Park and Rec, Tourism/ hospitality management degrees?

[Anonymous]

Temple University

[Anonymous]

Look at WVU.

[Anonymous]

My brother did that
He later worked managing an upscale restaurant and some hotels. Then thought it was best suited for young people. As a career change he got hired by a bank
He went through their internal training because they need people to manage the hospitality industry loans, banking and clients.
He is now very high up on the executive level at that bank

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was going to suggest UMass Amherst as well. When we toured they have a big hotel on campus that I believe was run by hospitality majors.

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I’m asking more if folks think there is value in such a degree. Normally I would agree with the “blunt” poster but my daughter really, really wants to go to college and her learning style is more hands on, practical. Every career assessment she does points her to a people career and hospitality has come up a few times. For me, her getting a college degree is more about checking the box because w/out it, she’ll be shut out of the job market.

Yes, there is absolute value in a degree like this. All the big hospitality brands recruit from these schools both for internships and for jobs. Coming out of a hospitality school vs just having a high school degree and working the front desk at a hotel is like going to officer training school -vs- being enlisted. The degree will enable her to move up, give her more opportunities in other areas within the business and will most definitely give her a leg up. Most of the large hospitality companies will have some type of management training program which would introduce her to all aspects of the business.

What kind of jobs do they get out of hospitality school? My dd was interested and we did a presentation at Rosen. It sounded great, but when we looked, all the internships seemed to be very underwhelming- front desk clerk, life guard, ride worker at Disney etc. So nowa she’s considering IT with a minor in hospitality, but wondering what we missed.

[Anonymous]

Auburn has a great hospitality program, and a bunch of money has recently been funneled in to boost it. Worth looking into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD loves sports and to travel, is a good planner and is looking to study something more hands on. Anyone have a student majoring in this field? We’re looking NC State, ECU, ASU, Colorado State and a few CA state schools that are probably impossible to get into. We’re in DC and will utilize DC-TAG.
If you don’t have anything constructive to say, remember silence is always an option.

At the risk of being blunt, those degrees are a total sham. They exist largely so athletes unwilling or incapable of doing college level work have something to major in and maintain their eligibility. Your daughter would be much better off majoring in econ, business, finance, accounting, etc. All of those degrees would still offer a pipeline into the hospitality/tourism/recreation industries and she would at least have a solid foundation to build her career on.

Completely wrong, just because your kid is stuck behind a desk and my kids office is the grand canyon and makes great money and benefits working for the NPS. A friend has a kid is at Elon in their hotel management program working at their on campus hotel as a junior and already has a job lined up after graduation and another family friend who used to play basketball at Harvard and got her master's and played at Maryland is working with the Utah Jazz. total shame programs. hmmmm

[Anonymous]

The best hospitality school in the country is at Michigan State. Then you can look at Cornell, University of Nevada (Los Vegas), and University of Houston. Virginia Tech also has a program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The best hospitality school in the country is at Michigan State. Then you can look at Cornell, University of Nevada (Los Vegas), and University of Houston. Virginia Tech also has a program.

I am in the hospitality industry and have several friends who graduated from this program. They seem to have strong connections with many of the hotel chains. I do think it's a good idea to have a minor or double major in some sort of business class (marketing/comms if she is not good at math) but I think that for any major. I also think learning Spanish is good for someone in this field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best hospitality school in the country is at Michigan State. Then you can look at Cornell, University of Nevada (Los Vegas), and University of Houston. Virginia Tech also has a program.

I am in the hospitality industry and have several friends who graduated from this program. They seem to have strong connections with many of the hotel chains. I do think it's a good idea to have a minor or double major in some sort of business class (marketing/comms if she is not good at math) but I think that for any major. I also think learning Spanish is good for someone in this field.

+1 I came here to suggest Virginia Tech as well. The Hospitality and Tourism Management program there is strong and has only gotten better since I graduated (admittedly, over a decade ago!). The people I knew with that degree are doing well. Lots of connections in hotel management such as Marriott.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best hospitality school in the country is at Michigan State. Then you can look at Cornell, University of Nevada (Los Vegas), and University of Houston. Virginia Tech also has a program.

I am in the hospitality industry and have several friends who graduated from this program. They seem to have strong connections with many of the hotel chains. I do think it's a good idea to have a minor or double major in some sort of business class (marketing/comms if she is not good at math) but I think that for any major. I also think learning Spanish is good for someone in this field.

This is a great post and those are excellent suggestions! With that kind of head on your shoulders, you are going to go far. Well done and good luck to you in your future endeavors!

[Anonymous]

I am little envious of my friends that did PRTM. One works for an international hotel chain and has been all around the world on the company. Another designs programs/equipment for winded veterans. They are more satisfied with their career than I am with mine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best hospitality school in the country is at Michigan State. Then you can look at Cornell, University of Nevada (Los Vegas), and University of Houston. Virginia Tech also has a program.

I am in the hospitality industry and have several friends who graduated from this program. They seem to have strong connections with many of the hotel chains. I do think it's a good idea to have a minor or double major in some sort of business class (marketing/comms if she is not good at math) but I think that for any major. I also think learning Spanish is good for someone in this field.

OP here. My DS is biliterate in Spanish. She also designed a summer camp for her and her friends a few years back and it was such a success the younger siblings wanted to sign up the following year. Thank you to all who have chimed in with positive responses. She’s still not 100% sold on the major but we’re looking at colleges that offer PRTM degrees in addition to her other interests.

[Anonymous]

I’m an executive at one of the local major hospitality chains.

I would always advise someone who is interested in a travel or hospitality job to:

Major in general business, but minor in hospitality. Gives you much more options if you change your mind later about the travel industry.
Get service industry or hotel experience in college: work at an actual hotel or restaurant. Front desk, waiter or waitress, in the kitchen, or housekeeping. That experience is invaluable and really you only want to do it when you’re under 25.
Get the best GPA you can.
Do an internship the summer of your junior or senior year.

Then get a job at a property or an entry-level corporate when you graduate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m an executive at one of the local major hospitality chains.

I would always advise someone who is interested in a travel or hospitality job to:

Major in general business, but minor in hospitality. Gives you much more options if you change your mind later about the travel industry.
Get service industry or hotel experience in college: work at an actual hotel or restaurant. Front desk, waiter or waitress, in the kitchen, or housekeeping. That experience is invaluable and really you only want to do it when you’re under 25.
Get the best GPA you can.
Do an internship the summer of your junior or senior year.

Then get a job at a property or an entry-level corporate when you graduate.

What is the ROI on this type of degree at Cornell? What is the start salary for a recent grad? Can you pay off your Cornell's loan with this HM degree?

[Anonymous]

In general, hospitality is not a high paying industry. Cornell’s hospitality school is probably the best, most well known US program. But most people at major hotel companies don’t have a Cornell degree. You don’t need one to be an owner or a GM either.

The big hotel companies hire people from Cornell but they also hire from every college— the hospitality degree is not a prerequisite. Industry experience and general business acumen is probably more valuable.