In addition to lodging management, hospitality management majors may choose from a variety of specialized tracks to tailor their studies, including golf & club management, professional tennis management and theme park & attraction management.

For more information, please contact Rebecca Hoepner at 407.903.8152 or Rebecca.Hoepner@ucf.edu.

鈥淎s a student, I was empowered聽to make decisions as a聽general manager of a real-life hotel,鈥� said senior hospitality management major, John Posada. 鈥淚 learned how to forecast different segments of my hotel on a daily, monthly and yearly forecast,聽with regard to the聽kitchen, restaurant, front office, bar, administration, cleaning, and housekeeping departments. It was an exceptional opportunity because I learned how to operate a resort in real time,聽just as a聽general manager would.鈥� Posada scored 9.59 out of 10 on the dynamic performance management index to place first in the awards competition.

Through a cloud-based environment, the innovative Performance Management Intelligence (PMI)聽suite, created by global technology company d2o, allowed students to receive real data from the actual Britannia Hotel in Norway. Students used this data to manage their own virtual hotel property, including staffing and scheduling, food purchasing, daily occupancy, departmental revenue forecasting, stock level control, and more.

鈥淭his technology affords our students the unique opportunity to experience the same real-world business issues that general managers face,鈥� said Dr. Abraham Pizam, dean of UCF鈥檚 Rosen College. 鈥淭his state-of-the-art technology not only helps teach, but also reinforces the culture of collaboration and proactive revenue management skills in a fun, practical, and engaging manner.鈥�

To enhance the learning experience and gauge their grasp of the material, the college created a student competition to see who had the most successful hotel at the end of the three-week course. For winning the competition, d2o will host Posada on a trip to Norway to tour the actual Britannia Hotel, the hotel that students virtually managed during the competition.

鈥淐onventional cost control and isolated revenue management practice is no longer enough to optimize the bottom-line meaningfully,鈥� said Young Nguyen, President and CEO of d2o. 鈥淥wners and operators have to manage resources just as proactively as they manage rates and distribution.聽 Our next generation of hotel general managers will manage through communication and collaboration, avoiding cost overruns and poor guest service.鈥�

UCF鈥檚 Rosen College is the first academic institution in the United States to use d2o鈥檚 revolutionary technology in the classroom.

d2o is the leading provider of real-time performance management solutions for the hospitality industry. Its proprietary Performance Management Intelligence (PMI) Series is an integrated suite of performance navigation solutions that guide hotels and resorts to discover untapped profit by dynamically managing resources and eliminating waste. PMI empowers operations to collaborate, share information and manage future outcomes. The result is the lowest possible F&B and labor costs, reduced waste and higher profit. PMI solution functionality includes robust enterprise and department-level budgeting and forecasting, as well as food cost control, employee scheduling and labor productivity management. Founded in Norway in 2000, d2o has offices in Europe and the United States serving its expanding global customer base of over 400 leading hotel chains, independents, and management companies. For more information, go to .

The Central Florida Hospitality Hall of Fame was established in 2007 by UCF鈥檚 Rosen College to honor outstanding leaders for their contributions to local hospitality industry and service to the community.

鈥淚 am honored to welcome David Siegel and Richard Maladecki into the Central Florida Hospitality Hall of Fame,鈥� said Dr. Abraham Pizam, dean of UCF鈥檚 Rosen College. 鈥淭hese two distinguished executives have not only had a tremendous impact on the industry and community, but also serve as an example to our students, as they both demonstrate the college鈥檚 core values of professionalism, leadership, and service.鈥�

Both Siegel and Maladecki will officially be inducted into this prestigious group of local hospitality leaders on Nov. 16, 2013 at The Peabody Orlando during the college鈥檚 annual Grand Tour Gala, produced by the National Association聽for Catering and Events (NACE) Orlando chapter. As Hall of Fame inductees, Siegel and Maladecki will each be presented with a limited-edition Steuben crystal pineapple award, the symbol of the hospitality industry. Additionally, the inductees will be pictured with plaques on the Hall of Fame wall, located at the UCF Rosen College campus.

As a pioneer in the tourism industry, Siegel has spent the past 30 years shaping his company into the largest privately owned business in Central Florida. His empire includes timeshare, real estate, construction, hotel and apartment management, travel services, telecommunications, citrus, insurance, transportation, retail, and much more. Siegel struck success in the 1970s, when he purchased a prime piece of real estate that later developed into the largest single-site vacation ownership resort in the world – Westgate Vacation Villas.

