Joint Second: Cornell University, USA

Founded in 1922 at the request of leading hotel magnates and the American Hotel Association, the Cornell School of Hotel Administration has a rich history.
The founders wanted to create a first-rate academic institution providing a field of study for the ‘science’ of running hotels and restaurants.
It began with 21 students under the direction of a single professor, Howard B. Meek.

In 1927 Ellsworth M. Statler, a self-made millionaire who founded the largest hotel chain of his day, was persuaded to attend the second Hotel Ezra Cornell (HEC) conference organised by the Hotel Department students.

When he arrived on campus, Statler was skeptical about the programme as he believed individuals interested in a hospitality career could be better served by on-the-job training than by classroom learning. By the end of the weekend, however, he said, “I’m converted. Meek can have any damn thing he wants”.
As the only Ivy League (top US University) programme in hospitality management, the school offers a curriculum that addresses all of the aspects of running a business - strategising and planning, design and construction, financing and marketing, as well as management and operations.

Its world-renowned faculty members are at the cutting edge of developments in the industry and alumni are more often than not extremely successful executives and entrepreneurs.

For more information click here