SHTM researchers recognised as rising stars for third year in a row!

Congratulations to Surrey Hospitality and Tourism’s (SHTM) Dr Pablo Pereira-Doel who was awarded the Council for Hospitality Management Education (CHME)/CoSTAR Rising Star in Hospitality Management Research award at this year’s CHME conference. This now caps a trio of SHTM academics who have each won the rising star award in the past three consecutive years.

Dr Pablo Pereira-Doel receiving the 2026 CHME/CoSTAR Rising Star award

University of Surrey's Dr Bora Kim with her 2024 CHME Rising Star award

Dr Pereira-Doel joins Dr Eden Jiao and Dr Bora Kim who won the award in 2025 and 2024 respectively.

The Rising Star in Hospitality Research award is presented annually at the CHME conference to the CHME member who is an early career researcher in the general area of hospitality management (including education).

This year’s CHME conference was held at the University of Surrey and Dr Pereira-Doel was recognised for his research into reducing the length of time tourists take showers whilst on holiday. His paper, Reducing Shower Duration in Tourist Accommodations: A Covert True Experiment of Continuous Real-Time Eco-Feedback and Persuasive Messaging also received the Charles R Goeldner Award, and Dr Pereira-Doel will collect it at the Travel and Tourism Research Association’s (TTRA) Conference later this month.

Dr Pereira-Doel said: “To be recognised by both CHME and TTRA in the same year is humbling and extraordinary. These awards are a wonderful reminder of why we do this work; not just to contribute to academic knowledge, but to help solve human problems. In this case, the problem is water, a resource under growing pressure. Thank you to my co-authors and the broad range of collaborators who made this research possible.”

University of Surrey's Dr Eden Jiao with her 2025 CHME Rising Star award

Last year, Senior Lecturer in hospitality analytics Dr Eden Jiao received the award for her research into what shapes a destination's resilience to major crises like the pandemic, looking at both how this evolves over time and how it is influenced by neighbouring destinations. In 2024, SHTM’s Director of Studies Dr Bora Kim won the award for her research showing sustainability is not one-size-fits-all, especially in franchised restaurant businesses where different stakeholders may value different issues..

Professor Iis Tussyadiah said: “We are immensely proud that colleagues from Surrey Hospitality and Tourism Management have received the CHME Rising Star Award for three consecutive years. This remarkable achievement reflects not only the exceptional talent and dedication of individual scholars, but also the strength of the rich, vibrant and intellectually rigorous research ecosystem we have cultivated. It is a testament to a culture that nurtures curiosity, collaboration and excellence, enabling emerging researchers to thrive and make meaningful contributions to the field. Congratulations to Pablo, Eden and Bora!”