MBA Degree - Hospitality
An MBA Degree in Hospitality can advance your career to a managerial position if you work in a hotel, travel agency, casino, restaurant, cruise ship, resort, a tour company, convention center, amusement venue, or other business where customer satisfaction is of the utmost priority.  Many MBA graduates with a concentration in hospitality choose to work internationally for larger corporations, like global hotel chains.  An MBA graduate with a concentration in hospitality may also choose to work for the government, like managing the visitors and convention bureau.

Hospitality management is the art of creating an atmosphere where customer satisfaction is the ultimate goal.  This requires understanding the entire hospitality industry as well having a firm grasp of the business portion of this industry.  This is why an MBA in Hospitality is required for those who want to move into the top management positions in this industry.  Hospitality managers must know how to sell and market hotel rooms, understand reservations software, understand customer care, create relationships with vendors, have knowledge of food science, and must be able to plan meetings and conventions.  This career also requires the human resources skills to manage an entire staff, which can be highly demanding and at the same time, extremely rewarding.

Earning an MBA in Hospitality will provide you with the opportunity to learn the hospitality industry from the customer service side as well as the business side.  You will learn about the different areas of tourism like convention management, international tourism, travel and hospitality technology, food service management, employee management, and hospitality law.  You will also take the core business courses required for every MBA graduate, so that you will be completely able to manage any hospitality venue, or even manage one of your own.  This is an exciting degree, because it encompasses all aspects of hospitality, including travel, so MBA graduates with a concentration in hospitality have the potential to work all over the world.

In an MBA hospitality degree program, you will start with the core MBA classes needed for this degree.  To get started, you will need a bachelor’s in hospitality, or a business related degree.  Practical experience in the hospitality industry is also preferred.  MBA Classes will include classes like Methods of Research and Analysis, Organizational Behavior, Managerial Accounting, Managerial Finance, International Marketing, Marketing Management, International Business Law, Strategic Planning and Implementation, Business Management, Organizational Leadership, Quantitative Reasoning for Business, Economics, and Operations Management.  The hospitality portion of the degree will include classes like Food and Beverage Control, International Travel and Tourism, Tourism Planning and Marketing, Human Resources Management in the Hospitality Industry, Hotel and Restaurant Accounting Information Systems, and Case Studies in Hotel and Tourism Management.  A final thesis or project will also be required on order to graduate.

Career Opportunities in Hospitality Management
Career opportunities in hospitality management are extensive as the industry continues to grow worldwide.  Graduates with an MBA in hospitality have the skills and knowledge to become sales and marketing managers, front office managers, food and beverage managers, banquet/event managers, tourism directors, cruise directors, or work in ecommerce as a reservations manager.