University of South Florida witnesses substantial growth in School of Hospitality and Tourism Management

Saturday, April 8, 2023

By expanding programming from the Sarasota-Manatee campus to the Tampa and St. Petersburg campuses last fall, the University of South Florida Muma College of Business has seen substantial growth in its School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

“The number of students who are taking hospitality courses is increasing 200-300% every single semester since we expanded the major only two semesters ago,” said Cihan Cobanoglu, dean of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and McKibbon endowed chair.

The growth is the result of new relationships with McKibbon Hospitality, Aramark, and Mainsail Lodging and Development, a tourism lodging expert.

Hospitality students can shadow and intern in three- to five-star hotels as well as USF’s on-campus food facilities through the three organisations. Though the Hotel Industry Internship programme, the programme also employs 130 graduate students.

Turning hotels and restaurants, as well as their corporate offices, into learning labs provides students with hands-on experience in day-to-day operations, sales and marketing, bookings, revenue management, and corporate housing.

“This program is about inspiring the next generation,” said Randy Hassen, CEO of McKibbon Hospitality, which manages more than 100 of the world’s largest hotel brands, such as Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt.

“As they’re going to school and learning about hospitality, we want to provide them the hands-on experience that it takes to be a successful hospitality leader.”

Rachael Pisano enrolled in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management to begin a new career path, University of South Florida notes. She was accepted into the internship program and is currently working for McKibbon Hospitality at Courtyard by Marriott in downtown Tampa.

“This is my first time ever working in a hotel and, so far, the hands-on experience has been wonderful,” said Pisano, who has worked at the hotel’s front desk, lounge bar and bistro.

“I’ve learned so much and have made so many connections. It’s been amazing having the opportunity to be able to network myself.”

Usman Khan came to USF from Pakistan after being accepted as a Hospitality Industry Intern. Khan is already well-educated in hospitality education, training and development, and even helped to establish tourism and hospitality departments at four universities in Pakistan. But, he wanted to continue his studies in the U.S. because of the strong connections between academia and the industry.

Despite decreasing concerns over COVID-19, workforce shortages and inflation in the hotel industry continue to rise. Staffing is predicted to remain a key concern for U.S. hotels in 2023, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s 2023 State of the Hotel Industry Report, with 2.09 million employees employed in 2023, down from 2.35 million in 2019. Focusing on workforce development and building a strong talent pipeline is critical to rebuilding the industry and maintaining its growth.

“The industry is going to change, and it’s either you’re going to move with the change or get left behind, and the opportunity that was presented with the internship program was one that I saw that I couldn’t miss out on,” USF quoted Kristoff Ellis, a hospitality industry intern, as saying.

“The master’s program has definitely helped me to grow more in terms of the hospitality industry, learning more about it and what the future holds for us, and how we as leaders can change the future.”

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