Why Is Hospitality Worth Studying?

People are my passion. I’ve always loved working with people, interacting with people, serving people, collaborating with people. Anything that pertains to working alongside another person, I’m in! I always envisioned having a career in a field where I’d manage a team or constantly work closely with others. I was drawn toward fields relating to business and general administrative work. However, while diving deeper into careers most business students gravitate toward, I found myself in a pool of finance, investment banking, and analyst roles. While those are wonderful, high-paying careers, they’re not careers I wanted to pursue.

While browsing NYU’s laundry list of programs, I discovered Hotel and Tourism Management at the School of Professional Studies. It is everything I ever wanted! With an intersection of business and service, I knew I wanted to major in Hospitality and Tourism Management.

At NYU, the Hotel and Tourism Management program offers a comprehensive and complete curriculum that focuses on the soft skills you need for success. I love the program’s structure. It takes a business approach, which I was initially interested in, but spotlights the customer service. It offers a bridge between the business and the consumer.

What’s also really great about the program is that, after your sophomore year, you’re able to dive deeper into the subject and choose between five concentrations. As a Hospitality and Tourism Management major, you can concentration in event management, hotel development, marketing and revenue management, organizations and operations, and tourism development. That way, you are not only able to gain a general understanding of how a business operates but also focus on specific areas and really find your niche. For example, I was able to intern this past summer at a Marriott resort and found my interest lies within resort operations and management. After that experience, I hope to concentrate in organizations and operations and assume a managerial role.

Hospitality does not end at courses and concentrations! One of the great things about SPS is that most of the programs have adjacent clubs that provide you with industry experience and direct exposure as soon as your first year. I’m on the e-board for the NYU Hospitality Business Society, which connects those in the Hospitality and Tourism Management major with many events like hotel tours, restaurant tours, and networking mixers. As an additional resource, the club is extremely helpful in expanding your network. And, as my Business Development I professor says, your network is your net worth!

I hope at this point I’ve convinced you that Hotel and Tourism Management is the greatest major at NYU! As an ever-growing industry, hospitality offers endless career opportunities and, not to mention, fun! Searching for a major can be incredibly difficult. But, if you have any interest in the corporate world and want to work closely with others in a humbling manner, hospitality is worth studying!