Bachelor in Hotel Management (Final Year)

Introduction

The Hospitality Business is the fastest growing industry in the 21st century. As the world globalises and distances seem to become shorter, more and more people are in need of accommodation away from home. Demands for excellent service have become stronger as people are moving around the world. As a result of this, the industry is facing many challenges such as dynamics in marketing channels, shortages of skills, more demanding consumers, emerging markets in tourism, development of new hotel concepts and sustainable entrepreneurship.

The Hospitality Business School of Saxion offers 3 Final Year bachelor programmes that that perfectly meet the demand for people who are educated in the international hospitality business and who are eager to deal with these challenges:

• Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) in Hotel Management
• Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) in Tourism & Leisure
• Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) in Facility Management.

The three final year programmes share their focus on creating the conditions that make it possible for people to work, travel, spend their leisure time, and stay away from home. This should be done in such a way that it offers a healthy profit to the company and brings maximum satisfaction and delight to the guests and customers.

Hotel Management, Final Year

Hotel Management is the ideal programme for people with entrepreneurial flair, who have good commercial insight and who are service-minded. A lot of attention is paid to professional skills and theory, and to management skills. Moreover, developing the proper professional and hospitable attitude is an important focus point.

In the Hotel Management course you learn how to successfully lead a business in the international hospitality industry as a manager or entrepreneur. You learn to translate the wishes of a guest into an appealing, customer-oriented product or service. You learn how to find the right balance between “how do I run my business” and “how do I pamper my guests”. The hospitality sector is not for those seeking a nine-to-five, Monday to Friday work pattern. It is an environment that does not appeal to everybody. However, it may be ideal for you if you want to work in a customer-focused business environment where there is a wide range of specialist opportunities and, for those who are flexible, the opportunity for rapid career progression. It is not uncommon for successful management trainees to reach general manager positions in large hotels within five to seven years of starting their career.

Course content

The Final Year Bachelor programme has a duration of 1 year (equivalent to 60 European credits). The focal point of this year is to offer a full scope of the international tourism and leisure industry. All degrees are recognised by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO). The NVAO independently ensures the quality of higher education in the Netherlands and Flanders by assessing and accrediting programmes. Extensive interaction with the industry plays an important role throughout the programme. Apart the graduation assignment, this is realised by drawing industry representatives into constructing cases, delivering guest lectures and hosting excursions.

The programme consists of the following modules:

Introduction

The Final year starts with the module Introduction. In this module, you will get workshops on e.g. intercultural communication, effective report writing, group dynamics and presentations. Furthermore, professionals from the field will tell you about their experiences and give you an insight into the industry of choice. Moreover, you will discover The Netherlands from a professional point of view on excursions to distinguished organisations. Finally, you will learn how to reflect upon your performance and how you can turn the analysis of your skills into an effective development plan.

Strategic management

This module focuses on Strategic Management and will explore and critically evaluate the concept of strategic management on a world-wide scale. Furthermore, in this module you will work out a strategic plan on corporate level for an existing organisation within your specific hospitality industry, based on a strategic analysis, and translate this plan into plans on relevant functional areas.

Workshops During the final year you will join three workshops, two workshops during the first semester, and one workshop in the second semester. In each workshop you will study general themes in small groups using different research methods, like sustainability, ethics, human resources or leadership in the Industry of Hospitality. As a result of the research you will choose a topic from the general theme you find interesting and after studying this topic you will analyse and describe a specific application in the field of the Industry you are studying. Although an outline for the workshop is provided, you will be asked to participate actively in the design and content of the module. You will learn from each other by exchanging results of each other’s research of the theme as well as the topic you studied. As much as possible, you will choose the workshops you prefer. Hereby we presume that you choose those workshops that will fit into the topic of your thesis.

Thesis

A thesis is a written piece of work (normally no less than 30 pages and no more than 40 pages, excluding appendices) in which you can demonstrate your knowledge and skills in an area relevant to the programme of study.
A thesis aims at an in-depth analysis of existing, and/or development of new knowledge and practices. This involves evaluating, criticising, or explaining certain theories. It can be shown how these are, or might be, put into practice or how existing insights might lead to new ideas. The thesis is written individually and cannot be done in groups as it is considered as a masterpiece of the Bachelor study programme. In exceptional cases two students will be allowed to work on their theses together.
The presentation is an oral explanation of the thesis as well as a discussion on a topic close to that of the thesis. For example, you might explain the relevance of your studies in the Netherlands for your professional career or look at the feasibility of the recommendations in the light of societal trends in your home country.
The presentation enables you to show management view and ability to generalise across the borders of the particular research topic.

The International Hotel Industry This module focuses on The International Hotel Industry and will explore and critically evaluate the products on offer in the past and today. Services and catering will be analysed in an international perspective. Four themes are leading: the industry, the organisation, operations management and innovation. You will develop and present a vision on future developments.

Specific requirements

Entry is open to Dutch as well as international students.

• A minimum of three years of higher education (leading to a bachelor degree) in a Facility-, Hotel- or Tourism Management related field, such as Consumer affairs, Engineering Management, Hotel or Catering Management, or other related Management fields. In some cases, a minimum of 2 years of higher education can be considered, depending on the structure of the previous education .
• TOEFL 550 or IELTS 6.0

A person in possession of a diploma not explicitly included in this regulation can be exempted from the entry requirement mentioned in this Section by the director, when the diploma is at least equivalent to one of the diplomas mentioned at the discretion of the director.
The director’s judgement will at all times be subject to advice by NUFFIC concerning the equivalence of diplomas.

Career prospects

Dutch hotel management education is internationally renowned for its high standards. Alumni of the Dutch Hotel Schools can be found in hospitality businesses all over the world. In order to meet the increasing demand for professionals in the rapid growing industry the BBA programme in hotel management forms an excellent basis to start your career. The opportunities represent a broad range of related industries with many interdependencies in fields such as:

• Hotels
• Holiday Bungalow Parks
• Resorts
• Events agencies
• Hospitality Service suppliers
• Convention Bureaus
• Recreation & Theme Parks
• Tourist Organisations & Tour operators
• Contract catering
• Food and Beverage Industry
• Banks / Financial Businesses
• Consultancy firms
• Employment Agencies
• Other (restaurants, golf resorts, airlines, cruiseship companies)