel census and data benchmarking company. Today, STR employs more than 300 people in 16 countries, providing data and analytics services to the global hotel industry as well as additional sectors like self storage and health clubs.
“I’ve said many times that the reach and contributions of our company have far exceeded our expectations from three decades ago,” Smith said. “I am incredibly honored to see our company recognized with such a prestigious award, and we are fortunate to be able to share this accomplishment with so many special employees, partners and clients.
“Many HSMAI members are active partners of STR, so to receive an award from this group of peers is especially rewarding,” Smith added.
STR’s more than 32 years of service to the hotel industry have produced a number of vital benchmarking performance solutions, establishing market trend transparency and attracting investment capital to the sector. STR’s data sample in the hotel industry comprises more than 55,000 hotels, nearly 7.5 million rooms and roughly 180 countries.
The HSMAI award is another in the long line of personal accolades that Smith has earned for his contributions to the hotel industry. His previously earned awards include being named to the Hilton Hospitality Hall of Honor and the 25 Most Influential Executives of the Business Travel Industry of 2011; Stephen W. Brener Silver Plate Award; ALIS Lifetime Achievement Award; IREFAC C. Everett Johnson Award; and 1996 Industry Pioneer Award of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC).
To view Randy Smith’s HSMAI Lifetime Achievement Award video, please click here.
About STR
STR provides clients from multiple market sectors with premium, global data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 16 countries with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and an international headquarters in London, England. For more information, please visit str.com.
North America Media Contacts:
Jeff Higley
VP, Digital Media & Communications
jhigley@str.com
+1 (615) 824-8664 ext. 3318
Nick Minerd
Public Relations Manager
nminerd@str.com
+1 (615) 824-8664 ext. 3305
The above is a news release written by a third party. While HNN’s editorial mission is to produce unique content, it occasionally publishes timely, newsworthy news releases to complement in-house reporting efforts. All news releases are clearly marked as such. For questions and clarification, please contact Editor-in-Chief Stephanie Ricca at sricca@hotelnewsnow.com.