Master Certificate in Hospitality Management

Description

The Master Certificate in Hospitality from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration prepares you to become a highly proficient, top-level hospitality manager. Courses provide in-depth instruction in all aspects of hospitality management, including finance, sales, marketing, hotel revenue and customer service.

The certificate helps you develop the skills and competencies required of aspiring managers and recently promoted high-level managers. Eight core courses cover team building, human resource management, increasing workplace efficiency and productivity, customer service—with additional instruction in sales, marketing, accounting, and financial analysis/performance.

Select two of the three elective tracks for in-depth instruction in capital budgeting and investment; marketing and finance; research and analysis; revenue management and more.

Completion of the Certificate program positions hospitality professionals for greater job fulfillment and higher career advancement.

Who Should Enroll in This Certificate?

Enrollment

Courses in this Certificate

• Understanding Team Dynamics

  • An organization is only as competitive as its management is capable. In order for an organization or business to meet goals and maintain advantage, sound leadership and organizational frameworks need to be in place to ensure that teams are working well together.

    Good management cultivates innovation and fosters productivity. Ineffective team management can lead to frustration, low morale, even loss of revenue. In this course, participants will explore the attributes of a well-organized team and learn how to assemble and lead a more energized, fulfilled and productive workforce.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and builds each course around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Teams and Team Goals.
      • Benefits of working in teams over working independently.
      • Establishing clear team goals.
      • Characteristics of effective goals.
      • Participatory goal setting.
    • Team Member Behavior, Norms, and Group Interaction.
      • Task functions and relationship functions.
      • Behaviors that encourage or harm member relations.
      • Developing healthy, productive group norms.
      • Strategies to deal with social loafing.
      • Factors affecting cohesion/cohesiveness.
      • Bales Interaction Analysis.
      • Five basic group structures and how they influence communication flow.
      • Characteristics of a well-functioning team.
      • The role of the participant observer.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, you will be able to:

    • Explain the principles of group dynamics and development.
    • Describe the dimensions of team member behavior.
    • Assess how effectively a team functions.

    
    
• Facilitating Group Decisions

  • In a global economy, organizations that analyze and respond quickly to marketplace challenges and opportunities tend to be the most competitive and profitable. The ideal work team is cohesive, flexible, and able to arrive at important decisions rapidly. Group decision making requires skillful information gathering, sound strategy and the ability to execute.

    In this course, you will explore the the psychology of group decision making as a means to improve organizational performance.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and builds each course around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Models, Techniques, and Methods for Decision Making.
      • Factors to consider in determining whether to employ group decision making.
      • Advantages of group decision making.
      • Symptoms and potential consequences of "groupthink".
      • "Risky shift".
      • Group versus individual tolerance for risk.
      • Common models of decision making.
      • Implementing decision-making models for specific circumstances.
      • Techniques for group decision making and strategies to reach high-quality group decisions.
      • Factors involved in choosing the most appropriate decision-making method.
    • Assessing Ethical Implications of Decisions.
      • Ensuring ethical soundness of group decisions.
      • Ethical behavior in both leadership and contributing roles within the group.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Determine whether or not to employ group decision making.
    • Evaluate the most appropriate decision-making method for a particular circumstance.
    • Apply the techniques that improve and facilitate group decision making.
    • Facilitate effective participation of team members in problem solving
    • Implement strategies to help groups arrive at the best decisions.

    
    
• Improving Personal and Workgroup Productivity

  • In an era of pervasive technology and information overload, the ability to prioritize and use time effectively is at a premium. Personal time management may be one of the greater challenges of our time.

    Managers spend a significant amount of time in meetings, so it is imperative that they know how to structure meetings and make them worthwhile. Meetings provide opportunity for creative, high-quality discussion, but often they can be unproductive and frustrating. Wasting time, especially when it’s so valuable, is just bad for business.

    In this course, you will learn best practices for structuring personal time, managing workloads and running great meetings.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and builds each course around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Solving Time-management Problems.
      • Tendencies that affect personal time-management behaviors.
      • Strategies for beating procrastination.
      • Distinguishing essential tasks from those of lower priority.
      • Distinguishing between urgent and important events.
      • "Time robbers."
      • Personal habits that impede effective time management.
      • Analyzing interruptions to reduce the tendency of others to cut into your valuable time.
      • Assertiveness skills for effective time management.
      • Constructive confrontation.
      • Using a time log to analyze your habits and work activities.
    • Managing Team Meetings.
      • Functions served by meetings.
      • Effective meeting preparation.
      • Best practices for leading a meeting effectively.
      • Asking the right questions to achieve the most effective group participation.
      • Six categories of questions and the appropriate use of each.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Identify and overcome personal tendencies that lead to procrastination.
    • Efficiently prioritize tasks and events based on urgency.
    • Plan and lead meetings that successfully disseminate relevant information and increase morale and productivity.

