Hotel Brand Management

Cornell is probably the only school that has a strong and defined Hospitality arm. Their Johnson school of business has an option to focus on hospitality as well.

Traditional Hoteliers usually are graduates of Cornell.

At the same time, I doubt the MBA program really matters when you apply for the brand management position. However, the job you are targeting are very specific and far and in between. The brand manager is usually the head of the brand that has 2 main roles reporting to him/her - VP of marketing and VP of operations. You probably won't be getting into operations since you need hotel experience for that, so it will be marketing (hence the brand management). However, you won't get to do much brand management at the level you will get in. You will be doing advertising, online marketing, and other jobs. A lot of work and not great wages. Most jobs won't require an MBA though many will recommend having one in the job description. There are usually 1-2 jobs a year that get hired for a stellar position but they are again very few.

Not sure if you have experience working at a hotel (would recommend you try that). Hotel companies generally save on labor (front desk makes $11-13 per hour, has huge turn over, etc) and do not have a significant need in MBA candidates. With exception of Cornell, I doubt they visit any other MBA programs.

However, they have their training centers/facilities for hospitality management. (For example, I know of one is affiliated with University of Houston, University of Houson Conrad N. Hilton College and a few others around the country) This is not an equivalent of an MBA but is rather an undergrad degree.

Let me know if any questions. I can put together more. I am falling asleep now and gotta go.