Hospitality Management Major: What It Includes, Classes and Careers

A Hospitality Management major teaches you to manage hotels, restaurants, resorts and other guest services businesses. Hospitality management majors learn lodging and food and beverage operations, revenue management, guest service, event management and hospitality finance, often with internships.

A Hospitality Management major includes coursework in lodging operations, food and beverage management, hospitality finance and revenue management, guest service, and event management and more. You build skills such as guest service, team leadership, budgeting, and problem solving. Programs often include internships. Typical degrees: certificate, associate, bachelor's and master's degrees.

Typical courses include lodging operations, food and beverage management, hospitality finance and revenue management, guest service, event management, and hospitality law. Exact course names and requirements vary by college, and most degrees also include general education courses.

It depends on the level. Hospitality Management is offered as certificate, associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral awards at U.S. colleges; certificates take from a few months to about two years, an associate degree usually takes about two years of full-time study, a bachelor’s degree usually takes about four years of full-time study, a master’s degree usually takes one to two years after a bachelor’s, and a doctoral or professional degree takes several more years beyond that. Part-time study takes longer.

Certificate, associate, bachelor's and master's degrees. In the latest federal data, 157 colleges reported certificate awards, 230 colleges reported associate awards, 203 colleges reported bachelor’s awards, 39 colleges reported master’s awards, and 11 colleges reported doctoral awards.

Career paths connected to hospitality management include hotel manager, restaurant manager, event planner, food service supervisor, hotel front desk agent, concierge, and casino manager. Some roles need additional training, experience, certification or a license.

Examples include hotel manager (typical training: 3–5 years of hotel experience), restaurant manager (typical training: 2–5 years of restaurant experience), event planner (typical training: 4 years or event experience), food service supervisor (typical training: 6–12 months of experience), hotel front desk agent (typical training: 1–2 weeks), and concierge (typical training: 1–6 months on the job).

Hospitality Management majors build skills such as guest service, team leadership, budgeting, problem solving, and scheduling.

Good pairings include Business (strengthens finance and management skills), Marketing (helps you fill rooms and tables), and Spanish (many hospitality teams and guests speak Spanish).

Often, yes. Programs commonly include internships. Ask each college how its program arranges hands-on work.

It can be a good fit if you are interested in the work it leads to, such as hotel manager, restaurant manager, and event planner, and enjoy subjects like lodging operations and food and beverage management. No major guarantees a job, so compare the coursework, the careers and the education each career requires before deciding.

How hard it feels depends on your strengths. Core coursework includes lodging operations, food and beverage management, and hospitality finance and revenue management; if those subjects interest you, the major is likely to feel more manageable. Reviewing a college’s course list and talking to current students helps you judge.

448 U.S. colleges reported awarding degrees or certificates in this field in the latest federal (IPEDS) data. Programs can have different names at different schools.

California (41), New York (34), Florida (31), Pennsylvania (20), and North Carolina (19), based on the colleges that reported awards in this field.

414 of the colleges that offer hospitality management also report offering at least one program entirely online, though not necessarily this one. Use the college search with this major and “Offers fully online programs”, then confirm with the school.

Hospitality Management teaches you to manage hotels, restaurants, resorts and other guest services businesses. Culinary Arts teaches professional cooking, baking and kitchen management. Hospitality Management leads to careers such as hotel manager and restaurant manager, while Culinary Arts leads to careers such as chef and line cook.

Hospitality Management teaches you to manage hotels, restaurants, resorts and other guest services businesses. Tourism and Travel Management studies the business of travel, destinations and tourism experiences. Hospitality Management leads to careers such as hotel manager and restaurant manager, while Tourism and Travel Management leads to careers such as travel agent and tour guide.

Yes. Short online career training can help you understand a specific job and build practical knowledge alongside your classes. It does not replace your degree or any required license.

No. Career Education Institute is not a college and does not award degrees. It offers short, non-credit online trainings about jobs connected to hospitality management, such as Hotel Manager Training.