Soona Park Ph.D.

Dr. Soona Park joined the University of North Texas in 2023 as an Assistant Professor. Her educational journey includes a Ph.D. from Purdue University and a Master's from the University of Central Florida, both in Hospitality and Tourism Management. She began her academic pursuit with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Hospitality Management from Sejong University in Seoul, South Korea. Dr. Soona Park brings real-world experience from working in large hotels and resorts in Guam, Orlando, and Seoul. Her teaching passion lies in Hotel Operations and Sales and Marketing, while her research interests revolve around consumer behavior, service innovations, and the well-being of consumers and travelers.

• Park, S. & Lehto, X. (2022). Automated service, human service, or semi-automated service in restaurants? An investigation of technology-enabled service designs and customer attribution. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 104, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2022.103217
• Park, S. & Kang, J. (2022). More is not always better: Determinants of choice overload and satisfaction with customization in fast casual restaurants. Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management, 31(2). 205-225. https://doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2021.1946879
• Park, S., Lehto, X., Lehto, M. (2021). Self-service technology design for restaurants: An QFD application. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 92, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102757
• Park, S. & Lehto, X. (2021). Understanding the opaque priority of safety measures and hotel customer choices after the COVID-19 pandemic: An application of discrete choice analysis. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 38(7), 653-665. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2021.1985038
• Park, S., Kwun, D., Park, J.Y., & Bufquin, D. (2021). Service quality dimensions in hotel service delivery options: Comparison between human interaction service and self-service technology. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration. 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1080/15256480.2021.1935392
• Lehto, X., Park, S., Mohamed, M. Lehto, M. (2021). Traveler Attitudes Towards Biometric Data Enabled Hotel Services. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/19389655211063204
• Huan, C., Park, S., & Kang, J. (2021). Panic buying: Modeling what drives it and how it deteriorates emotional well-being. Family & Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 50(2), 150-164. https://doi.org/10.1111/fcsr.12421
• Torres, E. N., Milman, A., & Park, S. (2021). Customer delight and outrage in theme parks: A roller coaster of emotions. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/15256480.2019.1641455
• Lehto, X., Davari, D., & Park, S. (2020). Transforming the guest-host relationship: A convivial tourism approach. International Journal of Tourism Cities, 6(4), 1069-1088. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-06-2020-0121
• Torres, E. N., Milman, A., & Park, S. (2017). Delighted or outraged? Uncovering key drivers of exceedingly positive and negative theme park guest experiences. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 1(1), 65-85. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-10-2017-0011