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Degree Programs

MBA for Hospitality and Service Industries

Built on Excellence. Driven by People. Defined by Impact.
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Lead People-Centered Businesses and Thrive in the Experience Economy.

key facts curriculum Learning Outcomes Admissions

In a fast-evolving service sector, managers face rising customer expectations, intensifying global competition, digital disruption, and shifting social and economic landscapes. Leading teams, driving innovation, and achieving sustainable results has never been more complex—or more essential. 

We’ve redesigned the MBA program to help you address these real-world demands head-on. You’ll gain the strategic foresight, analytical clarity, and people-first leadership skills needed to think differently, make confident decisions, and engage your teams more deeply. 

Whether you're aiming to elevate your impact within an organization, step into a new role, or launch your own venture, the new EHL MBA for Hospitality and Service Industries empowers you to lead people-centered business in today’s experience-driven economy. 

 

Program Highlights

 

  • Human-centered Management and Innovation at its core:  The MBA program develops in-demand skills and mindsets that combine human-centric leadership with advanced business mastery. These competences help you translate empathy and evidence into action, inspire teams, and drive innovation across service industries. 

  • Career-acceleration for busy professionals: A part-time, hybrid format means you can accelerate your career by integrating work and study applying insights in real time and benefiting from a high-touch experience through interactive online modules, live online faculty-led sessions, peer-to-peer collaboration, and immersive weeks on campus.  

  • Tailored to your personal goals: The MBA is designed to support your personal and professional growth. Through assessments, coaching, and reflective practice, you’ll deepen your self-awareness and refine your leadership style to thrive in complex environments. You can further customize your experience through applied projects and by selecting from a range of specializations that align with your career goals.  

  • Hands-on learning & real-world application: Our curriculum goes beyond traditional business courses by offering interdisciplinary, competency-based courses that bridge multiple fields and reflect the complexities of today’s business world. This approach equips you to make holistic, practical decisions and lead with confidence in real-world business situations. 

  • Global recognition and access: Accredited by AACSB and NECHE, this MBA carries worldwide credibility. Graduates join EHL’s Alumni community of over 130 nationalities in more than 70 countries, opening doors for mentorship, career mobility, and new opportunities. 

 

Who this MBA is for

This MBA is designed for professionals seeking to enhance their impact and drive transformation. Whether advancing in their field, transitioning to a new role, or launching a venture, graduates are prepared for leadership in hospitality and service-driven industries where strong human connections, service excellence, and customer experience are key to success. 

The program is well-suited for: 

  • Managers in hospitality and service operations aiming for executive advancement or a strategic career shift. 
  • Professionals from related sectors such as luxury, retail, healthcare, wellness, finance, or real estate who want to apply hospitality-driven leadership in their field. 
  • Leaders seeking personal development and enhanced people management skills. 
  • Professionals from other industries looking to transition into hospitality with sector-specific insights and a people-centric leadership profile. 
  • Professionals seeking to start, scale, or transform entrepreneurial ventures in hospitality, F&B, experience design, or service technology, among others. 
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Key facts

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Degree Awarded
Master of Business Administration (MBA)

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Estimated Completion Time
18 months 

 

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Modality
Hybrid (30% on-site, 70% online)
4 in-presence weeks over the 18 months

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Start Date
August 2026

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US Credits
40

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Price
54,900 CHF

Start on the go with 2 entry points a year

Program Curriculum

The 18-month program is organized in three semesters, offering flexible start options while maintaining a clear learning path. Throughout your studies, you will take courses that combine ideas from different fields. Rather than learning each subject separately, you will see how they connect, reflecting the complexity of real-world challenges that rarely fit into neat categories. This approach helps you develop the broad thinking needed to solve real-world problems. 

Semester: The Human Advantage

This semester builds personal leadership, self-awareness, and sound decision-making through a deep understanding of human behavior. During the immersive on-site week, you’ll put this into practice by applying a people-centric mindset to design exceptional hospitality experiences. 

Courses:  

  • The Inner Work of Leadership: The Self & The Team  
  • From Data to Impact: Evidence-Based Decision Making 
  • Decoding Mental Maps: Behavioral Insights for Managers  
  • Experience by Design: A Strategic Approach to Customer-Centric Growth (On-site Immersive Week, Lausanne Campus)

Semester: Shaping New Horizons

This semester examines macro-environmental forces and industry dynamics to identify innovation opportunities. You’ll learn to interpret global trends, execute strategic visions, and develop ventures that blend rigor with hospitality-driven creativity. During the on-site week, we focus on digital transformation and design technology-based solutions to enhance customer experiences and organizational performance. 

