Hospitality is a fast-paced, global industry that offers numerous opportunities for professionals with strong leadership, business and service-focused skills. With the hospitality and leisure sector representing a significant portion of the economy and consistently growing, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that jobs in management roles in accommodations, food service and events will increase by up to 10%.
To succeed in these fields, hospitality management professionals need strong foundations in operations, communications and business strategy. At Southeastern Oklahoma State University, the online Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Hospitality Management program helps students gain the practical knowledge and real-world skills to take on leadership roles in a range of hospitality and leisure environments. If you’re considering a hospitality management degree, learn what you can expect from this program, and the career path that follows to determine if it aligns with your interests and goals.
What Does a Career In Hospitality Management Involve?
Hospitality management involves coordinating the delivery of guest services as well as the business systems and workers that support them. Professionals in this field work behind the scenes and in customer-facing roles to maintain smooth operations, manage teams, and meet business goals while creating positive customer and guest experiences. Although specific duties vary across environments and roles, the hospitality field consistently requires strong decision-making, strategy and leadership capabilities.
Professionals in hospitality may specialize in different industry areas, each with its own focus and set of challenges. The following sectors are among the most common environments where hospitality professionals can apply their skills:
- Travel and tourism: Professionals in this specialty plan, manage and promote travel experiences and destinations.
- Hotels and lodging: Hotel operations involve managing day-to-day operations, supervising teams, maintaining facilities, and addressing service issues to support business goals and ensure guest satisfaction.
- Events and conferences: From corporate conferences to recreational events, event management involves coordinating logistics, vendor partnerships and guest experiences.
- Restaurants and food services: Hospitality professionals working in food service focus on kitchen and dining operations, staff scheduling, food safety, and service flow to keep businesses profitable and organized.
How to Know If a Degree in Hospitality Management Is Right for You
Pursuing a BBA degree and career in hospitality management should reflect your personal interests and professional goals. It is important, for instance, that you enjoy work that is customer-oriented. The hospitality industry offers fast-paced and rewarding careers, and the most successful professionals in these fields typically possess these traits:
- Calmness under pressure: Hospitality environments often involve time-sensitive tasks and unexpected challenges, such as service delays or high-traffic events, which require professionals to maintain their focus and composure to manage multiple responsibilities.
- Attention to detail: Small details influence the quality of services. Ensuring quality and consistency in small elements, such as properly set tables, meticulous facility upkeep and timely communication, can support positive guest experiences.
- Motivation in dynamic settings: Hospitality professionals should feel energized by environments that see frequent and rapid changes, whether managing casino gaming areas, planning complex events or handling shifting customer needs.
- Desire to create experiences: Hospitality professionals are often motivated to shape how guests feel in a space or event, which can include designing memorable experiences, anticipating guest needs and preferences and coordinating services seamlessly.
- Clear communication and collaboration: Most hospitality roles require working with different departments, vendors, employees and guests. Clear communication helps manage teams and coordinate complex operations.
Considerations for Prospective Students
Experience in a service or operations role within the hospitality industry can help clarify your interest. Hospitality management degree programs, however, support students from a range of backgrounds. Consider these questions to assess whether a hospitality management degree is right for you:
- Are you comfortable managing many tasks and shifting priorities without losing focus?
- Do you enjoy organizing details and coordinating multiple aspects of a project?
- Do you take initiative to solve problems and improve processes?
- Are you energized by working with people from different backgrounds?
- Do you enjoy creating meaningful experiences for others?
Skills You’ll Build in a Hospitality Management Program
An online BBA in hospitality management degree develops both business foundations and service-specific skills. These areas prepare students to lead teams, manage operations and contribute to organizational goals in different hospitality settings. Students typically develop the following core skills:
- Business leadership: Students learn how to make decisions that align staff performance with organizational goals. These leadership skills help managers guide teams, resolve challenges and maintain accountability across service areas.
- Operations: Coursework covers how to organize daily workflows, manage resources and monitor service delivery. Operational knowledge allows managers to keep systems efficient and consistent with guest expectations.
- Guest relations: Students focus on service design, personalized interaction and conflict resolution. Effective guest relations supports customer satisfaction and loyalty and strengthens an organization’s reputation.
- Strategic communication: Coursework includes communication methods for teams, customers and external partners. Strategic communication supports coordination across departments and helps prevent service disruptions.
- Budgeting: Students learn how to develop financial plans, track expenses and evaluate overall financial performance. Budgeting skills help professionals maintain profitability while allocating spending to business priorities.
- Event planning: Courses cover timeline development, vendor coordination and contingency management. Event planning skills help deliver guest-facing experiences within time and budget constraints.
- Technology: Students learn how to use platforms for reservations, payment processing and performance monitoring. Proficiency with hospitality technology enables managers to improve workflow efficiency and make informed operational decisions.
What Career Paths Are Available With a Degree in Hospitality Management?
Graduates of Southeastern’s online BBA in Hospitality Management program qualify for a wide range of management roles in hospitality, such as travel services, lodging, events and dining. Some roles are guest-facing, while others focus on operations or strategy.
Career options for graduates of a hospitality management degree program include:
- Hotel or lodgings manager
- Meeting, convention or event planner
- Restaurant or food services manager
- Gaming floor or casino manager
- Tour operator
- Sales manager
- Marketing manager
- Facilities or maintenance manager
Why Study Hospitality Management at Southeastern?
Southeastern’s online hospitality management program offers working adults a flexible path to advance their education and career. Online courses fit around professional and personal schedules while helping students develop practical skills in hospitality management and business leadership.
Accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), Southeastern’s online BBA curriculum emphasizes real-world application and prepares students to lead in service-focused environments. Faculty members bring extensive industry and academic experience to each course, providing meaningful feedback and support for professional development.
Explore Southeastern’s Online Degree in Hospitality Management
A degree in hospitality management prepares students for a wide range of impactful roles in tourism, dining, lodging and numerous other areas. Southeastern’s online degree program in hospitality management offers a combination of business training and service-focused expertise, equipping students with the skills needed to manage guests, experiences and operations.
With a flexible online format and academically rigorous coursework, Southeastern’s online BBA in Hospitality Management program helps students connect their education to real-world challenges in an evolving global industry. Contact admissions for more information about earning your degree, or apply today to start working toward your goals.