One of the fastest growing, highly valued fields in the global hospitality and tourism industry is managing marketing and sales using revenue management strategies. The School of Business recognizes the significant opportunity to meet the demand by offering a new MBA with a focus in hospitality revenue management.
Since the MBA program was launched in 2010, students had the option of choosing a focus area in either marketing or finance. With the new focus in hospitality revenue management, candidates can choose one of three specialized areas for their studies.
According to Susan Thronson, Marriott International’s senior vice president of global marketing, in the 2010 Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International’s 2010 Special Report, “Revenue management has continued to grow as a science and an art over the past several years in many industries, including the hospitality industry. A solid understanding of revenue management is critical throughout an organization, from top to bottom.”
Sales directors, owners, operators, and general managers are increasingly harnessing the value and expertise of revenue management in Charleston and in the worldwide hospitality industry.
“The new MBA focus in revenue management provides a valuable, specialized niche for graduate students around the globe to learn in Charleston, a top destination city in the U.S.,” says Alan T. Shao, dean of the School of Business. “Our hospitality and tourism management faculty are rated among the very best scholars and teachers in the world. By combining the faculty’s global recognition with the industry’s need for professionals with revenue management backgrounds, our MBA graduates will have valuable, ready-to-work skills needed to make direct impacts on their employers’ bottom lines.”
Based on a survey of employers and job postings for mid-level managers and analysts, the results showed that starting salaries range from $50K to $80K, depending on the location and industry. Our graduates will be well prepared and equipped to apply the tools and technology used in revenue management. An MBA with a focus in revenue management will also position them for senior-level management career opportunities in travel and lodging-related companies around the world.
Revenue management is designed to prepare hospitality professionals for organizations that implement such profit-generating strategies. MBA candidates who choose the revenue management focus area will build on their knowledge from MBA classes such as finance, operations management and global enterprises, and take three courses to:
- Examine the principles and application of revenue management in hospitality;
- Provide the analytical requirements and skills necessary for forecasting and understanding booking windows, pace, demand, market share and channel predictions across market segments.
- Formulate and monitor a revenue strategy for an organization.
Students who complete the three courses will then apply and hone their skills in an international setting. The Spring 2013 trip is slated for Hong Kong. The study abroad component is a requirement for the fulltime, accelerated, global MBA program.
Interested candidates should visit mba.cofc.edu to learn more about the program and admission requirements or contact Penny McKeever, associate director of graduate and professional programs, at mckeeverp@cofc.edu or 843.953.8112.
