Achim, a key figure in EHL Group's leadership and a Full Professor, champions academic excellence and innovation, significantly contributing to the school's success since joining in 2013. With a rich background that merges his PhD from the University of Geneva and experience as a turnaround consultant, Dr. Schmitt brings unique insights to his role. His work spans across prestigious global business schools and has influenced top academic journals and media. Recognized for his research and strategic expertise, he serves on renowned boards, demonstrating his capacity to meld theory with practical business insights. Achim’s dedication not only elevates EHL Hospitality Business School but also embodies the belief in transformative education that combines knowledge with heartfelt learning.
Degree programs
Executive Education for Individuals
Solutions for organizations
Teaching & Education Programs
Empowering Hospitality Leaders
for a People-First Industry.
Hospitality managers must develop a wide range of skills in today's fast-paced world in order to effectively lead teams, boost corporate performance, and satisfy the demands of many stakeholders.
This program aims to equip you with the leadership and business acumen you need to successfully and sustainably navigate the complexity of the hospitality sector.
Elevating Hospitality through Human-Centered Leadership.
The Hotel General Management Program focuses on enhancing leadership impact, achieving management excellence, and prioritizing strategically in hospitality. Gain skills to foster collaboration, optimize operations, and make informed decisions for hotel success.
- Comprehensive curriculum covering key aspects of hospitality management
- Blended format with both online learning and immersive on-site experience
- Personalized leadership development with coaching and workshops
- Customizable elective modules tailored to your interests and career goals
- Real-life business cases and industry best practices
- Sessions led by experts and ample networking opportunities.
Inspiring Leadership
Learn how to motivate and guide your team effectively. Elevate your leadership abilities to promote a culture of excellence.
Boosting Performance
Discover methods you can employ to enhance financial, operational performance and manage assets effectively.
Balancing Stakeholder Needs
Key Facts
Location
Online & on-site at EHL Campus Lausanne
Price 9,800 CHF (Early Bird offer 10% before Sep. 30)
Duration 3.5 months (non-consecutive)
Delivery 8 weeks online /
1 week on-site
Module 1 : Managing Hospitality Businesses
Module 2 : Maximizing Profitability and Effectiveness
Module 3 : Coaching Employee Performance
Hospitality Management in the 21st Century
- Understand the industry's complexity, variety, and key challenges.
- Assess the performance of companies operating in the hospitality industry.
- Develop an appreciation of the key concepts and frameworks of organizational design, and their applications in the context of the hospitality industry.
Hospitality Business Models, Drivers & Trends
- Develop a systematic way to identify and monitor important macro-environmental trends driving the hospitality industry.
- Understand how such forces impact the competitiveness of firms within different hospitality industry sectors.
- Determine the appropriateness of different business models used by the various stakeholders in a hospitality (hotel) business.
Managing Operational and Financial Performance
- Identify and analyze the main determinants of a company's financial performance.
- Understand how strategic decisions can affect a company's performance.
- Learn how to build strategic plans to improve performance in hotel companies.
- Understand the role of management control in boosting the implementation of the company strategic goals.
Asset Management and Real Estate Investment
- Understand current dynamics of the hotel real estate investment market.
- Estimate the market value of the hotel using common valuation methods.
- Understand risk and return from the investor's perspective.
- Understand and address the owner’s objectives.
- Make recommendations and develop strategies and roadmaps to meet the owner’s objectives.
Leading with Authenticity
- Discover the keystones of an impactful leadership approach that leverages the diverse capabilities of a team.
- Identify how perceptions shape behaviors and interactions that reciprocally affect emotions and impact team dynamics and performance.
Managing Human Centricity
- Examine the fundamental components that constitute meaningful human interaction.
- Analyze the relational skills for fostering reciprocity and building connections in a rapidly changing environment.
- Evaluate the leadership behaviors and strategies required to lead a diverse workforce and interact with multicultural guests in the hospitality industry.
Selectable options
Program Electives
Select one elective that complements the trio of essential modules at the heart of our Core Program.
This elective, handpicked by you, serves as a unique addition, allowing you to tailor your learning experience to match your personal interests and professional aspirations. Beyond the foundational knowledge gained from the Core Program's three modules, your chosen elective opens the door to new perspectives, specialized skills, and a deeper understanding of a subject that captivates you.
Influencing without Authority
- Understand the different types of power in the workplace.
- Master the key tactics of charismatic leadership.
- Ground your leadership in influence.
Distribution and the Platform Economy & Revenue Management
- Develop the strategy to leverage platforms for reaching, converting, and retaining customers.
