MBA in Hospitality and Tourism Management

Hey there,

I can answer this one since I am interested in the same thing. I have done extensive amounts of research in the past few weeks and have to the conclusion that the best and only school you want to go to is Cornell University. Cornell offers the 12 month Masters of Management in Hospitality (MMH) that is bar none the best and most well-recognized in the hotel industry. The school partners with the Johnson School (MBA) for its real estate investment courses, and also offers a joint program with Singapore's Nanyang University, which I actually plan to do for its access to opportunities in Asia. The benefit to Cornell is that the very top names in hospitality recruit there, both in terms of hotel operations/management (Starwood, Hilton, etc.) and real estate investment (Jones Lang La Salle, etc.).

Several other schools in the U.S. are known for hospitality, including Michigan State, UNLV, and U. of Houston (Hilton School), but they are not as well regarded or more regional (UNLV).

Internationally, I would say that ESSEC Paris comes close in terms to what I've found of placement to well-known firms, but you're more likely to find jobs in Europe. There is also the Hotelschool in The Hague in Netherlands, which offers a masters program that is tied to Erasmus University.

In terms of pure hospitality management, you'll also find the top Swiss schools as well-regarded particularly for pure management training. These include Ecole Hotelier and Les Roches. I'm actually meeting with a Les Roches admissions director in a couple of weeks but my interest level isn't particularly high for the school. They don't even require a GMAT score to get in, which make me uneasy about the quality of applicants and thus the reputation of students in the eyes of potential employers.

Hope this all helped!