How do you participate in a travel research competition without travelling during a global pandemic?
A group of five NC students from the Honours Bachelor of Business Administration – Hospitality went the distance when it came to effort, rather than air miles, as participants in the recent Smith Travel Research Virtual Student Market Study Competition. NC’s team- was among 36 undergraduate teams competing in this year’s competition, which was held virtually for 2020 due to COVID-19, and earned an Honorable Mention in the process.
“The achievement was a testament to the hard work the students put into this year’s project and the overall quality of the submission,” said faculty member Heather Clark. “The faculty team is also proud in that this year’s team represented the BBAH program and Niagara College well. We believe there is reason to hold our heads high and count the result as a positive one.”
Participating in the competition offered the team of students a chance to apply their classroom learning to a hands-on project. Students were provided a destination – the NC team’s destination was Niagara Falls – and were tasked with investigating how the data related to the lived experiences of businesses in the destination. They completed an analysis of their market and submitted a video presentation to the online competition.
“Students not only learned about the numbers that are relevant to Niagara Falls but were also able to make the connection to the experience of the tourism industry by connecting with representatives from Niagara Falls,” said Clark. “Of course, soft skills are also developed in this experience as students are required to work together, communicate frequently and manage their project creation. This year’s project had the added challenge of working from a distance as a result of COVID restrictions.”
Clark noted that the experience also provided an opportunity for students to test their Certified Hotel Industry Analyst (CHIA) skill sets prior to their CHIA professional exam in April 2021.NC is the only school in Canada that offers the CHIA professional certification program, which is offered by the top hotel schools around the world. Students who have successfully obtained their CHIA and have competed in the STR Market Competition are also eligible to sit for the Certified in Advanced Hospitality and Tourism Analytics (CAHTA) professional certification exam. These credentials are highly recognized within the accommodation sector of the hospitality industry.
Third-year BBAH student Erin Shoemaker has her sights set on the latter. It was her second consecutive year participating in the STR competition – last year, the experience took her to New York City – and she jumped at the chance once again to hone her skills, bond with her peers and challenge herself beyond her course content. In addition to fulfilling a requirement for CAHTA, she noted that competition looks great on her resume.
Shoemaker valued the experience she gained over the past two months preparing for the event focusing on market overview and developing PowerPoint design and format for the presentation -and feels the experience will benefit her in the future.
“These experiences not only teach you industry-related skills, but they also foster teamwork, collaboration, time management and public speaking. These are all very important in the hospitality industry,” she said.
Fourth-year BBAH student Nicole Guinto embraced the opportunity to participate, work alongside her teammates and gain valuable skills in the process. While she was sorry to have missed out on the travel portion of this year’s virtual competition, she understood that the virtual event was the best option during this year’s circumstances and was privileged to earn an honorable mention.
She noted that while the experience wasn’t part of a class project or assignment to be graded, it provided her a chance to improve valuable skills in data collection and analysis, as well as gain experience using Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.
“The workload was immense and time-consuming, and I think not a lot of students realize the amount of effort and dedication they would need to succeed in these kinds of roles,” said Guinto. “But, above all, it was truly rewarding. I met some of the most important people in the world of tourism and hospitality in the Niagara region … and learned so much from our amazing faculty advisors; Dr. Heather Clark, Prof. Rondinelli, and Dr. Paul Willie.”
Fourth-year BBAH student Matthew Staples had a great experience working with his teammates and gaining valuable skills along the way. He interpreted large data sets to create a story behind their findings, improved his skills working with Microsoft Excel, learned to create Pivot Tables to organize data and create graphs, and gained knowledge on STR’s terminology and documentation, which will help him pursue his CHIA designation.
“Everyone contributed a great deal into the final presentation and I am really proud of what we were able to accomplish,” he said. “The experience was rewarding to me because I had the opportunity to participate in something that I had never done before. I was excited to learn more about the Niagara Falls market and at the same time gain valuable knowledge in a number of new skills that I applied while working through the project.”
In addition to Shoemaker, Guinto and Staples, NC’s team included Arnav Gupta and Mariia Povolotska.
