Founded in the year 1996, École Hôtelière de Genève is a privately-owned institution, situated in Geneva, Switzerland. It specializes in providing the best hotel management programs that are QQQ, ASEH, and Eduqua accredited. These accreditations represent the highest level of achievement of hotel schools in Switzerland. The college has a systematic approach that promotes the multi-disciplinary development of its students. Diploma courses at the institution are recognized and appreciated by hotel and restaurant professionals. École Hôtelière de Genève is ranked among the top ten worldwide hospitality management schools.
A Century-Old Legacy
Being one of the oldest Hotel Management Schools in the world, École Hôtelière de Genève (EHG) was founded in Neuchâtel in 1914 by GastroSuisse, an employers’ association of the hospitality industry containing 21,000 members. At that time the École des Cafètiers-restaurateurs was the official training institute for the hotel and catering industry in French-speaking Switzerland. In 1951, the school was moved to 12th Avenue de la Paix, Geneva—besides the United Nations and International Red Cross establishment buildings. In 1996, École des Cafètiers-restaurateurs training institute was renamed as École Hôtelière de Genève because it had been accredited as an ‘école supérieure,’ or higher education institution. Soon, a second wing was constructed to supplement the facilities that combine the beauty and tradition of a historic building with state-of-the-art infrastructure.
Visionary Director of Operations
Susanne Welle is the Director of École Hôtelière de Genève and Hotel School Belvoir Park Zürich. She is an expert with great knowledge and proven experience in the hotel and restaurant industry in Switzerland and abroad.
Susanne gained insights into the industry early in her career. She worked and further developed programs while participating in continuous improvement. She served a significant amount of time at the Swiss Hotel Management School, Glion Institute of Higher Education, and Vatel Switzerland. Before joining École Hôtelière de Genève, she was the Dean of “Undergraduate Programs and Dean of Practical Arts” at the hotel school Les Roches Global Hospitality Education in Crans-Montana.
The management appointed Susanne as the director of École Hôtelière de Genève and soon gave her the additional responsibility of the leading sister school of Belvoir Park in Zürich, which is also a part of the GastroSuisse.
A School of Multiple Disciplines
École Hôtelière de Genève is a hotel management school for executives, which provides management courses in accounting, financial management, human resources, marketing, communication, e-marketing, web marketing, sustainable development, technical facilities, catering, and accommodation. The institution offers two programs, a 3 years long general program for students with no work experience which is equivalent to a bachelor’s education, and a professional two years program for students with apprenticeship experience in the industry. The medium of education at the institute is French.
Creating Strong Bonds with the Students
The institute holds a maximum of 150 students on its campus. The management also involves itself in teaching. Core subjects like finance, human resource management, marketing, etc. are taught by their respective managers. This unique method develops strong student-teacher relationships in the whole institution.
“Everybody is involved in the teaching, everybody identifies themselves with the needs of the school, and everybody knows the students,” said Susanne.
École Hôtelière de Genève has adapted a dynamic curriculum that is constantly reviewed and developed according to the trends in the hospitality industry. Lately, a large amount of focus on multi-course projects has been allotted. It is being considered a great development that allows students to see the synergies between the different courses.
A Holistic Approach
The educational institute recently opened a new student training restaurant ‘L’Auberge’ to assure that students get the required service and kitchen experience. It is an addition to the fine dining restaurant, large-scale catering cuisine, and bar. The training also helps the students learn the functional differences between types of restaurants. L’Auberge recently received 13 Gault Millau points out of 20, which are awarded on the basis of the quality of food, service, price, and ambiance of the place.
To develop a sense of corporate social responsibility in the students, the school runs a restaurant for training unemployed individuals. École Hôtelière de Genève has appointed a Sustainability Professor who is responsible for taking suitable steps and actions to educate the students in the field.
For the past 6 years, the Hotel Management School of Geneva, or École Hôtelière de Genève, has consecutively ranked in the ‘top 10’ of “the best hotel schools worldwide” by the CEOWORLD Magazine.
Adapting to the New Norms
2020 was a difficult year for students and teachers around the world. Many students had to discontinue their studies to support their families during this unprecedented time. Foreign students had to travel back to their home countries, and the whole education system had to adapt to the new norms overnight.
École Hôtelière de Genève went through a lot of changes. It adapted to the new learning tools like Canvas, Teams, etc. The institute offered one-on-one sessions to students at every level from the faculty members. In addition, it also provided counseling sessions, where students could report issues that they face with the remote learning process. The students were constantly motivated and counseled for depression, isolation, and other personal issues.
The institution held all the required practical sessions safely in very small groups. Each group was first tested and then allowed to attend practical classes with an individual approach to one-on-one teaching. By practicing various precautionary methods, École Hôtelière de Genève maintained good quality education with average grades at the same level as previous semesters.
Developing Skills for the Future
École Hôtelière de Genève is currently developing a boot camp for all students in the final year. It will focus on innovation and entrepreneurship to prepare students for the uncertain situations of the future. The institute hopes to develop the skills required to encounter and appreciate challenges, instead of fighting them. The alumni of the École Hôtelière de Genève will also be invited to these sessions.
Expanding Opportunities
Over the years, the hospitality industry has changed. There is an enhanced focus on personalized services, digitalization, and diversity. Corporate social responsibility programs are also becoming significant and the importance of sustainability is finally being recognized as a matter of concern. Youth altruistic youth of this era seeks purpose. École Hôtelière de Genève is now enhancing its capabilities with more flexible teaching options. The institute now focuses on blended learning, which involves a mix of both electronic as well as physical mediums of education. The institute has also adopted the flipped classroom and live problem-solving concept of teaching. École Hôtelière de Genève is readily willing to equip the students with the necessary tools to tackle the changing world of hospitality through innovation, endurance, and entrepreneurship.
Read Full Magazine: The 10 Best Hospitality Management Institutes of 2021
