International Hotels: Development and Management

General Hospitality Management - Syllabus Course

Description: This course provides the background every hospitality student will need in today’s rapidly changing global marketplace. It introduces students to issues involved in planning, developing, marketing, and managing hotels in the international arena. It also gives students a solid foundation for understanding and managing cultural diversity in the workplace, and underscores the importance of protocol in international interactions.

Objectives: At the completion of this course, students should be able to:

1. Describe the factors that have contributed to globalization and a global economy.
2. Summarize the composition, size, and growth of international tourism and lodging.
3. Outline the factors affecting international hotel expansion into European, North American, Middle Eastern, and Asia-Pacific markets.
4. Identify and describe various barriers to travel, including those affecting travelers and those affecting businesses dealing with travelers.
5. Describe affiliation options available to hotel companies, and explain affiliation considerations.
6. Outline problems and concerns associated with multinational operations.
7. Identify the roles and responsibilities of the international hotel development team, and explain why local representation and expertise are often critically important.
8. Identify the infrastructure and labor concerns that developers of international hotels often must address and the various ways in which they may address them.
9. Outline the potential problems associated with building a hotel in a cross-cultural environment.
10. Define “sustainable development” and describe organizations and global initiatives that are advancing “green” issues affecting international hotel projects.
11. Contrast the positive effects of cultural diversity in the workplace with the negative effects, and identify important considerations in managing diversity.
12. Explain why it is important for hotel operators to follow business protocol, and identify some of the complications in cross-cultural negotiating.
13. Describe several of the issues and policy matters that affect the selection and use of expatriate personnel, and cite advantages and disadvantages of hiring local nationals instead of expatriates.
14. Describe how to evaluate a candidate for foreign assignment and the factors involved in acculturation.
15. Outline the general goals of international human resource management and list the three main types or groupings of IHRM activities and their components.
16. Identify and briefly describe several hotel classification systems in use today.
17. Summarize the development of an international marketing strategy for hotels and describe the role of travel agents in the hotel booking process.
18. Identify, define, and explain several factors and developments that are likely to affect the nature and pace of globalization in the travel, tourism, and lodging industry in the years to come.

Evaluation: The student must complete a comprehensive final examination.

Learning Resources: International Hotel Management, Second Edition, by Chuck Yim Gee.