Course list

Innovation is a leading factor in gaining a competitive advantage for companies around the world, particularly for hospitality organizations as they compete with increased globalization and continuous market and technological change. In this course, you will discover best practices for guiding an organization through the strategic innovation process in order to reinvigorate and renew itself, its markets, or its industries. You will identify several different innovation processes and explore how they can be applied in established companies. You will also examine innovation from the unique perspective of the hospitality industry and delve into real-world case studies featuring global companies that made major changes to product offerings and business model innovations. By the end of this course, you'll have acquired valuable foundational knowledge and practical applied strategies that will allow you to create new innovation opportunities within your organization.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Session 1:

  • What Makes Service-Based Innovation Unique
  • Wednesday, March 5, 2025: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 2:

  • The Workforce as a Key Element
  • Wednesday, March 12, 2025: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 3:

  • Value Proposition Design
  • Wednesday, March 19, 2025: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 4:

  • Business Model Innovation
  • Wednesday, March 26, 2025: 10am - 1pm (ET)

General managers face an array of complex communication challenges. This program provides both seasoned and new GMs with actionable communication strategies they can use at the property level and when communicating to ownership groups. Participants will better understand their own communication style, learn professional storytelling frameworks, polish their presentation skills, and practice giving and receiving constructive feedback. Through interactive lectures and engaging activities, you'll explore how to enhance your leadership presence and communication effectiveness.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Session 1:

  • Improving Your Personal Effectiveness
  • Monday, November 4, 2024: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 2:

  • Presenting Your Ideas With Clarity
  • Wednesday, November 6, 2024: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 3:

  • Preparing Professional Slide Decks and Reports
  • Monday, November 11, 2024: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 4:

  • Giving and Receiving Feedback Successfully
  • Wednesday, November 13, 2024: 10am - 1pm (ET)

An increasingly complex global business environment requires general managers to think strategically to make smarter business decisions. This program offers participants innovative, practical, and profitable solutions for dealing with global trends in order to improve revenue, profit, and customer loyalty. Through presentations, discussions, case studies, and real-life examples, you'll explore the latest practical and fast-paced lessons in the application of strategic thinking to challenges and opportunities facing the hospitality industry. “Best in the business” (and some worst!) case studies and examples will be drawn from businesses worldwide. At the end of this program, you can expect to take away ideas for implementation in your own business.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Session 1:

  • The Big Picture: Explore the key trends affecting hospitality and leverage them into better business practices
  • Monday, October 7, 2024: 10am - 1pm (ET)
  • Wednesday, April 9, 2025: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 2:

  • Analysis and Application: Identify the most important trends for you and define action steps to test on your organization
  • Wednesday, October 9, 2024: 10am - 1pm (ET)
  • Wednesday, April 16, 2025: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 3:

  • Presentations, Discussion, and a Plan of Action (Part I): Present your action plan and discuss actionable business ideas
  • Monday, October 28, 2024: 10am - 1pm (ET)
  • Wednesday, April 23, 2025: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 4:

  • Presentations, Discussion, and a Plan of Action (Part II): Present your action plan and discuss actionable business ideas
  • Wednesday, October 30, 2024: 10am - 1pm (ET)
  • Wednesday, April 30, 2025: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Traditional hotel pricing hinges on ensuring rooms are available for late-arriving, higher-yielding guests while building base demand with other consumer segments through the use of historic demand patterns. Given today's online and connected traveler, revenue management needs to rely less on historic demand patterns, focusing instead on pricing by capitalizing on digital marketing opportunities to ensure hotels drive demand while avoiding rate dilution through excessive discounting actions. Using a strategic pricing simulation, you'll develop an understanding of the interplay between pricing and digital marketing and refocus RM on profit versus revenue.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Session 1:

  • The State of Revenue Management Today
  • Wednesday, April 10, 2024: 10:30am - 1:30pm (ET)

Session 2:

  • Competitive Pricing
  • Friday, April 12, 2024: 10:30am - 1:30pm (ET)

Session 3:

