Hospitality & Tourism

Masters in Hotel Management

The Masters in Hotel Management is a postgraduate programme that prepares professionals for advanced practice in hotel management, hospitality operations, and tourism enterprise development. The programme provides specialised training in hotel operations, hospitality management, revenue management, and service quality.

Core areas include hotel management, hospitality operations, revenue management, food and beverage management, hospitality marketing, service quality management, research methods, and thesis. Students engage with both theoretical and practical work through coursework, industry attachments, and research.

The programme is offered by Kenyatta University as a public institution through the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. Mount Kenya University offers a related MSc in Hospitality Management as a private institution. Karatina University also offers an MSc in Hotel and Hospitality Management. Programmes are available over two years.

Students develop competencies in hotel management, hospitality operations, revenue management, service quality, and research. The programme includes coursework, examinations, industry projects, and a supervised research thesis, preparing graduates for hotel and hospitality leadership roles.

KU charges approximately KES 141,200 per year while Mount Kenya University charges approximately KES 135,000 per year. Entry requires at least an Upper Second Class Honours degree in Hospitality, Tourism, Hotel Management, or a related field from a recognised institution.

Graduates pursue careers as hotel managers, hospitality directors, revenue managers, food and beverage directors, hospitality consultants, and lecturers across hotels, resorts, hospitality groups, tourism boards, and universities.

Skills Required

Hotel Operations and Management
Hospitality Revenue Management
Food and Beverage Management
Hospitality Marketing and Sales
Service Quality and Guest Experience Management
Hospitality Human Resource Management
Event and Conference Management
Financial Management in Hospitality
Research Methods in Hospitality
Academic Writing and Thesis Research

Key Subjects

Hotel Operations and Management
Hospitality Revenue Management
Food and Beverage Management
Hospitality Marketing and Sales
Service Quality and Guest Experience Management
Event and Conference Management
Financial Management in Hospitality
Hospitality Human Resource Management
Research Methods in Hospitality
Thesis Research

Certifications

HRAC Professional Membership
IHRA Professional Certification

Specializations

Hotel Operations Management

Focuses on hotel operations, covering hotel, operations, management, hospitality, and managing hotel operations and management.

Revenue Management

Examines revenue management, covering revenue, management, pricing, hospitality, and managing hospitality revenue management.

Food and Beverage Management

Covers food and beverage, covering food, beverage, management, restaurant, and managing food and beverage management.

Hospitality Marketing

Focuses on hospitality marketing, covering hospitality, marketing, sales, strategy, and managing hospitality marketing and sales.

Event Management

Examines event management, covering event, management, conference, hospitality, and managing event and conference management.

Service Quality Management

Covers service quality, covering service, quality, guest, experience, and managing service quality and guest experience.

Duration: 2 years
Public, up to: Ksh 141,200
Job market: Moderate

The programme

What you study, how long it takes, and how it is delivered.

Practicalities

Study mode: Full-time, Part-time, School-based
Attachment: 0 months
Average class: 20 students
Award: Masters

What you study

10 subjects

Hotel Operations and Management
Hospitality Revenue Management
Food and Beverage Management
Hospitality Marketing and Sales
Service Quality and Guest Experience Management
Event and Conference Management
Financial Management in Hospitality
Hospitality Human Resource Management
Research Methods in Hospitality
Thesis Research

Modules

12 in the programme

Hotel Operations and Management
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines hotel operations, covering hotel, operations, management, hospitality, and managing hotel operations and management.
Hospitality Revenue Management
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers revenue management, covering revenue, management, pricing, hospitality, and managing hospitality revenue management.
Food and Beverage Management
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines food and beverage, covering food, beverage, management, restaurant, and managing food and beverage management.
Hospitality Marketing and Sales
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers hospitality marketing, covering hospitality, marketing, sales, strategy, and managing hospitality marketing and sales.
Service Quality and Guest Experience
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines service quality, covering service, quality, guest, experience, and managing service quality and guest experience.
Financial Management in Hospitality
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Covers financial management, covering financial, management, hospitality, budgeting, and managing financial management in hospitality.
Hospitality Human Resource Management
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Examines HR management, covering human, resource, management, hospitality, and managing hospitality human resource management.
Research Methods in Hospitality
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Covers research, methods, hospitality, statistics, and conducting research in hospitality, preparing students for their thesis.
Event and Conference Management
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Examines event management, covering event, management, conference, hospitality, and managing event and conference management.
Strategic Management in Hospitality
Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers strategic management, covering strategic, management, hospitality, planning, and managing strategic management in hospitality.
Hospitality Technology and Innovation
Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines hospitality technology, covering hospitality, technology, innovation, digital, and managing hospitality technology and innovation.
Research Thesis
Year 2Semester 212 creditsCore
Original supervised research thesis on a hotel management topic, demonstrating mastery of research methods and hospitality knowledge, assessed through written submission and oral defence.

