MSc in Luxury Management - Hospitality and Event Management - Courses

Some of the Core Courses offered in the MSc in Luxury Hospitality and Event Management Program

Please note that this list is not exhaustive and subject to change

HOSPITALITY OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

This MSc in Luxury Hospitality and Event Management course examines the role of food & beverage, front of the house and service-related operations in the hospitality & leisure industry. Current technologies, tools, systems and procedures that are at the forefront of hospitality operations management are presented. Subject material will place emphasis on the ability to provide a practical understanding and exposure in the design, development, implementation, improvement and management for an actual hospitality enterprise.

This course is designed to provide the students with a general understanding of the dynamics of the lodging industry, and specifically the operations and management of today’s modern hotels.

TOURISM MARKETING & SALES

The course is composed by two parts, one dedicated to touristic destinations and the other related to the Hospitality business. The course build up an understanding of how to make a touristic destination competitive in the luxury market. It supplies the conceptual and practical tools useful to position the destination in the high end of the market and to develop luxury touristic products. The course will also help the students to understand the tourism system and its interactions with marketing and commercial aspects: Defining tools, channels and strategies for successful Luxury Hotel Sales and market positioning in the new Travel and Tourism era.

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

Over the decades, tourism has experienced continued growth and deepening ‎diversification. ‎Tourism is closely linked to development and encompasses growing number ‎of new destinations. These dynamics have turned tourism into a key driver for socio-‎economic progress.‎ Tourism has long been seen as a way to contribute to overall macroeconomic objectives increasing national income and total employment. It was also recognized for providing a relatively simple means of economic diversification for countries including export.

A more recent approach integrates social and environmental concerns. It emphasises the specificity of tourism compared to other sectors and highlights ways in which tourism can be a valuable tool for sustainable development combining harmoniously economic, cultural, social and environmental objectives ‘creating better places for people to live in and for people to visit’.

In line with this approach, the course will enable students to learn about sustainable tourism development. The course focuses on the evolution of the tourism industry towards sustainability as well as on the fundamental tools and practices linked to sustainable tourism development.

EVENT MANAGEMENT & PUBLIC RELATIONS

This course will expose students to real world event management situations and gain the knowledge needed to understand the five stages of event management (research, design, planning, coordination, and evaluation), understand how to manage time and human resources effectively, have insight into hiring vendors, caterers, sound and light technicians, entertainment, and other resources, learn how to conduct an event site inspection, be knowledgeable about risk-management procedures and tactics, learn about the requirements for necessary contracts, permits, and licenses, and how to meet these requirements and understand budgeting, pricing, and accounting as they relate to event design.

DEVELOPING ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS: NEW LUXURY VENTURE

This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and business case creation. The course will assist students in utilizing existing and developing new frameworks for understanding the essential ingredients of business development. The course will help students understand the demands and challenges faced by those seeking to become entrepreneurs.

The course will provide “state-of-the-art” tools to analyze the structure of a business idea. Students will understand how to develop the value proposition of a business idea, through a clear view of the strategies used to compete in global markets.

LUXURY SERVICE & HOSPITALITY QUALITY SYSTEMS

This course will examine the unique aspects of services management and marketing, with a particular focus on services in the luxury environment. The methodology used will be both theoretical and practical. Underlying the approach of this course is the “service perspective”. According to this perspective, customers are not looking for goods or services, but rather for benefits or solutions to their problems. In other words, to be competitive, firms need to understand their selected customers’ total needs in order to design and deliver the core solution: the pertinent package of goods and services. But beyond that, the solution should also include other relevant billable, and non-billable services, such as invoicing, complaint handling, advice and personal attention, information, and other value-adding components. In this service perspective, the role of service components in building and maintaining customer relationships is fundamental and strategic, and sustainable competitive advantage can only be created by understanding and meeting every element of the individual customer relationship.

Professional Immersion

The MSc in Luxury Hospitality and Event Management program ensures a continuous link between the academic curriculum and the Business world by working with major industry players.

We regularly offer to our Master students:

Attending professional guest lecturers and series of CEO conferences on campus (Chloé, Bulgari Hotel, Façonnable, JWT, Parmigiani, Mauboussin, Gucci, Fraser Yachts, Wally, YSL, Sergio Rossi, to name a few).
Attending the most important luxury-related events (Car show in Geneva, Monaco Yacht Show and Luxe Pack in Monaco, TFWA in Cannes, Fiera del Mobile in Milan, International Jewelry Show in Valenza, Luxury Briefing conference in London, to name a few).
Participating in field trips to reinforce understanding of professional expectations. Students visit major firms or industrial plants in European capitals (L’Oréal, Hotel de Crillion Paris, Louis Vuitton, Valentino, Silversea Luxury Cruiseline, Bulgari, Gucci, Ermenegildo Zegna, Azimut Benetti Group, Fendi, Bulgari Hotel, Safilo, Ralph Lauren, Roberto Cavalli, Stefano Ricci,…), having the chance to go straight to the main source of the information.
Employer Branding presentations inviting HR managers communicating on their companies’ values and strategies, and interested in recruiting talents.

Alumni Testimonials

Amjad Odeh, Jordanian,
MSc in Luxury Hospitality and Event Management 2014
Catering Executive, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Amman, Jordan

My luxury hospitality program at the IUM was not only an academic program, it was an experience needed for me to enter my professional career. An Arabic proverb says “Ask the experienced rather than the learned” and this is what the IUM offers in its programs. The selection of the lecturers is based on the path and experiences they have had, which makes the learning process easier.
Last but not least, the networking skills the IUM allows you to develop in its multi-cultured atmosphere made me excel in my hospitality career.