Hospitality & Tourism

[Anonymous]

I know most of DCUM will crap all over this field but anyone have a kid who has gone this route? To me, it feels like one of the only fields where AI can't replace people and a good way to see the world. Kid is smart and gets good grades but not bookish and doesn't love school.

[Anonymous]

UCF has a great program, with lots of options for internships, entry-level jobs, and networking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know most of DCUM will crap all over this field but anyone have a kid who has gone this route? To me, it feels like one of the only fields where AI can't replace people and a good way to see the world. Kid is smart and gets good grades but not bookish and doesn't love school.

Cornell hotel school is best

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know most of DCUM will crap all over this field but anyone have a kid who has gone this route? To me, it feels like one of the only fields where AI can't replace people and a good way to see the world. Kid is smart and gets good grades but not bookish and doesn't love school.

Cornell hotel school is best

+1 and ivy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UCF has a great program, with lots of options for internships, entry-level jobs, and networking.

This was going to be my rec. A neighbor’s daughter is there and is loving the program. (Sorry I don’t have details - just neighbor chat)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UCF has a great program, with lots of options for internships, entry-level jobs, and networking.

This was going to be my rec. A neighbor’s daughter is there and is loving the program. (Sorry I don’t have details - just neighbor chat)

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

If you are open to studying abroad, Switzerland's programs are ranked highest in the world.

[Anonymous]

I work for one of the big local hotel chains in the corporate office. Hilton, Marriott, and Choice all have their HQs in the dc area.

I always recommend that people interested in hospitality actually major in business, like something like hr, finance or marketing, but then just work in hotels during school or after graduation.

Most of the folks at corporate have business degrees undergrad or mba, and a few have hospitality but business is a more versatile degree for other industries.

Also hospitality pay is notoriously terrible, so if you ever want to switch industries, you are also better off.

Basically, you can get hired in the travel industry w a business or tech or even psychology or English degree, but it’s harder to apply a hospitality degree to other industries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work for one of the big local hotel chains in the corporate office. Hilton, Marriott, and Choice all have their HQs in the dc area.

I always recommend that people interested in hospitality actually major in business, like something like hr, finance or marketing, but then just work in hotels during school or after graduation.

Most of the folks at corporate have business degrees undergrad or mba, and a few have hospitality but business is a more versatile degree for other industries.

Also hospitality pay is notoriously terrible, so if you ever want to switch industries, you are also better off.

Basically, you can get hired in the travel industry w a business or tech or even psychology or English degree, but it’s harder to apply a hospitality degree to other industries.

OP here- yes, that is what I am recommending. Some of the Hospital programs offer a BA in Business and I would push accounting, finance or something analytical. I know kid would do well in those subjects but would be enticed by the travel and tourism industry. Probably a harder sell on straight "business" program.

[Anonymous]

Echoing what PP just said. I know someone who is doing really well in the hospitality industry. She went to a prestigious university, thinking she would go into international relations. She is also fluent in multiple languages. When she graduated, she was not sure what she wanted to do, so just started a side gig in hospitality. I guess the small boutique hotel who she was working for saw her tremendous potential and they wound up delegating a lot of the responsibilities for opening up the hotel, including restaurant, to her. The place opened and quickly soared in ratings/ranking (I think largely due to her leadership skills and sense of style.) She now works for an international firm that is always opening restaurants around the world. She is a mover and a shaker there and seems to be doing very well financially.

So, she stumbled into hospitality, but thrived there because of skills that had been developed in other arenas.

[Anonymous]

I guess the question is does your kid want to be a hotel general manager or work in corporate.

GMs tend to come from the hospitality programs and a GM of a Vegas casino can make a ton of $$$s because they are basically running a $500MM+ business at just that one property. Same for a big Hawaii resort…and many other similar properties.

It’s more a 24/7 lifestyle though often you get free housing.

