The mission of the Hospitality and Tourism Management program is to prepare future business leaders in the hospitality and tourism industry. The program goals are:
Leadership: Graduates will be able to identify leadership traits and styles to achieve organizational goals.
Operations: Graduates will be able to manage and evaluate functional systems in hospitality organizations.
Human Skills: Graduates will be able to recognize the importance of human skills in the hospitality industry.
Technology: Graduates will be able to set up and demonstrate existing and new information technologies and data in hospitality.
Entrepreneurship: Graduates will be able to experiment, learn and build products and services in hospitality.
Hospitality and Tourism Management students are actively involved in the Hospitality Innovation Technology (HIT) Lab, a platform for both industry and academia to come together to solve the problems of the hospitality and tourism industry. The program includes a student-run Hospitality Club and several networking opportunities with the Advisory Council and industry partners. Students also have an opportunity to join the WVU chapter of Eta Sigma Delta (ESD), an international hospitality management honor society.
Students have been successfully placed with companies such as the Marriott International, Walt Disney Company, Hilton Hotels and Resorts, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group, Stonebridge Companies, Real Hospitality Group, Fresh Hospitality Group, The Greenbrier Resort, Nemacolin Woodlands Resorts, and other hospitality organizations.
Hospitality and Tourism Management
The objective of providing a foundational education in hospitality and tourism management at the undergraduate level cannot be realized without appropriate curricula content, effective teaching, and ultimately, learning. Within the undergraduate hospitality and tourism management major, we subscribe to the following learning goals for each of our undergraduate students:
- Graduates will be able to manage and evaluate functional systems in lodging and restaurant operations.
- Students can identify front of the office and back of the office tasks, roles, and responsibilities of managing operations.
- Students can operate and manage functional areas of lodging and restaurant operations effectively and efficiently.
- Students can describe the interrelationship of organizational structure and the operational strategy of hotels and restaurants.
- Students can list the functions of various other departments in hotels and restaurants.
- Students can describe the effective best practices in managing hotels and restaurants.
- Students can identify ways to market a product or service that contribute to increased guest satisfaction and experience.
- Students can identify financial goals and results by analyzing the costs involved in managing hotel and restaurant operations.
- Graduates will be able to think critically and solve problems in the Hospitality and Tourism industry.
- Graduates will be able to deal with the dynamics of individuals and teams within organizations and to motivate, lead, and inspire employees toward achieving organizational goals.
- Graduates will be able to use computer and information technology in solving problems and perform functions commonly seen in managing businesses and other organizations.
- Graduates will be able to communicate recommendations to management and other constituencies, orally and in writing.
- Graduates will have knowledge of basic business disciplines: accounting, economics, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing.
