If you enjoy traveling, being a leader in a fast-paced industry, or building relationships with customers, you may want to consider an online hospitality management degree.
This degree helps you develop the necessary skills and strategies to work in dynamic environments and to develop business management expertise for the hospitality industry.
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In addition, when studying for your BS in Hospitality Management, you can specialize your focus to suit the needs of your business goals and interests.
Online Hospitality Management Degrees
An online bachelors degree in hospitality management is a great way to combine your love of travel, of being immersed in new and exciting cultures, and of serving people in meaningful and impactful manners.
This dynamic degree helps prepare you to become an expert in customer service, whether that’s related to accommodation, quality food or activity production, or even event planning and execution.
If you enjoy working in fast-paced environments and have excellent diplomacy skills to maintain customer satisfaction, a degree in hospitality management may suit you well. Through hospitality management programs, you can learn hotel, restaurant, luxury brand, or event management skills, all with a central focus on client care.
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You may also learn how to manage local and global hospitality problems and how to identify trends in the tourism industry that help develop successful business planning.
The problem-solving techniques you can learn from a hospitality degree online can help you develop your communication skills as well as your organization management techniques. A degree in hospitality management can also be beneficial if you’re looking to take your career overseas to experience life in a different country.
If you wish to extend your management skills into specific industries—such as restaurants, hotel accommodation, or event planning—then this degree can also equip you to pursue those goals.
Common Hospitality Management Concentrations
There are numerous avenues you can pursue with a Bachelor of Hospitality Management, and these specializations become an optional focus as you continue your degree.
All include a centralized focus on becoming a leader in customer satisfaction. Here are a few options that may interest you.
1. Event Management
This path requires you to plan and organize various activities, such as business, conferencing, promotional, or social events. Your goal is to ensure your audience is engaged and that all their requirements are met.
You learn to anticipate client needs and develop marketing skills to promote your events. You may also be required to develop logistics management strategies as you coordinate and oversee various conferences, exhibitions, and seminars.
2. Hotel Management
This role requires excellent people skills and communication skills as you oversee guest services and customer satisfaction. You’ll typically learn financial skills in order to organize and budget services.
You may also be required to manage recruitment and set targets for your employees. In addition, you’ll likely deal with the bulk of customer complaints, needing to stay calm and professional under stressful circumstances.
3. Restaurant Management
In restaurant management, you’ll typically be responsible for ensuring a restaurant runs smoothly and efficiently while also ensuring its profitability and customer satisfaction.
Restaurant management is also responsible for restaurant performance. This can include ensuring an establishment is compliant with rules and regulations and planning and executing both day-to-day goals and long-term strategies for the entire team.
4. Tourism Management
This management path is focused on the economic growth of the town, city, state, or country in which you work.
You might be responsible for marketing, long-term planning of tourism products and services, and organizing partnerships within your community. You might also be expected to manage and coordinate numerous business plans that focus on touristic services.
5. Casino Management
This role includes organizing, managing, and ensuring the smooth operation of all aspects of a casino. You may also be responsible for directing the gaming operations of the space.
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In addition, you’ll typically have extensive training in the regulations of a casino to ensure it is operating fairly and authentically. You may also be responsible for employee scheduling, patron satisfaction, and event planning within the casino.
Hospitality Management Careers & Salaries
A hospitality management online degree can open up opportunities in numerous industries.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, management occupations are projected to grow 5% through the next decade, faster than the average for all occupations. The hospitality and tourism sector is seeing significant growth from the previous year, and this growth is anticipated to continue.
| Careers | Annual Median Salaries |
| Marketing Managers | $136,850 |
| Public Relations and Fundraising Managers | $116,180 |
| Spa Managers | $110,630 |
| Gambling Managers | $74,970 |
| Food Service Managers, Accommodation | $64,620 |
| Flight Attendants | $56,640 |
| Lodging Managers | $54,430 |
| Restaurant Managers | $52,770 |
| Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners | $50,600 |
| Travel Agents | $40,660 |
You are not limited with a degree in hospitality management. This degree can open up doors to many career paths, depending on your chosen specialization.
Some graduates want to be managers of accommodations, events, casinos, restaurants, or hotels. Others wish to pursue work within travel and tourism, customer service, retail management, or marketing.
Hospitality Management Curriculum & Courses
Your curriculum can vary depending on your program and your chosen specialization. Here are a few courses, though, that you may come across when enrolled in a BS in Hospitality Management program:
- Hospitality Marketing Strategy: An important part of a hospitality management role includes advertising and promoting your business or events. This course teaches high-level strategies for implementing this into your management portfolio.
