Did the City of Columbus Slay a Giant in its Legal Battle with Online Travel Agencies?

Recent research by Turner College management professor Kirk Heriot and colleagues from the College of Charleston and Fresno State University examines the City of Columbus’ lawsuit (in 2006) over uncollected accommodation taxes against online travel agencies, such as Expedia and Orbitz. As a result of the lawsuit, the companies delisted Columbus hotels from their websites, a situation that existed until the lawsuit was settled (after a few years). As Heriot and his colleagues indicate in their 2018 publication in Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, the episode provided for a non-experimental “real life” exploration of the power balance between online travel agencies and municipalities.

That exploration indicates that online travel agencies have less power than is generally assumed, as the City of Columbus emerged victorious in their claim to associated accommodation taxes, while local hoteliers experienced an increase in revenues. According to the authors, an important takeaway from their research is that delisting is not the deterrent that conventional wisdom suggests. That said, another takeaway concerns the expected cost of a lawsuit like that initiated by the City of Columbus. As they advise, any taxing authority should assess the likelihood of a courtroom success before commencing legal action against an online travel agency.

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Four Turner College Faculty Recognized for Outstanding Teaching

CSU Head Women's Soccer Coach Jay Entlich recently released a list of CSU faculty who have been chosen by a player as a member of the CSU faculty who has impacted the player in a positive way along their journey at CSU. Four Turner College faculty were included on the list, along with the player who nominated each. Management professor Phil Bryant was named by Sophia Leal , a freshman midfielder from Oxford, Georgia. Sophia attended Eastside High School and was a two-time all-region selection during her high school career. Through the first 10 games of 2024, she has scored one goal and recorded three assists. Next, management professor John Finley was named by Lizz Forshaw , a graduate student forward from Stockton, England. Lizz, who attended IMG Academy in south Florida, has scored four goals and recorded four assists this season. During her senior year in 2023, she scored three goals and recorded two assists. As a junior in 2022, Lizz scored three goals ...

Turner College Grad Publishes Academic Study on Corporate Culture and Strategy

Former Turner College student Tamara Todorova , now an associate professor of economics at American University in Bulgaria (AUB), recently published a study on corporate culture and strategy. Todorova earned an MBA from the Turner College in 1996 and then went on to earn a doctorate in international economics from the University of Economics - Varna in 2001. She has been on the faculty at AUB since August of 2000. Todorova's study, which appears in the current issue of the International Journal of Business Performance Management , investigates how corporate culture helps to economize on the transaction costs of internal organization. As she explains, the dimensions of corporate culture that assist in this task include increasing trust and reducing intrafirm opportunism. Todorova's study demonstrates that setting common goals and a common direction reduces the sizeable costs of internal organization. Tamara's prior research appears in Economics of Transition , International ...

Hammer joins Turner College Finance Faculty

The Turner College's Department of Accounting and Finance welcomes Melissa Ingle Hammer , who joins the group as an adjunct faculty in finance. Hammer graduated from the Turner College in 2005, after earning a BBA in finance. She later went on to earn an MBA from Auburn University, a Specialist Certificate in Conduct Risk from the University of Manchester, a Certificate in Team Culture from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Certificate in Executive Presence from Cornell University. Hammer is the SVP of Fair Lending Product Management with RiskExec at Asurity. She previously worked as Compliance Manager of Fair Lending at Synovus, a senior regulatory consultant with Wolters Kluwer, and as VP of Compliance at TD. This semester Hammer will be teaching FINC 3135, Financial Institutions and Technologies. Turner Business welcomes Melissa and wishes her a great first semester in the Turner College.

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