Mr Steve Hood is Senior Vice President of Research for STR.  He has been with STR for 23 years and was involved in the original development of the STAR program utilized by nearly 65,000 hotels and almost all hotel companies around the world.  Mr Hood is the Founding Director of the SHARE Centre, STR’s program to support hospitality and tourism schools with nearly 900 members from 75 different countries.  The STR SHARE Centre provides hospitality and tourism data for research and for use in the classroom as well as related resources including training programs, student competitions and certifications.  Mr Hood serves on advisory boards and as an honorary professor for leading schools, including Cornell, Penn State, Virginia Tech, University of Delaware, Colorado State, Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.  Mr Hood has been recognized with the ICHRIE Industry Recognition Award, the EuroCHRIE Nestle Pro Gastronomia Award and by the Hotel Schools of Distinction for his commitment to hospitality and tourism education.