Course summary

This course considers international hotel management at both operational and strategic levels and places a strong emphasis on developing the management skills and knowledge required to run a hotel. As part of the international courses you will develop an in depth understanding of the hotel industry and its place within the service sector. You will be encouraged to develop innovative solutions to real world problems and appreciate the need for delivering service excellence and exceeding customer expectations. Input from representatives of the international hotel industry and opportunities to shadow members of the onsite hotel operations team will create a challenging environment in which you can analyse operational and strategic solutions to the running of the business. These Learning Partners will help you understand the nature and challenges of a real world business environment, preparing you to be an industry professional ready to tackle the world of work when you graduate. This programme considers international hotel management at both operational and strategic level and places a strong emphasis on developing the management skills and knowledge required to run a hotel. As part of an international cohort, students will develop a holistic understanding of the the hotel industry and its place within the service sector as a whole. Students will be encouraged to develop innovative solutions to real world problems and appreciate the need for delivering service excellence and exceeding customer expectations internationally. Semester 1 The first semester introduces students to the international hotel management industry, considers its link to tourism and focuses on a range of operational and strategic issues that contribute to sustainable competitive advantage. Students will work on a range of live operational challenges within the hotel environment and reflect on their solutions and the implications for management. Semester 2 Building on the input from the first semester, students will develop their critical thinking skills and focus on several strategic considerations that impact on the success of hotel operations globally. Key areas include strategic marketing, service excellence and cross cutural management. Semester 2 and 3 An area of individual research will be developed into a clearly defined and evidenced dissertation that demonstrates critical thinking and research at postgraduate level. Guided by a dedicated subject specialist, students will collect, analyse and interpret a range of secondary and primary data, culminating in a 15-20,000 word dissertation. Work Experience Several of the modules have a vocational emphasis embedded within the assessment. The international hotel management and strategic marketing modules place specific emphasis on developing appropriate, timely and innovative management responses to day to day challenges. Industry Placement Option The industry placement enables you to develop your skills and knowledge in a real-world work environment, whilst completing an applied research project. This will give you an advantage over the competition for jobs and scholarships after you graduate and could be a good starting point for setting up your own consultancy business. Your placement will need to be appropriate to your level of study and you should also be paid for this work. We will support you in finding and securing a suitable placement opportunity, however it must be noted that placements are highly competitive and there is no guarantee of a placement offer being made by an employer. If you are unable or unwilling to progress with an industry placement, for whatever reason, you will have the option to transfer onto our Dissertation and Research Methods module in order to gain the required credits to complete your programme of study.