The conflict between industry hosts and master’s degree students’ expectations on students entering the hospitality industry

Abstract

This paper reports on a qualitative study that sought to determine Australian industry hosts’ expectations and perceptions of hotel management master’s degree students on their placement in the industry, and the expectations of students when entering industry placement. The empirical dataset for this qualitative study was collected through student and industry focus groups and individual semi-structured interviews with master’s students and managers of hotels in Sydney, Australia. The technique used for analysing the data was progressive comparative analysis, after which a constant comparative methodology was applied. The conclusions outline common themes and issues identified by students and their hosts and highlight a need for educators to better prepare both students and hosts.

Keywords: work integrated learning, industry placements, master’s programmes, hospitality, education, hotel