HOTEL MANAGEMENT

The course aims to provide students with a wide knowledge of hospitality operations management in an international business context in real life. The students will discuss the latest developments, news and challenges in the hospitality business and try to provide realistic alternatives to the industry.

General understanding of the basics in Management Studies

Knowledge and understanding: The student - by participating in the lectures and practical activities of the course - will have developed the ability to understand the challenges involved in managing hospitality operations, the skills needed to compete within the industry, and its cultural aspects. Applying knowledge and understanding: The student - acquiring the correct tools and method - will be able to explore and understand risks and developments facing the hospitality sector. At the end of the course there will be a written exam representing 40% of the final mark. Moreover, the students will be evaluated based on group presentations (20%) and of the middle-term exam (40%) Making judgements: The student, through the use of the methodologies acquired during the course, will have acquired problem analysis skills and the ability to identify the information necessary for their solution. In particular, they will be able to critically assess the strategic management concept related to the hospitality sector. Specifically, critical thinking, problem solving, self-management, teamwork, relationship and communication skills will be adequately developed, which enhance and make the disciplinary skills more usable. Communication skills: At the end of the course the student will be able to use the business and technical vocabulary of hospitality strategic management, addressing the managerial issues at hand with terminological accuracy. Through the various activities that will take place during the course – lessons with discussion, case studies, group of works – the student will be able to put these communication skills into practice in various contexts, by adapting the terms used to the interlocutor in the specific case, thus gaining advanced rhetorical skills necessary for his/her professional career.

International Hospitality Operations Management: Strategy and Innovation The course introduces the current trends and issues in the hospitality industry. The hospitality business is facing rapid changes in society and is therefore fragile. The hospitality industry is highly dependent on external influences such as natural disaster, the economic climate and even to security threats none of which can be controlled by individual entrepreneurs. The course will teach students the core elements of the hospitality operations and explains how to deal with internal and external challenges that might occur in this business sector. The course starts with an overview of the characteristics of the service and the products in the hospitality industry. It then moves on to the strategic level of the business, its challenges, and the question of how to deal with uncertainty.

Main reading: 1. Hayes, D. et al (2025), Hotel Operations Management, 4th Ed., Pearson, US 2. Sabourin, V. (2021), Strategic Management for the Hospitality and Tourism Industry: Developing a Competitive Advantage, Apple Academic Press, USA Additional reading: The relevant academic journal articles will be consulted for the group project.

Traditional lectures, active discussion in the lessons, case studies, group project, project consultation hours, student presentations

The exam consists of group presentation in which the student must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the main topics related to the hospitality operations and strategic management. The students should be able to demonstrate that they acquire the basic knowledge of hotel management, and that they can critically discuss practical cases submitted to their attention by the teacher through the prospect of concrete examples. The students should also be able to independently analyze the relevant managerial, strategic, and cultural aspects of the hospitality sector, and correctly understand possible developments and challenges. For the purposes of assigning a mark out of thirty, the following evaluation criteria will be considered: Participation in class and project work that the students discuss during the final lessons. Typically, students are divided into different groups composed by around five individuals so that cooperation and discussion are encouraged (20%) A mid-term exam aims at evaluating fundamental concepts related to the hospitality sector (40%) The final exam (40%) is useful to assess the ability of students to critically discuss and investigate strategic and managerial aspects of the course. Learning gaps concerning one or more notions or principles will lead to an insufficient evaluation, even in presence of a basic knowledge of the matter

Interview Non-attending student is only accepted with valid reason.