It started by noticing how many people were food insecure in my area. From that I started reading more about the reasons behind food insecurity and that led me to the problem of food waste. How is it possible that we throw out over 30% of all food that is produced even though we have millions that are food insecure. It’s a major social and environmental problem, maybe we can bring together students from different backgrounds and go in-depth on this? Maybe a local retailer will help us study this. The course came together on a whim and I wasn’t sure what would come out of it but any expectations I had have been far exceeded. The students have contributed so much to the study of this issue, we’ve made a positive impact in our community, and we have the potential to really push positive change. I enjoy all my courses but this one really puts the cherry on top. To read the write up in the Richmond Times Dispatch please click here.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
How do people assess a quality Airbnb?
The pandemic is subsiding in several countries and tourism is picking up. In the United States traffic in the air and on the roads is at or exceeds pre-pandemic levels. One of the options that millions of guests will have is to book a stay at an Airbnb (except in the Outer Banks which is all booked up!). My most recent research with Tarik Dogru, Michel Laroche, Makarand Mody, and Courtney Seuss studied how guests assess those extra fees they have to pay. When an Airbnb has an extra fee for professional cleaning or a security deposit, it actually signals to guests that the host values cleaning and is willing to charge extra for it. We all hate extra fees but if you had to assess two different Airbnb’s with everything is being equal (including price) which AIrbnb do you think is cleaner? The one that has an extra-cleaning fee or the one that doesn’t, which would you choose? Our findings revealed that consumers prefer the one that has the extra cleaning fee. In short, we hate the fee but it signals quality. Communication quality while evoking loss – final proof – Tourism Management
Mary W. Pinschmidt Award
This past commencement I was awarded the Mary Pinschmidt Award by the Senior Class of 2021. The award was established in 1999 in honor of a long-time professor of biology and recognizes the faculty member who seniors select as the person they will most likely remember as the one who had the greatest impact on their lives. I am truly honored and humbled to have received this award. It’s been a strange four years, the strangest four year period that any of us can remember and I was just trying to get through it as best as I could. Personally, I’m not a big fan of individual awards because there’s very little that is solely due to one individual. What people don’t realize is all the people that make it possible to do the work that you do. Our Dean, Ken Machande, deserves a lot of credit for humoring my teaching and research endeavors. As does Gwen Hale who leads by example when demonstrating how to work with students. I would be remiss if I didn’t give just a bit of credit to Professor Rycroft who drags me to teaching seminars and is always available to bounce ideas off of, even at the sprite young age of 145. Lastly, all the students I’ve had really make it easy to do your best. Many years ago now I had to think of what kind of institution I wanted to be a part of, a large one with hundreds of students that was more status seeking or a more personable institution. I’ve never doubted my decision.
Focus Groups for the Coming Semester
This coming semester our marketing research class (Mktg 411) will be conducting focus groups for regional businesses. We’ve partnered with the Sugar Shack, a local donut shop popular with UMW students. The second business is a new restaurant called The Joint, it will serve falafel and shawarma. This focus group gives students the opportunity to inform a business that is in its infancy stage. The last business is Giant Foods, specifically a nutritionist that works for Giant Foods and is tasked with helping people eat healthier.
