Guide to Getting Your Associate Degree in Hospitality Management Online

Become Team
Become Team
Updated December 22, 2021

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An associate degree in hospitality management online provides students with a blend of industry-specific and general business training. Throughout the program, students develop foundational business skills and targeted skills for the travel and tourism industry. The degree's broad training allows students to explore several related careers. Furthermore, the median salary for lodging managers is higher than the national average, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Professionals with college-level training stand to acquire most new jobs in the field. Read on to explore more details about associate degrees in hospitality management online, along with careers and related training students can pursue after graduation.

What Will You Learn in an Associate Degree in Hospitality Management Online Program?

To prepare students for careers that stretch across such a broad industry, an online associate degree in hospitality management provides widely applicable training and skills. In addition to standard general education courses, these programs deliver core business and hospitality management training.

Here are some common courses in a hospitality management curriculum and typical skills students gain from the program.

Common Courses

Lodging Management

In this course, students learn about the lodging industry, including the front office, security, and housekeeping. While these skills help students pursue lodging management positions, they also apply to general business management positions.

Business Information Systems

This course explores how contemporary businesses and organizations use information systems to improve operations and gain competitive advantages. Students learn how to use technology to improve efficiency and make better business decisions. These skills apply to most business professions.

Customer Service

Students in this course learn how customer service and professionalism improve customers' experience. Students learn to design, implement, and maintain a customer service strategy and philosophy. Customer service skills apply in nearly any setting. Students can even use these soft skills to build interpersonal relationships with others in their organization.

Professional Communication

In this course, learners examine successful communication. They analyze customer and audience behaviors and situations to determine how to structure communications to get the best response. While this training may feature a hospitality slant, students can transfer the skills to many industries and professions.

Financial Accounting

This course teaches how financial accounting works in businesses and how smart accounting can help businesses improve. The training provides students with basic accounting knowledge to apply to many organizations.

Core Skills

The skills gained in an online associate degree in hospitality management vary by program, but most students acquire certain core competencies, including:

These skills apply to many careers, and having business skills can lead to careers in operations, accounting, marketing, or management.

What Can You Do With an Associate Degree in Hospitality Management Online?

Hospitality management degrees prepare graduates for the travel and tourism industry, but students' career prospects are much broader. While each student's career path differs, here are some possible job options for graduates and accompanying salaries:


Lodging managers ensure that guests enjoy the best experience possible. They also ensure the operation runs smoothly. Lodging managers often need college-level training in hospitality management.

Average Annual Salary: $65,270

Administrative service managers oversee an organization's administrative and supportive services. They ensure that operations and processes run smoothly. Candidates typically need a bachelor's degree and work experience.

Average Annual Salary: $108,120

Customer service representatives manage an organization's client and customer needs by processing orders, resolving complaints, and satisfying their requests. While these professionals only need a high school degree, some employers prefer candidates with a college education.

Average Annual Salary: $38,510

Sales representatives sell an organization's goods and services. They may also work on pricing, marketing, and delivery. Many organizations seek out professionals with college training or business degrees.

Average Annual Salary: $73,500

Advertising sales agents sell advertisements and work with clients to create an optimal marketing strategy. Professionals in this field may need college-level training in business and marketing.

Average Annual Salary: $68,040

Transferring to a Four-Year Degree Program After Getting Your Associate Degree in Hospitality Management Online

In addition to the entry-level careers available to graduates with an online associate degree in hospitality management, you can also continue your education to earn a bachelor's degree.

Many bachelor's degrees build on the foundation gained in an online associate degree in hospitality management. Here are choices that might make the most of the student's previous training:

Bachelor's in Business Management

A bachelor's in business management delves into business operations and processes. Students can apply their training to a career in a corporation or channel their advanced business training into the hospitality industry.

Bachelor's in Computer Information Systems

This program teaches students how to utilize and implement the latest in computer technology. With an associate degree in hospitality management, students can devise technological methods to improve business or hospitality processes and operations.

Bachelor's in Marketing

Marketing bachelor's degrees explore the purchasing process, from product design to sales. An associate degree provides students with a solid foundation for exploring marketing more in-depth. Students may also apply their marketing expertise to promote the hospitality industry.

Become Team
Become Team
Contributing Writer

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