Swiss hotel schools explained: accreditation and how to choose

Eleven Swiss schools appear in the 2026 QS World University Rankings by Subject for Hospitality and Leisure Management, more than any other country. They share a lake, a mountain range and a habit of teaching in former palace hotels. They do not share the same legal standing, and the brochures do not make that easy to see. This page says what each school is, then explains the three kinds of authority that can stand behind a Swiss hospitality qualification: federal accreditation, a quality label, and a degree awarded by a university abroad. Three of the schools have pages of their own on this site; the other eight are covered here.

The three with their own pages

EHL Hospitality Business School, Lausanne, Passugg and Singapore, founded 1893. Its bachelor is a Bachelor of Science (HES-SO) through the school’s association since 1998 with the public University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland; it also holds NECHE and AACSB accreditation. Four years including a Preparatory Year, two six month internships, a Michelin starred training restaurant. First in QS every year from 2019 to 2026, by the school’s own account. Marc C. Brugger of Rosewood is its graduate in my books.

Les Roches Global Hospitality Education, Crans-Montana, Marbella and Abu Dhabi, founded 1954. Swiss Accreditation Council status as a University of Applied Sciences Institute and NECHE accreditation, per its about page. A three year BSc with a 20 week internship and an optional Preparatory Experiential Year before it. Second in QS 2026. Owned by Sommet Education.

Glion Institute of Higher Education, Glion above Montreux, Bulle and London, founded 1962. NECHE accreditation and, since 15 July 2025, Swiss Accreditation Council recognition as a University of Applied Sciences Institute. Two six month internships, a Bachelor in Luxury Business. Third in QS 2026. Also owned by Sommet Education; the comparison page sets it against Les Roches. Ralph Radtke of Kempinski is its graduate in my books.

The other eight

Swiss Hotel Management School (SHMS), Caux and Leysin. Founded in 1992, in Caux Palace above Montreux since 1994 and in two former palace hotels in Leysin since 2004, according to the school’s brochure. Its three year Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in International Hospitality Management is awarded jointly with the University of Derby in England, as are its master’s degrees. Two internships of four to six months, one in each of the first two years. The brochure quotes the chief executive of Dorchester Collection on a long partnership with the school. Part of Swiss Education Group. Fourth in QS 2026.

César Ritz Colleges Switzerland, Brig and Le Bouveret. Founded in 1982. The four year, 180 ECTS bachelor, per the school’s program page, begins with an Industry Immersion Year at Le Bouveret containing the first internship, then moves to Brig for three years with a second internship or a start up project. Graduates receive a dual degree, the school’s own and a Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality Business Management from Washington State University. The school calls itself “the second federally accredited hospitality business school in Switzerland”; Wikipedia dates the Swiss Accreditation Council decision to 2023 and the EduQua label to 2005. Also part of Swiss Education Group. Fifth in QS 2026.

HIM Business School, Montreux. Founded in 1984, long known as Hotel Institute Montreux, and part of Swiss Education Group since 2002, according to Wikipedia. It awards a three year Bachelor of Business Administration in partnership with Northwood University in the United States; internships are required for completion. I found no accreditation statement on the pages I could read, and the school’s own site was blocked to me, so its standing beyond the Northwood partnership is unverified here. Eighth in QS 2026.

Culinary Arts Academy Switzerland, Le Bouveret and Brig. The culinary school of Swiss Education Group. Its group page lists one year Swiss diplomas in culinary and pastry arts with one internship, three year Bachelor of Arts degrees in culinary arts and in pastry, bakery and chocolate arts with two internships, and a one year Master of Arts in Culinary Business Management. The page names no awarding partner or accrediting body, so I state none. Ninth in QS 2026, the only culinary school in the top ten.

BHMS Business and Hotel Management School, Lucerne and Zürich. Founded in 1998 as a branch of the Bénédict School, according to Wikipedia; a Zürich campus opened in August 2025, per the school’s site. Bachelor of Arts degrees in hospitality, business and culinary arts; master’s degrees with Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen; and a German language HF diploma as Hotelier Restaurateur. The school says it guarantees internships but does not state their length. Wikipedia records American Culinary Federation accreditation of the culinary program and no Swiss federal accreditation. Twelfth in QS 2026, a position the school itself announced.