- Understand the principles of the revenue management approach.
- Forecast future demand and utilize it for dynamic pricing strategies.
- Identify potential revenue opportunities by leveraging the concept of expected monetary value.
Program Journey
Kick-off - Live Session
Kick-off - Live Session
23 January 2025
(90 min online)
- Welcome address
- Introduction to program and leadership development team
- Meet the Team
- Pre-work
Module 1: Managing Hospitality Businesses
Module 1
27 January 2025 - 31 January 2025
03 February 2025 - 07 February 2025
(2 weeks online)
Hospitality Management in the 21st Century
- Understand the industry's complexity, variety, and key challenges.
- Assess the performance of companies operating in the hospitality industry.
- Develop an appreciation of the key concepts and frameworks of organizational design, and their applications in the context of the hospitality industry.
Hospitality Business Models, Drivers & Trends
- Develop a systematic way to identify and monitor important macro-environmental trends driving the hospitality industry.
- Understand how such forces impact the competitiveness of firms within different hospitality industry sectors.
- Determine the appropriateness of different business models used by the various stakeholders in a hospitality (hotel) business.
Module 2: Maximizing Profitability and Effectiveness
Module 2
17 February 2025 - 21 February 2025
24 February 2025 - 28 February 2025
(2 weeks online)
Managing Operational and Financial Performance
- Identify and analyze the main determinants of a company's financial performance.
- Understand how strategic decisions can affect a company's performance.
- Learn how to build strategic plans to improve performance in hotel companies.
- Understand the role of management control in boosting the implementation of the company strategic goals.
Asset Management and Real Estate Investment
- Understand current dynamics of the hotel real estate investment market.
- Estimate the market value of the hotel using common valuation methods.
- Understand risk and return from the investor's perspective.
- Understand and address the owner’s objectives.
- Make recommendations and develop strategies and roadmaps to meet the owner’s objectives.
Module 3: Coaching Employee Performance
Module 3
10 March 2025 - 14 March 2025
17 March 2025 - 21 March 2025
(2 weeks online)
Leading with Authenticity
- Discover the keystones of an impactful leadership approach that leverages the diverse capabilities of a team.
- Identify how perceptions shape behaviors and interactions that reciprocally affect emotions and impact team dynamics and performance.
Managing Human Centricity
- Examine the fundamental components that constitute meaningful human interaction.
- Analyze the relational skills for fostering reciprocity and building connections in a rapidly changing environment.
- Evaluate the leadership behaviors and strategies required to lead a diverse workforce and interact with multicultural guests in the hospitality industry.
Electives: Managing Stakeholders or Mastering Revenue Distribution Management
Elective 1 or 2
31 March 2025 - 04 April 2025
07 April 2025 - 11 April 2025
(2 Weeks online)
Elective 1: Managing Stakeholders
Influencing without Authority
- Understand the different types of power in the workplace.
- Master the key tactics of charismatic leadership.
- Ground your leadership in influence.
Elective 2: Mastering Revenue Distribution Management
Distribution and the Platform Economy & Revenue Management Principles
- Develop the strategy to leverage platforms for reaching, converting, and retaining customers.
- Understand the principles of the revenue management approach.
- Forecast future demand and utilize it for dynamic pricing strategies.
- Identify potential revenue opportunities by leveraging the concept of expected monetary value.
On-site Module - Wrap up
Wrap up
05 May 2025 - 09 May 2025
(1 week on-site)
- Leadership Workshops
- Integrative Real-Life Project
- Lectures by EHL Experts
- Visit
Professional and Personal Leadership Development
Integrated throughout the core curriculum, the Hotel General Management Program includes a personal and professional leadership development component spanning the entire 3.5 months:
- Individual Coaching
- Guided Self-Learning
- Leadership Workshops
Professional and Personal Leadership Development
The Professional and Personal Leadership Development Path will give you the unique opportunity to explore your strengths and values for authentic leadership. It will also provide you with the tools and guidance to define your personal strategy for career progression.
Individual Coaching
Integrate the learnings into your personal and professional context.
Guided Self-Learning
Bite-sized learnings and self-reflection through a learning journal
Leadership Workshops
Practice and deepen your leadership skills
Meet our Experts
Dr. Achim Schmitt
DEAN EHL HOSPITALITY BUSINESS SCHOOL
Dr. Nicole Hinrichs
ASSOCIATE DEAN DEGREE PROGRAMS / ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR STRATEGY & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Dr. Nicole Hinrichs, Associate Dean and Strategy and Entrepreneurship Professor at EHL Hospitality Business School, also serves at EPFL, Lausanne, and Imperial College, London. With a robust academic tenure at Columbia, Wharton, ETH Zurich, and a Ph.D. from the University of St. Gallen, her experience spans strategy consulting and banking. Hinrichs' research, supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation and HES-SO, explores how identities influence strategic decisions, leading to change and innovation, and has been recognized in top journals like the Journal of Management.
