Your Future Career in Hospitality Management

What can you do with a hospitality management degree?

Whether they’re on a cruise, at a resort, or just spending a night in a hotel before the next leg of a journey, what’s the one thing people will remember most about their stay?

They’ll remember the hospitality: how the staff made them feel. If you’re thinking of a career in hospitality management, you’re not just looking at a stable career with lots of room for growth; you’re looking at a lifetime of making people feel special. We all need that from time to time. And when you can give it to someone else, every day of your career, it’s a pretty special feeling all its own.

You have to have a passion for it. But you also have to have the skills; and you’ll learn them at Monroe University’s School of Hospitality Management. Whether you’re pursuing your associate degree or your bachelor’s degree, you’ll be ready for a wide range of careers in hospitality. Read on to learn more about what you’ll be able to accomplish with a degree in Hospitality Management.

 

What will I learn with a degree in hospitality management? 

You’re a problem solver; a communicator; a caretaker; a helper. You’re organized. You’re motivated. And with a degree in Hospitality Management, you’ll be able to put all of those qualities to use. 

With an associate degree in Hospitality Management, you’ll hone your communication skills as you learn the fundamentals of hospitality and tourism. You’ll learn the ins and outs of what it takes to manage a restaurant or lodging, including food and beverage management, accounting principles, and customer relations.

You’ll get all that and more working toward your bachelor’s degree, with coursework that includes hospitality law, human resource management, and sales and marketing for hotels and restaurants. You’ll also have the option to specialize in either tourism management or culinary management, so that you can focus even more sharply on the things that drive you. 

At Monroe, both associate and bachelor’s degree students have the opportunity to put their skills to work at our entirely student-run public restaurant, the Dining Lab, as well as our student-run café, the Pastry Kiosk. And 100% of our students complete at least one internship by graduation — including at some of the finest hotels and restaurants in New York.

Whether you dream of working in a hotel, a restaurant, or a resort or casino, an associate degree in Hospitality Management will give you everything you need to make a great impression. And whether you’re client-facing or working behind the scenes, you’ll have the confidence of knowing that you can handle anything that comes your way. Here are a few of the job possibilities that open themselves up to you once you earn your degree:

• Hotel/Motel/Resort/Spa Assistant Manager
  
  It doesn’t matter how large or how small the accommodations: there’s a lot that has to happen to make a guest’s experience great. And it takes someone with a keen eye for detail to make sure it’s happening. As the assistant manager of a hotel, motel, resort, or spa, you’ll be the manager’s right hand, guiding, monitoring, and motivating staff to make sure services and accomodations are up to company standards. You’ll handle accounting and budgeting duties, to make sure everyone has what they need to get the job done. 
• Front Desk Agent
  
  As a front desk agent, you’re the first person a guest sees when they check in — the one who sets the tone for the rest of their stay. In addition to checking guests in and out, you’ll manage online and phone reservations; respond to guests’ complaints swiftly and effectively; and liaise with other staff to anticipate, and satisfy, a guest’s every need. You’ll know your facility backwards, forwards, inside, and out, so that you can confidently answer any questions that come your way. 
• Front Office Manager 
  
  Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the front office manager is hard at work, making sure all guest-facing personnel are fully equipped to deliver the best possible service. Front office managers help manage the everyday accounting and functioning of a facility. The coordinate room reservations; train staff; and handle any special service requests. They possess an extensive knowledge of company procedures and protocols, and use that knowledge to maintain the highest standard of quality. 
• Travel Coordinator
  
  Even in this age of online booking, not everyone has the time — or the knowledge, or the patience — to make all their own travel arrangements. That’s especially true for people who have to coordinate a large group. And that’s where travel coordinators step in. They do it all: scheduling flights and ground transportation for both individuals and groups, booking accommodations, handling and processing reimbursements, and much more. A travel coordinator’s responsibilities go beyond those of a travel agent: they’ll do whatever it takes to get people where they need to be, and make sure everyone knows what to do once they get there. They’re so valuable that many companies will hire their own travel coordinators in-house.
• Tour Escort
  
  Tour companies offer packages for every kind of group: young people, seniors, religious and cultural groups, interest groups and professional organizations, and more. And when those guests arrive at their destination for a package tour, their tour escort picks up where the travel coordinator left off. Tour escorts are the “boots on the ground” for an organized tour company. Whether it’s getting to transportation on time, securing accommodations, or guiding a sightseeing trip, tour escorts make sure everything goes smoothly on location. They’re calm and collected when things don’t always go as planned. Tour escorts see the world along with their clients, and get to share in the experience… even as they lead it. 
• Assistant Housekeeper/Housekeeping
  
  Working in housekeeping isn’t a chore, but an art. You’re not just making up a room; you’re making a guest’s experience. It’s also a collaborative art. You’ll be working as part of a team, coordinating your efforts to work efficiently, smoothly, and joyfully.
• Director of Housekeeping
  
  That team needs a guiding hand — and they’ll get it from their director of housekeeping. The director manages everyone, and everything, in the housekeeping department. That means making sure the guests receive quality service and a clean environment, of course; but it also means creating a positive working environment for staff. The director of housekeeping will train new staff; create and manage a departmental budget; create and manage schedules; and make sure supplies are fully stocked. They’ll also lead by example, treating their staff with the same kind of helpful, positive attitude they want to pass on to their guests.