    
    
• Managing People More Effectively

  • A principal goal of management is balance: encourage and maximize productivity and maintain a healthy work environment that fosters job satisfaction. A thriving workplace can be attributed to any number of things, but workplace dysfunction often begins with individual stress. Stress can be caused by any number of factors, including internal or external changes, pressures and threats.

    In this course, you’ll learn to recognize the signs of stress and assess whether or not an individual should undergo counseling or professional help. Failing to identify and alleviate stress in the workplace can lead to dysfunction and greater problems within the company, from low morale to diminishing revenues.

    You’ll learn coping strategies and stress-reducing techniques that managers and employees use to get their companies on the right track. In the second part of the course, specific coaching techniques and exercises are reviewed. Counseling skills are especially valuable for managers in the hospitality industry. Managers who have mastered the basic skills of coaching can improve productivity and serve as a helpful resource for their colleagues and within their organization.

    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course, you will be able to:

    • Recognize and manage your own stress-related symptoms.
    • Recognize signs and symptoms that indicate an employee may need your help managing stress-related problems, or may need professional help.
    • Implement appropriate and effective coaching strategies.
    
    
• Understanding Financial Statements

  • Leaders and managers interpret and utilize financial reports regularly. Reports can help assess the overall financial performance of the organization, a particular department, or even the competition—providing a basis for sound decision making and action.

    In this course, participants will learn how to read and interpret income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements. By understanding these three principal financial reports, participants can conduct advanced analysis of their firm's financial performance.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and builds each course around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Reading the Income Statement.
      • Understanding the purpose of the income statement and its overall structure.
      • Interpreting the income statement line by line.
      • Using the income statement.
    • Reading the Balance Sheet.
      • Understanding the purpose of the balance sheet and its overall structure.
      • Interpreting the balance sheet line by line.
      • Using the balance sheet.
    • Reading the Cash Flow Statement.
      • Understanding the purpose of the cash flow statement and its overall structure.
      • Interpreting the cash flow statement at a detailed level.
      • Using the cash flow statement.
    • Other Elements of Financial Reporting.
      • The purpose of an annual report.
      • Online sources of financial information.
      • GAAP and FASB, and their influence on the structure and use of these financial statements.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Understand and interpret the information found in the three principle financial statements.
    • Understand how the three reports relate to one another and how they are combined (with additional information) to serve as an annual report.
    • Work with online sources of financial information to conduct research on other publicly-traded firms and industries.

    
    
• Creating Service Cultures

  • Delivering exceptional customer service begins with the establishment of a service culture, one that rewards and reinforces exemplary customer-focused behaviors. The course shows how to create a service-oriented team by selecting and developing high-performing employees who maintain high service standards.

    This course helps managers establish a strong internal service culture that is focused on exceeding customer expectations—which leads to increased company revenue.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor who leads the online discussions and is available to answer specific questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Identifying High-Potential Service Employees.
    • The Intangible Side of Providing Phenomenal Service.
    • Identifying the Intangibles of Phenomenal Service.
    • Creating and Maintaining Internal Service Systems.
    • Communicating Standards of Phenomenal Service.
    • Supporting Phenomenal Service.
    • Providing Leadership for Phenomenal Service.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Discuss the nature and importance of intangible personal characteristics in the delivery of phenomenal service.
    • Describe the variety of selection strategies available to identify service intangibles.
    • Clearly articulate service standards and communicate them throughout the organization.
    • Create internal systems to maintain and continuously improve processes related to phenomenal service.
    • Discuss the impact implementing the ideas from this course can have on your organization’s service quality.

    
    
• Secrets of Phenomenal Customer Service

  • Delivery of consistent, high-quality customer service requires leadership, training, development and continual improvement on an organizational level. It also involves properly scaling customer services to reflect the size, capabilities and service brand of the organization.

