Industry's Expectations from Hospitality Schools: What has changed?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure the perceptions of industry professionals regarding the importance of course subject areas in hospitality management curriculum for a program housed in an accredited college of business and economics, as compared to a similar study conducted five years earlier. A questionnaire, using a 5-point Likert scale, was sent out to 2339 hospitality industry professionals, with 369 (15.78%) respondents. The study identified the current top subject-matter variables and noted any significant changes from the study conducted five years prior. Of the 29 common subject-matter variables to both studies, leadership was ranked the most important (replacing ethics in the previous study)—followed by internships/industry experience, preparation for industry employment, ethics, and overview of the hospitality industry. Suggestions to incorporate the subjects into the curriculum for hospitality programs housed in accredited colleges of business are presented.

Keywords:

• hospitality curriculum
• longitudinal study
• hospitality subject areas