Bournemouth Launches Hotel School

From: Bournemouth University
Published: Wed Feb 16 2005


The Bournemouth Hotel School project - the proposed new 4-star teaching hotel in Bournemouth - has been launched as a major educational innovation for the hotel industry in the UK.

The idea was originally conceived in January 1999 by the South West Regional Development Agency and Bournemouth University in conjunction with the Bournemouth and Poole College, and has been developed through the generous support of the Savoy Educational Trust which made a grant that same year enabling full feasibility studies and business planning etc. to be developed. Work has progressed steadily since then.

The South West Regional Development Agency has secured a site adjacent to the Bournemouth International Centre, together with land in the ownership of Bournemouth Borough Council. Imaginative but practical designs have been prepared for the hotel - the first fully commercial teaching hotel in the world and the first new-build 4-star hotel in the heart of Bournemouth in more than three decades. It will provide unique work-based learning opportunities for further and higher education students and will make a major contribution to the skills base of the hotel industry in the south-west of England. The academic syllabus and course details for students have been drawn up spanning not only a foundation degree course, uniquely based in the hotel, but also a numbers of associated NVQ's.

Several commercial operators have expressed interest in managing the hotel which will be a fully commercial enterprise operating to the highest standards of quality and service. It is expected that the first cohort of students will take up their places in September 2007.

The project is designed to improve the quality of the South West of England's tourism offering still further. It is a project that could only have come about through the close cooperation of the partners involved. It is a novel and innovative approach to teaching and skills development, and it is anticipated that it will have a national and international impact on the tourism industry.
Company: Bournemouth University
Contact Name: Charles Elder
Contact Email: celder@bournemouth.ac.uk
Contact Phone: 01202 961032

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