Menu

    The Swiss Professional Degree in Hotel & Gastronomy is a comprehensive program to prepare you to become a successful Hotel or Restaurant Manager.

    The next intakes are: January 22, 2024, August 05, 2024, January 20, 2025.

    NEW: the duration of the program is reduced to 2 years for holders of an apprenticeship in the hotel and restaurant industry. 

    Hotelfachschule Thun Alumni 5

    Practical approach:
    Our program emphasizes hands-on training and real-life practical experience, enabling you to develop the essential skills required in the industry.

    Industry-Relevant curriculum:
    We have established strong collaborations with leading hotels and restaurants, and our curriculum is naturally designed to align with the latest trends of the industry.

    The Lab Hotel:
    We have our own 65-room hotel on campus! You will have the chance to practice being a hotel manager in a real-life environment right at school.

    Hotelfachschule Thun Alumni-1

    Cool, modern learning spaces:
    Our school has a unique vibe, with its colorful facilities that reflect the laid-back style of modern hotel concepts. The friendly atmosphere will enhance your learning experience.

    Recognized diploma:
    The Swiss Professional Diploma in Hotel and Restaurant Management offered by our school is recognized by the Swiss Confederation and highly regarded in the industry. Our graduates are highly sought-after.

    Choose your format: Our degree is available both in full-time and part-time formats. You can choose to fully focus on your studies before entering the workplace, or work while studying.

    Key Facts

    icon_diploma_dark_blue

    Diploma

    Advanced Federal Diploma of Higher Education in Hospitality Management
    (Dipl. Hoteliere-Gastronomin/Hotelier-Gastronom HF)

    icon_time_dark_blue

    Duration

    3 Years, including 1 year of work experience.
    2 years for holders of an EFZ in the industry.

    icon_location_dark_blue

    Location

    Thun, Canton Bern, Switzerland

    icon_calendar_dark_blue

    Format

    Full-time (3.5 year part-time program also available)

    Courses by semester

    The program lasts 3 years. The first semester focuses on kitchen, restaurant and rooms division. The 2nd, 4th and 6th semester are cover the areas of gastronomy and hotel business, economics and law as well as language and communication. Internships take place in semesters 3 and 5. They are completed in different departments of a hotel or restaurant business, depending on the previous education. 

    The program is reduced to 2 years for holders of a EFZ in hotel and restaurant. Find out more here (in German).

    Students with the relevant EFZ diploma can be exempted from the Kitchen, Catering or the Rooms Division module

    Introductory week (module hours: 40)

    - Insight into the entrepreneurial world

    - Exchanges and links between theory and practice

    - Work with first and second device

    - Basic attitudes in study and professional life

    Kitchen (Module hours: 280)

    - Trends and guest needs

    - Infrastructure in the production premises

    - Food safety, HACCP

    - Basic knowledge of purchasing organization, production and supply planning

    - Cooking methods, culinary & presentation

    - Dietetics, food knowledge, sustainability

    Restaurant Service (Module hours: 220)

    - Organization, service types, service procedures

    - Guest groups / types

    - Guest service / communication

    - Service rules and techniques

    - Working at the guest table

    - Basic knowledge of wine, coffee incl. service rules

    Rooms Division (Module hours: 350)

    - Housekeeping

    - Front Office, Guest Relation and Service 

    - Night operations

    Training Coaching (Module Hours: 10)

    - Learning comprehension, learning strategies, learning biography

    - Work techniques, self-reflection

    - Time management

    - Development competence, group dynamics

    - Personal development

    My Business (module hours: 150)

    - Principles and contexts of business management

    - Human resources

    - Productivity and profitability

    - Introduction legal studies 

    - Economic basics

    - Management tasks at a glance

    Market4you (Module hours: 140)

    - Environmental analysis & trends / demand analysis

    - Techniques and instruments of strategic analysis

    - Offer definition in the hospitality sector

    - Introduction to marketing and distribution

    - Basics of marketing concepts

    - Marketing communication

    Service to the guest (module hours: 170)

    - Introduction to the structure and organization of a hospitality company

    - Rooms division 

    - F&B management

    - Other business areas (including processes, MICE, catering, events, etc.)