IMI International Management Institute Switzerland, Kastanienbaum on Lake Lucerne. Founded in 1991. Its about page lists BA (Hons) degrees in hospitality, business and culinary management, each with an internship, graduate diplomas and an MSc. The page carries a Manchester Metropolitan University logo but does not describe the relationship in words, so I do not state who awards the degrees. IMI holds the EduQua label and SQS ISO 9001 certification. It claims 97 percent of graduates in jobs within twelve months, a school figure with no stated method. Thirteenth in QS 2026, a rank the school cites on the same page.

HTMi Hotel and Tourism Management Institute, Sörenberg. Taught in a hotel campus in the Entlebuch, canton of Lucerne. Its brochure says the BSc (Hons) in International Hospitality Management has been delivered as an Ulster University degree at HTMi for twenty years and the master’s degrees as Edinburgh Napier University degrees for more than fifteen; the school also awards its own BA and BSc and culinary diplomas. EduQua since 2000, regulation by the canton’s education department, Institute of Hospitality accreditation of the undergraduate degree. Each diploma and bachelor pathway includes a paid internship of four to six months. The brochure gives no founding year. Seventeenth in QS 2026.

École Hôtelière de Genève (EHG), Geneva. Founded in 1914, originally in Neuchâtel by the Swiss hospitality trade association GastroSuisse, and in Geneva since 1951, according to the school’s 2025 brochure. A nonprofit institution of GastroSuisse, and the one school here that teaches mainly in French, with English courses throughout. It awards a diplôme ES, which the brochure says is recognized by the Swiss Confederation and validated by the canton of Geneva, after six semesters: three of study and three of paid internship, the first in Switzerland. Fifth in CEOWORLD magazine’s 2026 ranking, as reported by Journal des Palaces; twenty second in QS 2026.

Three kinds of paper

A Swiss hospitality qualification can rest on one of three authorities, sometimes two at once. They are not interchangeable.

Federal accreditation. The Swiss Higher Education Act, as the federal education office explains, requires institutional accreditation before an institution may use a legally protected designation: university, university of applied sciences, university of teacher education, and compound forms such as UAS institute. The Swiss Accreditation Council decides. On this page, EHL holds federal standing through its association with HES-SO, a public university of applied sciences, which is why its degree is an HES-SO degree. Les Roches, Glion and César Ritz hold institutional accreditation in their own right as University of Applied Sciences Institutes. The others do not, as far as their own pages show.

A separate federal track exists for higher professional education, the écoles supérieures or höhere Fachschulen. EHG’s diplôme ES, EHL’s HF degree at Passugg and the HF diploma at BHMS belong to it. These diplomas are recognized by the Confederation but sit in the professional education system rather than the university system; they are not bachelor’s degrees. EHL lets a Passugg diploma holder finish its bachelor in three further semesters.

EduQua. A quality label for continuing education providers, recognized by the Swiss Accreditation Service and certified by bodies such as SQS. It certifies the institution’s quality management system through a documentation review, an on site audit and annual surveillance, and is renewed every three years. It says the school is run to a standard. It says nothing about degrees and confers no protected title. SHMS, César Ritz, IMI and HTMi hold it; César Ritz holds it alongside federal accreditation, which shows the two are different things.

A partner university’s degree. Several Swiss schools award degrees that are legally the degrees of a foreign university: Derby for SHMS and for César Ritz’s master’s programs, Washington State for César Ritz’s dual bachelor, Robert Gordon for the BHMS master’s, Ulster and Edinburgh Napier for HTMi, Northwood for the HIM bachelor. These are real degrees from accredited universities, and a British honours degree earned in Leysin is a British honours degree. What the arrangement does not give is Swiss federal recognition of the Swiss school, which is why a brochure can say “accredited degree” and “Swiss quality” on one page while the phrases refer to different authorities. Ask any school: who signs the degree, and is the school itself accredited by the Swiss Accreditation Council, EduQua certified, both or neither.

