HOSP 1100 Exploring the Hospitality Industry (2 Credits)

This introductory course provides students with a broad overview of the hospitality industry and its segments. The course focuses particularly on the industry areas captured by the concentrations available to Knoebel students, the elements that make hotels and resorts what they are--food and beverage/restaurants; strategic lodging management, lodging real estate, and event sales and management--and other facets of hospitality.

HOSP 1101 Hip Hotels: Delivering Amazing Guest Experiences (2 Credits)

Through an immersive, behind-the-scenes experience in Denver's hotels, students learn about: The challenges hotel executives face; the interplay between hotel design and service delivery; how to positively influence the guest experience, and the career paths available in the industry.

HOSP 1200 Industry Work Experience (0 Credits)

Advisor-approved hospitality industry work experience. Upon verification that the 500 work hours have been completed, students will need to complete a paper reflecting on their learning outcomes. Prerequisites: HOSP 1100 and completion of 500 hours of approved work experience. The advisor will register students for the course as needed.

HOSP 2201 International Experience (0 Credits)

Students spend one quarter in an international setting taking courses while touring and observing overseas hospitality operations. Advisor will register students for course as needed.

HOSP 2202 Management Intern Program (0 Credits)

Preferably, this internship is full-time, continuous employment for ten-weeks with a minimum of 400 hours and is designed to allow students to increase their exposure to the hospitality industry and continue to reconcile their classroom learning with industry practice. Advisor will register students for course as needed. Prerequisites: HOSP 1200.

HOSP 2360 Managing Restaurant Operations (4 Credits)

In HOSP 1100, Exploring Hospitality Management, students are introduced to various aspects of restaurant/food and beverage management and their basics. From here, we move to a more thorough overview of managing various food and beverage operations, with a specific focus on restaurants. Topics include safe food and beverage service, product specification and procurement, labor scheduling, revenue control and collection, and other management functions required for success in food and beverage operations. Prerequisite: HOSP 1100.

HOSP 2401 The Business of Hotel Operations (4 Credits)

This course presents an overview of the management of a various lodging properties, specifically focusing on rooms division operations. The perspective taken is strategic, identifying and considering issues of concern to general managers of all types of lodging properties, with a particular focus on profit maximization (yield/revenue management) and distribution channel management. The broader political, economic, social, and technological environments and trends and their impact on lodging operations are considered. The perspective is global and includes considering how lodging operations differ in various parts of the world. Prerequisite: HOSP 1100.

HOSP 2402 Revenue Optimization Techniques (4 Credits)

This course provides an introduction to the basic principles and practices of revenue management in the hotel and restaurant industry. Students acquire the fundamental analytical skills needed to apply revenue management concepts and methods in demand forecasting, pricing, and revenue optimization techniques in hotels and restaurants. The course includes certification in STR tools. Prerequisites: HOSP 2360 and HOSP 2401.

HOSP 2403 Robotics, AI, Service Automation & The Guest Experience (4 Credits)

With demographic and immigration changes, the pool of available workers to fill hospitality jobs is shrinking. Hospitality organizations are faced with critical decisions regarding how to create an experience for their guests, being the most efficient yet effective with their scarce supply of human capital. Hence, deciding to replace labor with technology to fulfill certain tasks has ramifications on the guest experience. This course will examine societal trends leading to an uncertain labor supply; criteria for making labor-replacement technology decisions; and impacts of the human-technology interface on the hospitality guest experience. An element of the course is examining existing service delivery systems through an operations management lens in order to best understand how the systems can be adjusted to incorporate RAISA elements to deliver guest experiences. Pre-requisites: HOSP 2360 and HOSP 2401.

HOSP 2501 Managing People and Culture in Hospitality (4 Credits)

People are the heart of any organization and can be a source of competitive advantage, particularly in a hospitality environment. This course prepares students to develop and manage successfully the processes and systems that help hospitality firms develop a competitive advantage through people and build a service culture, including recruiting, selecting, onboarding, and developing employees in order to retain them in both union and non-union environments. Prerequisites: HOSP 2360 and HOSP 2401.

