Mount Kilimanjaro Climb to Demo Adventure Travel for Hospitality Management Students

What does hospitality management have to do with climbing Mount Kilimanjaro? University of Arkansas students studying online will find out in the spring of 2023, when their instructor transmits his trip to the "roof of Africa."

Robert W. Powell teaches several online courses in the U of A's School of Human Environmental Sciences in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. He uses real-time travel adventures to help students imagine worldwide career opportunities in hospitality management.

During the Kilimanjaro trip, Powell will show the same processes and disciplines used to operate a five-star hotel at the base of the climb, dismantling it every morning, moving it up several thousand feet during the day and setting it up again every evening. A staff of as many as 22 people may be required to take three people up the peak, he said. And, that's just one aspect of international travel and hospitality.

Powell will make his second trip more than 19,000 feet up Kilimanjaro in February, and he's giving students the chance to vicariously experience aspects of global tourism. They will log in to recordings or live broadcasts as he uses various technologies including 360-degree cameras, drones, gimbals, virtual reality goggles and satellite capabilities to describe the trip visually and show them what's involved if they want to work in adventure travel excursions. A GPS tracker will allow students to follow Powell along the way.

 

Opportunities in Online Education

Powell's career spanned marketing, hospitality, and hotel, casino and restaurant management before he added teaching online for the U of A. A resident of both New Orleans and Minneapolis, he has traveled extensively and when the covid pandemic started affecting education delivery, he wondered how he could make online education more engaging.

"I thought this adventure could be the ticket that engages, educates and entertains my audience, the students," Powell said. "Going online is an opportunity to push boundaries and bring these things to life for students."

Powell said his students tended to think of work they could do in Northwest Arkansas and the Dallas area, or whatever was the nearest metropolitan area to them.

"I want to give them permission to think big," he said. "I want to show the students all these things they can do. If I open that door, I've succeeded. I tell them, ‘I want you to think big, beyond your wildest imagination, get uncomfortable. If I can get uncomfortable and dream big, you can, too. The only thing that stands in your way, typically, is yourself.'"

Powell regularly records video lessons and posts them on YouTube for his students. He uses multiple forms of social media to reach students with extra information that might deepen their interest in and understanding of the field.

"I try to give real dimension to what they are learning in class," he said. "With real-life examples, they will understand the application of some of the principles we're teaching here."

Powell regularly records video lessons and posts them on YouTube for his students. He uses multiple forms of social media to reach students with extra information that might deepen their interest in and understanding of the field.

"I try to give real dimension to what they are learning in class," he said. "With real-life examples, they will understand the application of some of the principles we're teaching here."

 

Physical, Technological, Pedagogical Preparation

In mid-October, Powell was in his third week of physical training, incorporating what he learned from a previous trip to Mount Kilimanjaro about what he would need to do to stay healthy and energetic. He's working with two personal trainers to make sure his workout routines cover both aerobic and anerobic training. Breathing will be harder at higher elevations, and he's practicing visualization and breathwork as well as putting in the physical effort.

Powell will also take in more calories than usual and drink more water than usual on the trip, and he's practicing the right mix of macronutrients to feel his best. He's also planning a trip to Colorado for some climbs of about 14,000-feet elevation.

"As you go further up, your body tells you that you don't need to eat," he said. "In actuality, it's the opposite. You have to rely on reserves if you haven't put enough into your body. If you don't eat enough, you'll bonk, just like marathon runners occasionally do. These are all wonderful challenges, and they require some time and thinking to figure them out. Your body does behave differently at higher altitudes. Everything takes more effort."

He'll go through five climate zones on the trip, starting with shorts and T-shirt weather to parkas and thermal underwear.

Powell also will talk with students about preparation involving technology. They need to know how to use it and what types, such as drones, might requirement government permits. Digital storage space and internet connectivity are also concerns for travelers that the hospitality professional must address.

Topics in addition to experiences and excursions he will cover in the course include lodging, restaurants, transportation, events, planning, revenue management, cultural competency, budgeting, finding service providers and tourism.

"We're seeing the continued rise of travelers seeking authentic experiences, more people who go out and ask where the locals go," Powell said. "That's getting immersed in the culture. As the organizer, you need that intimate knowledge of a place or an ambassador on the other end of the trip who can expose your traveler to that. I could do a whole series about finding the right tour operator to partner with."

Serving Clients' Needs

The hospitality professional needs a deep understanding of what the traveler wants to experience and what they are able to do physically and financially.

"Listen to the client," Powell said. "Once you find that, you fit a package for them. You need to know the best route for them. It's a very customer-, traveler-centric business. You put yourself in their shoes. You advise them on what to pack. You give them a detailed itinerary. There will also be little questions but that's part of the fun of discovery. If you answered every single question, it would be boring."

Powell will show the decision-making that goes into this type of trip and relate it back to each lesson. Students need to have a wide knowledge of places they're taking people or they need to know how to find that information – from what the weather will be to where the best views are, he said.

Powell is teaching the introduction to hospitality management course that is required in the minor in hospitality management offered online by the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. The minor can be used to customize a degree plan to meet specific academic and career goals. The hospitality management bachelor's degree is delivered on campus by the Bumpers College, or students can combine the minor with other minors offered both online and on campus for an online bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies.

The Global Campus supports the U of A academic colleges that offer more than 75 online degree, certificate, microcertificate and licensure programs. These programs are showcased on the U of A ONLINE website at online.uark.edu.

Online Learner Blog Home

 

Your
Thoughts?

Follow Rob Powell @robwpowell on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter