What is the content/syllabus of such course?
In India there are many hotel management institutes and colleges which provide hospitality or hotel management courses. These hotel management courses make one aware of the operating-sections of the hotel industry like front office, general operations, sales and marketing, food and beverage, service keeping and catering. The education centres are both a window for new graduates for getting into the industry and also help people already in the industry enhance their skills by offering various continuing education options. We shall primarily deal with the courses that are for people who are trying to get into the industry afresh. Depending on the duration/type and specialization required there are multiple courses offered by different colleges but the most popular one and in most respects the most comprehensive is the B.Sc. Hospitality and Hotel Administration.
Here is a list of the other courses that are generally offered. For the remainder of the article we would be focussing on B.Sc. Hospitality and Hotel


Administration

1. M.Sc. Hospitality Administration
2. Post Graduate Diploma in Accommodation Operation and Management
3. Post Graduate Diploma in Dietetics and Hospital Food Service
4. Craftsmanship Course in Food Production
5. Craftsmanship Course in Food and Beverage Service
6. Certificate Course in Hotel and Catering Management
7. Diploma in Food Production
8. Diploma in Food and Beverage Service
9. Diploma in Front Office
10. Diploma in House Keeping
11. Diploma in Bakery and Confectionery

The syllabus of these courses (esp. the B.Sc. Hospitality and Hotel Administration) usually covers the following topics -:

1. •    Food Production
2. •    Food & Beverage Service
3. •    Accommodation Management
4. •    Human Resource Development
5. •    Business Practice and Law
6. •    Financial Management
7. •    Marketing Management
8. •    Entrepreneurship Development
9. •    Catering Science
10. •    Communication Skills
11. •    Computer, Applications

Food Production
In this section various topics like methods of food cooking, food storage, different types of food are taught so that the student gains an appreciation for the various intricacies of food production. Most institutes try to actively engage the student in some kind of practical work on the same along with a theoretical grounding so that student gains a deep understanding of the subject, which he/she can then apply in their work even if they are not in the food production area directly.
Food & Beverage Service and Catering Science
Under this the various aspects of serving food and beverages are taught including quality management for F&B service personal and equipment, layout of dining table, types of cutlery , kitchen stewarding, structure of menu’s and food accompaniment etc which are very important from a food service perspective. By exposing the candidate to these aspects the idea is to understand the service aspect of food and beverage which is essential for anyone working in the industry to gain a good understanding off.

Accommodation Management
The students are also exposed to the various housekeeping and accommodation handling techniques including basics of interior design of lobbies, guestrooms etc. The pedagogy can be both thru theory lessons and also case studies and situations on accommodation handling which are actively solved in the class room drawing upon the collective experiences of the faculty and the students.

Human Resource Development
Since hotel management is a people intensive area, most positions of responsibility would involve some kind of people management and more so as one moves up the ladder. Hence more often than not are these responsibilities would require knowledge of basic human resource development tenets which are introduced to the student.

Business Practice and Law
As this is a practical course that deals with actual running of a business, the basics of business law, specifically ones dealing with the hospitality industry are also introduced so that it can help the student become more aware and consequently help his /her decision making when they are on job.

Financial Management
Topics like basic accounting including double entry bookkeeping, balance sheets, cash flow statements, P&L statements etc; knowledge in which is essential for any business are also covered in most courses.

Marketing Management
In the service sector each and every employee is a part of the bigger marketing engine of the organization. As the benefits to the customer is intangible and his evaluation happens based on the different encounters he has at different levels. So at every level in the hospitality industry you would have to take decisions that will have an effect on the customer experience and hence the overall marketing of the organization and an understanding of the big picture goes a long way in enabling the person to take the right decisions.  In this regard marketing management basics are also taught.  This can also help them liaison with the marketing team of their organization as they go up the ladder.

Communication Skills
Since there is bound to be a lot of customer interaction and also lot of work involving teams, it is essential for the person getting into the hospitality management business to be good at personal communication and team work and to enhance the same different institutes offer core subjects in communication skills development.

Computer, Applications
Since most of the work today is done with the help of computers, part of the course is designed to introduce the fundamentals of computers and their use for helping in hospitality management. Once the basics are taught, the students are also introduced to popular hospital management software so as to give a “live” feeling to the training.

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