  • Digital Marketing With Google, Meta, and OTAs
  • Wednesday, April 17, 2024: 10:30am - 1:30pm (ET)

Session 4:

  • Profit Optimization Through Integrated Marketing and Pricing
  • Wednesday, April 24, 2024: 10:30am - 1:30pm (ET)

The hospitality industry has always been dynamic, whether it's the rise of new distribution channels in the digital economy or new lodging products in the sharing economy. But the COVID-19 economy has accelerated transformation in ways that even the most seasoned hospitality leaders could never have foreseen. The changes wrought by the pandemic have strained the hospitality industry — but also revealed opportunities for those organizations that are nimble and innovative. This mini-program looks toward a positive future for hospitality and the role marketing will play in creating and communicating value for tomorrow's hospitality consumers.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Session 1:

  • The New Travel Consumer: Changing consumer behaviors and expectations
    • Tuesday, December 3, 2024: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 2:

  • Innovation in Hospitality to Drive Demand: Explore product and service changes necessitated by COVID-19
    • Thursday, December 5, 2024: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 3:

  • Marketing to the New Travel Consumer: Examine new digital marketing approaches through conversation and virtual experiences
    • Tuesday, December 10, 2024: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 4:

  • Market Planning for Uncertain Times: Develop a roadmap for hospitality marketing that's adaptable for reopening and recovery stages
    • Thursday, December 12, 2024: 10am - 1pm (ET)

This program focuses on how to use the tools of finance to evaluate capital investment ideas and sell them to hotels owners and brands. We begin by identifying capital investment opportunities in your property. We then assess the attractiveness of capital investment projects using both simple and sophisticated financial approaches. Finally, we demonstrate ways to use financial analysis to appeal to owners, brands, and other stakeholders.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Session 1:

  • Uncovering the Value in Capital Investments
  • Wednesday, May 7, 2025: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 2:

  • Using Financial Acumen to Sell Your Investment Ideas
  • Wednesday, May 14, 2025: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 3:

  • Optimizing Recurring Investments
  • Wednesday, May 21, 2025: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 4:

  • Putting It All Together and Selling Ideas to Stakeholders
  • Wednesday, May 28, 2025: 10am - 1pm (ET)

The way consumers interact and engage with food both at home and out in the world is rapidly evolving. Consumers are looking at food as more than just something to eat: It's a way of life, an expression of values and identity, and a means for engaging with larger social and cultural concerns. This course will offer insights into changing consumer food trends across market segments. You'll explore the future of menus and restaurants as well as the ways in which those trends and changes inform how you can meet the needs of your current and future guests.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Session 1:

  • Exploring Consumer Food Trends
  • Wednesday, September 4, 2024: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 2:

  • Tracking Industry Adaptations
  • Wednesday, September 11, 2024: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 3:

  • Aligning With Consumer Identities and Communities
  • Wednesday, September 18, 2024: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 4:

  • Looking Internally
  • Wednesday, September 25, 2024: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Every day we see news articles highlighting the power of AI - how should hospitality organizations be leveraging AIs' power to their operations?. This live virtual course provides a deep dive into artificial intelligence and automation. The business of hospitality is increasingly data rich, yet this data comes from a variety of sources which need to be updated on a regular basis - AI can help. With a focus on streamlining tasks, automating data-driven decision making, harnessing the power of AI in daily communications, this course provides an overview of machine learning, AI, and automation, highlighting their key differences as well as their opportunities through use cases.

The course will provide an overview into AI, Machine Learning more broadly and the use of automation to streamline tasks and introduce AI into daily decision making.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Session 1:

  • Introduction to AI and Machine Learning
  • Wednesday, February 5, 2025: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 2:

  • Building AI-Assisted Writing Skills
  • Wednesday, February 12, 2025: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 3:

  • Enhancing Hospitality Communication with Use Cases
  • Wednesday, February 19, 2025: 10am - 1pm (ET)

Session 4:

  • Integrating Automation and AI into Hospitality Decision Making
  • Wednesday, February 26, 2025: 10am - 1pm (ET)

The General Managers Program Capstone is the on-campus component that results in the completion of this program. It takes place twice annually: in January and in June at the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, NY, at the renowned Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration. The next two sets of program dates are January 12-17, 2025 and June 15 - 20, 2025 (choose one option).

