It is not so long ago that many of the consumer brands that now touch our daily lives were taking their first steps towards a global presence and trying to break into new markets.

The growth of global brands has transformed our daily lives, from the cars we drive and the clothes we wear to the food on our plates and the hotels we stay at. It is not so long ago that many of the consumer brands that now touch our daily lives were taking their first steps towards a global presence and trying to break into new markets. The most successful among them have fine tuned their brand for each individual market, addressing those consumers specifically – they are the ones who understand how to operate globally. This is happening in every industry and hospitality is no exception.

As strategy expert Kenichi Ohmae, once said “The word ‘overseas’ has no place in Honda’s vocabulary, because it sees itself as equidistant from all its key customers.”

Three things have changed the landscape of hospitality and the ability to differentiate yourself in a saturated market: globalisation, innovation and the value change proposition. Behind each of them is the need to have highly competent people running the business.

The evolution of this industry, driven in part by the increase in consumer spending power, has led to an acute need for highly qualified managers who understand all key aspects of management and innovation. Illustrious chefs will innovate not only in the kitchen, but also in the dining experience. World renowned chefs such as Paul Bocuse combine both exquisite cuisine with outstanding customer service. He understands that you need to innovate and enhance delivery at every stage of the customer experience. This begins with the pre-experience of the customer, before moving to the point of outstanding delivery, and last but not least the post-experience. Creating an entire experience for your clients, as opposed to just offering them a good meal or a great bedroom, is one of the keys to successful interactions and brand loyalty.

There are four sets of skills anyone wishing to enter and succeed in this industry must possess:

Understanding hospitality management at its core (i.e. food and beverage management, operations management, hospitality marketing management etc.)

Having more complex management competencies (i.e. finance, marketing)

Possessing cultural knowledge - understanding how to interact with different customers in different markets. If possible this means speaking the languages of your diverse audience, but at the very least requires sensitivity to cultural traditions. You cannot treat a Chinese customer in the same way you treat a French customer.

Entrepreneurial skills - being able to develop innovative approaches, and to think outside of the box.

So why is entrepreneurship such an essential skill for a good manager? The managers that global hotel chains recruit to run their establishments in different markets become, in a sense, the owners of those hotels or restaurants. They therefore they need to manage them as if they were an entrepreneur; they need to be able to manage the business, the staff and the client-staff relationships, as well as driving the company forward.

And while you have always been able to open a restaurant, a coffee shop, a brasserie or even a hotel without having any formal education, the fierce competition and demands of today's market reward those individuals who can firmly stand on both feet and gain a deeper understanding of the industry. 

The team at EMLYON Business School, in partnership with Institut Paul Bocuse, have done a tremendous job to understand all of the above and create a global pre-experience Masters in International Hospitality Management. To better capture the industry's international dimension, we have divided the programme into three parts:

We teach the essential core skills in Lyon, France. French culinary arts are highly regarded world-wide, and the city of Lyon is recognised as the capital of French gastronomy and a centre of innovation.

Students then move on to the Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon. Here we focus on learning all about hospitality combined with entrepreneurship. As one of the world’s leading schools for hotel management and gastronomy, Institut Paul Bocuse is the ideal place to learn about attaining the highest standards of the luxury hospitality industry.

The last phase of the programme takes place in China, both at the EMLYON campus and on the premises of the Institut Paul Bocuse in Shanghai. The Asia-Pacific region is renowned for its devotion to etiquette and quality customer experience. Classes at both the Institut Paul Bocuse and the EMLYON campuses provide students with an essential foundation in general management, as well as specialised knowledge in new venture creation, lifestyle hospitality management, and brand design and innovation management.

Learning theory is just one step of the process; this needs to be complemented by practical experience, such as spending time in the kitchen, in the restaurant, serving customers and communicating with the floor staff. Students come away with both knowledge and practical application.

I was once asked whether your background matters when deciding to enter the hospitality industry. I believe it does not, and at EMYON we encourage people from all backgrounds to pursue their career goal. In fact, thinking about the pool of students on the course, we have people with backgrounds in law, engineering, languages and more. We encourage people's differences, and many will come to see that having a diverse experience when joining this industry can only play to your advantage.

About the author

Patrice Houdayer is vice-president for graduate programmes at EM Lyon, France. He received his BA and MA in Economics from the University of Paris 10, his Doctorate from ESSEC Business School and the University of Paris 10, and MDP from Harvard Graduate School of Education. He has had visiting appointments at the School of Management of Economics, Vaxjo University, Sweden.  His work experience embraces teaching, research and consultancy.  His research interests are in the area of international strategy and innovation management.  He has, in particular, studied International Strategy in R&D in multinational corporations