Internationally, the hotel and catering industry is known as being highly dynamic and largely resilient to economic waves. This sector has been a reliable provider of unlimited career opportunities, with ever growing expectations regarding the knowledge and skills required of the workforce in middle and upper management positions. Despite the phenomenal growth the hotel and catering industry has experienced in the last decade, the current challenges are evident: Traditional business models are questioned and hoteliers are pressured to keep up with developments in technology. Customers are informed about prices, products and competition better than ever before and thus become more demanding. Additionally, institutional investors have entered the playing field, asserting pressures on owners to generate an acceptable return on investment. The hospitality industry has long been perceived simply as a peoples’ industry with a main focus on effective service delivery. Without question, the social aspects of the hotel industry are still prevailing, yet the managerial challenges of this profession have gained in complexity.

In the major in Hotel Management* students will study the industry with a particular focus on the supply side. Covering the asset life cycle of a hotel, students will devise and plan a hotel project in all facets. Current and emerging business and management models are analyzed and the hotel performance is monitored. Finally, students will operate their own hotel in a simulated environment, competing against each other and challenging their own innovation and entrepreneurial capabilities.