2024-2025 Academic Catalog
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
Hospitality & Tourism industry segmentation, management structures and practices, the significance of service delivery, economic impact of tourism and career opportunities. Concepts examined through readings, case studies and industry gues speakers.
Provide students with an early start on understanding and identifying the many career options in the field of Hospitality and Tourism Management. In-depth focus on the different skills and training necessary for various career paths, including core hospitality and tourism management, hospitality and tourism business acumen, and hospitality and tourism strategy and innovation. Emphasize the importance of personal job search strategies and provide networking opportunities with leaders in the industry. Students will create professional materials, including resumes and online profiles. Serves as a foundational course in preparing students for career success in the Hospitality and Tourism Management field. Pass/Fail only.
Fundamental concepts of international business. International business environment and how it affects decisions, the creation of competitive advantage in the multinational firm, and complexities of managing it. Why international businesses exist, drivers of international expansion, differences among countries in terms of political, legal, economic, technological and cultural dimensions, and the complexity of international business decisions. Causes and consequences of globalization, international trade, and analyzing the challenges of managing international business, with a focus on a number of industries, including hospitality and tourism. Operational, strategic, and ethical issues which are unique to multinational corporations.
A comprehensive study of the management of the sales function and its role in the overall financial performance of hospitality operations.
Introduction to travel and tourism both domestically and abroad. Includes topics such as the history, sociology and psychology of tourism; the tourism system, including private industry, associations and governing bodies; measuring and predicting travel motivations, behavior, and demand; and management issues in a global context. Course concludes with an international travel research final project.
An overview of the service industry, its historical and economic importance, social, psychological and cultural impacts and future trends. Emphasizes the unique characteristics and management challenges of service organizations.
A study of the meetings and convention industry. Focus on the components and processes involved in developing and conducting meetings and conventions.
Introduces students to various venues in which catering services can be offered, and presents an overview of the functions, processes, and controls found in successful catering management and operations; emphasis is placed on the sales/marketing aspects of the business.
This course provides students with an international hospitality and tourism management business experience. It is only offered as part of a program outside the United States. Students will learn from the structured educational experience developed by the faculty directing the study abroad program. This course can be taken twice for a maximum of six credit hours. Sophomore standing and a minimum GPA of 3.0 required.
Develop an understanding of the private club sector of the hospitality industry. Topic areas are divided into club fundamentals, revenue-generating operations within clubs and support functions/departments of club operations. Junior standing as well as background courses in basic financial management are suggested.
Theory and practice of franchising as a form of business ownership and a vehicle for entrepreneurship. Contemporary issues related to franchising in different segments of the services industries including hospitality and tourism. Legal aspects, financial viability, ethical issues, and agency relationships in franchising. Franchise concept development, franchisor-franchisee relationship, franchise agreements, family business, minority franchising, and international franchising. Pre: Junior standing.
Food and kitchen safety, hazard analysis, purchasing, recipe development, costing, and volume food preparation, in a commercial kitchen lab experience one day per week along with a two hour per week lecture. Design/Lab Studio. Pre: Sophomore standing.
Management of special events in the hospitality and tourism industry. Organizational functions necessary for designing a broad range of special events, using formal elements of design to deliver successful events through use of effectively designed floor plans, event flow and logistics, risk management and contingency planning as well as analyzing the factors that influence an events success. Examine ethical issues at play in the context of modern event planning and implementation. Study review processes, evaluation methods and techniques used in events management. Sophomore standing.
The application of accounting, finance, and cost control principles to hospitality industry organizations. The focus of this course is to provide future food service and lodging organization managers with the ability to handle the unique problems regarding financial analysis and cost control in this industry.
A study of both historic and current impacts of tourism on family, community, culture, government, globalization, and the environment at the domestic and international levels. The course uses a sustainable tourism framework to examine the complex ways in which tourism both affects and is affected by modern society worldwide. Includes topics such as eco-tourism, volunteer tourism and space tourism.
