Hotel management school

Hotel management schools

There are more than 700,000 hotels and resorts in the world today. It’s a big number and – given that every single one of these properties needs a management team – it perfectly illustrates the scale of career opportunities in the tourism industry and hospitality business.

Hotels are highly specialized operations, and the bigger and more luxurious they are, the more complex their operation becomes. So, if you are aiming high with your hospitality career plans, and you are looking to get hired by a prestigious brand, you will need to demonstrate that you have what it takes.

The obvious place to start is at a hotel management school, studying a specialized hospitality degree – either Bachelor’s or Master’s. There’s simply no better way to acquire the core knowledge and skills that you need to earn a place on a ‘manager in training’ or similar program at a world-leading brand.

Is studying hotel management worth it?

You would expect our answer to this question to be ‘yes’, so here is some evidence to justify that response.

The benefits to studying a degree in hotel management come in several forms.

The first is that there’s simply no other way to acquire such a comprehensive education in the hospitality business. To use an analogy, you cannot become a doctor without studying at medical school, and the same is true for the profession of hospitality management.

At the end of your study time, you should have reached the level of specialized practical and academic knowledge that will allow you to enter the industry on the managerial ladder.

29% Of Glion graduates immediately secure a first level managerial role (or above)

Second, studying a hospitality degree doesn’t just open up paths to hotel management; it can also open doors to luxury management, event management, restaurant management, beverage management, and a diverse range of other hospitality-related disciplines.

Third, a good hotel management degree program will incorporate at least one professional internship opportunity, giving you practical work experience in the business. Armed with this, you are much more likely to get past the first sift of applicants for a job opportunity.

 Last but not least, the leading and well-established hospitality schools, like Glion, are all plugged deeply into the industry, having forged close relationships with the most prestigious brands and operators. It gives individuals studying at these schools privileged access to recruiters – you will still have to clinch the deal, of course, but never underestimate the importance of getting a foot in the door.

Undergraduate hotel management degrees

A good hotel manager needs to understand how hotels work from the ground up.

A Bachelor’s degree in hotel management takes that exact approach: starting with the practical, operational basics before moving on to academic modules covering business administration topics such as finance and accounting, strategy, marketing, human resources, leadership behaviors and social responsibility.

Some hospitality degrees – like Glion’s – incorporate a final semester specialization, designed to give the student a more intensive grounding in a specific area in which they may be looking to make their career.

Master’s hotel management degrees

For those already in possession of a Bachelor’s degree, and especially anyone seeking to switch careers into hospitality or luxury management, the next step up the educational ladder is to study a Master’s.

Being more focused in nature, a hotel management Master’s will zero in on key elements of the managerial role, including management skills, successful leadership behaviors, how to manage intercultural teams, asset management, digital transformation and project management.

The academic portion of your degree will usually be one year in length, with some programs – including Glion’s – also incorporating an optional six-month professional internship.

Swiss hotel management schools

If you have been researching hotel schools, one country will undoubtedly have cropped up constantly: Switzerland.

Why is Switzerland such a powerhouse for hotel management education?

A little while ago, we wrote a feature on this very topic, which you can read here.

Switzerland is one of the original tourism destinations dating back to the 18th century. The first hospitality schools in Switzerland, meanwhile, started appearing from the late 19th century onwards. Today, the country accounts for seven out of the global Top 10 schools, according to the QS World University Rankings for this discipline.

The Swiss model of hospitality education – hands-on, mixing theory and practical, focused on ‘learning by doing’ – is a proven launchpad for successful hospitality careers. And the good news is that you don’t necessarily have to travel to Switzerland to experience it!

Some of the top Swiss hotel management schools, like Glion, have established campuses in other destinations (London in our case). In addition, the rapid evolution of education technology and internet connectivity means that executive-level remote study programs are also becoming more widely available.