STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Katerina Berezina is currently a doctoral candidate working with Dr. Kelly Sem-
rad at the Department of Tourism, Recreation and Sport Management (TRSM) at the University of Florida. Based on the educational experiences (B.S. in Hospitality and Tourism, and M.S. in Hospitality Information Management), and industry background (travel agencies and hotels), Katerina’s research interest lies within the domain of hospitality information technology, electronic distribution channels, and revenue management. She has presented her research at national and international academic conferences (e.g., Council on Hotel and Restaurant, and Institutional Education, ENTER, and Decision Sciences Institute), and has also published in leading hospitality and hospitality information technology journals (e.g., International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management and Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology). During her tenure at UF, Katerina has taught two undergraduate courses: Introduction to Hospitality, and Hospitality Revenue Management. She has also assisted TRSM faculty members as a teaching assistant for Master’s level courses (Hospitality Business Perspectives, Strategic Management in Hospitality Business, Marketing in Hospitality and Tourism, and Revenue Management in Hospitality Business) as part of the Certificate in Tourism and Hospitality Business Management. The Certificate is jointly offered by the Hough Graduate School of Business and EFTI. Katerina has also been involved in grant activities, as she recently initiated and successfully completed a “Technology and Software Integration in the Hospitality Curriculum” grant in partnership with the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee. As part of this grant, she was instrumental in the development of curriculum for the M3 Link business intelligence tool for hotels (www.M3LinkUniversity.com). Additionally, this project has given her valuable experience in curriculum development for on-site instruction as well as for online platforms. 2013 Annual Report | 22
As a graduate student, Katerina has been active with various service activities within the University, and the larger academic and professional community. In her first semester, she established a student organization - Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) which was the first student chapter of a professional hospitality organization on campus. In addition, Katerina has been involved with the Graduate Student Council, where she has served on the Grants Committee to evaluate students’ grant proposals for travel to academic conferences. Besides her University commitments, Katerina serves as the Secretary on the Executive Board of international Hospitality Information Technology Association (iHITA). She is the editorial assistant for the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology (JHTT), where she assists the editor (Dr. Cihan Cobanoglu) with coordination of the manuscript review process. Katerian’s other professional service roles include volunteering on the professional HFTP Social Media Advisory Council, Young Professional Council, and assisting with the educational sessions for the HFTP conferences. Katerina’s academic and professional achievements have been recognized with several awards. She received best paper awards from iHITA and Western Decision Sciences Institute. She was also recognized as one of the 2012 Outstanding International Students by the UF International Center, and as a 2012-13 Graduate Student Leader of the Year by UF Graduate Student Council. Katerina is a Certified Hospitality Technology Professional (CHTP) commissioned by the HFTP and American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute (AH&LEI). Currently, Katerina is working on her three-paper dissertation on the topic “Hotel flash sales: An electronic distribution and marketing channel. Does it work?” Hotel flash sales represent a relatively new electronic distribution channel that offers time-limited deep discounts for advance purchase of products and services. Examples of hotel flash sales are found on websites such as Groupon Getaways, LivingSocial Escapes, and Jetsetter. The dissertation design summarizes Katerina’s research interests and experience. Also, the research includes qualitative, quantitative and conceptual works with the first paper focusing on hotel managers’ perspectives on the flash sales phenomenon; the second paper on consumers; and the third paper on developing future research directions in the flash sales research area. Katerina is scheduled to complete her doctoral studies in the spring 2014 semester. She is very grateful for all professional opportunities and growth that she received in the Department of Tourism, Recreation and Sport Management, EFTI, and UF. Katerina plans to start her career as an Assistant Professor in the fall 2014, and she hopes to make UF proud through her research contributions, teaching excellence, and service to the academic and professional societies.