Hotel management degree overview

Degree programs in hotel management prepare students for careers as managers of hotels, motels, resorts, and other lodging businesses.

The typical curriculum includes an internship, during which students have an opportunity to work in the field and learn from seasoned professionals. This hands-on experience is preceded by coursework in the various aspects of hotel management. These are some examples of classes offered by many schools:

• Human Resources Management
• Hospitality Facilities Operations and Management
• Hospitality and Tourism Marketing
• Hospitality and Tourism Sales
• Hotel Front Office Operations
• Hotel Food and Beverage Operations
• Customer Service
• Hotel Industry Financial Accounting
• Hospitality Law
• Management Information Systems for the Hotel Industry

Associate Degree in Hotel Management - Two Year Duration
In most cases, an Associate Degree in Hotel Management prepares students for entry- and mid- level roles in the lodging industry. These may include dining room/banquet supervisor, front-office supervisor, or guest services associate.

The typical curriculum at this level covers:

• Overview of Hotel Operations (rooms/housekeeping, food and beverage, conference services)
• Introduction to Human Resources Management
• Food Preparation and Service
• Purchasing and Cost Control in the Hotel Industry

Bachelor’s Degree in Hotel Management - Four Year Duration
For individuals seeking management roles in the hotel field, a bachelor’s degree is generally the minimum education requirement. Bachelor’s programs in hotel management tend to combine liberal arts courses like English, history, and foreign languages with industry-specific classes, such as the following:

• Menu Planning & Design, Catering, and Food Service
• Conference Planning
• Hiring Practices
• Organizational Leadership
• Employee and Public Relations
• Conflict Resolution
• Hotel Accounting, Finance, and Budgeting
• Marketing, Advertising, and Sales for the Hotel Industry
• Hospitality Law and Ethics

Business Administration
Business administration includes overseeing finances, staffing, and contract negotiations. A business administration degree program, therefore, teaches students how to plan, organize, and direct all the activities of an organization.

Culinary Arts
Culinary arts are the arts of preparing, cooking, and presenting food. Food that is as pleasing to the eyes as it is to the taste buds is the goal of the culinary artist. Degree programs in the field prepare students for a variety of roles within the food and hospitality arenas. The typical curriculum covers professional cooking techniques, world cuisines, how to balance flavors, food aesthetics, and menu planning.

Finance
The finance field is concerned with how individuals, businesses, and organizations raise, distribute, and use money. Majors in this field learn how to make financial decisions concerning raising funds, investments, and cost control for organizations. Topics covered include budgets, stocks and bonds, and interest rates.

Food Service Management
Degrees in food service management are targeted at individuals who wish to combine their passion for food with an interest in managing a food-related business.

Hospitality Management
Degree programs in hospitality management teach students how to operate hotels, restaurants, and other businesses that serve business travelers and vacationers. Coursework may vary from one curriculum to another, depending on whether the program offers general hospitality management training or is focused on a specialty area, such as travel agency operations, restaurant management, or hotel management.

By its nature, the hotel industry is about customer service, the customer experience, and handling unexpected situations. Therefore, perhaps more than in any other business sector, soft skills are very much sought after by employers. It follows, then, that hotel management programs include the teaching of such skills as part of their curriculum. Graduates come away with skills in:

• Self-awareness
• Self confidence
• Resilience
• Multi-tasking
• Communication
• Leadership
• Teamwork
• Management
• Problem-solving
• Networking
• Emotional intelligence

Hotels, Resorts, Casinos, and Bed-and-Breakfasts
Opportunities for hotel management graduates exist with hotel chains, independent boutique hotels, business hotels, apartment hotels, casino hotels, resorts, and bed-and-breakfast properties. Within these sectors there are executive-level positions and jobs with food and beverage outlets, the front-desk/reception, reservations, concierge/guest services, conference services, the rooms division, kitchens, human resources, and payroll.

Conference & Exhibition Centers, Event Venues, and Entertainment Complexes
These facilities are central to the hospitality industry and employ significant numbers of people, many of whom have formal training and a background in hospitality, tourism, and the hotel sector.

Cruise Lines and Luxury Rail Services
Cruise ships and high-end/luxury trains, of course, have a hotel component. These sectors, therefore, are also significant employers of hotel management grads.

Event Management
This sector of the hospitality industry is very specialized. It includes meetings, incentives (corporate reward programs), conferences, and events. Event management specialists plan, organize, and execute events of all kinds and all sizes.

While corporate conventions and incentive travel programs form a large part of this subfield, the sector also includes events like concerts, tradeshows, speaker programs, and festivals. Hotel management graduates, especially those with some hotel conference services experience, may also be well-suited to working in this part of the hospitality industry.