Over five intensive days, you will tackle hotel management issues and collaborate with a network of peers to expand the foundation of your hospitality knowledge. You'll hone your strategic thinking skills to take on today's most urgent business challenges and opportunities.

SCHEDULE

  • Day 1 (6:00pm - 9:00pm) 
    • Opening Reception and Orientation Dinner
    • Statler Hotel, Cornell School of Hotel Administration
  • Day 2 (8:30am - 5:00pm)
    • Strategizing for Your Success: A Focus on Your Leadership (Kate Walsh)
      • In this session, you'll strategically plan for your success as a leader. Through experiential activities, personal assessments, and interactive feedback, you'll enhance your understanding of your individualized leadership approach and strengthen your ability to lead, inspire, and build success with others in your hospitality organization. This includes the key role you play in shaping a high-performance culture for your team. You'll also review ways to inspire your service-level staff through developing the leadership skills of your direct reports. Finally, you'll explore ways to leave your mark as the leader.
      • TOPICS INCLUDE
        • Truths and myths about leadership
        • The role of emotional intelligence
        • How to motivate both outstanding and challenging employees to higher levels of performance
        • How to turn work groups into inspired teams
        • The power of organizational culture
        • Creating your leadership brand
      • WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
        • Assess the strengths that are key to your personalized approach as a leader
        • Define and practice applying motivational concepts and techniques to draw exceptional performances from others
        • Strengthen your ability to lead all types of employees at the individual, group, and team levels
        • Explore how to use work values and the organization's culture to create sustained, enhanced levels of performance
  • DAY 3 (8:30am - 5:00pm) 
    • Creating Customized HR Solutions (J. Bruce Tracey)
      • This session will provide you with an opportunity to develop customized, property-specific solutions to address top HR challenges. Based on information generated from a comprehensive pre-session HR audit, you will engage in hands-on development activities that can be used to refine and/or create new HR policies, practices, and procedures that can be implemented immediately. The development process will incorporate industry best practices and thought leadership, and utilize peer-based feedback and assessment to ensure that the solutions are strategically aligned and operationally actionable.
      • TOPICS INCLUDE
        • HR value creation
        • Major functional HR roles
        • HR best practices
        • Strategic and operational HR assessment
      • WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
        • Discuss current challenges facing hospitality HR
        • Develop context-specific solutions for HR challenges
        • Design a process for guiding continuous HR improvement
        • Create an action plan for implementation of new ideas
  • DAY 4 (8:30am - 5:00pm) 
    • Co-Creating Value Through Customer-Centered Brand Marketing (Robert Kwortnik)
      • Marketing — more than any other business function — creates value by driving demand to connect consumers to hospitality companies. Marketing identifies profitable target markets. Marketing crafts competitive positioning strategies and articulates the brand promise. Marketing listens to the voice of the customer to guide service experience design, value co-creation with customers, and measurement of key customer outcomes such as satisfaction, engagement, and advocacy. It is therefore critical to understand how customer-centered brand marketing integrates the activities of hospitality organizations to create value for guests — and for the business.
      • TOPICS INCLUDE
        • Brand-Based Strategic Marketing
          • Identifying, understanding, and targeting profitable market segments
          • Mining marketing information from customers, competitors, and the marketing environment
          • Driving visible value through service innovation
          • Building experiential brands that align the people, processes, and physical evidence strategies of the hospitality organization
        • Communicating Brand Value Through Digital Marketing
          • Articulating brand promises through integrated marketing communications
          • Driving demand and conversions with website optimization
          • Co-creating content that builds customer engagement
          • Monitoring the return on digital marketing investments
      • WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
        • Adopt a customer-centered, strategic branding orientation
        • Develop a keen sense for how brand marketing influences nearly every aspect of hospitality experience production
        • Acquire a new lens for seeing how guests perceive the hospitality experience
        • Enhance guest loyalty by communicating the guest experience through digital media channels such as dynamic websites, content-fueled social media, and branded video
