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Shaniel Bernard Simpson

Assistant Professor
362 Wallace Hall
295 West Campus Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24061
shanielb@vt.edu
540-231-4373
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Shaniel Bernard, PhD is originally from the island of Jamaica. She has worked in several hospitality and tourism fields including food and beverage, sales, housekeeping, front desk, and guest services manager. She has taught courses such as Lodging Management, Customer Service, Sustainable Tourism, Senior Lecture, and Intro to Hospitality and Tourism for 5 years. Along with several awards for her research and teaching, Dr. Bernard was recently granted the 2020 Student Involvement Award at Auburn University, representing the highest academic achievement, leadership, and involvement amongst international students. Her main areas of published and presented research include consumer behavior toward innovation in the service industry, awareness-behavior gap, sustainability in hospitality and tourism, and environmental management in hospitality and tourism.

Research Areas

  • Innovation in the service management industry
  • Awareness - behavior gap in sustainability
  • Environmental management in hospitality and tourism

Research Methods

  • Structural Equation Modeling
  • Casual model analyses
  • Survey/Experimental designs
  • Qualitative analyses

Research that best describes my work

Chen, H., Bernard, S., & Rahman, I. (2019). Greenwashing in hotels: A structural model of trust and behavioral intentions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 206, 326-335.

Kim, Y., Rahman, I., & Bernard, S. (2020). Comparing online reviews of hyper-local restaurants using deductive content analysis. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 86, 102445.*

Beldona, S., Kher, H. V., & Bernard, S. (2020). Do personal values affect perceptions of the hospitality performance. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 87, 102384.*

Bernard, S. (2020) Message framing: the role of cognitive linguistics in hotel's environmental claims and its effect on consumer perception and behavior (Currently under review).

* Pamplin elite list journal

Undergraduate

  • HTM 3524 - Lodging Management 

Professional Engagement

  • Hotel Data Conference
  • ICHRIE

Professional Experience

  • Journal reviewer -  International Journal of Hospitality Management (IJHM), Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management (JHMM)

Education

  • PhD in Nutrition, Dietetics & Hospitality Management, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 2020
  • MS in Hospitality Business Management, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 2013

Industry Experience

  • Guest Service Manager,  Holiday Inn & Suites, Warren MI
  • Vita Nova Reservation Assistant, Trabant University Center, Newark, DE
  • Events Planner, University of Technology, JA
  • Marketing Manager, Seiretsu Inc, Cary, NC
  • Guest Room Attendant, Borgata Hotel, Casino and Spa, Atlantic City, NJ

Destination

Food