She offers courses across all levels, focusing on transformative change, strategic decision-making, and entrepreneurship.
Dr. Lohyd Terrier
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Dr. Lohyd Terrier joined the EHL in 2008 as Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior, before being promoted to Associate Professor in 2018. He received an MSc in Work and Organizational Psychology and a PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Provence. He has taught courses in Human Behavior and Performance, Influence and Leadership, Organizational Psychology, Research Methods, Social Psychology, and Interpersonal Relations.
Dr. Cédric Poretti
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Cédric Poretti, PhD CFA, is an Associate Professor of Accounting at EHL. He develops and teaches courses in financial accounting/managerial accounting/financial statement analysis, and also serves on the academic board. Earlier, Dr. Poretti worked in the financial industry (FX trading and private banking) as a portfolio manager and an economist. His research mainly focuses on audit, corporate governance, financial reporting, and valuation. Dr. Poretti has published various papers in scientific journals, and participates regularly in international conferences. Since 2017, he also serves on the board of AAIG, an association focusing on corporate governance research.
Dr. Sowon Kim
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Dr. Sowon Kim, EHL professor and Women in Leadership (WIL) Initiative founder, boasts a global career spanning eight countries and over 20 years, blending academia (IESE, INSEAD, Univ. of Geneva) with diverse industry roles. Her expertise focuses on cultural navigation, teamwork, and leadership. In executive education, she emphasizes interpersonal and organizational skills, leading multicultural teams, and driving culture change. Dr. Kim, a PhD from the Univ. of Geneva, has published extensively on career and leadership diversity. She also holds roles with World of Kids SA, the Non-Violence Foundation Project, HoteliersGuild's LeadingHotelières, and TIEWN's Education Committee.
Dr. Stefano Borzillo
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Dr. Stefano Borzillo is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at EHL. He obtained his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from the University of Geneva and was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Stern School of Business (New York University). His main fields of research are communities of practice, processes of knowledge creation, and best practice transfers in organizations.
Dr. Stefano Borzillo has also published in peer-reviewed journals such as the European Management Journal, Journal of Business Strategy, Management Learning, Knowledge Management Research & Practice, and the Journal of Knowledge Management. Stefano has multiple experiences in Executive Education, and in consulting for SMEs and large organizations.
Dr. Masaki Mori
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Dr. Mori boasts global expertise in Real Estate Finance and Investment across Japan, the U.S., Singapore, the U.K., and Switzerland, and is a recognized academic leader in Real Estate. Before EHL, he held roles at Nomura Asset Management and as faculty at the International University of Japan, the National University of Singapore, and the University of Reading, where he also contributed as Associate Dean and Master's Program Director. He has taught various Real Estate and Finance courses to students and professionals, earning teaching excellence awards at NUS and a Fulbright Scholarship.
Dr. Cindy Heo
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Dr. Cindy Heo is an Associate Professor of revenue management at the EHL. Prior to joining EHL, she taught revenue management courses at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and has delivered custom executive education programs on revenue management in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
Dr. Heo is a recipient of numerous research awards, including EHL Researcher of the Year Award, Best Paper Award from the APAC CHRIE conference and the ICOT Young Scientist Award. Her scholarly research and industry consulting focus on the core strategic elements of revenue management, pricing, and sharing economy. Prior to joining academia, she had extensive industry experience in the hospitality and tourism fields.
Dr. Achim Schmitt
Dr. Nicole Hinrichs
Dr. Lohyd Terrier
Dr. Cédric Poretti
Dr. Sowon Kim
Dr. Stefano Borzillo
Dr. Masaki Mori
Dr. Cindy Heo
Connect with an advisor
Cristina Vieites
Admissions
Who Should Attend?
Hospitality professionals such as assistant general managers, functional directors, functional managers, aspiring to advance their career in hotel management and
- already operating in a hotel environment or in adjacent hospitality business
- with at least 2 years of managerial experience
- aware of people management challenges
- eager to acquire critical skills for effective management
Tuition and Fees
Program tuition fees: CHF 9’800
- Includes all learning materials
- Excludes travel for on-site module
Possibility of accommodation and breakfast on campus for CHF 500
Questions?
For further queries or clarifications about admissions, please contact our team advisors.