The Business of Experience: Hospitality and Event Management

What does it take to run a five-star hotel, manage a sold-out concert, or coordinate thousands of volunteers at the biggest sporting event on the planet? In this program, you'll find out.

You'll go behind the scenes of two of the world's most exciting industries — hospitality and large-scale event production. Learn how luxury hotels create unforgettable guest experiences, how top restaurants keep service running seamlessly under pressure, and how mega-events move millions of people with precision and purpose. Through hands-on simulations, real-world case studies, and collaborative projects, you'll step into the role of planner, problem-solver, and decision-maker. Whether it's handling a VIP arrival, navigating a last-minute logistics crisis, or designing a guest experience for an international audience, you'll develop skills that the hospitality and events industries are actually looking for.

As the centerpiece of the program, you'll work directly alongside the Summer Discovery team as a real contributor to the Beyond Now Summit — a live speaker conference for high school students. You'll take ownership of a production role, collaborate across teams, and see your work come to life in front of a real audience. This isn't a simulation. This is the real thing.

By the end of the program, you'll walk away with a portfolio of real work, hands-on production experience, and a strong foundation for college programs or careers in hotel management, event planning, restaurant operations, sports management, tourism, and beyond.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate foundational knowledge of hotel and venue operations including guest services, front-of-house management, and the principles of anticipating and exceeding guest expectations across diverse audiences.
• Understand food and beverage operations in an event context, including service standards, catering coordination, and managing quality under high-volume conditions.
• Develop core event planning competencies including venue logistics, volunteer recruitment and management, risk assessment, run-of-show development, and crowd management strategies for large-scale gatherings.
• Analyze how hospitality principles apply to large-scale live events, understanding the operational decisions that shape attendee experience from registration through post-event wrap-up.
• Apply their learning in a real production environment by contributing meaningfully to the Beyond Now Summit — taking ownership of assigned roles, collaborating across teams, and reflecting on their performance through a post-event analysis.

Final Project:

Students will work directly alongside the Summer Discovery team as active contributors to the Beyond Now Summit — a real-world speaker conference designed for high school students. Rather than simulating an event, students will take on genuine production roles, applying everything they've learned in the classroom to an actual live event. Working in specialized teams, students will take ownership of key areas including logistics planning, guest and speaker services, volunteer coordination, venue operations, media and communications, and day-of event execution. At the conclusion of the program, students will present a post-event analysis reflection on their decisions, outcomes, and lessons learned--a capstone deliverable that doubles as a portfolio piece for college applications, internships, or future employment in the events and hospitality industries.

Possible Field Trips

• Rose Bowl Stadium
• Los Angeles Convention Center
• Hollywood Bowl
• LA 2028 Olympic Organizing Committee
• Staples Center/Crypto.com Arena
• Wolfgang Puck Catering or major event catering company

Information subject to change as instructors finalize course syllabi