AHA-IHMS Company Profile

The American Hospitality Academy International Hotel Management Schools (AHA-IHMS) is the international academic arm of the American Hospitality Academy (AHA). This rapidly expanding global network of schools is dedicated to providing an innovative and timely response to the hospitality industry’s need for future leaders who can effectively transcend borders and meet the demands of a global economy. AHA-IHMS aims to produce graduates who demonstrate positive attitudes, strong work values, celebrate diversity and have the ability to lead in a multicultural workplace, giving them a competitive edge in the global marketplace. Its educational programmes are based on the unique comprehensive hospitality education and practical training model of the American Hospitality Academy, the only one of its kind in the world.

American Hospitality Academy

Since its establishment in 1986, the American Hospitality Academy has become one of the world’s most well-known and respected providers of structured internship and exchange programme opportunities for post secondary students. AHA provides students with premiere practical training at some of the most prestigious hotels and resorts in the United States. AHA’s partner hotels include: Marriott, Ritz Carlton, Westin, Starwood, Sheraton, Hilton and many top vacation ownership properties.

AHA’s corporate headquarters are located on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, with regional offices throughout the South Eastern part of the United States. As President and Founder of the American Hospitality Academy (AHA) and Founding Partner of AHA-IHMS, Ms. Cindi Reiman has brought innovative and industry-responsive training to tens of thousands of young people from over 70 different countries for over 20 years.

In 1999, AHA became the first J-1 Educational Visa sponsor in the United States to offer a certification course in Hospitality to overseas students. Designation as a US Department of State J-1 Visa sponsor allows AHA to issue DS-2019 form of Certificate of Eligibility for J-1 Exchange programmes. In 2003 AHA started bringing students to the US through the Q Cultural Exchange Visa. In 2001 Ms. Reiman established a group of highly respected professors and academics from around the world to help create the first comprehensive Internship Manual, the “Certified Hospitality Professional”. In 2005 she partnered with the prestigious Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA) to produce the first Global Internship Certification and Manual, SERVLEAD (Service Leadership in a Multi Cultural Workplace). It is currently being sold in over 200 university book stores worldwide.

For AHA, SERVLEAD was just one step of many towards the creation of leading edge curriculum and a world-class hospitality training programme that focused on cultural awareness, teamwork, leadership, academic excellence and practical “real world” training. The quality of AHA graduates and their preparedness for leadership roles in the industry attracted the interest of hospitality professionals around the globe who contacted AHA about the possibility of establishing programmes in their own countries. As a result, AHA International Hotel Management Schools was established in 2006 in order to create a unique network of schools worldwide that would combine the AHA curriculum with American hotel management methodologies, considered by many to be the best in the world.

AHA International Hotel Management Schools

True to its global nature, AHA International Hotel Management Schools was established as a partnership between four hospitality professionals from around the world – Ms. Cindi Reiman, President and Founder of AHA; Dr. Cora Gatchalian, former Professor of Hospitality Management at the University of the Philippines and Chair of the Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management; Chef Gene Cordova, a graduate of top culinary schools in Europe and the USA and Chef Instructor for the University of the Philippines and Mr. Samir Thapa, received his MBA in Hospitality Management from the United States and is President and Founder of the Silver Mountain School of Hotel Management in Nepal. These four outstanding professionals bring years of experience in providing quality education to young people and a comprehensive approach to education that focuses on personal as well as professional development.

AHA-IHMS provides training in two main areas – Hospitality and Hotel Management and the Culinary Arts. The first AHA-IHMS Culinary Arts Institute was opened in Manila in November, 2006 by the US Ambassador to the Philippines, Ms. Kristie Kenney. In just the space of one year, it grew from 12 students to 150 and as a tribute to the quality of its Culinary Arts programme. 95% of its graduates were placed with premier hotel locations in 2007. The first AHA-International Hotel Management School in Europe was opened November 1, 2007 in Brasov, Romania and the first intake of students at the AHA–IHMS institute in South Africa will be February 2008. Schools are also scheduled to open in India, Vietnam, China, Dubai, Sri Lanka and the US.

AHA-IHMS has a special understanding of both developed and developing countries’ needs and its programmes provide increased employment opportunities, contribute to economic development and help countries’ tourism industries become more competitive.

Academic Excellence at Global Campuses

AHA-IHMS Academic Programs are designed in recognition of the fact that leading hotel companies around the world hire for attitude and train for aptitude. AHA-IHMS trains for both and therefore places equal emphasis in the curriculum on soft skill training and in developing students’ attitudes, work ethics, sense of responsibility, desire to excel, communication skills, team work, multicultural skills and leadership abilities as well as their technical skills and knowledge. This multi-faceted approach provides a well-rounded education that meets the needs of the hospitality industry in the 21st Century and assures graduates of AHA programs entry into higher level hospitality and tourism positions in top hotels and tourism venues around the world.

AHA and its global academic partners have created over 20 different short and long term courses that that can be taught in any country in the world. Additionally, AHA has developed a pool of qualified instructors and its own instructor training manuals, student workbooks, case studies, and testing and evaluation materials providing a self-contained educational package that can be implemented in any AHA-IHMS school.

English is the official medium of instruction at all AHA-IHMS’ campuses. This, together with the standardised curriculum taught at all AHA-IHMS’ institutions provides students with a unique opportunity to undertake all or a part of their studies in a different country, broadening their international experience and creating one of the first truly Global Campuses in Hospitality.

Students graduate with the AHA-IHMS’ world class Diploma in International Hospitality Management (DIHM) or Culinary Arts (DICA). These prestigious credentials are recognised and accepted by leading hotel chains, vacation ownership resorts and restaurant chains in the United States and in more than 50 countries around the world.

USA Internships

An integral part of all diploma programmes at AHA-IHMS and one of the company’s main competitive differences is AHA’s Passport to Culture internship programme within the United States. For most students this internship is their first working experience in the global hospitality industry. Students undertake world-class practical training at some of the most prestigious hotels and resorts. With the expansion of AHA-IHMS around the world, students will also have the choice of internship opportunities at world-class hotels in many different countries, not just the United States.

The World Peace Passport

Community involvement, caring about the future and making a difference in the world are all highly valued within the AHA-IHMS’ programme. Through the World Peace Passport, AHA-IHMS students and staff are encouraged to participate in expanding the goals and objectives of the WPP in their countries by teaching the programme in their local schools. In 2006, having seen the positive effects of cultural awareness training in young adults, AHA’s created the World Peace Passport (WPP), a non-profit organisation whose global education initiative aims to connect students and teachers around the world in a common study of cultural understanding.

WPP’s curriculum helps young students from Kindergarten to Grade 8 understand, accept and respect each other’s cultures, traditions and beliefs. Lessons are brought to life by Globee, a curious fun-loving bee who travels the world and brings his adventures back to the classroom. WPP’s first global pilot programme in 2007 was a resounding success. Over 3,000 students in 15 different countries participated and the positive evaluations indicate how important teaching cultural understanding from an early age really is.

Click here to go to the AHA world campus website.