Dr. Solnet is a senior faculty and the Director of Industry Partnerships for the University of Queensland’s School of Tourism.   David’s PhD thesis focused on Turnaround Management.  David has had a very successful 18-year career in the restaurant and country club industries where he held senior management roles in both the United States and Australia.   

David has been a highly sought-after consultant to the hospitality and retail industries.   His consulting practice, Solnet Advisory Services, provides a range of programs and advice to a select group of high profile businesses.  His consulting practice focuses primarily on financial analysis, turn around management, service orientation, service quality programs, executive development training and performance-based remuneration programs.  He has successfully implemented many ‘Balanced Scorecards’ into businesses, allowing these businesses to more effectively measure performance across a range of financial and non-financial measures.

David has authored a number of academic papers since commencing his academic career and has been awarded two ‘best paper’ awards (I-CHRIE – The International Council for Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education, and CAUTHE – The Council for Australian University Tourism and Hospitality Educators), as well as being a finalist for best paper for the internationally recognized academic journal, Managing Service Quality.   His research interests include turnaround from declining performance, service orientation, service climate, and practical managerial applications for the Social Identity Theory.

• Service Orientation
• Turnaround Management
• Service Climate

• Solnet, D. (2007), “Employee-customer linkages: A social identification perspective in a hotel industry context”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Vol. 14 No. 2. 
• Solnet, D., Robinson, R. and Cooper, C. (2007), “An industry partnerships approach to tourism education”, Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 66-70.
• Solnet, D. (2007), “Employee-customer linkages: A social identification perspective in a hotel industry context”, Council for Australian University Tourism and Hospitality Educators (CAUTHE), Manly, Australia.Winner – Best Refereed Paper.
• Solnet, D. (2006), “Introducing employee identification to hotel industry research: A hotel industry study”, Managing Service Quality, Vol. 16 No. 6, pp. 575-594. Finalist – Best Paper for 2006.
• Solnet, D. and Kandampully, J. (2006), “Competitive advantage through service-orientation:  Strategic directions for the hospitality industry”, I-CHRIE, Arlington, VA, USA.
• Solnet, D. and Kandampully, J. (2005), “Antecedents and dimensions of service orientation: A conceptual framework”, Council for Australian University Tourism and Hospitality Educators, Melbourne, Australia.
• Solnet, D. and Kandampully, J. (2005), “Service orientation as a strategic initiative: A conceptual model with exemplars”, Alliance Journal of Business Research, Vol. 1 No. 2, pp. 1-20.
• Solnet, D. and Paulsen, N. (2005), “Rebranded hotel properties: The role of service climate and employee identity in predicting customer satisfaction”, I-CHRIE, Las Vegas, NV, USA.
• Solnet, D. and Paulsen, N. (2005), “Service climate, employee identification and customer outcomes in hotel property rebrandings”, Journal of Hospitality and Leisure Marketing, Vol. 13 Nos. 3-4, pp. 3-27.