SPECIAL REPORT
GEN Z HAS PROVEN TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE
OPEN AND VOCAL
ABOUT THEIR WORK ENVIRONMENT AND ARE NO LONGER PREPARED TO SIMPLY ACCEPT RULES OR PROCEDURES FOR THEIR ( OWN ) SAKE .
MARKUS ENGEL , CEO , URBAN RESORT CONCEPTS , SHANGHAI
This generation questions the status quo and hierarchy — tricky in the hotel business , where operations are tightly proscribed . “ Gen Z has proven to be significantly more open and vocal about their work environment and are no longer prepared to simply accept rules or procedures for their ( own ) sake ,” says Markus Engel , CEO of Urban Resort Concepts in Shanghai , which operates four luxury hotels and has eight under development in Asia Pacific and the Middle East .
While money is a top concern , Gen Zers have the benefit of a vibrant economy . They aren ’ t afraid to ask for more money , a title or flexibility . “ If the answer is no , they ’ ll find another role pretty easily ,” says Alysia Briggs , vice president of human resources at Viceroy Hotel
First ‘ PLAY ,’ then THEORY
Gen Z is addicted to social media and their average attention span is eight seconds , surveys say . That has grabbed the attention of hospitality schools , which are adjusting their curriculum and teaching styles .
The traditional template of lectures followed by hands-on activities is turned upside down . Students are immersed first in the tangible activities and projects and then served the concepts later .
“ Students don ’ t want to sit in a classroom and take notes , like I did ,” says Stowe Shoemaker , dean of the Harrah College of Hospitality at the University of Nevada Las Vegas . “ They don ’ t read textbooks . Everything has to be short and to the point .”
At the Jonathan M . Tisch Center of Hospitality at New York University , students explore revenue management software in class . “ We let them play , see the decisions they have to make , and make mistakes ,” says associate dean Nicolas Graf . “ Then we bring in the theory .”
Professors at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration “ flip the classroom ” so that students watch presentations online at night or listen to lectures while walking to their dorms . That way the students can devote class time to projects , says dean Kate Walsh . “ They respond to the opportunity to jump in and roll up their sleeves .”
At the new US $ 60 million Harrah College facility in Las Vegas , students work in the coffee shop and the kitchens , mirroring the hotel environment , Shoemaker says . A partnership with Caesars Entertainment at a nearby research center gives students the chance to research technology for the design of future hotel rooms .
“ The industry is more experience driven , which is reflected in the curriculum ,” Shoemaker says . The school has introduced or will add more specialized courses in food service equipment and design , beverages , selling meetings and events , and running e-sports events . To give students the chance to explore their interests in depth , the school reduced the number of required credits for a degree to 55 from 75 while raising the number of elective credits to 30 from 10 .
The use of technology has changed the dynamic between professors and students . The first generation of true digital natives , Gen Z uses their mobiles phones as a tool , says Rémi Walbaum , chief innovation officer at the hospitality school EHL in Lausanne , Switzerland .
“ If you don ’ t know something you go online and find out ,” he says . “ If a professor says something that ’ s not true , he is told off immediately by the students . That ’ s a revolution for the classroom .”
26 hotelsmag . com March 2020