“Bridging the gap” between hospitality management programmes and the private club industry

The private club industry is undergoing major change as it forges new links with academia in the areas of research, teaching and management development. This bodes well for hospitality management programmes. Indeed, the primary mission of most hospitality programmes in North America includes the dissemination of information in ways that will translate into tangible benefits for the greater hospitality industry. This article examines the context within which changes are taking place in the relationship between private clubs and hospitality education in North America, discusses the current research agenda on club management and reports the results of a survey of club managers about the nature and importance of industry/education linkages. It concludes by proposing a framework for continued collaboration that would strengthen both academic and industry partners while emphasizing a renewed and refocused research agenda.