Ambitious action plan to train the hospitality leaders and entrepreneurs of tomorrow #GEW2019

Les Roches Global Hospitality Education is unveiling an ambitious action plan to train the hospitality leaders and entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

At the heart of this initiative is a desire to evolve the school’s position and refocus its academic programs on the digital economy.

This includes the launch of a whole new Master’s degree centred on strategy and digital transformation in the hospitality sector. 

The hospitality industry is undergoing a digital transformation. Major players have established themselves as intermediaries alongside the traditional hotel business. Furthermore, new disruptive operators are shaking up the market.

These players and their technologies cover all areas of hotel management including client acquisition and retention.  The integration of this value chain will continue to accelerate with artificial intelligence, blockchain, food technology and specialist start-ups.

In the digital era, jobs in hospitality are experiencing change on an unprecedented rate. New job opportunities are now available to a new generation of highly qualified, “techno-intelligent” managers with an ability to conceptualise and use digital technologies to reach and satisfy the customer.

This is why, in order to adapt to current trends in hospitality and digital knowledge, over the last year, Les Roches has committed to redefining its educational programs on its three campuses located in Crans-Montana, Marbella and Shanghai.

To reflect this brand repositioning, the school is unveiling a new graphic identity with a clean logo and a website with an iconic design. Its main hallmark is its commitment to giving future leaders, entrepreneurs and visionaries the skills and confidence they need to shape the world of tomorrow.

A Master’s degree in Hospitality Strategy and Digital Transformation

In line with its position, Les Roches is breaking new ground by launching the world’s first Master’s program entirely dedicated to hospitality strategy and digital transformation. This graduate program is being led by Scott Dahl, a 30-year veteran of the hospitality industry, having held numerous corporate-level positions in Revenue Management in the United States. He is also the founder of Hotel Revenue Resources, a Revenue Management software and service provider.  In 2005, Scott was recognized as one of the 25 Outstanding Minds in Hospitality Sales and Marketing by HSMAI (Hotel Sales and Marketing Association International).

Unique of its kind on an international level, the Master’s degree in Hospitality Strategy and Digital Transformation will start in September 2020 and will run for three semesters, one of which will be devoted to an internship or a business project. The two semesters devoted to coursework are broken down into three modules:

• Advanced knowledge of the latest digital technology tactics and trends: Value Creation, Business Analytics, Performance Measurement, Database Management, Artificial Intelligence, and a Decoding bootcamp to immerse the students in the world of coding
• Strategy development: Revenue, Channel and Demand Management, Sustainable Business Strategies, Advanced Digital Marketing, New Business Models, and a business field trip to study the start-up and digital ecosystem in Paris
• Behaviour connected with the digital transformation of organisations: Applied Project Management, Multicultural Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Talent Management, Team Building, Customer Experience, Service Excellence and Personalisation, Change Management.

This Master’s program is open to all students motivated by the digital world and its impact on the hospitality sector. It prepares students for a career in business strategy or entrepreneurship, focusing on the transformation of business models and new opportunities provided by digitalisation, such as revenue optimisation.

Scott Dahl says:“The hotel business is in the midst of a digital transformation. In a very traditional industry, where the quest to provide excellent service, cleanliness, and efficiency has been the same for generations, terms like online distribution, channel management, data analytics, chatbots, and machine learning have become the new buzzwords.  How do you seamlessly integrate these new technologies with our existing bricks and mortar into the positive “omni-experience” that today’s consumer demands?  This Master’s program will provide you the keys to unlocking the new frontier in hospitality.”

He adds: “The modules will be interspersed with case studies, simulations and educational field trips, including to Paris, to meet the very best industry leaders. The program features strong ties to the business community, including matching each student with a professional mentor, and we predict that our students will be able to draw insight and inspiration from people who are already successful in roles they might be interested in upon graduation. Be fearless. Be Les Roches!“.

Towards a holistic approach to education

At Les Roches, the teaching benefits fully from digitalisation. Digital technology offers a value proposition to personalise training and make learning more interactive with the instructor and the group.

Dr Christine Demen Meier, Managing Director of Les Roches, notes that “As our pedagogical approach is founded on experiential learning, we use digital technologies, which support the training methodology, to the fullest extent. For example, students prepare their subjects in advance, using all their available technological and academic tools to prepare for class discussions with their tutors and fellow students. The class therefore becomes interactive and the relationship with a student becomes more horizontal, more of a mentorship. This perspective allows the teacher to give each person additional attention and encourage learning.”

Thanks to connected technology solutions, students can study anytime and anywhere in accordance with their lifestyles. Students therefore have access to a portfolio of online courses and support services from the moment they join the course until they complete it, and even throughout their career. Indeed, from this month on, alumni will also have access to a new portal. It’s a way of strengthening links within the highly interdependent community which is one of the distinctive elements of Les Roches.

Christine Demen Meier concludes: “We’re in an extremely fertile period for the school. All ongoing initiatives form part of our institutional vision which consists in encouraging entrepreneurial thought and a spirit of innovation among students.” 

The new Master’s degree in Hospitality Strategy and Digital Transformation is the example par excellence of the institution’s updated positioning. The aim is to adapt the programs and teaching to the new demands of a highly digitalised generation.