Stanley C. PLOG

PLOG, Stanley C. Stanley retired to Fallbrook in 2002. He is widely known as a travel research specialist and consultant. He died on February 16, 2011. He is survived by his wife Georgia and two sons Gregory and Stephen, Stephen's wife Lisa, two grandchildren, Kiersti and Maren, and brother Anthony C. Plog. He was born in Glendale, CA April 12, 1930. He attended Occidental College and graduated Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude. He served during the Korean War in the 775th Air Force Band and was stationed in Tucson, AZ where he met his wife Georgia. He received his doctorate in the social sciences at Harvard University in 1960. He launched his career at UCLA as academic director of the Social Psychiatry Training Program and founded the Urban Observatory. He also founded several market research companies over a long career of 40 years, the best known of which was Plog Research, Inc. He provided travel research and consulting services across all segments of the industry, including airlines, destinations, cruise lines, hotels and resorts, travel agency groups and tour operators. In recent years, his research and analysis served as the backbone of Travel Weekly's annual Travel Industry Survey. In 2003, Travel Weekly editorialized, "It's no exaggeration to say that Plog gave shape to modern travel industry market research - for generations, he has identified key travel trends, often devising the very names to describe various travel behaviors." After retiring, he continued as a consultant and co-founded a web site, BestTripChoices.com. He was the author of seven books, four in the social sciences and three on travel. In 2003, he received a lifetime achievement award in New York by HSMAI for his contribution to the hospitality industry.
His first love, however, was music and he was a life member of the Musicians Union, Local 47. He played trombone forming his own dance band at the age of 16. He toured the U.S., Canada and Europe with Horace Heidt and played with various swing bands including Freddie Martin. After retiring he picked up his horn again and was active in the music program at his Church in Fallbrook, CA. His Memorial Service will be on Saturday, February 26 at 10:00 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1760 N. Gower St., Hollywood, CA with interment at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills. In lieu of flowers, contributions could be made in his memory to: Union Rescue Mission, 545 S. San Pedro St., L.A. 90013. Berry-Bell & Hall Mortuary, Fallbrook, CA (760) 728-1689