    This course prepares supervisors and managers to identify these key service requirements and to implement a variety of training methods to ensure the continual development and reinforcement of service attitudes and skills among its employees.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor who leads the online discussions and is available to answer specific questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • The First Secret: Phenomenal Verbal Communication Skills.
    • Responding with Empathy.
    • Responding Objectively.

    • The Second Secret: Phenomenal Non-Verbal Communication Skills.
    • Controlling Vocal Cues.
    • Reinforcing Verbal Messages.
    • Using Body Language.

    • The Third Secret: Phenomenal Listening Skills.
    • Influences on Listening Effectiveness.
    • Listening as a Customer Service Skill.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Describe challenges confronting employees in the area of service communication.
    • Identify essential service skills specific to a particular position.
    • Describe the secrets of effective service communication: phenomenal verbal communication, nonverbal communication, and listening skills.
    • Analyze service encounters to better address specific customer needs and requirements.

    
    
• Marketing Fundamentals for the Hospitality Industry

  • The primary function of marketing in business is to identify customers and hold their attention in order to deliver a valuable product or service. Marketing departments help differentiate a company from competitors by building brand recognition and creating sales collateral such as websites, sell sheets, presentations and print ads, which in turn support sales departments and position the company to meet revenue goals. Marketing is also typically responsible for gauging customer satisfaction and managing client relationships, in addition to compiling testimonials, soliciting referrals and developing case studies.

    Learn fundamental marketing concepts and principles as they relate to hospitality, observe marketing in action through case studies and understand how to put that knowledge into practice. This course prepares you for leadership and success in hospitality marketing.

    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course you will be able to:

    • Make clear and effective marketing choices.
    • Apply the fundamental concepts of marketing to the development of a marketing plan.
    
    

• Mastering the Time Value of Money

  • In today’s delicate global marketplace, it’s imperative that managers make smart decisions about projects and initiatives—carefully weighing costs versus future revenues and considering all outcomes. Managers should learn the “time value of money” concept and apply its principles to their daily work.

    In this course, you will use timelines and cash-flow calculations to track cash flow and payments; establish the value of securities and investments; and determine overall cost-effectiveness. The time value of money is a key concept in financial management and project development, and learning it will better prepare you to make smart business decisions.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Intuition and Conceptual Framework.
      • Explaining the importance of the timing of future cash flows.
      • Using a cash-flow timeline to conceptualize TVM problems.
    • Basic TVM Tools.
      • Using a financial calculator to solve TVM problems.
      • Calculating the future and present value of a lump-sum payment.
    • Advanced TVM Tools.
      • Calculating the value of perpetuities and growing perpetuities.
      • Calculating the future and present value of annuities.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Make planning decisions in the present, based on the accurate calculation of cash flow projections.
    • Use a cash-flow timeline to conceptualize time-value-of-money problems.
    • Use a financial calculator to solve time-value-of-money problems.
    • Calculate present and future values of payments, perpetuities, and annuities.
    • Use these concepts as a foundation for making capital investment decisions.

    
    
• Making Capital Investment Decisions

  • One of the most important aspects of a manager's job is to evaluate the feasibility of new initiatives and to make sound investment decisions. This includes thorough research and analysis using financial decision-making tools.

    In this course, you will learn six capital budgeting rules that provide a framework for making sound project investment decisions. Examine how the rules differ from one another, and which rules are most applicable in various project settings.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Conceptual Framework.
      • How value is created in a business.
      • How capital budgeting rules provide a framework for making project investment decisions.
      • Appropriate use of other accounting-based techniques such as return on assets and return on equity.
    • Basic Capital Budgeting Decision Rules.
      • Calculation and appropriate use of net present value (NPV) as a tool in making project investment decisions.
      • Internal rate of return (IRR), its strengths, weaknesses, and appropriate use as a decision rule.
      • Payback periods (PP), its strengths, weaknesses, and appropriate use as a decision rule.
      • Discounted payback periods (DPP), its strengths, weaknesses, and appropriate use as a decision rule.
    • Special Cases.
      • Calculation and appropriate use of profitability index (PI) as a decision rule.
      • Calculation and appropriate use of equivalent annual cost (EAC) as a decision rule.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Apply capital budgeting decision rules to make sound financial choices.
    • Accurately analyze decisions and projects for financial soundness.

    
    
• Risk and Return: How to Identify, Measure, and Incorporate Into Capital Budgeting Decisions

  • For the non-financial manager, this course introduces risk in capital budgeting, detailing precisely how it can be factored into budgeting decisions.

