Innovation and Venture Development

This course focuses on developing the resourcefulness, know-how, and decision support skills needed to critically identify, assess, and develop new hospitality ventures. Topics will include the hotel concepts, hospitality technology start-up ventures, new hospitality venture creation, and innovation, business plan development and assessment, growth and venture financing, marketing and new venture growth strategies, corporate venturing, and taking strategy to action. Specifically, the course deals with developing and managing new hospitality ventures from an entrepreneurial point of view. The course is designed to focus on starting new ventures, acquiring existing hospitality organizations, managing hospitality venture funds, and growing existing organizations in the hospitality industry. The development of growth strategies and how such strategies directly support other value creation activities in the entrepreneurial hospitality organization will be discussed.