Specialisations

Hotel Operations Management
Focuses on hotel operations, covering hotel, operations, management, hospitality, and managing hotel operations and management.
Revenue Management
Examines revenue management, covering revenue, management, pricing, hospitality, and managing hospitality revenue management.
Food and Beverage Management
Covers food and beverage, covering food, beverage, management, restaurant, and managing food and beverage management.
Hospitality Marketing
Focuses on hospitality marketing, covering hospitality, marketing, sales, strategy, and managing hospitality marketing and sales.
Event Management
Examines event management, covering event, management, conference, hospitality, and managing event and conference management.
Service Quality Management
Covers service quality, covering service, quality, guest, experience, and managing service quality and guest experience.

A day as a student

A typical day combines lectures, practical sessions, industry case studies, and independent study. Sessions cover hotel operations, revenue management, food and beverage, hospitality marketing, and service quality. Hotel operations sessions examine hotel, operations, management, hospitality, and managing hotel operations. Revenue management sessions cover revenue, management, pricing, hospitality, and managing hospitality revenue management. Food and beverage sessions cover food, beverage, management, restaurant, and managing food and beverage management. Marketing sessions cover hospitality, marketing, sales, strategy, and managing hospitality marketing. Service quality sessions cover service, quality, guest, experience, and managing service quality. Practical sessions provide experience in hotel operations, food service, and guest relations. The programme culminates in a supervised research thesis on a hotel management topic.

The trade offs

In its favour

Programme addresses Kenya's growing hospitality sector with demand for management professionals.
Both public and private universities confirmed offering the programme, providing options for students.
Programme covers diverse areas from revenue management to food and beverage to event management.
Graduates are eligible for HRAC professional membership and IHRA international certification.

Against it

KU fees estimated from general postgraduate rates; specific programme fees not separately verified.
MKU programme is school-based, which may not suit all students.
Hospitality sector is sensitive to economic downturns and security challenges.
Practical sessions may require access to hotel facilities which may be limited.

What it costs

Tuition at both ends of the market, and how to pay for it.

What it costs, and where

Against 91 hospitality & tourism courses

Public141k to 141k

141k at Kenyatta University141k at Technical University of Kenya

Annual tuition in Kenyan shillings, rounded. The upright tick is the median for this field, so a bar sitting entirely to its right is an expensive programme by the standards of its own subject.

The fine print

Unverified. KU offers MSc Hospitality Mgmt at 267,000 (mawese.com), not Hotel Mgmt.

HELB postgraduate loans are available for Kenyan students. Universities may offer scholarships for eligible students. KTB may offer tourism and hospitality funding for research and education.

Funding options

HELB Postgraduate Loan
University Scholarship
KTB Tourism Fund

Scholarships

3 recorded

HELB Postgraduate Loan
LoanKsh 200,000Kenyan
Kenyan students pursuing postgraduate studies at recognised universities.
University Scholarship
ScholarshipKsh 141,200Kenyan
KU and MKU may offer scholarships for eligible postgraduate hospitality students.
KTB Tourism Fund
ScholarshipKsh 200,000Kenyan
KTB may offer tourism and hospitality funding for research and education.

Getting in

The grades, the alternatives, and who accredits the award.

What you need

KCSE mean grade: N/A (Postgraduate)
Alternative entry: KU and MKU require at least Upper Second Class Honours in a relevant field. Lower Second Class may be considered with relevant industry experience. Contact respective universities for specific admission requirements.