Siegel has been honored as the “Entrepreneur of the Year” for construction and real estate in Central Florida and finished second in the “Entrepreneur of the Year” national competition. He also holds an honorary doctorate from Florida A&M 海角直播 for his work in community service, as well as the National Community Service Award from ARDA, the national timeshare association. Siegel also contributes to the Westgate Resorts Foundation, which supports charitable activities in areas where his employees live and work

As president & CEO of the world鈥檚 largest regional lodging association, Maladecki is responsible for overseeing a multi-million dollar budget and managing a 45-member Board of Directors, consisting of hotel General Managers and tourism industry executives. He also serves as a Board Member for Visit Orlando, is the current president of the Orange County Library Board of Trustees, and sits on the Central Florida Boy Scouts Council, as well as the Valencia Foundation Board of Directors. Maladecki has also served on the Blue Ribbon Task Force and the Orange County Sheriff鈥檚 Transitional Team.

Maladecki is a Boy Scouts of Central Florida 鈥淕olden Eagle鈥� awardee and has also been named one of Orlando Magazine鈥檚 鈥�50 Most Powerful People鈥� for six consecutive years.

Siegel and Maladecki will join the following executives as members of the Central Florida Hospitality Hall of Fame: Albert Covelli, Covelli Enterprises, largest franchisee of Panera Bread; Gary C. Sain, Visit Orlando; Alan C. Villaverde, The Peabody Orlando (2012); Al Weiss, Walt Disney Company, and Thomas L. Williams, Universal Parks & Resorts (2011); Carolyn Fennell, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, and Mark McHugh, Gatorland, (2010); Jim D. Atchison, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, and Harris Rosen, Rosen Hotels & Resorts (2009); Patricia J. Engfer, Hyatt Orlando, and Richard A. Nunis, Walt Disney Attractions (2008); and Richard J. Walsh, Darden Restaurants, and William C. Peeper, Orlando/Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau (2007).

As a hiring manager, Moskovitz recently returned to his alma mater for the UCF Rosen College Spring 2013 Career Fair. In addition to interviewing and recruiting some of his former classmates, the young hospitality leader also wanted to share some of his secrets of success with his future fellow alumni.

鈥淎s the assistant GM of Tate Island Grill, recreation and activities for the Sandpearl Resort, I directly oversee 50 different employees,鈥� said Moskovitz. 鈥淚 am not only responsible for my employees, but also for our hundreds of guests. It’s a lot of work, but my philosophy is to not ask for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.鈥�

Moskovitz explains that hard work and 鈥済oing the extra mile鈥� are not clich茅s, but rather guidelines for success.

鈥淚f you go to work and solely focus on your own job responsibilities, than you will only ever be good in that one role,鈥� said Moskovitz. 鈥淵ou need to go beyond your job; take the time to ask co-workers about their jobs and learn from them. For example, if you work at the front desk, spend an hour before or after work talking to the housekeeping engineer or F&B specialist to learn how and why they make the decisions that they do. The more versatile and well-rounded you are, the more valuable you become to a company.鈥�

The former Hospitality Management major explains that he was initially hired out of college to be the food & beverage manager at a historic, AAA four Diamond hotel in New York. In his spare time, Moskovitz began learning about the operations side of the lodging industry and was then quickly promoted to front desk manager at a resort in the Florida Keys.

鈥淚f you put in the extra time to learn new things, new opportunities will open for you,鈥� said Moskovitz. 鈥淎lso, in the hospitality industry, you have to be willing to relocate. I know that a lot of students don鈥檛 want to move away from friends and family, but it is worth it. I鈥檝e moved three times in less than a year and because of my flexibility, I was able to advance my career much faster than I anticipated.鈥�

Moskovitz also credits part of his success to the opportunities available at UCF鈥檚 Rosen College.

鈥淓xactly one year ago, I was at this very career fair applying for my first full-time job,鈥� Moskovitz recalls. 鈥淭he college really sets you up for success, you just need to work hard and take advantage of all the networking events, internships and opportunities that Rosen has to offer.鈥�

If any current UCF Rosen College students are looking for career advice, Moskovitz encourages聽them to email him at聽davidmoskovitz1@gmail.com.