Hospitality and Tourism Analytics and Revenue Management Certificate Overview

This graduate certificate will provide middle managers in the Hospitality and Tourism industry with the tools and skills required to engage in high-level strategic thinking and analysis in the areas of revenue management and business analytics. Specifically, this certificate will provide methods for students to utilize information systems as tools for dynamic forecasting of supply and demand and maximize profits in HTM-related businesses. Skills gained will ultimately allow certificate holders to compete for upper level managerial positions.

Upon completion, students will be able to:

·         Determine the strategic roles of information systems in today’s hospitality/tourism organizations.

·         Implement information technology applications.

·         Apply the components of Web marketing and distribution practices.

·         Compare and contrast information systems that support business intelligence and data analytics in hospitality/tourism.

·         Evaluate emerging data analytics tools in operations and strategic decision making.

·         Analyze effectiveness and return on investment of information systems.

·         Evaluate revenue management (RM) as a dynamic strategic process.

·         Create and implement an effective RM process.

·         Implement RM within the framework of Customer Relationship Management.

·         Analyze the key elements of dynamic forecasting of demand, supply, cancellations and no-shows.

·         Apply the key elements of setting RM controls and rate fences / restrictions.

·         Analyze positioning, segmentation, target market selection, product development, pricing and channel management within the context of RM policies and processes.

·         Manage the interface between revenue management with human resources and information systems management in hospitality service environments.

·         Articulate and debate the ethical aspects of revenue management in hospitality services environments.

Hospitality and Tourism Analytics and Revenue Management Admission Requirements

Number of Credit Hours:       

Graduate certificates can be awarded to individuals who do not desire to work toward a degree as well as to students who are working on graduate degrees.  Interested students must submit an official copy of their college transcript or diploma documenting receipt of a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university with an acceptable grade point average mailed to the Virginia Tech Graduate School as part of the application process. Please contact us for specific instructions on applying online. Students should meet with the MSBA-HTM and Graduate Certificates Advisor and submit the application form to the HTM Graduate Administrator for Certificate Program Approval signature no less than six months prior to completion of coursework. 

Hospitality and Tourism Analytics and Revenue Management Course Requirements

9 credit hours.  Transfer credits are not permitted.

Required Courses:

HTM 5564 Information Technology and Business Analytics in Hospitality and Tourism. Study of the most widely used information systems in operation, management, and e-business in hospitality and tourism. Study of emerging data analytics tools for business intelligence and strategic decision making. Study of impacts of IT on organizations and the industry overall. (3C)

HTM 5574 Revenue Management for Hospitality Services. Dynamic forecasting of supply and demand, customer relationship management, services production, pricing, promotion, and distribution. Implications for human resources and information systems management.  Application and integration of revenue and customer centric management theory. (3C)

Restricted Elective Courses:

Choose one of the following:

MGT 5804 Strategic Leadership in Technology-based Organizations (online). This course focuses on the role of the leader in crafting corporate and business strategies where technology provides the basis for the firm's competitive advantage. It helps students understand the root causes of common problems in innovation, showing how these can manifest themselves symptomatically in various stages of the development process, and in different areas of the company. The aspiration of this course is first to help managers build the tools to understand the real, underlying reasons why efforts to innovate so often fall short of expectations - and then with that understanding as a foundation, to learn how to build action plans that resolve the root problems. (3C)

BIT 5594 Web Applications and E-Commerce (online). An examination of the concepts, technologies, and applications of electronic commerce. Topics include the World Wide Web as a platform for electronic commerce; intranets; electronic data interchange; electronic banking and payment systems; security and firewalls; software agents; and the social, legal, and international issues of electronic commerce. (3C)