How you are assessed

4 components

Coursework and Continuous Assessment
Coursework30% of the mark
Continuous assessment through coursework assignments, case studies, seminar presentations, and class participation.
Written Examinations
Examination70% of the mark
Written examinations covering hotel operations, revenue management, food and beverage, and hospitality marketing.
Practical Assessment
Project40% of the mark
Practical assessment through hotel operations projects, demonstrating service quality, revenue management, and operational skills.
Research Thesis
Research100% of the mark
Original supervised research thesis on a hotel management topic, demonstrating mastery of research methods and hospitality knowledge, assessed through written submission and oral defence.

Accreditation

The programme is accredited by the Commission for University Education (CUE). KU (public) offers MSc in Hospitality Management through the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. Mount Kenya University (private) offers MSc in Hospitality Management. The programme meets CUE standards for postgraduate training in hotel and hospitality management. Graduates may interact with HRAC for professional membership and IHRA for international standards. The programme aligns with CUE, HRAC, and IHRA global hospitality frameworks.

Accredited by

Commission for University Education (CUE)
Academic accreditationRequired
Programme accredited by CUE. KU (public) offers MSc in Hospitality Management through the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. Mount Kenya University (private) offers MSc in Hospitality Management. The programme meets CUE standards for postgraduate training in hotel and hospitality management. Graduates may interact with HRAC for professional membership and IHRA for international standards. The programme aligns with CUE, HRAC, and IHRA global hospitality frameworks.

Where it leads

The roles it opens, and what you leave with.

Where graduates go

6 roles

Hotel Manager
Moderate demandKsh 120,000 to Ksh 400,000
Manages hotel operations, covering hotel, manager, operations, hospitality, and managing hotel management and operations.
Hospitality Director
Moderate demandKsh 150,000 to Ksh 500,000
Directs hospitality operations, covering hospitality, director, operations, strategy, and managing hospitality operations and strategy.
Revenue Manager
Moderate demandKsh 110,000 to Ksh 380,000
Manages revenue, covering revenue, manager, pricing, hospitality, and managing hospitality revenue management.
Food and Beverage Director
Moderate demandKsh 110,000 to Ksh 380,000
Directs food and beverage, covering food, beverage, director, restaurant, and managing food and beverage operations.
Hospitality Consultant
Moderate demandKsh 120,000 to Ksh 400,000
Provides hospitality consulting, covering hospitality, consultant, advisory, strategy, and managing hospitality consulting.
Hospitality Lecturer
Moderate demandKsh 100,000 to Ksh 400,000
Teaches hotel management at university or college level, overseeing instruction, research, and academic supervision.

Graduate outcomes

Where these fields lead

8 careers

Tools you will learn

Opera PMS
SoftwarePrimary
Opera PMS for hotel property management, covering Opera, PMS, hotel, management, and managing hotel property management systems.
Excel
Software
Excel for hospitality financial analysis and revenue management, covering Excel, finance, revenue, hospitality, and managing hospitality financial analysis.
SPSS
Software
SPSS for hospitality research data analysis, covering statistics, data, analysis, hospitality, and managing hospitality research data analysis.
QuickBooks
Software
QuickBooks for hospitality financial management and accounting, covering QuickBooks, accounting, finance, hospitality, and managing hospitality accounting.

Industry links

Common misconceptions

Hotel management is just about running hotels.
Hotel management covers revenue, marketing, food and beverage, events, human resources, and service quality beyond just hotel operations.
This programme is only for hospitality graduates.
The programme is for professionals from business, tourism, and related fields, not just hospitality graduates.
Hotel management has limited career prospects in Kenya.
Kenya's tourism sector offers diverse opportunities in hotels, resorts, lodges, and hospitality groups.
This programme is the same as tourism management.
Hotel management focuses on hospitality operations and service, while tourism management covers broader travel and destination management.
You need hotel experience to study this programme.
The programme is accessible to graduates from various fields seeking hospitality specialisation, not just hotel employees.
Hotel management is only about customer service.
The programme includes finance, revenue management, human resources, marketing, and strategic management alongside customer service.