Major: Hospitality Administration and Management
As a train traveler headed out West in 1875, you would have had trouble finding a decent meal or a place to rest your head. But Fred Harvey changed all that. He started a chain of restaurants and hotels where clean and polite waitresses served tired travelers everything from oysters to duck and olives to ice cream.
You might say that Harvey tamed the Wild West, making it more hospitable (welcoming and pleasant) to travelers. If you study hospitality management, you'll prepare to follow in his footsteps.
Hospitality majors learn to run hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, and other businesses that serve business travelers and vacationers.
Did You Know?
- Government economists expect the leisure and hospitality sector to provide many new jobs between 2006 and 2016.
Are You Ready To...?
- Design your dream resort
- Work with a group of other students to plan a formal event
- Join a campus hospitality association
- Complete an internship
- Consider studying abroad
- Practice interacting with customers and guests
- Join Eta Sigma Delta, the national honorary society for students of hospitality and tourism management
It Helps to Be...
An outgoing person with great communication skills. You'll need to be good at solving problems quickly and keeping track of details. You'll enjoy this major if you like learning about a variety of topics, from law to geography to marketing.
College Checklist
- Do professors have experience and contacts in the hospitality industry?
- Does the program operate student-run hotels, restaurants, or other hospitality businesses?
- Does the program feature other hands-on learning activities such as computer simulations?
- Does the program encourage study abroad?
- Is there an on-campus hospitality association?
- Will the program help you find work after graduation?
- What are recent grads doing now?
Did You Know?
- Hospitality management majors who want to work as lodging managers should find the most opportunities at luxury hotels.
Course Spotlight
Can you see yourself organizing an elegant wedding at a private mansion? Or maybe a business conference at a downtown convention center? You’ll need to think of everything, from ordering decorations to hiring caterers to installing ramps for wheelchair access.
In a class on event management, you'll learn how to plan events like these from start to finish. By the end of the semester, you'll be prepared to take charge of any function that comes your way.
