This post is dedicated to providing comprehensive information about bachelor degree in hospitality management.
Hospitality Management is one of the most popular industries of today and provides bright career prospects to the aspirants who are willing to join this industry.
So, if you are considering to pursue a full-time or online Bachelors Degree in Hospitality Management, you are in good company!
Of course, the hospitality industry itself is a huge sector that wields over a trillion US Dollars in both revenue and running cost.
As more and more players make a foray into the industry, more hospitality management jobs are poised to mushroom.
That brings us to today’s subject: getting a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management either face to face or online.
With it, you will have an added edge to stand out in a sea of other brilliant candidates.
Please follow these tips and information towards fortifying your decision on pursuing a degree in Hospitality Management.
For ease of navigation, we have pointed out the key steps with further resources through links for those who want further insights on a specific point.
All About Hospitality Management degrees
To make this post more informative and interesting, we will take a step-by-step guide towards learning all aspects of hospitality management degrees.
We have focused on a bachelor degree in hospitality management in this post.
For all other courses including the postgraduate and online, please visit our hospitality courses resource section which has handpicked courses for aspirants who are willing to start studying hotel management or would like to take up a master or a training course.
Let’s discuss undergraduate hospitality degrees now. Their types, duration, options and more.
A hotel management degree is your passport to enter the ever-growing world of hospitality and tourism.
Types of Bachelor degrees in Hotel Management
Depending on the hotel education provider you may end up with a different degree on completion of your studies.
The types of degrees offered to hotel management graduates are:
- BA (Bachelor of Arts)
- BSc (Bachelor of Science)
- BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration)
- BHM (Bachelor of Hotel Management)
- BASc (Bachelor of Applied Science)
Most of the hotel management degrees fall in the first 4 categories mentioned above.
Below are some examples of courses which are of similar quality but provide a different degree.
- Bachelor of Business in Hotel Management, The Hotel School Australia (Various Hotel Schools in Australia provide BSc and BA as well).
- BA in Hospitality Business- Michigan State University, USA (various Hospitality schools in the US like UNLV also provide Bachelor of Science in Hospitality).
- BSc in Hospitality Management / International Events Management / Tourism Management (BSc is the preferred degree type for various top hospitality institutions in UK. BA is also not uncommon).
- Bachelor in Hotel Management- This is a common degree/diploma on offer in various Asian countries. A lot of hotel schools in India, Malaysia, Singapore are now offering both BHM and B.Sc / BA options.
None of the above categories of these degrees is preferred over the others. The awarded degrees are based on the modules that are covered during the course of a bachelor degree in hospitality management.
So, that brings us to the next topic about modules.
Subjects covered in Hotel Management degrees
The areas covered would depend on the institution and types of degree. Like a Swiss institution would have a different curriculum that their US counterparts.
Some of the top hotel schools like EHL, Glion, SHA Cornell, Hotel School The Hague, Oxford Brookes etc have a lot of courses in common though (we don’t endorse or promote any particular hotel school!).
A typical hotel management bachelor degree course should cover the below areas regardless of the location or institution:
- Food and Beverage Service
- Food & Beverage Management
- Accounting / Hospitality Finance
- Food Safety & Quality
- Tourism Management
- Hospitality Marketing
- Housekeeping Operations and Management
- Food Production
- Strategic Management
- Human Resources Management
- Facility Management
- Business Law
and so on.
Apart from these, there would be additional subjects and electives depending on the course type, provider, personal choices and location.
Structure, Duration and Career options upon graduation
The degree courses in hotel management would normally be of 3 years duration. A lot of institutes offer 4-year courses (Eg. institutes in the USA).
A lot of hotel management schools also have an option of 3+1 years; which means 3 years on campus with one additional year for a full-time internship. Normally the internship year is after the second year and the students come back to complete the final year of their bachelor course.
Most of the hotel management degree courses are a blend of theory and practice.
Hospitality institutions in various countries like Switzerland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand would have options of multiple paid internships during the course.
As an example, the below image gives a typical 3-year bachelor degree course in hospitality management.
The course mixes semesters of on-campus intensive studies with internship opportunities with top hospitality companies across the globe.
Image by ICHM
On completion of the course, the career department of your institute would try to provide you with a placement in the department of your choice and expertise.
