Today’s up-and-coming hoteliers are entering a very different industry from that of ten years ago... or even three years ago. In the midst of massive industry change, training the next generation of hoteliers will require next-generation teaching techniques.
That’s exactly what the Tourism College MODUL of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce and Industry and WIFI Vienna have set out to do.
Located in the gorgeous city of Vienna, Austria along the banks of the Danube River, both educational institutions are working to prepare hospitality students of all ages for lifelong careers in the industry. Established in 1908, the Tourism College MODUL is an internationally renowned educational centre for tourism, with more than 6,000 alumni trained for a profession in tourism. Equally renowned, WIFI Vienna is the largest provider of vocational training and education, offering around 3,000 courses, seminars, including training courses in tourism. These institutions take a comprehensive approach to prepare students for careers in hospitality, as students experience all facets of the industry, from food and beverage and language courses, to hands-on internships to learn the ins-and-outs of hotel operations.
Most recently, the Tourism College MODUL and WIFI Vienna have expanded their curriculum to include an additional cloud technology product.
Class 101: Cloud Technologies
Both institutions recognized that the industry is experiencing a major technological revolution. To train hospitality staff of the future, they would need to offer training on emerging systems that could enable graduates to work at any size hotel, anywhere in the world. To address this, Oracle OPERA Cloud Property Management became a second cloud based fixture in their curriculums.
“Digitalization is already here in the industry; students are more than accustomed to it in their own lives. By including OPERA Cloud Property Management as an additional Hospitality System in our curriculum, we are more than confident that this new generation of hospitality professionals will have the knowledge and experience to succeed and excel in hotels of any size, all over the world,” said Alexandra Hackl, Head of Department Hospitality & Tourism Management.
With OPERA Cloud embedded in their curriculum, students learn the system firsthand, and can access it from anywhere to familiarize themselves with the technology and complete assignments. OPERA Cloud has an intuitive user interface making it easy-to-use for these often tech-savvy students.
OPERA Cloud’s built-in digital learning functionality has also proved beneficial, empowering students to experience and test the technology on their own. The system offers “how-to” videos that students can view as they advance at their own pace; students also earn certificates for successful completion along the way, adding to their feeling of accomplishment.
And for professors, OPERA Cloud enables customized learning plans and exercises for each student based on their interest and progress, helping them cater curriculum to each student’s individual needs.
The Tourism College MODUL has the vision to create a new learning topic “Hospitality Systems” and teach the students how all the systems work together – from the Property Management System, to the Point of Sale System to the Kitchen Display System and everything in between.
“Preparing hospitality students for what lies ahead is a tall task, especially in our rapidly changing industry. It’s undeniable that technology is ushering in a new era of hospitality, with incredible efficiency, dynamic customer experiences, and data-driven insights. But the next generation of hoteliers are the true future of the industry, and with them trained on emerging technologies, the future is promising”, resumes Alexandra Hackl.
Louise Casamento - Sr. Director of Marketing, Oracle Hospitality & Food and Beverage
Louise Casamento heads Global Marketing for Oracle Hospitality. She began her career in hospitality technology in 1999 when she joined MICROS and quickly accelerated her career as a Marketing Executive.