Article of the year.(From the Editor)

Each year, we acknowledge the contribution of our many authors by reviewing the articles published and naming one the best article. To be sure, all of our articles make a contribution to industry knowledge and practice, but some are particular standouts. The Cornell Hospitality Quarterly award for best article published in 2008 goes to "The Relationship of Sales and Marketing Expenses to Hotel Performance in the United States," by John W. O'Neill, Bjorn Hanson, and Anna S. Mattila. This article investigated the returns from "marketing, other" expenses for various types of hotels. The authors found, for example, that expenditures on loyalty programs were important for some hotels, while other hotels spent wisely when they invested in their brand. The article appeared in the November 2008 issue of the CQ. Runners-up for the best article for 2008 were "Contextual Factors and Cost Profiles Associated with Employee Turnover," by J. Bruce Tracey and Timothy R. Hinkin, and "Recognizing the Emotional Element in Service Excellence," by Misty M. Johanson and Robert H. Woods. Tracey and Hinkin analyzed the various costs associated with employee turnover and found that peer training and exit interviews reduced those costs. Also examining a human resources issue, Johanson and Woods found three general strategies used by hotels to support their employees' "emotional labor." They, too, cited training as one of the key issues. Congratulations and many thanks to all of the contributors to the CQ in 2008! We also appreciate the dozens of people who nominated and voted on the top articles in this year's volume.

Others have taken notice of the CQ's top articles. I am delighted to report that the article that won the CQ Best Article Award for 2007 has now won an Emerald Management Reviews Citation of Excellence in 2008. Selected as one of the fifty best management articles published in 2007, the article, "Guest Satisfaction and Restaurant Performance," by Sachin Gupta, Edward McLaughlin, and Miguel Gomez, established the specific connection between satisfied customers and restaurant profits. It was published in CQ volume 48, issue 3.

2008 was a busy year for the editorial board, ad hoc reviewers, and staff of the CQ. We sent 157 papers for review between January 1 through November 1, 2008, or 22 percent more papers than all of calendar year 2007 (not including desk rejects and revisions). Each year we are trying to broaden the set of the authors who consider the CQ as an outlet for their work. During 2008, we actively recruited authors who have published in top business-related journals by inviting submissions from authors who have written articles that we felt had relevance to the hospitality industry. Many of these potential authors responded favorably to our recruiting efforts.

Since the recruiting and review process is extremely time-consuming, we are actively searching for editorial board members who are interested in expanding the scope of the submissions to the CQ. Our hope is to have a diverse, complementary board of editors. If you are interested, please send a your letter of interest with a curriculum vitae and a copy of one of your published papers to Melissa Carlisle (mlp1@cornell.edu).

Last, with the close of 2008, I would like to thank all of the authors who submitted articles to the CQ in 2008 and to the editorial board members and ad hoc reviewers (both academic and practitioners) who have contributed their time and expertise (listed elsewhere in this issue). The reviewers receive only my thanks for all their efforts, so thank you kindly. The CQ would not be able to publish valuable and rigorous content without the help of its board members and reviewers. Thank you all for your excellent service, and I wish you all a very productive, healthy, and peaceful year in 2009.

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