The HTLacademy - courses for Hotel Tourism and Leisure professionals

The Tourism and Hospitality Management Department at MODUL University Vienna and PKF hotelexperts recently held the first HTLacademy, a cutting-edge educational program for professionals in the areas of leisure, tourism and hotel management. The inaugural three-day seminar, taught in English, attracted more than 20 consultants within the hospitality branch from Austria, Argentina, Ukraine, France, Russia, Turkey and Germany.

Prof. Dagmar Lund-Durlacher, Head of the Tourism and Hospitality Department at MU pointed out that the innovative teaching approach of jointly delivering theoretical knowledge and practical experience gave participants the opportunity to apply theories in a real world setting.

Each day featured a different topic taught by a leading expert in the field. On September 17th, Russell A. Smith lead the seminar in ‘’Hotel Development’’, which focused on evaluation of hotel design proposals in terms of metrics and functional layout as well as insights into construction costs, lease agreements, operator selection and management.

On day 2, the head of PKF Hotelexperts Austria Michael Widmann and 25hours Hotel developing manager Christoph Hoffmann presented ‘’Hospitality Trends and Concepts’’. They discussed prevailing trends in the hospitality sector with a focus on hotel development providing an overview of new concepts, new players, and new brands in the hospitality industry, emphasizing on the profitability of different concepts.

The final day provided the foundations for an extensive exploration of the areas of finance and investment with MU lecturer Karl Knezourek teaching ‘’Hotel Finance and Investment’’. Participants explored the methods used to evaluate investments in hotel projects and the analytical tools and techniques used to make strategic financing decisions. The course helped managers to both appraise financing alternatives and make strategic financing decisions, and to sharpen their team and project management skills.

To conclude the first two days of lectures, the participants took their newfound knowledge into to the city with excursions to successful Vienna hotels. Saturday evening, dinner was served at the Hollmann Beletage, a design and boutique hotel, and after the Sunday course they discussed the day’s learning at the 25hours Hotel. The international team of consultants benefitted from both the knowledge gained in the lectures at MU and the networking opportunities afforded.

Stay tuned for future professional seminars, as both the departments of Tourism and Hospitality Management and New Media Technology are in the process of expanding the program.