HOSP 2502 Financial Control in Hospitality Operations (4 Credits)

The use of industry statistics and a uniform system of accounts for hotels and restaurants to determine an operation's position in the marketplace. Prerequisites: HOSP 2360, HOSP 2401 and ACTG 2300.

HOSP 2601 Environmental Sustainability in Hospitality (2 Credits)

This course aims to provide students with knowledge of environmental challenges facing the hospitality industry. In addition, students learn best practices in hospitality and the emergence of new environmentally friendly technologies available for hospitality businesses. This course includes hotel operations with reference to energy efficiency, waste management, water conservation, and eco-design and architecture of current hotels or future hotel developments. Another objective of this course is to provide students with an understanding of sustainable food and beverage operations and certification in relation to sustainability in hospitality. The course discusses issues surrounding ethical, organic, local, seasonal, and another type of food often associated with sustainability. Prerequisite: HOSP 2360 and HOSP 2401.

HOSP 2602 The Real Cost of Hospitality: Ethical Dilemmas, Public Policy & Profitability (2 Credits)

In addition to environmental sustainability, hotels need to manage their social impact on their internal stakeholders (employees), an issue of increasing importance to their external stakeholders (customers and the community). Issues regarding a living wage, stressors of the working poor in low skill hospitality jobs, the impact of outsourcing hotel functions on the sustainability of employees’ lives, and efforts of unions to organize hotels to fight for better working conditions, wages, and benefits will all be addressed in this course. The focus is on examining how the characteristics of, compensation associated with, and recruitment and retention practices for, low skill, low wage hospitality jobs impact the sustainability of employees’ lives as well as the short-term and long-term profitability of the hotels. Prerequisite: HOSP 2360 and HOSP 2401.

HOSP 3000 Wines of the World (4 Credits)

A survey course of the wines of the world, including old and new world wines; still, sparkling, dessert, and fortified wines; viticulture and viniculture. Prerequisite: must be at least 21 years of age. Non-HPM majors only. There is no waitlist option for this course.

HOSP 3120 Executive Leadership Forum (1 Credit)

This course is the springboard for seniors to transition from a student mindset to that of a professional. It enables personal exploration, values clarification, and the narrowing in on an initial career focus. Hearing from and networking with senior executives from various segments of the hospitality industry who provide students with their insights about competition and challenges within the industry motivate the introspection described above.

HOSP 3300 Restaurant Creation Lab (4 Credits)

This course combines the discovery and use of business principles with cooking and service techniques in order to produce and open several pop-up restaurant concepts each quarter. This is the equivalent of performing many of the steps in opening a restaurant, operating the restaurant for one night and then closing the restaurant. This lab-based course permits the student to experiment in the preparation and service of various food items while operating within the confines of business disciplines. The course will enable you to use the skills learned in previous courses, such as planning, staffing, budgeting, training, communicating, interpersonal skills, financial planning, and marketing. Enforced Prerequisites: HOSP 1100, 2360 AND 2401.

HOSP 3301 Beverage Management (4 Credits)

Organization and management of the beverage operation of resorts, restaurants, hotels, clubs and other licensed premises. Emphasis on product knowledge, responsible beverage service, facility design and operational practices. Prerequisites: senior standing in the HPM major.

HOSP 3302 Advanced Beverage Management I: Wine, Spirits & Beer (4 Credits)

This course provides a deep dive into the production of wine, spirits and beer. Students enrolled in this course will sit for the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Level 2 Spirit Certification, WSET Level 2 Wine Certification and Cicerone Certification exams. Enrollment is by invitation of the instructor(s).

HOSP 3303 Advanced Beverage Management II: Wine (2 Credits)

The final course in the beverage management sequence, this course is designed to enable you to refine your palate, significantly expand the portfolio of wines you have tasted and take a deep dive into grape varietals, growing regions, production styles, viticulture and viniculture. It rounds out and deepens your preparation to work directly in the beverage space or apply this knowledge in a broader food and beverage role.

