New Hospitality and Tourism Management Major to Bring Students a Wealth of Experience

University of Virginia’s College at Wise (UVA Wise) students scanned hotel guestroom baseboards, lampshades and bedding during a first-of-its kind hospitality experiential learning project.

All 12 students were part of the College’s Introduction to Hospitality and Tourism Management class where they had the opportunity to step into a day in the life of a person in the hospitality industry by performing hotel room inspections at the Inn at Wise. Professor Cherry Brewer, who teaches the new class, said it the first time any of the students had conducted hotel inspections and they did a great job.

“It was really cool to go from room to room looking everything over,” said UVA Wise business administration major, Evan Hill. “This experience allowed me to actually picture myself in the hospitality and tourism industry.”

In the last week of April, the students presented the hotel inspection findings at the Inn at Wise with a host of guests in attendance.

During his opening remarks, UVA Wise alumnus Fred McClellan ’76 of Virginessee Real Estate Consultants commended the hospitality students for their hard work. 

“Today is a day we have the opportunity to celebrate betterment—betterment of quality and betterment of service. This project has exceeded my expectations thanks to the hard work of the students involved,” said McClellan.

The hospitality and tourism management major is the College’s newest addition to the Department of Business & Economics, and is currently accepting students for the upcoming fall 2024 semester. 

“I feel very proud of my students. The quality of their work was very impressive, especially since this was their first hospitality and tourism class and none of them had previous background experience,” said Brewer.

The unique educational opportunity arose when McClellan and Brian Falin ’99, Industrial Development Supervisor and Wise County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) Executive Director, partnered with hotel industry expert Prakash “Peter” Patel and the College at Wise. 

The Inn at Wise, which is owned by the Wise IDA and managed by Newport Hospitality Group, welcomed the students to assess current conditions of the hotel and identify areas for improvement, as the last remodel of the historic hotel took place over ten years ago. The project has special significance because the Inn at Wise is the birthplace of the College. 

In February, McClellan, Falin and Patel met with the students to give them an introduction to the project. They began their inspections in the middle of March after training by Patel, who has over six decades of hospitality and guest services experience in Southwest Virginia. Over the span of two weeks, 49 rooms were inspected, with students checking each room thoroughly to ensure guest satisfaction. They tackled more than 100 criteria to check for during the inspections.  For example, they checked to see whether a door closes automatically, a sink drains properly or if a there was an emergency exist sign on the back of a door. 

Overall, the students found the hotel was in good condition and well-kept. 

After the inspections, students were divided into smaller groups to complete their reports. Through the use of online, cloud-based platforms, students were able to connect with each other and work efficiently as a team. Students completed tasks such as data analysis, presentation building, report writing, formats and auditing and video creation.

“One of the reasons we started the program was because this region is really looking to expand in hospitality and tourism,” said  UVA Wise Chancellor Donna P. Henry at the presentation. “A partnership with the IDA is critically important, and I’m pleased you are engaged in this. I’m looking forward to the program growing.”