About Us

American Hospitality Academy

The American Hospitality Academy (AHA) was founded in 1986 and has its corporate headquarters on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. AHA has a long history and many years of experience in providing structured training and exchange program opportunities with premier American hospitality partners including Marriott, Ritz Carlton, Sheraton, Hyatt and Hilton. Today more than a thousand students from around the world participate annually in the American’s cultural exchange programs. Over the last 20 years AHA has served tens of thousands of students from over 70 different countries.

In 2005, AHA championed SERVLEAD (Service Leadership in a Multicultural Workplace,) the first Global Internship Certification and Training Manual in the world. SERVLEAD is a comprehensive, competency based training program that combines both the leadership and cultural awareness skills necessary to compete in today's global economy. SERVLEAD was produced in partnership with the Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA) and educators from around the world.

AHA’s second publication “Service Basics: A Guide to Developing Positive Work Ethics in a Multicultural Environment” is also a hospitality industry first. Published in May 2006, The Service Basics Manual and Workbook stress the importance of strong work ethics needed to succeed in today’s global industry.

International Hotel Management Schools
In 2006, AHA established AHA-International Hotel Management Schools as a way to better serve the needs of the international community for world-class hospitality education. AHA-International Hotel Management Schools (AHA-IHMS) is a growing global network of private career colleges linked by a common vision and mission, common programs of study, education philosophy and academic goals and standards. These campuses provide two year Diploma programs in International Hospitality Management and International Culinary Arts.
www.ahahotelschools.com

Certified Hospitality Professional
AHA’s experience and positive results over the last 23 years and our recognition of the expanded opportunities that online learning can offer motivated AHA to create its latest educational product. Launched in 2009, The Certified Hospitality Professional (CHP) Designation is earned through a combination of a participant’s internship/work experience and successful completion of the online leadership-training coursework and exam. The CHP coursework emphasizes the development of personal leadership and employability traits deemed essential to meeting the challenges of the hospitality industry in the 21st Century.
www.learnaha.coursehost.com

World Peace Passport
In 2006, having seen the positive effects of cultural awareness training in young adults, AHA created the World Peace Passport (WPP), a non-profit organization whose global education initiative aims to connect students and teachers around the world in a common study of cultural understanding. Community involvement, caring about the future and making a difference in the world are all highly valued within the AHA-IHMS’ program. AHA participants are encouraged to participate in expanding the goals and objectives of the WPP.
www.worldpeacepassport.com