When Cihan Cobanoglu became Dean of the USF School of Tourism and Hospitality Management in August, one of the questions he asked himself was how the college compared to other programs across the state.
That prompted him to find a potential partnership with one of the largest hotel operators in the country so that his school’s students could receive on-the-job training during their apprenticeship.
That partnership became a reality in November when USF and McKibbon Hospitality signed an agreement that will make the school a leader in training the next generation of hotel managers in the state’s premier industry.
This partnership will help move the school from nearly 200 students – all on the USF Sarasota Manatee campus today – to more than 500 students in the next few years on the Sarasota Manatee campus, St. Pete Campus and the Tampa campus will be expanding for years, Cobanoglu said.
“It’s an incredible opportunity for our students,” said the dean. “By the time you graduate after completing this program, you will be able to find a leadership position so quickly.”
As part of this program, students will shadow McKibbon Hospitality staff. McKibbon operates 92 hotels across the country. The company operates 17 hotels in Tampa and three in Sarasota.
Randy Hassen, President of McKibbon Hospitality, said the company “fully accepts” the partnership, also because the hotel manager understands the importance of talented employees for the industry and the value of on-the-job training.
Hassen said when he was in college at the University of Georgia he worked in a hotel every four years.
“I learned as much in the hotel as I did in school,” he said. “… If you want to be hired in a management position, you need practical experience.”
McKibbon hopes to shape the next generation of hospitality managers by turning their hotels into learning environments.
“Everyone in hospitality will tell you that no two days are the same,” he said. “And textbooks don’t even cover the many possibilities that you will experience in our homes.”
Cobanoglu said the program will consist of three levels where students can learn hotel operations, leadership leadership, and a corporate level that focuses on property and hotel development.
Effects of Tourism
Tourism in the Sunshine State employs more than 1 million people, according to Visit Florida’s latest annual report.
The same report put the direct economic impact of tourism on the state’s gross domestic product at 49.8 billion in 2019. Indirect and induced GDP numbers were 21.2 billion and 25.5 billion respectively, an impact of nearly 100 billion on the Florida’s economy in 2019.
The number of GDP effects for 2020 was not taken into account, but the number of visitors was.
In 2019 the country had more than 130 million visitors. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of visitors fell to almost 80 million visitors.
But Visit Florida notes in its annual report that tourism has recovered for 2021 and could soon start setting records again.
Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the tourism and hospitality industries employ between 60,000 and 70,000 people in Sarasota and Manatee counties.
Finding workers has been challenging, however, and Falcione sees the USF and McKibbon partnership as a way to address the labor shortage.
“Human resource development needs to be a big focus,” he said. “We have seen unprecedented growth in the past few months. It’s not just our area, it’s the entire Florida coastline.”
Lisa Krouse, CEO of Sarasota County Economic Development Corp., said the hospitality industry is “an important component of our local business community” and that USF “has been instrumental in promoting talent in the industry through its Sarasota-Manatee campus talent development program.” . ”
“You play an extremely important role in nurturing strong talent for our local economy, and we believe this partnership with McKibbon will only increase the school’s contribution to our economic health and diversity,” she said. “We are particularly pleased that they work with companies and that they take our local labor needs so closely into account. Regardless of whether they send us professionals trained in the hospitality industry – a big engine of our economy – or nursing graduates, the importance of their role in promoting local talent cannot be underestimated. “
USF senior tourism and hospitality student Patty Brylska said she plans to earn her masters degree from USF after graduation and is excited to see how the partnership will improve her final years in college.
She is particularly interested in the fact that the program shows students as many different options as they could fit into the hotel industry.
“It will be amazing to see exactly where I belong,” she said. “We will be able to learn everything that happens in the classroom in the field.”