    Managers in today’s firms tend to work closely with finance, so having fundamental understanding of finance is imperative. Risk and return are critical components of capital budgeting and ultimately impact the value of an investment. This two-week course prepares non-financial managers to identify project risks and weigh them against expected returns.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Considering Investment Risk.
    • Investors and Risk.
    • Quantifying Risk and Return.
    • Two Kinds of Risk - Systematic and Unsystematic Risk.
    • How Firms Factor Risk into Capital Budgeting Decisions.
    • Systematic Risk.
    • Capital Asset Pricing Model.
    • Risk and Capital Budgeting Decisions.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Explain how risk enters into the capital budgeting decision and the impact it will have on the ultimate value of the investment under consideration.
    • Interpret what you read in the Wall Street Journal.

    
    
• Raising Capital: The Process, the Players, and Strategic Considerations

  • Firms routinely look to external capital markets for funding and operating investments. Making complete, well-informed financing decisions at the corporate level requires a thorough understanding of capital markets. This course provides the theory behind capital market investments and demonstrates how external factors may influence debt-equity decisions, such as changes within the industry or prevailing economic trends.

    Learn to observe external economic data and develop strategies to balance debt and equity at your firm. You’ll also see how decisions regarding corporate restructuring, mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcy are made.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Capital Structure Foundations.
    • Evaluating the Firm’s Financing Options.
    • The Debt Irrelevance Theorem.
    • Trade-Off Theory of Capital Structure.
    • The Effect of Taxes on the Firm’s Value.
    • The Effect of Financial Distress on the Firm’s Value.
    • Pecking Order Theory of Capital Structure.
    • Direct Costs of Issuing Securities.
    • Indirect Costs of Raising Capital.
    • Pulling It All Together – Reconciling and Applying Pecking Order and Trade-Off Theories.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • View the process of raising capital in a broad context of capital-related decisions regarding the mix of capital and the process of entering into capital markets.
    • Explain how decisions in your department or division are influenced by capital structuring decisions.
    • Explain why changes in the industry and in the economy are important to capital budgeting decisions in your organization.
    • Contribute to decisions in your own firm more meaningfully with a good understanding of corporate restructuring, mergers, acquisitions, and bankruptcy.

    
    
• Using Ratio Analysis to Evaluate Financial Performance

  • Success in business depends first on an organization’s ability to analyze its financial standing. By carefully analyzing financial performance, an organization can identify opportunities and make adjustments to improve performance at the department, unit, or organizational level.

    In this course, you will learn to use several ratio-analysis instruments to assess financial performance so that the organization can then design and implement initiatives for increased productivity and profitability.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and builds each course around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Asset Management Ratios.
      • Introduction to Ratio Analysis.
      • Working Capital Ratios.
      • Turnover Ratios.

    • Solvency and Capital Structure Ratios.
      • Liquidity Ratios.
      • Coverage Ratios.
      • Leverage Ratios.
    • Profitability Ratios and DuPont Analysis.
      • Margin Ratios.
      • Return on Assets and Equity Ratios and the DuPont System.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Use ratio analysis to identify areas of strong financial performance and those that need improvement.
    • Accurately assess the financial performance of a department, unit, or organization relative to its competitors or to its own past performance.

    
    
• Data Gathering and Analysis in the Hospitality Industry

  • Good decision-making starts with the gathering of information and thorough data analysis. In the hospitality industry there is a significant amount of information available about customers, their buying patterns, desired pricing, occupancy rates, and much more. With a basic understanding of statistical analysis, a hospitality manager can extract meaningful information from data and better position the business for success in the marketplace.

    A critical first step in many analyses is surveying to gather data, and this course provides a step-by-step approach to creating and using surveys effectively in your organization. This course also explores hospitality scenarios and hands-on exercises to further sharpen your analytical skills.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, building its courses around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content. This course includes the following modules:

    Describing and Analyzing Data

    • Hospitable Statistics.
    • Graphing.
    • Mean, Median, and Other Measures.
    • The Normal Distribution.

    Gathering Data.

    • Sourcing Data.
    • Designing Surveys.
    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Discuss applications of statistics in the hospitality industry.
    • List common ways in which statistics can be misused to distort or misrepresent data.
    • Apply the appropriate graph for a given data set.
    • Calculate, define, and apply descriptive statistics including median, mean, and standard deviation.
    • Use Excel's display and analysis tools for graphs, PivotTables, descriptive statistics, and optimal problem solutions.
    • Describe the normal distribution.
    • Describe and select appropriate methods of gathering data.
    • Choose appropriate survey methods.

