The Information Technology (IT) Skills of Hospitality School Graduates as Perceived by Hospitality Professionals

Information technology (IT) applications have become an essential part of hotel operations. Consequently, hospitality schools aim to provide their graduates with the skills and tools that are necessary to succeed in a rapidly changing and developing industry environment. This article investigates perspectives of hotel industry professionals on the IT skills of hospitality school graduates. Based on an in-depth literature review, a questionnaire was developed and data was collected from 110 hospitality industry professionals. Study results indicate that hospitality schools' students need better preparation in the areas of "using spreadsheet programs" (i.e., Microsoft Excel), "using email systems" (i.e., Outlook Express, Thunderbird), "using word processing programs" (i.e., Microsoft Word), "presenting data in an efficient manner, " "using point of sale systems" (i.e., Micros), and "analyzing numerical data with computers" (i.e., SPSS, Excel). Study results should be useful to hospitality educators in making sure that the IT skills needed by the industry from hospitality school graduates are covered in the curriculum.