Hospitality and Event Professional Development and Education | Top 10 Factors To Consider

What does professional education mean to you? For so many of us in our industry, we are just trying to make it through an incredibly busy day and working too hard “in” the business to work “on” the business. Continuing one’s professional education not only makes you more valuable in the workplace because of increased knowledge, but also adds value to your company and revenue possibilities (and let’s face it, it also looks great on a resume if/when the time comes to present your skill set to a future employer or even for a promotion with your current employer).


While conferences and in-person trainings are a great way to learn, our particular business culture in modern times sometimes prohibits engagements that are requiring our physical presence at a restricted day, time and location. The advent of online training programs and Webinars have become an events and hospitality professional’s best friend in furthering their education. While in-person trainings allow customization and a personal touch to reach a core that online training programs sometimes cannot, the online training programs and Webinars allow one to further their skill set on their own time, which can be invaluable.

What do you look for when looking for a professional hospitality education program? Here are some of the recommendations I give professionals who ask:

1. Determine what it is you want to learn more of.

2. Find a reliable, reputable company who specializes in this knowledge.

3. Ask colleagues which companies they have used for their further education and certificates.

4. The best hospitalty and events organizations/academies from which to learn are those that have been around for years, have numerous endorsements from name brand entities, show an array of national and international clientele and offer you take-home value of content you can actually apply to your department and business upon completion.

5. Find out if the organization/academy offers an online training program that you can complete in your own time and not be restricted to complete it in a tight timeline.

6. If they do have an on-line training program, find out if they also offer a live trainer to support your efforts and provide personalized follow up to each student, depending on their needs.

7. What other resources do they offer? After you complete the program, do they offer certification in a certain subject along with logos you can display on marketing materials to make yourself and your business more marketable?

8. After successful completion, do they offer follow up services for you to continue your education?

9. Besides a dedicated on-line program, can they provide a customized and dedicated in-person evaluation of your business, help it develop a stellar marketing plan and provide in-person training to help your department achieve these goals?

10. Are they up to date with trends and technology and keep their program current addressing ever- evolving niche markets ?