Hotel and Restaurant Management (BBA)
The fundamental purpose of the Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a major in Hotel and Restaurant Management is to prepare students in disciplines that will allow them to perform in managerial positions in companies in the hospitality industry.
The Program aspires to develop in students the competencies in the administration of hotel and foodservice organizations that promote an efficient, productive and ethical operation in the following areas: human resource management, service to clients, prices, publicity, foods and drink services, budget management, and maintenance of physical facilities.
Due to the nature of the hotel industry, graduates need to communicate effectively in English as well as in Spanish. In order to develop the communication skills in English, students are required to reach linguistic proficiency of at least the intermediate level (GEEN 1201, 1202 and 1203) and to pass a course of professional communication skills in English related to the industry (HRMT 2100). Some of the courses of this major are offered in English, to foment competence in this language.
Students must pass the required core and major courses with a minimum grade of C.
The Aguadilla and Ponce campuses are authorized to offer this Program. The Aguadilla campus are also authorized to offer this Program through online education.
Competencies Profile of Graduates
This Program is designed to develop the competencies that will enable students to:
Knowledge
- Know the characteristic elements and the historical bases of the hospitality and gastronomy industry, framed in the development of tourism.
- Understand the impact of this industry in the social, cultural, economic and environmental areas of the country, and the processes and procedures to reach organizational efficiency.
- Identify the organizational tools that will permit the effective administration of the organizational elements in a hotel or gastronomical business.
- Know the laws that apply to the operations of hotels and restaurants as part of the tourist industry of the country.
- Know the role that human resources play in the success of a hotel or gastronomical organization.
- Know the specific language of the industry and use it adequately to have an effective performance of their functions.
- Know the ethical rules applied to decision making in the business and their benefits related to the social responsibility of the companies in this industry and of identifying the areas that have been identified for behaviors devoid of ethics.
Skills
- Demonstrate their capacity to make decisions in diverse areas considering the consequences of these in the company for which they work, in their own company or in the hotel and gastronomical industry of the country, in general.
- Evaluate organizational elements and their effectiveness.
- Be able to make changes in the structures of hotels and restaurants that will permit greater effectiveness.
- Be able to create standardized procedures that will allow efficiency in the operation of companies in the hospitality industry.
- Apply the managerial functions in the search for the appropriate use of resources and their greater productivity.
- Use computerized programs, information systems and appropriate technology to hotel and gastronomical operations.
- Make business decisions in controversial situations using the ethical rules as a guide.
Attitudes
- Demonstrate a positive attitude towards responsible decision making and social commitment.
- Value the importance that the organizational elements have in the successful performance of Hotels and Restaurants.
- Value keeping up-to-date with the technologies pertinent to hotel and gastronomical operations.
- Recognize the ability to communicate in English and Spanish as a crucial and enriching element of their personal experience to achieve professional success.
- Respect ethics for obtaining business success, showing preference for those behaviors that result in the benefit of others and not exclusively for their own personal benefit.
Retention Requirements
The Bachelor’s Program in Business Administration in Hotel and Restaurant Management requires that all students show satisfactory academic progress upon completing each academic year, as established in the institutional regulations found in the General Catalog. Furthermore, the student must maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.50 in the major.
In addition to the normal requirements established in the General Catalog, to receive the Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in Hotel and Restaurant Management, the student must:
- Obtain a minimum grade point average of 2.50 in major courses at the university level.
- Have passed the following courses with a minimum grade of C: GEEN 1201, 1202, 1203 or 2311, 2312, 2313.
- Have passed with a minimum grade of B the major courses: HRMT 1200 and HMGT 2100.
- Have passed with a minimum grade of C the other courses of the major and their respective prerequisites (core and major courses).
Requirements for a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management
| General Education Requirements |
48 credits |
| Core Course Requirements |
26 credits |
| Major Requirements |
51 credits |
| Elective Courses |
3 credits |
| Total |
128 credits |
General Education Program Requirements - 48 credits
Forty-eight (48) credits are required as explained in the section “General Education Requirements for Bachelors’ Degrees.” Students in this Program will take GEMA 1200 in the Basic Mathematical Skills category.
Core Course Requirements - 26 credits
Major Requirements - 51 credits
| TURI 2000 | Tourism Legislation | 3 |
| HRMT 1200 | Introduction to the Tourism and Hospitality Industry | 3 |
| HRMT 1300 | Introduction to Food and Beverages Management | 3 |
| HRMT 1301 | Production Lab and Basic Food Services | 2 |
| HRMT 2100 | Professional Communication Skills in English for the Hospitality and Tourism Industry | 3 |
| HRMT 2200 | Introduction to Marketing in The Hospitality Industry | 3 |
| HRMT 2302 | Production Lab and Advanced Food Services | 2 |
| HRMT 2500 | Human Resources Management in the Hospitality Industry | 3 |
| HRMT 2600 | Drinks Management and Service | 3 |
| HRMT 2800 | Restaurant Development and Management | 3 |
| HRMT 3010 | Reception Department | 3 |
| HRMT 3300 | Physical Facilities Management | 3 |
| HRMT 3330 | Financial Management for Hospitality Organizations | 3 |
| HRMT 3400 | Management of Casinos | 3 |
| HRMT 3500 | Technology and Information Systems in the Hospitality Industry | 3 |
| HRMT 4400 | Meetings and Convention Management | 3 |
| HRMT 4915 | Internship in Hotel Management | 5 |
Credit may be granted for the internship (HRMT 4915) to students who have had a satisfactory work experience and who apply for it in writing to the director of the academic department. This credit will be subject to the following:
- Students have been working full-time in a company for a minimum of two consecutive years within the three-year period immediately prior to the date of their request.
- Students submit a certification and letter from their employer or the Human Resources Department of their place of employment which specifies:
- Years of experience
- Period of the time employed
- Position or positions held
- Job description
- Copies of evaluations received
- Any other evidence of their professional performance during their employment.
- Students pay 50% of the tuition costs of the internship course for which they are requesting credit.
- The experience recognized by the University corresponds to the requirement for the degree that the student hopes to obtain from the Institution.