Flexibility is of the utmost importance when working in the hotel industry. Thats because many hotel departments are intertwined and overlap. At Centennial Colleges hotel management program, officially known as Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Management, students train for a range of areas that include: hotel and restaurant general management, human resources management, sales and marketing management, convention services management, cruise lines. On top of being prepared for all of these areas, students also gain an Ontario College Graduate Certificate in two short semesters.
Designed for graduate students, applicants to hotel management courses at Centennial College must have completed a college diploma or university degree in hospitality, tourism or related discipline. Additionally, a resume describing relevant work experience may be requested. It is also worth noting that those with a diploma or degree in an unrelated discipline who have related work experience as well as those with partial post secondary education and relevant work experience in hospitality will be considered.
Because the hotel management program focuses on such a wide range of areas in a short period of time, classes are intense and include practical aspects important to grasping concepts. For example, hotel management courses, which are led by industry professionals, cover key management areas such as: finance, human resources, labour relations, oenology, international operations, leadership, entrepreneurship, security and risk, service quality, marketing and revenue management. Additionally, hotel management courses are based out of Progress Campus, which houses all of the colleges hospitality and tourism programs and, therefore, boasts modern computer labs, operational lab practice facilities, an on-site conference centre, and a full-service student-operated restaurant called Horizons. Students have access to these live learning environments and classes are even conducted from them in some instances.
Then, to balance what students learn on-campus, they engage in a two-day-per week industry placement for 15 weeks in semester two. During this experience, students gain a better understanding of the dynamics of the industry, increase their knowledge of industry practices and gain a competitive advantage of experience in the job market. They also get to test out what they have learned in their courses by applying it to real life situations. In the past, students who completed Centennial Colleges hotel management courses have been hired by companies that include: Delta Hotels & Resorts, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotel Group, Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, and more.