Biography
Mark Legg, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of Hospitality Management at Penn State Berks. Before coming to academia, he spent over a decade building industry-leading analytical solutions within the hospitality industry while assisting organizations with yielding as much value out of their data as possible. His experiences include building out an industry-leading corporate analytics department for an international hospitality organization to directing database, direct marketing, and CRM departments for one of the world’s largest casino resorts. His research interests are leveraging applications of quantitative methods to improve efficiencies within the hospitality industry.
Campus Committees and Organizations
Dr. Legg serves in:
- Student Life Committee (Chair)
- Penn State Berks United Way (Co-Chair)
- Student Initiated Fund (SIF) Committee
- Data Analytics Faculty Fellowship
- Club Adviser for Hotel Restaurant Society (HRS)
Publications
Ampountolas, A. & Legg, M. P. (2025). A comprehensive approach to enhancing short-term hotel cancellation forecasts through dynamic machine learning models. Tourism Economics
Legg, M. P., Ampountolas, A & Bandyopadhayay, A. (2025). How Personality traits influence the perceptions of casino loyalty incentives. Journal of Marketing Analytics.
Can, A. S., Kesgin, M., Ding, L., Legg, M. P., & Schular, D. (2025). Legacy matters: Encouraging willingness to pay a premium for environmentally friendly off-premises food packaging. International Journal of Hospitality Management
Ampountolas, A. & Legg, M. P. (2024). Predicting daily hotel occupancy: A practical application for independent hotels. Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management.
Ampountolas, A., Legg, M. P. & Shaw, G. (2023). Real Estate Investment Trusts during market shocks: Impact and resilience. Tourism Economics.
Legg, M. P. & Ampountolas, A. (2023). How music listening preferences play a role on casino showroom offers. Journal of Marketing Analytics.
Legg, M. P., Hancer, M., Tang, C. H. & Slevitch, L. (2023). Effects of emotions on casino visitation. A Theory of Planned Behavior study. Tourism Analysis.
Palabiyik, J., Cronin, B., Bagnera, S. & Legg, M. P. (2023). Endings, freezing, and new beginnings: The return of customer comfort to Massachusetts restaurants following the pandemic. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights.
Bagnera, S., Szende, P., Dalton, A. & Legg, M. P. (2022). The Perception of Clean: Consumer Trust in Hotels Amidst COVID-19. International Journal of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism.
Webb, T. W., Cho, S. M. & Legg, M. P. (2022). Customer lifetime value: A data science approach for hospitality applications. International Journal of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism
Legg, M. P., Tang, C. H & Kim, H. (2022). An economic sensitivity analysis of Las Vegas gaming revenues. International Journal of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism.
Legg, M. P. & Webb, T. W. & Ampountolas, A. (2022). Marketing to the next generation of casino patrons. Journal of Marketing Analytics.
Legg, M. P., Ampountolas, A. & Hancer, M. (2022). Senior leadership succession and market share. An econometric case study on Native American casinos. Tourism Economics.
Webb, T. W. & Legg, M. P. (2021). The emerging need for Hospitality students with analytical skills. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research.
Ampountolas, A. & Legg, M. P. (2021). A segmented machine learning modeling approach of social media for predicting occupancy. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Legg, M. P. & Hancer, M. (2020). How patrons value casino promotional offers: A conjoint study. Tourism Economics.
Legg, M. P., Tang, C. H., Hancer, M. & Slevitch, L. (2019). Using survival modeling for turn-time predictions in foodservice settings. Journal of Foodservice Business Research.
Legg, M. P., Tang, C. H., & Slevitch, L. (2012). Does political ideology play a role in destination choice? American Journal of Tourism Research. 1(2), 45-58.
Education
- Ph.D. Hospitality Administration, Oklahoma State University
- M.A. Mathematics, State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo
- B.A. Mathematics, SUNY at Buffalo
Papers and Presentations
Bandyopadhayay, A., Legg, M. P., & Zheng, T. Measuring economic impact of US casino gaming industry: A data envelopment analysis. 2024 Annual ICHRIE Conference, Montreal, Canada
Badr, B. & Legg, M. P. The effect of amenities, distance, and property size on patron’s willingness to gamble online. 2024 Annual ICHRIE Conference, Montreal, Canada
Legg, M. P & Ampountolas, A. Personality traits influence on casino loyalty program incentives. 2023 RevME Conference, Nashville, TN. December 11, 2023
Legg, M. P & Ampountolas, A. Music genre preferences, STOMP-R and showroom offers. 2023 AMA Winter Marketing Conference, Nashville, TN. February 11, 2023
Kesgin, M., Legg, M. P., Ding., L. & Dincer, H. Consumer adoption of green and digital transitions in off-premises food services: A QSR case study. 2022 Annual ICHRIE Conference – Research Marathon, August 5, 2022
Ampountolas, A. & Legg, M. P. Model combination for hotel demand forecasting. 2022 International Symposium on Forecasting, Oxford, England. July 10-13, 2022.
Vaughn, Y., Parsa, H. G., Berezina, K. & Legg, M. P. A Multitier investigation of effects of CSR in Services and a conjoint study of consumers’ willingness to pay. 2021 Annual ICHRIE Conference – Research Marathon. Zoom (Virtual). July 26-30, 2021.
Legg, M. P. & Hancer, M. Basic emotions extension of Theory of Planned Behavior for predicting casino gambling intentions. 20th Annual Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism. Tampa, FL. January 8-10, 2015.
Legg, M. P. & Slevitch, L. Using survival modeling for turn-time predictions in foodservice settings. 16th Annual Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism. Houston, TX. January 6-8, 2011.
Legg, M. P. & Tang, C. H. Why are casinos no longer recession proof? An econometric business cycle case study of the Las Vegas region. 16th Annual Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism. Houston, TX. January 6-8, 2011.
Legg, M. P. & Njite, D. Does hedonic treadmill influence the satisfaction of gamblers? 2010 International CHRIE Conference. San Juan, PR. July 28-31 2010.
Legg, M. P., Tang, C. H., & Slevitch, L. Does political ideology play a role in destination choice? 15th Annual Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism. Washington, DC. January 7-9, 2010.
Legg, M. P. & Hancer, M. Meta-analysis study of non-gaming determinants of gaming floor performance. 15th Annual Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism. Washington, DC. January 7-9, 2010.
Legg, M. P. & Tang, C. H. Survival modeling of patrons’ length of stay at casino hotels. 15th Annual Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism. Washington, DC. January 7-9, 2010.