- Leadership in the Hospitality Industry: You’ll learn the necessary skills and characteristics of a leader in the hospitality industry.
- Restaurant Development: If you wish to pursue restaurant management, this course helps you strategize and plan the business development for this industry. You’ll also learn the necessary service skills that can be applicable outside of restaurants as well.
- Destinations and Cultures: You’ll learn to integrate and assimilate without domineering the unique cultures within which you work is essential.
- Tourism Services: You’ll learn how to produce, distribute, and operate various tour services within this course. You may also work through case studies where you analyze how to improve tourism functions and operations.
- Research and Statistical Methods: One of the most important aspects of working in hospitality and tourism is analyzing trends and anticipating customer wants and needs. This course helps you develop the necessary research skills to succeed in data analysis of these figures.
- Hospitality Accounting: You’ll learn how to control and budget costs for food, customer services and events, and employee management. This course helps you learn to work with financial data at a management level.
- Operations Control: Successful management includes smooth processing, planning, and operations control. This logistics course helps you learn to better structure your business.
- Hospitality Industry Law: Knowing the rules and regulations of your industry, especially on a global scale, is essential to your success in hospitality management.
- Communication and Customer Service: This course focuses on case studies and realistic professional evaluations of your communication skills, allowing you to assess how you would strategize and manage concerns as a leader in the industry.
These are just some of the courses you may take if you choose to pursue a hospitality management degree.
Admissions Requirements
Though the admissions requirements vary from school to school, here are a few you may come across if you choose to apply for an online hospitality management degree.
- Minimum GPA above 2.75
- Transcript of your high school courses and grades
- Letters of recommendation
While a growing number of schools no longer require SAT or ACT schools for undergraduate admissions, some schools still require these test scores to be submitted with your application.
Accreditation
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) has high regional standards for the quality of an academic institution’s educational programs and services. Regional accreditation is highly respected and wildly recognized.
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You can check to make sure that the school that interests you is on their accreditation list. Regional accreditation ensures that your degree will be recognized across the United States. College credits also need to be accredited in order to be eligible for transfer to another accredited program or institution.
Financial Aid and Scholarships
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) allows you to apply for work-study loans and federal grants that can help you pay for your school experience if you qualify. Filling out your FAFSA is typically the first step when applying for financial aid.
Some schools also offer scholarships or grants to qualifying students. It can be helpful to look into the financial aid opportunities provided by each school you plan to apply to. In addition, if you are working or interning within the hospitality industry, your employer may offer scholarship or tuition reimbursement opportunities as you pursue your degree.
What Is a Hospitality Management Degree?
Hospitality management is a field of study that encompasses travel, tourism, customer service, business development, and leadership. A hospitality management degree can help prepare you for many career opportunities as you learn how to professionally coordinate, analyze data, and operate logistics in various hospitality sectors.
This is a multidisciplinary program that has globally applicable skills, and it suits a diverse set of professional needs and business goals. This program can help you develop valuable management skills through this program. You can also select a specialization to tailor your studies to your career goals.
What Can You Do with a Hospitality Management Degree?
A hospitality management degree encompasses a wide range of career opportunities within the hospitality and tourism industry. This versatile degree may open up many local and global doors to you, depending on which establishment you wish to work for or which business you wish to represent.
Graduates tend to pursue careers in restaurant management, conference and event management, hotel or accommodations management, or even casino management, just to name a few.
What Kind of Jobs Can You Get with a Hospitality Management Degree?
Although many additional factors are considered beyond your degree, some of the jobs that you may pursue with a hospitality management degree include the following:
- Public Relations Manager: PR managers create marketing or promotional items that enhance the public image of their clients.
- Hotel Manager: This role ensures that a hotel or accommodation runs smoothly and anticipates guests’ needs.
- Restaurant Manager: A restaurant manager is responsible for the daily and successful operation of restaurants.
- Casino Manager: Casino managers oversee gaming operations and the logistics of the casino they work for.
- Meetings, Conventions, and Event Planner: An event planner helps organize and budget various exhibitions. This can include pre-planning with a client as well as analyzing data following the event to gauge success.
These are only a few examples of jobs that can be found within the field of hospitality management. When considering what degree specialization you want to pursue, it can be beneficial to analyze your interests and career goals.
How Long Does It Take to Get a Hospitality Management Degree Online?
How long it takes for a degree to be completed can vary from school to school. It can also depend on whether you’re enrolled full-time or part-time.