[Anonymous]

I have one at the hotel school at Cornell; they've always been obsessed with hotels and restaurants so it feels like their destiny. It's part of the business school so it's a business degree with a hospitality focus. That said, most of the grads don't actually go into hotels; a large percentage go into IB, finance etc. Mine was very concerned with outcomes and the hotel school has a strong focus on employability and internships, as well as a strong and loyal alumni network, so it felt like a good fit.

You might also look at UNLV which is supposed to be one of the best in the US. In Switzerland you have EHL, Glion and Les Roches, others as well... those are very interesting ecosystems so you want to do a lot of investigation or possibly try one of their summer programs. Mine was considering those but was concerned about employability in the States -- plus my Negative Nancy parents lived in Geneva for 5 years and talked them out of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have one at the hotel school at Cornell; they've always been obsessed with hotels and restaurants so it feels like their destiny. It's part of the business school so it's a business degree with a hospitality focus. That said, most of the grads don't actually go into hotels; a large percentage go into IB, finance etc. Mine was very concerned with outcomes and the hotel school has a strong focus on employability and internships, as well as a strong and loyal alumni network, so it felt like a good fit.

You might also look at UNLV which is supposed to be one of the best in the US. In Switzerland you have EHL, Glion and Les Roches, others as well... those are very interesting ecosystems so you want to do a lot of investigation or possibly try one of their summer programs. Mine was considering those but was concerned about employability in the States -- plus my Negative Nancy parents lived in Geneva for 5 years and talked them out of it.

OP here- thanks for the info!

My son also has always been obsessed with restaurants and hotels. As someone who paid for undergrad working in restaurants, I have discouraged it as a longer term career due to the hours, lifestyle etc.

Cornell is known to be a solid option but is not a guaranteed admit and I don’t think we can afford it. I have heard great things about the UNLV program and could probably get merit aid but have serious concerns about kid going to LV for school. So I have looked at EHL and others in Switzerland online a bit. Could be interesting- great idea to check out the summer program. Curious why your parents did not like Geneva?

[Anonymous]

I work in this industry and Virginia Tech has a very reputable program if you want something closer. I would recommend a double major (hospitality and business/marketing)--as others have said, it's better job security and though you can make decent money in hospitality depending on the route you take, it's a very volatile industry. 9/11, the recession of 2009, COVID--every ten years, there seems to be something that hits the industry really hard.

But if your child plans to stay in the DC area, there are LOTS of hospitality jobs!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

OP here- thanks for the info!

My son also has always been obsessed with restaurants and hotels. As someone who paid for undergrad working in restaurants, I have discouraged it as a longer term career due to the hours, lifestyle etc.

Cornell is known to be a solid option but is not a guaranteed admit and I don’t think we can afford it. I have heard great things about the UNLV program and could probably get merit aid but have serious concerns about kid going to LV for school. So I have looked at EHL and others in Switzerland online a bit. Could be interesting- great idea to check out the summer program. Curious why your parents did not like Geneva?

Well... my mom traveled constantly for work, all over Europe, a few days at a time, so she was exhausted. Effectively, she was the European office of her company so there were no coworkers around, and she didn't really get a chance to integrate into life there. My dad was the trailing spouse and enjoyed himself most of the time, but made zero attempt to learn French, so that's on him. Plus, life in Switzerland can be rules-intensive (e.g. limited times for running washer and dryer in your own apartment, please limit toilet flushing after 10pm etc) and my parents found this very annoying (ironically, since they were so stern with us when we were growing up).

Obviously the situation would be different for kids in school. EHL, at least, is very international and the program is English-taught. I do think there's an expectation that you learn French, though, which IMO is great. Any sensible person (i.e. not my dad ) would see it as a necessary skill.

There are also a few programs at CA schools (SF and San Diego State, Cal Poly SLO) though they may be more difficult admits as OOS? Mine was hesitant about UNLV because it sounded like a high percentage of commuter students -- also doesn't do well in extreme heat. In any case, best of luck to yours, whatever he decides. I do think Cornell wants to see work experience and interest in/a passion for that particular industry on the essays, vs a way to get in the door and transfer to Dyson or whatever. If it's his thing, may as well try and see how it goes?