Travel and leisure - one of today’s fastest growing industries.

The Hospitality Management concentration is a multifaceted program that balances course work in the business disciplines of management, marketing, accounting, finance, and strategy. Students gain a perspective on the management skills and concepts required for success in the highly specialized fields of hospitality industry. They will learn about the guest experience, event planning, performance management and total quality management. Additionally, day-to-day operations that involve planning and scheduling, transportation, layout and location of facilities, inventory management, and reservation and pricing systems will be explored.

The specialization courses, in combination with the business core requirements, prepare students to enter the hospitality industry of hotels, restaurants, casinos, theme parks, cruise lines, and travel distributors.

Students of the program will be immersed in real world experience as classes are taught by current or former industry professionals. Many classes require direct interaction with leading companies in the hospitality industry. As a result, graduates of the program combine the best of classroom experiences with the benefit of an internship to accelerate their careers in the field of Hospitality Management.

Develop the business skills and concepts required for success in these highly specialized careers:

  • resort and conference management
  • event planning and execution
  • employment law
  • human resource management
  • customer relations

Your degree prepares you for management roles in a wide range of hospitality venues:

  • hotels
  • restaurants
  • casinos
  • theme parks
  • cruise lines
  • travel distributors
Courses

Hospitality Management majors must complete 121 credit hours (approximately 40 courses), including courses from the foundation and business core curricula, focused electives and these required specialization courses:

HSP 211
 
Introduction to Hospitality Management		 3 Hours, 1 Semester
 

This course provides an overview of the hospitality industry and its components including hotels, restaurants, casinos, theme parks, cruise lines, and travel distributors. It provides an introduction to various business disciplines including management, marketing, accounting, finance and strategy. Students gain an historical perspective and also discuss current events.
Course will not be offered until spring 2011 at the earliest.
HSP 351
 
Resort and Conference Management		 3 Hours, 1 Semester
 

Events from weddings to business conferences breathe life into the hospitality industry. Hosting and managing events in the hospitality is big business. Students will explore the key business concepts behind event management in the hospitality industry including planning, coordination, execution and measurement of event success. Students will be assigned to work with a hospitality company to provide assistance with an actual event or event management related challenge. 
HSP 361
 
Hospitality Facility Operations		 3 Hours, 1 Semester
 

This course to be developed.
HSP 371
 
Performance Management in the Hospitality Industry		 3 Hours, 1 Semester
 

Products and services in the hospitality industry are remarkably similar. There are differences in quality and packaging but at the most basic level, a room is a room and a meal is a meal. It is People and Processes that create a competitive advantage in hospitality companies, to a much greater extent than in other industries.

In this course, you will learn how to lead your team to achieve above average performance.  From the perspective of operations management, we will examine best practices in selection, training, performance management, recognition and compensation of hourly and salaried team members.  From the same perspective of an operations manager, we will examine basic approaches to process improvement which will promote the maximum performance of your team. 
HSP 480
 
Issues in Hospitality Management		 3 Hours, 1 Semester
 

This capstone course would integrate knowledge and skills into the critical thinking process required for corporate decision-making. Case studies and research of an existing corporation within the Hospitality industry will be the basis for the study.
Prerequisite: HSP 351, HSP 361, HSP 371
HSP 490
 
Internship in Hospitality Management		 3 Hours, 1 Semester
 

The Internship in Hospitality Management will afford students an opportunity to apply the knowledge acquired in the classroom to practical situations at the internship site. Students will gain an appreciation for the dynamic nature of the workplace. Library research and reading assignments will underscore the need for life-long professional development and learning in order to meet new challenges in this rapidly changing field of management.
Prerequisites: HSP 351, HSP 361 and HSP 371

 

Internships are required and provide the valuable in-the-field opportunities necessary to accelerate your career in this specialized industry.

College Catalog

Review or download the college catalog for additional details and information about courses and requirements.

Key Faculty
Bryant Richards
  • Bryant Richards
  • Program Chair

Questions about the Hospitality Management Program? Contact Professor Bryant Richards, Program Chair, at bryant.richards@nichols.edu.