    - Internal & external communication

    - Concept analyses, structural and process organizations

    Procurement and management (module hours: 110)

    - Procurement and purchasing policy

    - Principles and developments in purchasing

    - Purchasing and procurement as a process

    - Purchasing planning and organization

    - Goods storage and management

    Fundamentals of accounting (Module hours: 80)

    - Double-entry bookkeeping 

    Transfer module (project week) (Module hours: 40)

    - Project management

    - Preparation of documentation, scientific work

    Training coaching (module hours: 10)

    - Emotional competencies, empathy, perspectives

    - Self-perception and perception of others

    - impact competence

    - Communication in conversation

    - Personal conflict, emotion and stress management

    French I (Module hours: 120)

    - Language skills in service, restaurant & hotel business

    - Language skills for management

    Digital Applications and Technologies I (Module hours: 80)

    - Digital trends and developments

    - Digital applications to support processes

    - Individual consolidation of digital applications and technologies

    Hospitality area can be chosen based on past education and personal preferences

    If in Switzerland, monthly gross salary CHF 2,359 (as of 01.01.2024).

    The internships (3rd and 5th semester) can be completed abroad if the requirements are met.

    Hotels and restaurants can publish their internship positions free of charge on our job exchange.

    Please contact us at e-mail: praktikum(at)hfhun.ch

    Securing finances (Module hours: 90)

    - Chart of accounts 

    - Value Added Tax

    - Technology: Accounting software / New EZ- bills

    - Payroll accounting 

    - Minimum wages

    - Cash flow statement

    - Cost accounting

    - Utilization threshold

    Our offer (Module hours: 180)

    - Hospitality world  

    - Strategic decision areas and strategy options 

    - Introduction to the conception and design of hospitality offers

    - Pricing and calculation of hospitality services

    - Deepening of marketing instruments and marketing mix  

    - Communication / promotion of offers on different channels

    - Controlling

    Employee-oriented management (Module hours: 180)

    - Employee-oriented basic logic

    - Core tasks of personnel management

    - Communication

    - Company correspondence

    - Practical application in the Lab Hotel or in in the context of a Pop Up

    Transfer module (Module hours 120)

    - Developing hotel and gastronomy concepts

    - Create concepts for marketing the business and ensure their implementation

    - Determine leadership and cooperation with employees 

    - Actively participate in recruiting and leadership

    Training coaching (Module hours 10)

    - Group skills

    - Relationship competence

    - Introduction to leadership coaching

    English I (Module hours: 120)

    - Language skills for kitchen, service, reception, housekeeping

    - Language skills for human resources and management 

    French II (Module hours: 120)

    - Language skills for cuisine, - service, reception, housekeeping

    - Language skills for guest relations, human resources, management 

    - General language structure

    Digital Applications and Technologies II (Module hours: 80)

    - Observation of trends and developments 

    - Digital applications and technologies in the back office area

    - Digital applications and technologies in communication

    - Individual deepening in digital applications and technologies

    Hospitality area can be chosen based on past education and personal preferences

    If in Switzerland, monthly gross salary CHF 2,359 (as of 01.01.2024).

    The internships (3rd and 5th semester) can be completed abroad if the requirements are met.

    Hotels and restaurants can publish their internship positions free of charge on our job exchange. 

    Please contact us at e-mail: praktikum(at)hfthun.ch

    Organizational and human resources development (module hours: 130)

    - Developing awareness and attitude in HR

    - Employee policy as a basis

    - Trends and visions: Use of current models

    - Motivation, satisfaction, intercultural competences from the employer's point of view

    - Different types of conversations

    - Employee administration

    Key factors of company management (module hours: 200)

    - Corporate models

    - Change management, innovation management

    - Quality Management

    - Financial feasibility 

    - Business plan "live”

    - Work with business simulation

    - Corporate law, inheritance law

    Financial planning (module hours: 130)

    - Balance sheet and performance analysis

    - Liquidity planning

    - Sole proprietorship, joint stock company

    - Investment appraisal, financing

    - Reorganization

    - Budget, budget process

    - Company valuation with capitalized earnings method

    - Financial feasibility

    Facility management (module hours 80)

    - Alignment of infrastructures with strategy

    - Operational organization: space organization, space relations, guest routes,

    merchandise routes, work processes, capacities, type of operation

    - Catering trade planning

    - Architectural brief/operational organization project assessment

    - Evaluation and procurement of facilities and infrastructures

    - Value preservation

    Transfer module (module hours 80)

    - Develop hotel and catering concepts, derive offers.

    - Determine and implement leadership and collaboration with staff.

    - Carry out financial planning of the operation, ensure achievement

    - Plan and monitor management of infrastructure

    Training coaching (module hours: 10)

    - Leadership coaching

    - Respect others in development, engage and motivate

    - Accompany change processes

    - Role flexibility

    - Conflict management and facilitation

    English II (Module hours: 120)

    - Language skills for kitchen, service, reception, housekeeping

    - Language skills for human resources and management, sustainability 

    Diploma thesis (module hours: 150)

    - According to individual agreement

    The next intakes are: 05 August 2024, January 20, 2025.