HOSP 3360 Restaurant Concept Development (4 Credits)

In previous food and beverage courses you obtained the knowledge and skills to perform the basic management functions required for a successful career in F&B operations, put these skills into practice and opened two “restaurants for a night.” In this course you will acquire the skills required to develop and brand a new restaurant. Prerequisites: HOSP 3301.

HOSP 3400 Advanced Revenue Management (4 Credits)

This course provides students with the advanced knowledge, skills, and abilities to make sound business decisions and implement revenue management strategies and solutions to influence consumer behavior and maximize revenue and profits for hotels. Students will acquire the analytical skills to apply revenue management concepts and methods in demand forecasting, pricing, and revenue optimization techniques in hotels. Prerequisites: HOSP 2402.

HOSP 3402 Hospitality Investments (4 Credits)

This course exposes students in the lodging real estate concentration to hotel investing and the types of hotel ownership and hotel investment strategies that exist today. Students acquire knowledge in critical lodging investment topics including hotel investment metrics/returns, underwriting a hotel, capital markets (debt/equity), negotiating a hotel management agreement, hotel brands v independent hotels, franchise license agreements, construction and development challenges, asset management, hybrid lodging, and more. Pre-requisite: HOSP 2401 and HOSP 2360.

HOSP 3506 Event Sales and Services (4 Credits)

This course addresses all that is involved in the sales and production of catered events, trade shows, and meetings, from the perspectives of planners, venue salespeople, and event managers. Students will learn how to market and sell a venue; produce and respond to requests for proposals; work directly with clients during the booking process and event execution; address risk management and contractual issues; and perform other event and meeting sales and planning functions. Prerequisite: HOSP 3301.

HOSP 3600 Lodging Valuation Principles (4 Credits)

This course introduces students to the basic fundamental analysis of methods and techniques of real estate investment, finance, and valuation as they apply to the lodging industry. The course covers time value of money, basic discounted cash flow techniques, financing instruments, appraisal methods, and valuation techniques for income producing lodging properties. Students utilize computer software and spreadsheets for solving real estate problems. Practical applications provide students with the analytical tools and techniques to make effective real estate investment and financing decisions. Prerequisites: HOSP 2502 and HOSP 3402.

HOSP 3601 Hotel Development & Feasibility (4 Credits)

This advanced capstone experiential learning course integrates lodging real estate financial analysis and valuation techniques to emphasize the fundamental concepts and techniques involved in the hotel development process and the various steps involved in performing a market feasibility study of a proposed hotel. Students will propose, establish and refine a concept from inception to completion, perform a market and site analysis, plan the development and construction, estimate the cost, and determine the financial viability of a full-service or limited-service hotel. Additional discussion topics include the regulatory process, financing, and risk management. Guest speakers, site visits, cases, text, practical examples and extensive use of spreadsheet software will provide students with specialized real-world knowledge and enhance their understanding of the complexities and challenges faced in lodging real estate development projects. Prerequisite: HOSP 3600.

HOSP 3602 Facility Layout and Design (4 Credits)

The course is focused on students who are going to become hospitality managers and will inevitably be involved with the design and planning of facilities. They will develop confidence in understanding the design process, reading and understanding plans, how to effectively critique designers to obtain the best results, what it takes to create functional spaces, and the importance of economic balance in creating designs that promise the best potential for financial success. Students will emerge with a heightened vision that will allow them to assess every hospitality experience that they encounter. They will plan a restaurant and a hotel to develop planning skills and to demonstrate creativity. Prerequisite: HOSP 3600.

HOSP 3700 Topics in Hospitality Management (1-4 Credits)

Exploration of various topics and issues related to the hospitality industry.

HOSP 3991 Independent Study (0-10 Credits)

Independent research/study; requires written report. Prerequisite: instructor's permission. The advisor will assist with registration.