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Esther Kim

Assistant Professor, Hospitality and Tourism, Feliciano School of Business

Office:: School of Business
Email:: kimes@montclair.edu
Degrees:: BBA, Sejong University, Seoul, South Korea; MS, Purdue University; PhD, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
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Bio

Dr. Esther Kim is an Assistant Professor at the Feliciano School of Business of Hospitality and Tourism. She has a Ph.D. from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in hospitality management. Her undergraduate degree is in hospitality management from Sejong University in Seoul, South Korea. She received her MS degree from Purdue University. Dr. Kim brings more than five years of experience in the hospitality industry to the program. Her experience includes management positions in lodging operation at the Marriott brand hotel, revenue management, and corporate planning at the Millennium Hotels and Resorts Group, and hotel distribution channel management at SHR. Her research interests include consumer behavior in e-commerce and revenue management. Dr. Kim has received research awards, including the Best Paper, 25th Annual Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism. She has published work in Journal of Services Marketing, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Journal of Travel Research, and Cornell Hospitality Quarterly.

Specialization

Hospitality Management, Revenue Management, Consumer Behavior

Links

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Scholarship and Creative Works @ Digital Commons

Research

Lin, A., Legendre, T., & Kim, E.L. (2025) Suboptimal Product Pricing
Kim, M., Kim, E.J., Lee, Solbi, & Kim, E.L., ESG in the Digital Age: Enhancing Customer Perception through Strategic Communication in Restaurant Mobile Ordering. Invited to the special issue of the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management
Kim, E.L., Kim, E.J., Kim, M., Tang, J. Effective restaurant cancellation policy and awareness campaign for customer booking and no-show behaviors. International Journal of Consumer Studies. Under the 2nd round review
Kim, E.L., Cain, L., & Kim, E.J. Optimizing sustainability in food delivery: The role of nudging and Choice Architecture in shaping eco-friendly decisions, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. Under the 1st round of review
Kim, E. L. & Kim, E. J. Navigating AI in Travel Planning: Understanding the Impact of Adaptivity, Disclosure, and Empathetic Language on Consumer Trust and Intentions, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, Under the 1st round of review

Professional Experience

Sales Administrative , Renaissance Seoul Hotel (2009 - 2010)
Front Office Manager/Assistant Regional Revenue Manager, Courtyard by Marriott, Lafayette Indiana (2012 - 2013)
Revenue Analyst/Reservation Manager, Millennium Knickerbocker (2013 - 2014)
Customer Experience Management , SHR --- Sceptre Hospitality Resources, Inc. (2015 - 2016)
Regional Revenue Analyst, US Regional Revenue Department, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, US Corporate (2014 - 2015)
Graduate Assistant / Instructor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2017 - 2019)
Assistant Professor, Montclair State University (2020 - Present)

Honors & Awards

Best Paper Award, 25th Annual Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism (January 2020)
Best Presentation Award, 2017 Annual Conference- International Hospitality Information Technology Association (June 2017)
Best Presentation Award, 21st UNLV Graduate Research Forum (February 2019)
Best Poster Award, THEREPS (April 2024)
Best Paper Award, The Tourism Sciences Society of Korea (July 2022)

Refereed Published Articles

S. Tanford, E. Kim (2019). Risk versus Reward: When Will Travelers Go the Distance?. Journal of Travel Research
E. Kim, S. Tanford (2019). Simultaneous effects of multiple cues in restaurant reviews. Journal of Services Marketing
E. Kim, S. Tanford (2019). Seeking reward or avoiding risk from restaurant reviews: Does distance matter?. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management
E. Kim, S. Tanford (2021). The windfall gain effect: Using a surprise discount to stimulate add-on purchases. International Journal of Hospitality Management
E. Kim, S. Tanford (2021). Turning Discounts Into Profits: Factors Influencing Online Purchasing Decisions for Hotel Add-on Items. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly
C. Chen, E. Kim, M. Schuckert (2023). Haute couture-to-table? A study of luxury fashion-brand restaurants/Cafés. Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
E. Kim, S. Tanford (2022). When will consumers splurge on travel? Effective add-on selling strategies. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights
E. Kim, E. Kim, M. Kim (2023). Post-Pandemic hotel cancellation policy: Situational cues as perceived risk triggers. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management
E. Kim, E. Kim, M. Kim, J. Tang (2024). The matching effect of local food and color on ethical dining behaviors: the roles of credibility and green image. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management
E. Kim, J. Tang (2024). Tackling No-Shows in Fine Dining: Insights into Cancellation Policies and Consumer. Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management

Published Proceedings

E. Kim, S. Tanford (5s). 2018. It’s your birthday! How far will you go for a great dinner? 2018 West Federation Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education Regional Conference
E. Kim, S. Tanford (5s). 2017. Influence of Online Travel Reviews: Avoiding Risk Vs. Reward Seeking. iHITA 2017 Annual Conference- International Hospitality Information Technology Association
E. Kim, S. Jang (5s). 2012. Brand Equity and Willingness to Pay a Price Premium for a Hotel Room. 17th Annual Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism
E. Kim, S. Tanford (5s). 2018. How far will you go? The role of effort reduction in consumer response to online restaurant reviews. 23rd Annual Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism
E. Kim, S. Tanford (5s). 2018. Does location matter? The influence of customer reviews and distance in travel decisions. 2018 International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education
E. Kim, S. Tanford (5s). 2019. The level relatedness as a factor in purchasing behavior for hotel add-on items. 24th Annual Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism
E. Kim, T. S, S. Baloglu (5s). 2020. The correlates of destination image: A meta-analysis 2019 West Federation Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education Regional Conference
E. Kim, S. Tanford (5s). 2020. Consumer response to a surprise discount: Mental accounting and thinking style. 25th Annual Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism
E. Kim, S. Tanford (5s). 2020. Unexpected discount and unplanned hotel add-on purchase online West Federation Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education Regional Conference
J. Ha, K. Park, E. Kim (5s). 2022. “What do you want from luxury dining experiences?” Exploring experiential consumption at luxury restaurants THEREPS 2022
M. Kim, E. Kim, E. Kim (5s). 2022. Post-COVID Hotel Cancellation Policy: The Stimulating Effect of Risk Triggers The International Tourism Conference 2022
J. Tang, S. Joe, E. Kim, E. Kim (5s). 2023. Effective Color Marketing for Restaurants: The Matching Effect of Color and Sustainability 2023 WEST Federation Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education
E. Kim, M. Kim (5s). 2023. The effective cancellation policy and the awareness campaign for the reduction of restaurant no-shows THEREPS 2023
E. Kim (5s). 2023. No More No-Shows: Optimizing Cancellation Policies and Awareness Campaigns for Restaurants ABEAI 2024
E. Kim, J. Tang (5s). 2024. Battle with Restaurant No-Shows- Optimizing Cancellation Policies and Awareness Campaigns for Restaurants APAC Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education
L. Cain, E. Kim, E. Kim (5s). 2024. Greening the Delivery: Nudging Sustainable Choices in the Food Delivery App Landscape International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education
E. Kim, E. Kim (5s). 2024. Understanding User Intention in AI-Driven Travel Recommendation Service THEREPS 2024