Eta Sigma Delta was founded in 1978 by a group of students in the University of New Hampshire's Whittemore School of Business and Economics.

[1] It is an international honor society that recognizes academic excellence by hospitality and tourism students.

[2] The Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (CHRIE) administers the organization, with headquarters in Richmond, Virginia.

[1][2] Eta Sigma Delta's five points of honor or pillars are excellence, leadership, creativity, service, and ethics.

Membership is open to hospitality management students who have completed one year of coursework, are in the top twenty percent of their class, and have at least a 3.0 grade point average.