    August 05, 2025 intake: 

    • Check-in Semester: 
      05.08.24 and 06.08.24 Introductory days 
      07.08.24 – 25.10.24 Kitchen module* (fall vacations 30.09. – 20.10.24) 
    • 28.10.24 – 29.11.24 Restaurant module  
      23.03.24 - 14.04.24 3 weeks spring break 
      15.04.24 - 17.05.24 Restaurant module
    • 02.12.24 – 17.01.25 Rooms Division module (Christmas holidays 21.12.24 – 05.01.25)
      *On Wednesdays and Thursdays, attending classes at school is combined with working 60% at the internship placement.
    • 20.01.25 – 27.06.25 2nd semester at the Hotel Management School Thun (sport vacations: 15.02. – 23.02.25, spring break: 22.03. – 13.04.25) 
    • July - December 2025 3rd semester, 1st internship 6 months 
    • 19.01.26 – 26.06.26 4th semester at the Hotel Management School Thun (sport vacations: 14.02. – 22.02.26, spring break: 21.03. – 12.04.26)
    • July - December 26 5th semester, 2nd internship 6 months 
    • 25.01.27 – 02.07.27  6th semester at the Hotel Management School Thun (sport vacations: 13.02. – 21.02.27, spring break: 27.03.27 – 18.04.27)
    Hotelfachschule Thun (4)

    Practical Experience

    • The Swiss professional degree is based on the famous Swiss dual education model that balance academic and practical learning. You will gain 1 year of work experience through two internships in renowned hotels and restaurants. You will refine your skills in a professional setting, and build a network of industry contacts.

    • One of your 2 internships can be done internationally. Discover some of the internship locations of our students.  

    • We have a cooperation agreement in Kathmandu, Nepal, with the Global Academy of Tourism and Hospitality Education (GATE). Selected Hotelfachschule Thun students and staff can travel to Nepal twice a year to work on international projects with students from GATE.

    Are you an employer looking to hire our students? 

    Hotelfachschule Thun (21)

    Admission Requirements

    • Swiss Federal Certificate of Competence (EFZ) or other upper secondary level qualification (e.g. Matura or Fachmittelschule)
    • If applicants didn’t previously study hospitality, it is recommended that they acquire knowledge of the restaurant and/or hotel industry.
    • The program is delivered in German. Applicants who are not native speakers of German must be able to show that they have passed a C1 level German exam.
    • Prior knowledge of foreign languages: English A2, French no prior knowledge required
    • If you wish to study in English, the Swiss Professional degree is delivered in English at EHL’s campus in Passugg.

    Program fees

    Fees for Swiss Students and permanent residents 

    Students who do not live in Switzerland must pay the cantonal HFSV contributions. 

    Please contact us for details. 

    • Registration fee
      CHF 300
    • Tuition fee Check-in semester
      introductory week CHF 185
      Kitchen module CHF 1'520
      Rooms Divisions module CHF 1'080
      Restaurant module CHF 1'080
      incl. lunch
    • Tuition fees for the 2nd, 4th and 6th semester
      CHF 7'300 each
      including lunch
    • Teaching aids / IT services
      CHF 1'750 approx.
    • Examination fees
      CHF 1'000 approx.
    • CHF 29'000 (6 semesters)
      CHF 23'885 (4 semesters program) 
    Campus-Lab-Zimmer-2

    You can live with us !

    Single rooms of various sizes (prices from CHF 650 to CHF 750 per month, including weekly cleaning) are available for students. 

    This also includes access to the lounge and the modern communal kitchen with dishwasher and lockable refrigerator compartments.

    Depending on availability, parking spaces can be rented at a price of CHF 496 per semester. 

    Three Semesters to Bachelor’s Degree Completion

    After successful completion of the HF program, students can continue their studies and earn the EHL Bachelor's degree, ranked world’s #1 in three additional full-time semesters.

    1 Semester at EHL Campus Passugg  

    • Semesters 3 of the Bachelor in International Hospitality Management
    • Advanced level courses in business analysis, strategic management, applied and integrated hospitality management, communication, and culture.
    • Teamwork assignments, case studies, and interactions with industry experts.

    2 Final Semesters at EHL Campus Lausanne

    • Semester 5 and 6 of the Bachelor in International Hospitality Management.
    • Advanced level courses in business analysis, strategic management, applied and integrated hospitality management, communication, and culture.
    • Choose three electives from nearly 20 industry-relevant subjects to develop specific expertise for your career path.
    • Student Business Project: A final group project where you become the consultant and solve a business challenge for an external industry partner.

    Download your Brochure

    Fill out the form to get your brochure for the Swiss Professional Degree in Hotel & Gastronomy - Full-Time (in German).