With a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management, you’ll be ready for a management job with a rapid upward trajectory. Many of our graduates have found leadership positions at some of the largest and most prominent hotels in New York. Others have worked in managerial capacities at resorts throughout the Caribbean. Whether your interests lie in travel and tourism, hotel management, working as a restaurant manager, or more, you’ll be ready to hit the ground running. Here are some of the job opportunities available to our graduates: 

• Conference Center Manager
• A lot of businesses need to hold large conferences from time to time. Unfortunately for them, they don’t all necessarily have the office capacity to hold them in-house. That’s good news for the ever-growing conference center industry; and even better news for conference center managers, who are only going to be more in demand as the trend continues. Conference center managers build relationships with clients; oversee catering and accommodations; supervise marketing efforts; and manage budgets. They make sure that every client — and every attendee — enjoys a clean, safe, and welcoming environment.
• Special Event Coordinator 
  
  Weddings, reunions, award ceremonies, fundraising galas, professional conferences: none of these things just happen on their own. An event may take place in the finest of hotels; it may have the most renowned chef creating a menu; but it still needs a special event coordinator. Special event coordinators are responsible for both event planning and event management. They meet with clients to understand what they expect from an event; suggest what they can do to exceed those expectations; find and contract venues and service providers that can accommodate the scope of the event; secure lodging for out-of-town guests; create a budget; and plan out the itinerary of an event from start to finish. And since even the best-laid plans don’t always go smoothly, they’re adept at in-the-moment problem solving on the day of the event If an event is to be truly special, it needs a special event coordinator to make it happen. 
• Banquet Manager
  
  Banquet managers oversee and execute all aspects of catering for large events, often working closely with an event planner to make sure everyone on staff is working toward the same vision. They may devise and suggest menu options; procure and install all decor and table settings; hire and train service staff; and negotiate contracts with clients. A great banquet manager can anticipate everything their client needs — and then use their skills to make it all run perfectly on the day.
• Food and Beverage Manager
  
  Not every event is a special event. But for guests at a hotel, resort, or other accommodation, every event should feel special. Whether they’re being served in the dining room or their own room, they deserve the best; and a food and beverage manager is there to make sure they get it. Food and beverage managers oversee the kitchen and dining room of an establishment. They make sure food presentation, quality, safety, and service are always up to their highest standards. They’ll also hire and train personnel who can meet those standards; and make sure they have the budget and resources they need to do it each and every day. 
• Concierge
  
  When a guest arrives in a new place, they may feel a little lost. They may not know what to do with themselves. Fortunately, a good concierge will know exactly what to do. When a guest is far from home, a concierge is there to make them feel at home. Concierges pride themselves on outstanding customer service with a personal touch. They may arrange transportation; make restaurant and event  reservations for guests; or just recommend things to do (and places to shop) in a city they know better than anyone. They’ll also be the friendly face that guests can come to with any complaints or concerns. 
• Destination and Travel Resort Manager
  
  Tourism management is an art all its own. When people travel to a destination for their vacation, they’re expecting a full, immersive experience. No detail is too small to be overlooked. Everything there — the food, the activities, the lodging, the scenery — is an essential part of the experience. The destination or resort manager makes sure of it. As a manager, you’ll oversee daily operations; maintenance and repairs of facilities and accommodations; budgeting and accounting; marketing and sales; entertainment; food and beverages; and the hiring and training of staff. And of course, you’ll also be responsible for ensuring that every guest receives service that’s second to none. 
• Public Relations Coordinator
  
  In the hospitality industry, guest service is of paramount importance. But to deliver it, you have to get guests in the door. That’s the job of a public relations coordinator. A PR coordinator works with all of an establishment’s departments to gather news of all the exciting developments going on — and then works with a PR director to get that news out to the public. The PR coordinator will plan meetings; keep records of photos, press releases, and other materials; offer creative ideas to publicize highlights and special events; and distribute press releases, brochures, and other marketing materials to media outlets.  
• Hotel Manager
  
  Nothing escapes the watchful eye of a great hotel manager. Every department — human resources, public relations, fundraising, marketing, food service, housekeeping, guests services, security, accounting, maintenance — reports to them. Whether working at a large national chain or an independently owned boutique hotel,  the hotel manager will make sure all departments are upholding their high standards of quality. They may coordinate front office activities, greet guests and address their concerns, allocate budget items, and even set room rates. Guests and staff alike look to the hotel manager for steady, solid leadership. 
• Timeshare Manager
  
  Timeshares and hotels operate on very different principles. Whereas a hotel guest might stay for only a few nights, or even an extended stay, members of a timeshare buy an ownership stake in a shared vacation property. The accommodations at a timeshare may be larger, with homelike amenities like a full kitchen, washer and dryer, and more. But in one important way, they are very much alike: an effective timeshare manager must possess all the same skills as a great hotel manager. Timeshare managers guide every department, to ensure that every guest enjoys a memorable stay.