    
    
• Statistical Decision Making for Hospitality Managers

  • Do your company’s sales correlate with the age or income level of the buyer? How might the answer affect your marketing and promotion plan and budget? In this course you’ll explore several hospitality scenarios that will help you answer these questions and prepare you to make informed decisions based on statistical analysis.

    Being able to observe and define meaningful and statistically significant trends in your organization’s data will help you to make more effective decisions. Being able to distinguish significant from insignificant data is especially important.

    You will learn about correlation, regression, and probability—concepts that help you anticipate future behavior based on existing data. Hands-on activities and labs go further to reinforce key concepts and put theory into practice, ultimately preparing you to make smart, statistics-based decisions at your workplace.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content. This course includes the following modules:

    Relating Data - Correlation and Regression

    • Correlation.
    • Regression.

    Using Data - Probability and Significance

    • Calculating Probability.
    • Determining Significance.

    This course is the second in the two-course "Statistical Decision Making" program. eCornell strongly suggests that students complete the first course in this program, "Data Gathering and Analysis in the Hospitality Industry," prior to enrolling in this course.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, you will be able to:

    • Calculate and define correlation and regression.
    • Calculate probability- the possible outcomes and frequencies of events.
    • Determine if the results of a data analysis are statistically significant.

    
    
• Conducting Effective Hospitality Marketing Research

  • Market research is the cornerstone of the marketing process. It helps companies identify customers and marketplace demand and reveals how a company’s products or services are received by customers. Anticipating and tracking customer behavior is vital to the success of any marketing initiative.

    This course introduces the reasoning and methodology behind effective market research. Learn best practices in data collection and market segmentation, and gain a thorough understanding of market analysis and strategic positioning. Explore the stages of the buying process and examine factors that influence consumer buying patterns. You’ll also identify potential conflicts between a consumer’s perception of a product or service and the way a marketer may position it.

    Learn what to sell, to whom and how to promote those products and services with market research. For many in the hospitality profession, business begins and ends with thorough, effective market research.

    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course you will be able to:

    • Conduct an environmental analysis.
    • Develop an effective marketing strategy.
    • Use a SWOT analysis to guide strategic planning.
    • Identify a target market for a product or service.
    • Use a positioning map to determine a strategic position.
    
    
• The Hospitality Marketing Mix: Product and Price

  • Marketing success requires both careful analysis and smart planning. You must identify target markets, strategically promote to customers, and ensure that the product design, price and presentation line up with client needs and perception of value.

    Because these issues are so critical—product design, pricing, promotion, and place/distribution—they are constantly evaluated and reevaluated by marketers as the set of factors and decisions known as the “marketing mix”.

    In this course, you focus on a key market segment for one product (or service) and attempt to increase its probability of purchase by focusing on product, price, place, and promotion. Explore product life cycles, new product development, product innovation and adoption, and how service quality is measured. You learn about tailoring the product, the price, the place, and the promotion to arrive at an optimal “marketing mix” for your business.

    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course you will be able to:

    • Achieve the desired balance between the service concept and the market segment.
    • Implement processes for new product development.
    • Choose a branding strategy for a particular product or service.
    • Design and execute a pricing strategy for a particular product or service.
    • Design and implement discounting tactics and strategies.
    
    
• The Hospitality Marketing Mix: Place and Promotion

  • In marketing, the concept of "place" refers not only to the physical location of your business, but also to distribution channels through which target markets are reached. The old business adage "location, location, location" still rings true as a reliable determinant of success, especially in hospitality. But with the emergence of online travel agencies, package travel, and intensified, highly targeted tourism marketing attracting customers has become far more complicated than just a few years ago. By developing a more modern concept of “place”, you gain new advantages in reaching target markets.

    Technology and the “information overload” environment present difficult challenges and new opportunities to promote to potential customers. This course covers advertising, professional selling, sales promotion, direct marketing, and public relations. As you discover through coursework, the process of defining your target market is inextricably linked to your decisions about promotional methods and channels.

    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course you will be able to:

    • Choose an appropriate location for a hospitality organization.
    • Choose a distribution channel appropriate to a specific property or product.
    • Create a promotional plan for a hospitality product or service.
    • Design an effective, product-specific advertising campaign.
    • Execute and evaluate a public-relations campaign.
    
    
• Introduction to Hotel Revenue Management

  • Implementing a revenue management strategy is perhaps the most vital of hotel operations. This course provides an overview of revenue management for the hotel industry and encourages hotel managers to adopt a strategy that is focused on revenue per available room (RevPAR), a concept pioneered by course instructor Dr. Sheryl Kimes.

    Revenue management is a systematic process designed to increase revenue by considering demand, reservation scheduling and variable pricing (selling the right room to the right person at the right time for the right price). In addition to evaluating different pricing models and applying duration-management strategies, this course provides a foundation for more advanced revenue management courses in forecasting, group management and overbooking, pricing strategy, and application of revenue management techniques to other hospitality-related industries, including spas and athletic facilities.
    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course, you will be able to:

    • Describe hotel revenue management and identify potential benefits it can bring an organization.
    • Discuss the strategic levers of hotel revenue management and how they can be manipulated to increase revenue.
    • Describe hotel revenue management in terms of its component parts and critical considerations.
    • Recommend non-traditional ways in which revenue management techniques can be applied to increase revenue in the hospitality industry.
    
    
• Forecasting and Availability Controls in Hotel Revenue Management

  • Successful revenue management strategies hinge on the ability to forecast demand and to control room availability and length of stay. This course explores the role of the forecast in a revenue management strategy and the positive impact that forecasting can also have on staff scheduling and purchasing.

    This course presents a step-by-step approach to creating an accurate forecast. You’ll learn how to build booking curves; account for "pick-up"; segment demand by market, group, and channel; and calculate error and account for its impact.

    The course also explores the impact of availability controls—including length-of-stay management—on revenue management and how they can be leveraged.

    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course, you will be able to:

    • Explain the role of forecasting in hotel revenue management.
    • Create a forecast and measure its accuracy.
    • Apply length-of-stay controls to their hotel.
    • Manage availability and make rate recommendations based on demand patterns.
    
    
• Pricing Strategy and Distribution Channels in Hotel Revenue Management

  • A smart pricing strategy is the best way to increase revenue. This course teaches you how to set prices, develop rate fences (differentiate prices by customer type), and how to use multiple distribution channels to manage price more effectively.

    You'll learn about the impact of variable pricing and discounting on revenue management in the context of price elasticity, optimal price mix, perceived fairness, and congruence with positioning and sales strategies.

    Channel management is an essential tool for controlling differentiated pricing, maintaining rate fences, and increasing revenue. Explore various approaches to managing distribution channels including direct sales, agencies, the Internet, and opaque pricing channels.

    Discuss best practices and observe industry case studies so you can contextualize and have an in-depth look into pricing strategy.

    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course, you will be able to:

    • Use variable pricing strategies to increase revenue.
    • Develop effective rate fences.
    • Manage prices using distribution channels.
    
    
• Overbooking Practices in Hotel Revenue Management

  • Businesses that accept reservations must cope with the problem of no-shows: customers who make a reservation but fail to honor it. Hotels can protect themselves against revenue loss from no-shows by overbooking. This course teaches you how to strategically overbook and how to evaluate groups in order to determine which rates to charge.

    Examine the components of a successful overbooking strategy: no-show forecasting, no-show rates, arrival uncertainty, pricing policies, and cancellation forecasts. Learn the risks of overbooking and review strategies to minimize costs and mitigate customer impact.

    To fully realize your property's revenue potential, you must be able to effectively manage group reservations. You’ll learn how to create a group forecast and explore yieldable and non-yieldable business and incremental group costs and revenue opportunities. Employ models to calculate displacement costs and contribution margins to determine which customer groups can be the most profitable.

    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course, you will be able to:

    • Develop an overbooking strategy.
    • Manage issues associated with overbooking.
    • Evaluate groups to determine appropriate rates.
    
    
• Non-Traditional Applications of Hotel Revenue Management

  • Revenue management concepts and practices can be applied to nearly any hospitality-related industry: restaurants, meeting spaces, spas, even golf facilities. In practice, revenue management can be applied to any industry that has a relatively fixed capacity, time-variable demand and perishable inventory.

    You'll learn a step-by-step process to develop, implement and monitor a revenue management strategy that maximizes revenue for your operation.

    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course, you will be able to:

    • Apply revenue management strategy to secondary businesses within the hotel industry.
    • Extend the practice of revenue management to other industries.
    • Lead a revenue management effort, from gathering baseline data to monitoring results post-implementation.