Full-time students typically earn their bachelors degree in 4 years when following traditional 16 week semesters. If your online program follows an 8 week semester and stay enrolled year-round, your workload may be accelerated, which might allow you to finish in less time.
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In comparison, if you take a part-time course load, it will generally take longer for you to complete your hospitality management degree. This often depends, though, on how many courses you are able to complete each year.
Also, if you are beginning your bachelors program after having earned either an online associates degree in hospitality management or one from a traditional classroom-based program, the time to complete your bachelors may be much shorter.
Is a Hospitality Management Degree Worth It?
Yes, a hospitality management degree is worth it for many students. The Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates 5% job growth for management occupations over the next ten years.
A BS in Hospitality Management imparts management strategies that are applicable to the hospitality industry on a global scale. There are numerous career opportunities that you can pursue with this degree. Choosing a specialization allows you to focus on developing skills that are relevant to the management sector you are most passionate about.
In addition, a hospitality management degree is multidisciplinary, allowing you to develop very versatile and dynamic leadership and professional skills. This may allow you to ultimately have a greater career mobility.
Universities Offering Online Bachelors in Hospitality Management Degree Programs
Methodology: The following school list is in alphabetical order. To be included, a college or university must be regionally accredited and offer degree programs online or in a hybrid format.
Charleston Southern University offers an online program for a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality and Tourism Management.
Common subjects studied in this program include human resources, strategic planning, law, communication, marketing, and economics. The degree program is intended for students planning to establish careers managing hotels and similar businesses.
Charleston Southern University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
The College of Business at East Carolina University has a School of Hospitality Leadership. The program is one of the largest of its kind in the southeastern United States.
Students can pursue a BS through this program either online or on campus. Common topics of study in this program include event planning, food services management, and lodging management.
East Carolina University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
At Florida Atlantic University’s College of Business, students can major in Hospitality and Tourism Management. This program is designed to help students prepare for a wide range of careers. Coursework is updated regularly to keep up with industry changes. Fully online courses and lecture video streaming are both available.
FAU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
The Department of Applied Business Studies at Fort Hays University offers a Bachelor of Science in Tourism and Hospitality Management.
Coursework includes Tourism and Hospitality Marketing, Sustainable Tourism and Events, and International Hospitality: Problems and Planning. Other courses include Social Media Marketing, and Tourism and Hospitality Industry Internship.
FHSU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Florida International University offers a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management. The program emphasizes the application of strategic knowledge and global perspectives. The degree can be earned online or on campus. Florida International also offers a dual degree program in conjunction with Tianjin University of Commerce in Tianjin, China.
Florida International University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
Johnson and Wales University offers an undergraduate program in Hospitality Management that is 100% online.
Classes are offered in eight week sessions, and the average student-teacher ratio is just 16:1. Common coursework includes Menu Planning and Cost Control, Hospitality Strategy Design and Execution, and Hospitality Sales and Meeting Management.
JWU is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.
Lakeland University’s Hospitality Management program features partnerships with some of the top resorts in the state of Wisconsin. These partnerships often lead to a variety of co-op and internship opportunities for students. The university also offers study abroad opportunities. Classes are available for traditional, evening, and online students.
Lakeland University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Missouri State University offers a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Leadership. Coursework is 100% online and features flexible scheduling. Students can also gain hands-on experience through a paid internship opportunity. Alumni have gone on to work for cruise ships, major hotel chains, restaurant management groups, and more.
Missouri State University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
North Carolina Central University offers an online program for a BS in Hospitality and Tourism Administration. The program is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration (ACPHA).
It is designed to help students develop the managerial skills necessary to take on leadership roles in food and beverage services, lodging, event management, and related fields.
North Carolina Central University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
The University of South Carolina’s College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management offers a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies with a specialization in Hospitality and Tourism Management. The program is highly customizable, and classes are available both online and on campus. It is designed for adults who have already earned some college credit.
The University of South Carolina is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
Getting Your Hospitality Management Degree Online
If you’re passionate about travel, tourism, leadership, or customer service, you may want to consider earning a hospitality management degree online.
An online bachelor’s degree in hospitality management can help you develop the necessary skills and business strategies to adapt to fast-paced environments. This multidisciplinary field of study can also equip you to become a versatile member of various hospitality sectors.
This can be a strategic path to pursue if you wish to open yourself up to global opportunities, to own and operate your own establishment in the future, or to be immersed in dynamic and exciting work environments. You can begin your journey today by exploring online hospitality management degrees from accredited universities.