A Hotel management graduate would normally take up one of the following jobs upon graduation depending on the experience gained during studies and grades achieved.
- Management Trainee
- Sales & Marketing Executive
- Housekeeping Executive / Supervisor
- Food & Beverage Supervisor / Captain / Assistant Manager
- Front Office Executive / Supervisor
- Outlet Supervisor
- Banquet Supervisor
and more.
Please check our resource on Hotel management to know more about career options and salaries in the hotel industry.
One of our other posts also covered hundreds of career paths in the hospitality industry. That should provide you with a lot more options to explore once you have checked the rest of this post.
Where to begin? The step by step guide to a Bachelor degree in hospitality management
Let’s now take you through step by step process to guide you towards a bachelor degree in hospitality.
These steps try to provide a holistic approach towards deciding if this option is good for you or not and then proceed with taking your further towards zeroing on the right hospitality course.
Let’s begin the final part of this post.
Step 1: Are You Cut Out for a Management Job in Hospitality?
Not everyone is cut out for the hospitality management job, but everyone can hone the right skills. This is where you need to do a little soul searching.
Ask yourself a few questions. Spend some time checking the background of the Hospitality industry and get a feel for the subject.
Decide if this is something you will love even in the long run. Find ample reasons to love your profession.
If you have worked in the industry in the past, did the job appeal to your innermost and basest feelings?
What about high school, did you fancy working in the hospitality industry?
Does leadership come naturally to you?
Think before you act and act with a purpose in mind.
Step 2: Do Some Hospitality Management Career Research
Here’s the thing: not all hospitality management jobs are created equal.
So, you need to do a little homework to know which hospitality niche – hotel, tourism, travel, etc – fits you perfectly.
Here, you can do some reconnaissance too.
Visit some of the best hospitality facilities and get a good glimpse of what to expect from your future career.
For those who think Hospitality management doesn’t yield high rewards, it’s time to check your facts.
It is important to debunk myths about Jobs in the Hotel and Hospitality industry.
The internet can be a good resource for this purpose as well. So wear your investigative hat and do a bit of digging.
In fact, it doesn’t hurt to fire an email to someone who has completed a bachelors degree in hospitality management.
Step 3: Compare Online Bachelors Degree in hospitality management
How long does the online bachelor’s degree last?
How does it compare when pit against traditional hospitality management degrees?
Of course, if you want to earn your bachelor’s degree in hospitality management, you can expect to take approximately 3 to 4 years to graduate.
But, if a program has a crash program, that will certainly tide things over in the long haul.
Make a cogent comparison before zeroing in on your best candidate.
If need be, you can ask your friends, family or colleagues about their experience with the program.
Look at our post regarding Free Online Hospitality Management programmes which will guide you to Ivy league colleges offering online programmes.
These programmes might give you a feel of it and knowledge on what to expect out of an Online Bachelors Degree in Hospitality Management.
Moreover, the post covers a few short courses and most of these are free. So why not try one from the comfort of your home to get a better feel for the hospitality industry.
Step 4: Scrutinize the Hotel School Before Committing
Bachelor’s degree in hotel management is a much more accomplished course now that it was a few decades ago.
Top hotel schools have ensured that they keep on raising the bar.
Whether it is face to face or online, your school or college ensures that you get the best education and career support.
It is always good to know the best practices of the hospitality industry by going through details and websites of Top Hospitality Management schools in the world.
Even if you don’t intend to study in these schools, but at least you know what to expect out of a top school. This helps in comparing your educational institute with the best schools.
It pays to do a bit of sleuthing before you commit to a school.
Now that you have landed the perfect school that offers top-notch bachelor’s hospitality management degree, you need to know for sure if the school itself is credible.
Here, think in the line of accreditation, financial aid, technical support, and student reviews.
Step 5: Start visualizing yourself in the Hospitality Industry
We are living in a digital age. We need to start thinking of our personal brand as early as possible.
It is important to know what you aim to be after a few years. So start visualising that now.
It will thus be useful to know the Best Paid Hospitality Jobs around the globe.
You can aim at one of these and plan your internships accordingly.
It is equally important to start building your social presence. Build a LinkedIn profile and make sure you stay connected with the best people in your industry.
As is said- ‘Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail’.
So, plan ahead and get started now.