Organization, function, and management of lodging operations. Current issues and management challenges in the lodging industry. Applications of revenue management to lodging systems. Pre: Sophomore standing
Application of academic knowledge and skills to in a work-based experience aligned with post-graduation goals using research-based learning processes. Satisfactory completion of work-based experience often in the form of internship, undergraduate research, co-op, or study abroad; self-evaluation; reflection; and showcase of learning. Pre: Departmental approval of 3900 plan.
This course provides students with an international hospitality and tourism management business experience. Students will be required to apply their knowledge and skills from their Pamplin College of Business core courses within this course. Students will learn from the structured educational experience developed by the faculty directing the study abroad program. Pamplin College of Business majors must have been approved for upper division course- work.
Analysis of hospitality and tourism innovative and entrepreneurial enterprises to pursue sustainable growth. Analyze the sustainability of hospitality & tourism business ideas regarding growth opportunities considering societal, demographic, and environmental changes from a variety of sources. An examination of the key elements of sustainable entrepreneurship for hospitality and tourism enterprises that apply across a range of business models. Includes a field based, experiential learning project where teams collaborate to analyze data from multiple sources to develop and execute business ideas for existing or new enterprises. Pre: Junior standing.
Introduction to the strategic use of information technology (IT) in todays hospitality and tourism organizations. Includes the most current and widely used information systems in operation, management, and e-business in hospitality and tourism as well as identification, discussion and debate of the ethical issues associated with these systems. Study of social media as a marketing tool for hospitality and tourism businesses. Examine impacts of IT on organizations and the industry as a whole. Pre: Sophomore standing.
Reviews organizational structures, terminology, and categories associated with restaurant management. Discusses principles of restaurant management, including concept design development, financial analysis, daily operations, and customer service. Focuses on emerging trends in technology and innovation. Case study discussions of current issues and challenges in the industry, development of comprehensive restaurant business plan, and "Training for Intervention Procedures" (TIPS) certification.
Senior experiential learning workshop to integrate and apply ethics, research, and design concepts from past coursework by engaging in actual professional events and experiences. Explore and understand the complexity of planning, coordination, and evaluation of events and the impact on the human experience. Capstone for Pathways Minor in Event & Experience Management. Pre: Senior Standing; Registered for the Event and Experience Management Pathways Minor.
The course focuses on the role of wine and wineries in tourism, wine marketing and management in the hospitality industry, and examines the components of a winery. Students must be 21 years of age due to the inclusion of wine tasting in the course. COURSE FEE: $18.
Examines lodging and foodservices Revenue Management (RM) issues. Customer-centric approach, explores RM from various traditional academic perspectives, including economics, pricing, forecasting, consumer behavior, accounting, finance, and human resources. Management-oriented, emphasizes practical aspects of decision-making. Applies theoretical concepts through class discussion, group projects and individual assignments.
An overview of the concepts of human resources management as applied to the specific environments within the hospitality industry.
Managerial approach to the law that applies to hotels, food-service establishments, events, and tourism; special focus on manager's duties to guests. Key concepts covered include contract and property law, licensing and permits, labor relations, risk management including food and beverage issues, safety and security, and liability and negligence.
Survey of global travel and tourism issues, including trends and patterns of global tourism, flow models, constraints and obstacles to international travel, demand for travel and tourism, tourism supply distribution, destination competitiveness, tourist safety and security, international travel and tourism organizations, performance measures. Analysis of sustainable indicators in protected areas and world heritage sites, tourism statistics and trends.
Extraction and analysis of industry data on a selected market for development and presentation of the Market Study in a worldwide competition among other universities. In conjunction with a leading hospitality industry data provider, students have an opportunity to extract and analyze current industry data. Expands teamwork and communication skills through written and oral delivery of the study. Impact Analysis study of a recent current event on hotels, related and non-related travel sectors.
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