  • Day 5 (8:30am - 5:00pm) 
    • Financial Management for Value Creation (Steven A. Carvell)
      • To be successful, general managers must maintain positive working relationships with owners and the owners' representatives. In this session, you'll learn how to understand the hotel and its management from the owner's perspective. The first step in this process is to understand value creation from the standpoint of the various stakeholders in a hotel. You'll then explore specifically how owner objectives within the framework of value creation differ from those of the brand, the guest, and the associates, among others. You'll define and identify how to maximize the value of a hotel for the owner by understanding the interplay between the operating and real estate investment within a risk-return environment as well as how PIP and other property-level investment plans should be viewed when considering the owner's perspective. You'll discuss various owner/manager structural relationships and learn about the pros and cons of each from the owner's perspective. You'll examine conceptual and specific examples of measuring and creating value for the owner using operational benchmarking, space utilization, and the interplay of pricing and frequent-stay programs. You'll explore how an individual hotel's value can be impacted from the owner's perspective and how to reallocate resources within a hotel company to maximize the property's ability to create value.
      • TOPICS INCLUDE
        • Defining value from a stakeholder perspective
        • The owner's perspective of value creation
        • Agency conflict issues within the hotel
        • Value measurement and creation from the owner's perspective
        • How the hotel can create value for the owner
        • Owner's investments in a competitive capital environment
        • The owner's view of operations and real estate returns
        • Measuring hotel performance through operational benchmarking
        • Space utilization and value creation for the owner
        • Value to owner (VTO) analysis
        • Benchmarking to improve VTO
      • WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
        • Explore the competing interests within a hotel to understand the concept of value creation from each stakeholder's perspective
        • Measure the creation of value for a hotel as well as how to enhance the hotel's ability to create value
        • Discover how the hotel's operations and real estate interact to enhance the value proposition within the hotel
        • Examine the hotel from the perspective of a stand-alone investment as well as from a portfolio perspective
  • Day 6
    • 8:30am - 12:00pm
      • Sustainable Hospitality (Jeanne Varney)
        • Sustainability is a broad reaching topic and may be overwhelming at times. Having an organized plan will drive progress, save money, and improve customer and associate satisfaction.
        • TOPICS INCLUDE
          • Organizing sustainability initiatives
          • Identifying priority areas that GMs need to focus on today
          • Communicating sustainability initiatives to the customer
          • Identifying resources (free!) that make doing the work effective, efficient and easier
        • WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
          • Discuss sustainability best practices and challenges with your peers
          • Collect and review resources that will provide a roadmap for execution
          • Enhance sustainability initiative success at your property
    • 1:00pm - 4:30pm
      • Leadership and Action Planning (Rob Kwortnik, with Chris Anderson and Andrew Quagliata)
        • In this final session of the General Managers Program, you will synthesize the tools, concepts, best practices, and common challenges shared throughout the week with professors and peers, and develop a concrete action plan to bring the Cornell experience back to your organization. You'll identify specific opportunities to apply your learning to create both immediate and long-lasting positive impact for your enterprise, and your leadership. You will discuss the importance of lifelong connections with your GMP colleagues and identify networking opportunities to keep the conversations going.
        • TOPICS INCLUDE
          • Applying GMP course concepts to your unique set of goals and challenges
          • Leading through change both as change agent and as a leader confronting change
          • Planning for disruption - how artificial intelligence will affect marketing, operations, and leadership
          • Crafting your own career fulfillment and future success
        • WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
          • Reflection of integrated course concepts for your leadership
          • Vision refinement for your enterprise
          • Proactive leadership in dynamic environments
          • Action-planning and outcomes-based decision-making
          • Development of a nimble and resilient organization
    • 6:30pm - 9:00pm Reception and Celebration Dinner

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