Key Skills for European Union Hotel Staff Erasmus Project

Project Title

Key Skills for European Union Hotel Staff

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Open and distance learning

Project Summary

The project application was worked out based on a thorough prior needs analysis.The stimulus for this project was provided by Primrose Publishing who extending its range of language software designed a computer program containing a huge repository of questions that guests ask at the hotel reception desk in seven languages, which is also available as a smartphone app. The project aims to address key issues in the accommodation and catering sector by providing hotel staff with a set of freely accessible resources to improve their language and intercultural skills thereby impressing their guests with the use of the guests’ language and increasing their satisfaction. It not only provides hotel staff with a range of answers to these and other questions in 12 most popular languages used in tourism and hospitality business but also provide similar answers to guests’ questions in a restaurant, an impressive array of materials in 12 languages as well as a learning program and an on-line English course for those in the hospitality sector and tourism and hospitality students thereby increasing their competences and employability.
Six partners are involved in the project: Turiba University from Latvia specializing in business, including tourism and hospitality management; Ekonomska šola, a tertiary education institution from Slovenia providing business education; Sapientia University from the Hungarian-speaking part of Romania – providing a wide spectrum of study programmes; IPSSA Nino Bergese, a hotel school from Genoa, Italy; Turisticka i ugostiteljska skola, a hotel and catering school from Dubrovnik, Croatia; and Primrose Publishing from England that created the FrontDesk program for the industry and the smartphone apps.
The Consortium created the Learning program using Moodle platform. The Learning program comprises 2 levels: 1) A2/B1 language learning course for 12 languages and 2) B2/C1English course. Each of the parts contains 6 modules relevant for work in hotel and catering industry.
Comprehensive curricula, pedagogical and technological guidelines, intercultural guidelines are a part of the outputs.
Other outputs comprise two computer programs and two apps containing answers to guests’ questions in 12 languages, the activities include relevant lexis necessary at restaurants and an in-depth survey of cultural sensitivities in all European countries and thereby avoid causing offence and distress. Digital maps have been created showing hotels in three locations: in a rural countryside, by the seaside and at a ski resort in the mountains that will help to learn a language using innovative approach. The maps are accompanied with the tasks and the inside hotel maps. All the materials created will be available after the project free of charge as a learning program.
A project web-site has been created, and a comprehensive and challenging dissemination programme has been undertaken. The learning program and the on-line English course was piloted and reports written and uploaded on it. A wide variety of media, dissemination
tools were used: seminars, workshops, presentations, e-mail campaigns, social media, conferences,
articles, reports, fairs, etc.
8 National workshops were held followed by an international conference in Slovenia with the participation of key stakeholders from the hospitality sector invited from the partner countries These events were organised to promote the project and demonstrate of all outputs of the project.
The results are highly-motivating with the potential to transform and even revolutionize the way students and hotel trainees are trained at all levels. There is clear opportunity for all who work in the tourist industry to be excited by what the project has produced, and exploit the materials created to enhance their language skills and their ability to advance in their career.The project sustainability plan adopted secures this.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 200898 Eur

Project Coordinator

Turisticka i ugostiteljska skola Dubrovnik & Country: HR

Project Partners

• Ekonomska sola Murska Sobota, Visja strokovna sola
• IPSSA Nino Bergese
• UNIVERSITATEA SAPIENTIA
• Primrose Publishing Limited
• SIA BIZNESA AUGSTSKOLA TURIBA