 

Courses: 

  • Charting the Uncharted: Managing in a Shifting Landscape 
  • From Vision to Execution: Strategy, Structure & Culture 
  • Venture Hospitality: Creating & Evaluating Experiences 
  • The Digital Shift: Transforming Experiences in a Technology-Driven World (On-site Immersive Week, Singapore Campus)

Semester: Claiming New Ground

In this semester you will tailor your learning journey by selecting one of the following specializations: 

  • Shaping Hotel Management Strategies 
  • Leading Luxury & Retail Experiences  
  • Finance & Real Estate Strategies 

In addition, you will benefit from hands-on, real-world learning through:

  • Personal Final Project: You will apply your learning to a strategic challenge or innovation opportunity aligned with your career goals. 
  • Immersive Week with a partner: A dynamic experience in collaboration with a globally recognized partner, offering fresh perspectives and cross-cultural insights. 
  • Final Immersive Week at the EHL Flagship Campus in Lausanne: A culminating experience where you will be challenged to push boundaries and shape the future of the hospitality and service industries through innovation, collaboration, and visionary thinking. 

MBA Learning Outcomes

Master the 12 Competencies That Drive People-First Performance

The EHL MBA builds twelve future-ready competencies that integrate what you know, what you do, and who you become, empowering you to translate human-centricity and analytical rigor into impact, inspire teams, and lead innovation in service-driven businesses.

 

Click on each number to discover the different associated competencies
1

Cognitive & Analytical Acumen

2

Strategic Foresight & Hospitality Innovation

3

Leadership & Relational Effectiveness

Cognitive & Analytical Acumen

Develop structured thinking, confidence with data, and clear judgment to drive measurable results. 

  1. Evidence-Based Decision-Making — Know financial and non-financial data, key performance indicators; Do structured problem-solving, model scenarios, and  data storytelling; Be calm, unbiased, accountable.  

  2. Critical Mindset — Know logic and argumentation; Do assumption-testing and frame options and weigh trade-offs; Be curious, precise, open to evidence. 

  3. Systemic Thinking — Know how functions and areas are interconnected; Do map interdependencies and anticipate long-term effects; Be holistic, coherent, alignment-driven. 

  4. Tech Savviness — Know the power and limitations of emerging tech tools; Do evaluate, pilot, integrate high-tech for high-touch solutions; Be pragmatic, human-centered, change-ready.  

Strategic Foresight & Hospitality Innovation

Develop the ability to anticipate trends, lead transformation responsibly, and craft innovative experiences that create lasting value for customers and organizations.

  1. Global & Industry Outlook — Know macro trends and business models; Do scan, scenario-plan, translate signals into strategy; Be culturally aware, curious, evidence-led, future-focused. 

  2. Change & Transformation Leadership — Know frameworks for organizational change; Do mobilize stakeholders, iterate fast; Be resilient, agile, optimistic. 

  3. Responsible & Sustainable Stewardship — Know ESG, circularity, impact metrics; Do set goals, measure, and report; Be accountable, courageous, purpose-led. 

  4. Innovation & Experience Design — Know service design and multi-sensory cues; Do prototype, iterate, co-create, and orchestrate signature moments; Be creative, detail-attentive, customer-oriented. 

Leadership & Relational Effectiveness

Lead with clarity, empathy and impact; develop executive presence, trusted relationships, and high-performing teams that deliver exceptional experiences. 

  1. Adaptive Communication — Know channels, cues, and cross-cultural norms; Do listen, de-escalate, align people; Be clear, inclusive, professional under pressure. 

  2. Human-Centric Leadership — Know modern leadership, motivation, and team dynamics; Do coach, empower, hold accountable; Be trustworthy, fair, generous . 

  3. Self-Management — Know goal-setting and career tools; Do focus, prioritize, plan, deliver, and learn continuously; Be self-aware, reliable, reflective, and growth-driven. 

  4. Emotional Acumen — Know emotional intelligence models & emotional labor strategies; Do read and regulate emotions ; Be empathetic, composed, resilient. 

Message from The MBA Program Director

Nicole Hinrichs
"The MBA for Hospitality and Service Industries is a truly new kind of MBA that enables professionals to merge human-centric thinking with strategic insight. With its focus on future-ready competencies, it is a launchpad for your ambitions, a personal and professional transformation that will shape you as a leader."
Dr. Nicole Hinrichs
Associate Dean of Degree Programs at EHL - MBA Program Director

MBA FOR HOSPITALITY AND SERVICE INDUSTRIES

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Admission Requirements

  • Minimum 3 years of professional experience, with demonstrated leadership potential managing teams and/or projects.  
  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent; exceptions can be evaluated on a case-by-case basis if the individual demonstrates extensive relevant professional experience.   
  • Demonstrated English language proficiency.

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    EHL Hospitality Business School
  • Route de Berne 301
    1000 Lausanne 25
    Switzerland

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