Where is your dream travel destination? Now imagine working there! You’ll be introduced to a thriving industry that caters to the needs of travelers through managing hotels, restaurants, cruise ships, resorts, theme parks, and any other kind of hospitality you can imagine. Operating busy tourist locations, creating marketing around leisure and travel, spotting trends, and planning events are just a few of the key aspects you will explore within this exciting field.
Prerequisites: None
Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to...
- Evaluate why many people are attracted to careers in the hospitality and tourism industry
- Define the parameters and characteristics of the hospitality and tourism industry
- Examine the areas of business that make up the hospitality and tourism industry
- Explain the development of the hospitality and tourism industry
- Discuss the importance of service and the guest cycle in the industry
- Identify and discuss several current trends affecting the hospitality and tourism industry
- Define career paths and discuss how these affect the hospitality industry
- Discuss the personal characteristics required in hospitality industry employees
- Identify and discuss some of the career options in the hospitality and tourism industry
- Examine the advantages and disadvantages of working in the hospitality industry
- Discuss job benefit mixes and their role in the hospitality industry
- Describe different types of hotels, ownership structures, and the advantages and disadvantages of each
- Examine how most hotels are organized in terms of staff members
- Identify the tasks and responsibilities of departments such as housekeeping, security, and the front office
- Explore how room counts are generated and how payment services are now being handled by enhanced technology
- Discuss the practice of overbooking and its possible consequences
- Compare three types of marketing channels and examples of each in connection with hotels
- Describe different types of food-related businesses
- Define and understand the front of the house versus the back of the house
- Discuss the functions of the front and back of the house
- Examine the importance of menus in the operation of a restaurant
- Consider how managed services differ from restaurants
- Define tourism and identify the different types/aspects of tourism
- Explain the impact of tourism on a local, national, and global level
- Examine some of the factors that influence tourism decisions
- Discuss ecotourism and its place in the tourism industry
- Evaluate travel websites and different career positions in tourism promotion
- Identify and compare some of the different types of meetings and events
- Summarize career areas in the field of event planning and the difference between an event planner and event manager
- Explain some of the steps in planning an event
- Describe some of the steps in marketing an event
- Discuss some of the tasks involved in managing an event
- Explain leisure and recreation and their place in modern society
- Compare for-profit and non-profit recreation sites
- Identify types of government-sponsored, non-profit, and commercial recreation
- Summarize the history of amusement and theme parks
- Discuss the role and responsibilities of amusement and theme park managers
- Summarize the similarities and differences between cruise ships and ocean liners
- Compare and contrast different types of cruise ships and what they offer
- Understand cruise ship terminology and cabin choices
- Explain some of the changes and challenges cruise ships are facing
- Identify and describe some different types of resorts
- Discuss how resorts are handling common issues and challenges
Course Outline:
Unit 1: Introduction to Hospitality & Tourism
Unit 2: Careers in the Hospitality and Tourism Field
Unit 3: Hotels
Unit 4: Restaurants and Foodservice
Unit 5: Tourism and Travel Planning
Unit 6: Event Planning, Conventions and Exhibitions
Unit 7: Theme Parks and Recreation
Unit 8: Cruise Ships and Resorts
Resources Included: Online lesson instruction and activities, opportunities to engage with a certified, online instructor and classmates, when appropriate, and online assessments to measure student performance of course objectives and readiness for subsequent academic pursuits.
Additional Costs: None
Scoring System: Michigan Virtual does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue diplomas. A final score out of total points earned will be submitted to your school mentor for conversion to their own letter grading system.
Time Commitment: Semester sessions are 18-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1 or more hours per day in the course to be successful. Summer sessions are 10 weeks long: Students must be able to spend a minimum of 2 or more hours per day, or about 90 hours during the summer, for the student to be successful in any course. Trimester sessions are 12-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1.5 or more hours per day in the course to be successful.
Technology Requirements: Students will require a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube.
Please review the Michigan Virtual Technology Requirements: https://michiganvirtual.org/about/support/knowledge-base/technical-requirements/
Instructor Support System: For technical issues within your course, contact the Customer Care Center by email at [email protected] or by phone at (888) 889-2840.
Instructor Contact Expectations: Students can use email or the private message system within the Student Learning Portal to access highly qualified teachers when they need instructor assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside the learning management system. The Instructor Info area of their course may describe additional communication options.
Academic Support Available: In addition to access to a highly qualified, Michigan certified teacher, students have access to academic videos and outside resources verified by Michigan Virtual. For technical issues within the course, students can contact the Michigan Virtual Customer Care by email at [email protected] or by phone at (888) 889-2840.
Required Assessment: Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, instructor-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building and other forms of authentic assessments.
Technical Skills Needed: Basic technology skills necessary to locate and share information and files as well as interact with others in a Learning Management System (LMS), include the ability to:
- Download, edit, save, convert, and upload files
- Download and install software
- Use a messaging service similar to email
- Communicate with others in online discussion or message boards, following basic rules of netiquette
- Open attachments shared in messages
- Create, save, and submit files in commonly used word processing program formats and as a PDF
- Edit file share settings in cloud-based applications, such as Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides
- Save a file as a .pdf
- Copy and paste and format text using your mouse, keyboard, or an html editor’s toolbar menu
- Insert images or links into a file or html editor
- Search for information within a document using Ctrl+F or Command+F keyboard shortcuts
- Work in multiple browser windows and tabs simultaneously
- Activate a microphone or webcam on your device, and record and upload or link audio and/or video files
- Use presentation and graphics programs
- Follow an online pacing guide or calendar of due dates
- Use spell-check, citation editors, and tools commonly provided in word processing tool menus
- Create and maintain usernames and passwords
Additional Information: None