Have you always dreamed of a management position in one of the top hotels in Europe or worldwide? Then a hotel management degree and the appropriate further education is just the right thing for you. In this article you will find valuable information about hotel management studies.
Content

What requirements should you fulfil for a hotel management degree?
What do I learn during my hotel management studies?
Where can I study hotel management in Germany?
What do you earn after studying hotel management?

 

The tourism industry will experience a boom after the pandemic and are constantly developing. Whether business or leisure hotel, the requirements and challenges as well as the need for trained, qualified employees are becoming bigger. Due to the broad spectrum of activities in a hotel, a hotel management degree prepares the student for leading tasks. This includes, for example, price calculations, revenue management, personnel management, hotel marketing, budgeting or reading a business analysis. With a hotel management degree, you can specialise in strategic and entrepreneurial areas of responsibility in the hotel. Thanks to the high reputation of English and German hotel management universities, it is possible that you will pursue an international career in tourism after graduation. Since the number of tourists will continue to increase in the coming years, training as a hotel manager is future-proof. You can study hotel management as a classroom or distance learning programme.

What requirements should you fulfil for a hotel management degree?

First you have to decide whether you want to study at a university or a hotel management school. Furthermore, you should of course enjoy dealing with guests. Working overtime should also not be a problem, as this is very common in the hotel industry and in tourism in general. Therefore, it is important to be very flexible. As a hotel manager welcomes guests from different countries, good foreign language skills are a must.

What do you learn during your hotel management studies?

During your studies in hotel management and tourism, you will learn the basics of business administration as well as hotel-specific knowledge. The following modules, for example, are on the curriculum:

Vocational and occupational pedagogy

In the vocational and labour pedagogy module, you learn the basics regarding pedagogical and labour law obligations. For example, you draw up training plans, vocational training contracts or learn the basics of instruction.

Professional communication (foreign languages)

The regular speaking and writing of a foreign language is important for expanding your vocabulary and improving your command of the language. Therefore, such subjects usually focus on dealing with guests so that you can express yourself in professional situations.

Hotel management

In hotel management, you gain insights into business organisation, the necessity of a company policy and corporate identity. Furthermore, you learn the basics of budgeting and accommodation management. These are all important components that shape the success of a hotel!

Human resources and labour law

Important teaching content for the module Human Resources and Labour Law is the correct planning of personnel requirements. This includes integrating and deploying personnel, personnel management, assessing personnel, personnel development and personnel administration.

Controlling

In most hotels, the area of controlling is implemented, but as a student it is often difficult to gain sufficient insight. However, during your studies, you will be given detailed calculation examples and tables to enable you to monitor the key figures of a hotel. For example, you calculate the price floor for a hotel room. Furthermore, you learn important terms such as ADR, RevPar and Occupancy.

Practice-oriented accounting and profit analysis

In order to be able to manage a company or a hotel properly, it is very important to be able to read a balance sheet correctly. The module Practice-oriented Accounting and Profit Analysis will prepare you to carry out balance sheets and learn the principles of proper accounting. Then you will be able to prepare and read annual financial statements.

Marketing

Strategic marketing measures are required to sell the rooms and beds of a hotel. In the marketing section, you will learn what is possible and how you can better analyse and segment your market. Based on your possible marketing goals, you will create a marketing plan and get to know the ways of distribution in more detail.

Business start-up & financing

Learn how to correctly determine your investment needs and compare financing options. In doing so, you will be able to better assess financing plans and solve future decisions on financial issues.

Use of data processing in the hotel and restaurant sector

Learn the structure of an IT system in order to be able to use it better. For example, you will use software for text processing in business situations, create business presentations and thus gain an understanding of storing data in databases. Furthermore, you work with different industry-specific hotel software.

Where can you study hotel management in Germany?

Hotel Management Schools

HOFA – Hotel Management School Südliche Weinstraße
HH – Hotel Management School Heidelberg
Hotel Management School Pegnitz
BS KG – State College for the Hotel Industry Bad Kissingen
HOFA – Hotel Management School Berlin
WIHOGA Dortmund
Hotel Management School Hamburg
Steigenberger Academy Bad Reichenhall

For the UK e.g. learn more here.

What do you earn after studying hotel management?

Unfortunately, the salary in the hotel industry is not the biggest, as we all know. It varies greatly depending on the size of the hotel and the company.
However, as a hotel manager or hotel director, gross salaries of 4500 € to 5000 € can be achieved, depending on the size of the hotel.These figures apply to Germany. In addition, you always have the possibility to move up in the company and increase your salary.