With over 793 private colleges and 171 government colleges, hotel management is one of the oldest and well established higher education streams in India. Even with that being the case, according to a study by National Skill Development Corporation of India, the total workforce requirement in the industry exceeds 18 lakh with more than 21 percent of them being entry level job positions. There has been a major shift in the mindset of students towards a career in hotel management and Vikram Singh Chauhan, who is the Founder of Nile Hospitality, a leading hotel management company in South Asia, talks more about this changing behavior of students - “Faced with issues like longer work hours, ever-evolving guest expectations and demands, and lack of market parity in pay, they are wary about muscling in this space. Instead, industries where soft interpersonal skills are in demand, like IT, retail, real estate, logistics and the gig economy, attract them”.  Other than this, the difference between perception and reality of working in the hospitality industry and the increasing cost of hotel management education are making the students consider other career options.                

With that said, educators across the globe are working around the clock to increase the employability of hotel management graduates and attract more students towards this stream. And in this article, we will analyze these changing trends and its impact on hotel management education.          

Increasing adoption of technology

While businesses started to incorporate technology at a rapid pace, hotel management institutes have lagged behind and this has resulted in a prevalent industry-academia gap. Graduates have not been exposed to the latest technology trends reshaping the industry which resulted in dearth of proper expertise to cope up with its technology demands.  In order to solve this issue and equip the students with the needed technical skills, educators are accelerating the pace of technology adoption in the hotel management curriculum.        

The Swiss Hotel Management School is a great example of a hotel management institute constantly keeping abreast with the latest technology trends and changes in the hospitality domain. Starting from the use of iPads to research menu ingredients all the way to doing full-fledged virtual reality tours, the students at Swiss Hotel Management School is exposed to the latest technologies from day one itself. The institute also leverages cutting edge technologies such as AI, robots and chatbots to create a unique and technology-driven learning atmosphere. And owing to their passion for being a frontrunner in technology adoption, tech giants Apple recognized Swiss Hotel Management School as an Apple Distinguished School.      

Independent industry-centric learning

Yet another issue that is plaguing the hotel management education segment is the usage of age old curriculums and teaching pedagogies which adversely impacts the learning curve and employability of the students. While the hospitality industry looks for candidates that have good leadership, communication and management skills, many hotel management institutes have failed to produce such candidates.  This coupled with the increasing demands of the hotel management industry meant that a major share of hotel management graduates lacked sufficient skills to cope-up with the ever-increasing demands of the hospitality industry.       

International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM), India is one prime example that showcases how educational institutions can impart industry-centric and experiential hotel management education to the learners. At IIHM, educators ensure that each student is exposed to real-life industry scenarios. To achieve this, the institute conducts regular case studies, essay writing, and presentation sessions. Also, the students at the institute have the opportunity to work on different levels of the hospitality industry and manage those operations. Apart from that, IIHM promotes independent learning by conducting regular field trips, surveys, event management, and debating sessions where each individual student takes accountability of their learning.

Rise of short-term certificate programs

Over the last couple of years, the demand for online hotel management certificate programs has risen and there are multiple reasons for this including: a) add more value to the resume, b) gain better industry exposure, and c) better value for money options. Other than that, the increasing number of online learning providers has given students more accessibility to these courses. And as of now, popular online learning platforms such are Udemy and Coursera have a multitude of hotel management certificate programs that are both affordable and flexible.       

While these trends are reshaping hotel management education, the increasing awareness towards sustainability is demanding educators to nurture professionals who are not only capable of managing the latest technologies but who are also emotionally attuned to the sustainable future requirements of the hospitality industry. A recent study found out that, the hospitality industry is set to create an additional 100 million jobs by 2028 which shows the increasing career options in this space and if educators are capable of producing capable talent, then the hospitality industry will reach greater heights in the near future itself.