Two Year Wilderness Tourism Lodge Management Training Program

The Wilderness Tourism Lodge Management Training Program is designed to cover every aspect required to manage a wilderness lodge operation, from housekeeping to management.

This training program is structured into three departments: kitchen, office, and ranch operations. The kitchen department includes topics such as cooking, serving, housekeeping, and wilderness applications. The office department reviews basic administration duties, accounts and reservations, as well as sales and marketing. Ranch operations cover maintenance, animal husbandry, natural resources, and seasonal operations.

Each department has four modules and progresses from entry-level duties to management level, over a course of six months per department.

The program is set up so a student can study full-time over a two-year period. Alternatively, modules can be completed at different times according to the student’s schedule.

There is also a co-op included in the program allowing students to get the hands-on work experience — crucial to gaining employment in the hospitality industry. This is done on-site in a real-life wilderness tourism lodge environment. There’s also the opportunity to take part in a practica, once an elective course has been completed.

Course Modules

I. Kitchen

Kitchen — Module 1: Kitchen Cook

Students will undergo four weeks of intensive training in basic kitchen procedures, followed by two weeks of co-op work experience. This is an entry-level course that will introduce students to simple cooking procedures, ingredient preparation, basic nutrition, and kitchen sanitation.

Kitchen — Module 2: Kitchen Server

This four-week intensive training program covers basic service procedures, followed by two weeks of co-op work experience. This is an entry-level course that introduces students to simple serving procedures, dealing with guests, and rules of hospitality.

Kitchen — Module 3: Housekeeping

This entry-level course consists of two weeks of intensive training in housekeeping procedures, followed by one week of co-op work experience. The course material instructs students in the following areas: cleaning methods for specific lodge areas such as bedrooms and bathrooms, proper use of cleaning tools and chemical cleaning agents, development and implementation of cleaning schedules, as well as seasonal cleaning practices.

Wilderness Application

Students will have the opportunity to join in one of our wilderness pack trips and undergo three weeks of intensive training in basic cooking and cleaning in our backcountry camps. This is an advanced-level course where students apply skills they learned in previous modules to a wilderness environment. Students will also learn to be flexible, with limited facilities.

Kitchen - Module 4: Kitchen Management

This four-week intensive training course in kitchen management, at both a lodge and camp environment, is followed by two weeks of co-op work experience. By this stage students will already have a detailed understanding of cooking practices, nutrition, as well as sanitation in a camp and lodge environment.

This management-level course will introduce students to management techniques in order to oversee all of the above functions. Students will learn leadership and communication skills allowing them to better manage staff and to develop, implement, and enforce procedures relating to the above functions. They will also oversee the development of recipes, menus, food transportation, and food storage.

Project:

Over the course of the module, students will choose a project to develop a new, or improve an existing kitchen procedure, under the supervision of the kitchen manager.

II. Office

Office — Module 1: Office Administrator

In this entry-level course, students will undergo four weeks of intensive training in basic office practices in a lodge environment, followed by two weeks of co-op work experience. Students are introduced to the office environment, to develop their organizational skills and attention to detail. Other topics covered include: administration skills such as filing, email distribution, phone manner, and managing paperwork.

Office — Module 2: Accounts and Reservations

This advanced-level course will instruct students in how to deal with customers in a professional manner when taking reservations, preparing and verifying paperwork, and when speaking with travel and booking agents. Students will undergo four weeks of intensive training in accounts and reservations for a wilderness lodge, followed by two weeks of co-op work experience. Other areas covered include: accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll procedure, budgeting, banking, and government licensing.

Office — Module 3: Sales and Marketing

In the sales and marketing four-week module, followed by two weeks of co-op work experience, students are introduced to a number of different marketing mediums to reach a lodge’s target markets. These mediums include but are not limited to advertising (magazines, newspapers, brochures), direct mail and face-to-face meetings, booking agents, incentive marketing, travel writers, shows, press releases, and the Internet. In addition, this advanced-level course includes making sales calls, implementing procedures for communication mediums (phone, fax, email, letters), identifying promising sales leads, and closing sales.

Office — Module 4: Office Management

Students will undergo four weeks of intensive training in office management practices in a lodge environment, followed by two weeks of co-op work experience. By this stage, students will have developed a good understanding of front office duties, reservations, lodge accounts, lodge sales, and marketing. This management-level course will introduce students to management techniques in order to oversee all of the above duties. Students will learn leadership and communication skills that will show them how to manage staff and how to develop, implement, and enforce procedures relating to reservations, accounts, sales, and marketing.

Project:

Over the course of the module, students will choose a project to develop a new or improve an existing office procedure under the supervision of the office manager.

III. Ranch Operation

Ranch Operation — Module 1: Ranch Hand

This four-week intensive training in basic ranch work is followed by two weeks of co-op work experience. This entry-level course introduces students to vehicle operation, basic maintenance on a ranch, and working with horses.

Ranch Operation — Module 2: Ranch Assistant

This is an advanced-level course instructing students over the course of four weeks in ranch maintenance and horse care, followed by two weeks of co-op work experience. It introduces students to horse health and behavior, equipment maintenance, feed storage, schedules, power saw operation, vehicle maintenance, and small engine repairs.

Ranch Operation — Module 3: Natural Resources

Students will undergo four weeks of intensive training in natural resources, followed by two weeks of co-op work experience. This is an advanced-level course that will introduce students to rural water and sewage/septic systems, dealing with problem wildlife, environmental regulations and guidelines, and landscaping.

Ranch Operation — Module 4: Outside Manager

By this stage, students will have acquired a good understanding of the ranch operation to undergo four weeks of intensive training in ranch management, followed by two weeks of co-op work experience. This course will teach students management techniques in order to oversee all types of outside work at the ranch and prepare the ranch for each season. Students will also learn about animal husbandry, government licenses, and government regulations.

Project:

Over the course of the module, students will choose a project to develop a new, or improve an existing, ranch procedure under the supervision of the outside manager.

Lodge Management

Students will undergo seven weeks of intensive training in lodge management, followed by three weeks of co-op work experience. By this stage, students will have acquired a good understanding of the lodge departments including: housekeeping, kitchen, office, ranch operation, and human resources.

This course is the pinnacle of Chilcotin Holidays’ educational experience. Students will put into practice all that they have learned in the previous courses, focusing on the management of lodge staff, including the creation, implementation, and enforcement of procedures and processes, plus management of the guest experience. Once students have completed this course they’ll have all the necessary skills to meet the unique challenge of managing a wilderness lodge.

Final Paper

In the final paper, students are required to develop a business plan for their own wilderness tourism company. You’ll have to research markets and explore all aspects of running your business, bearing in mind all the training that you’ve just learned. Graduation and program certification is dependent upon your successful defense of your business plan in front of a panel of managers from Chilcotin Holidays.

Elective Courses

Students will also have access to a number of elective courses, which can be taken once the lodge management program has been completed. The available electives include:

One or Two Week Wilderness Guide Training
One Week Advanced Wilderness Guide Training
One Week Guide Outfitter Training
One Week Tourism Management Training
One Week Angling Guide Training
One Week Hike Guide Training
One Week Horse Logging
One Week Wilderness Log Cabin Building

These courses build on a student’s existing knowledge and provide the essential skills for working successfully in a wilderness lifestyle. The opportunity also presents itself to take part in a practica, once an elective course has been completed.



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