Essential Hotel Managerial Competencies for Graduate Students

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the current provision for graduate hospitality management education can fulfill the essential competency requirements for hospitality industry managers in Hong Kong. A quantitative survey of hotel managers and graduate students was carried out, followed by in-depth interviews with educators and an analysis of relevant graduate program documents. The results show that leadership was perceived by hotel managers to be the most important competency, followed by industry knowledge and communication skills. Graduate students, in contrast, believed that graduate programs enhance their communication skills, industry knowledge, and interpersonal skills. The findings imply that hospitality management programs should pay more attention to the development of leadership skills, as the skills that are considered by hotel managers to be the most important competency. Implications of the findings for educators and managers in terms of best practice in developing hotel managerial competencies are also discussed.