The eleven at a glance

School	Where	Founded	Main award and who stands behind it	Swiss federal standing	EduQua	QS 2026
EHL Hospitality Business School	Lausanne, Passugg, Singapore	1893	BSc (HES-SO); NECHE and AACSB	Yes, through HES-SO	Not stated	1
Les Roches	Crans-Montana, Marbella, Abu Dhabi	1954	BSc, own degree; NECHE	Yes, UAS Institute	Not stated	2
Glion	Glion, Bulle, London	1962	Bachelor, own degree; NECHE	Yes, UAS Institute, July 2025	Not stated	3
SHMS	Caux, Leysin	1992	BA (Hons) with University of Derby	Not found	Yes	4
César Ritz Colleges	Brig, Le Bouveret	1982	Dual bachelor with Washington State University	Yes, 2023 per Wikipedia	Yes	5
HIM Business School	Montreux	1984	BBA with Northwood University	Not found	Not stated	8
Culinary Arts Academy Switzerland	Le Bouveret, Brig	Not stated	BA in Culinary Arts; partner not stated	Not found	Not stated	9
BHMS	Lucerne, Zürich	1998	BA, own; MSc with Robert Gordon University; HF diploma	Not found	Not stated	12
IMI	Kastanienbaum, Lucerne	1991	BA (Hons); validating partner not described	Not found	Yes	13
HTMi	Sörenberg	Not stated	BSc (Hons) with Ulster University; MSc with Edinburgh Napier	Not found	Yes, since 2000	17
École Hôtelière de Genève	Geneva	1914	Diplôme ES, recognized by the Confederation	Yes, higher professional education	Not stated	22

“Not found” means the school’s pages show no federal accreditation, not that none exists. The QS positions were read from a third party reproduction of the 2026 table and checked against the schools’ own announcements where they made one.

On the ranking

QS scores this subject on academic reputation, employer reputation and citations per paper. CEOWORLD magazine’s 2026 list, built from a different survey, places École Hôtelière de Genève fifth and Les Roches thirteenth and leaves out EHL, Glion and SHMS. Neither list measures teaching, and no ranking of hotel schools does. Use the QS order as a map of reputation and the table for what reputation cannot tell you: what you will hold at the end, and who stands behind it.

What the hoteliers in my books say

Only two of the thirty six general managers in A Wealth of Insight name a Swiss school: Marc C. Brugger chose EHL after visiting it, and Ralph Radtke graduated from Glion between Le Bristol and the Ritz Paris. None of the others names SHMS, César Ritz, HIM, BHMS, IMI, HTMi, the Culinary Arts Academy or EHG, and I will not imply otherwise. What the hoteliers do say, almost to a person, is that the school is the beginning and not the qualification. Krister Svensson, then general manager of The St. Regis Bangkok, began as a steward and hires with that in mind; George Cozonis of The Plaza, whose account of his first job as a management trainee is on the EHL page, learned it the hard way.

“Not every luxury hotelier has an academic background, and not everyone needs one. In fact, I would advocate for recent graduates to still begin at the bottom of the industry to gain an appreciation for core business operations. Do not expect nor seek a managerial role right out of college.” Krister Svensson, in A Wealth of Insight (2017)

How to decide

Start with the table and settle what kind of paper you want: a Swiss federally accredited degree, a British or American degree earned in Switzerland, or the Swiss trade’s own ES diploma in French. Then ask each school how many weeks a graduate has spent serving paying guests, and where last year’s class went. Visit if you can; Brugger’s choice turned on a campus. Then read the second chapter of The Luxury of Attention, The Apprenticeship, which is about the education that begins the day any of these schools lets you go.

“No one in this book taught themselves. Every master in these pages is the product of another master.” The Luxury of Attention (2026), Chapter 2

Sources

Questions people also ask

Why does Switzerland have so many hotel schools?

The tradition began in Lausanne in 1893, when the managing director of the Beau-Rivage Palace opened a school for hotel staff, and the palace hotels of Lake Geneva and the Alps supplied both the teachers and the first employers. Eleven Swiss schools appear in the 2026 QS ranking for hospitality and leisure management, more than any other country, and most of them are private and teach in English to an international intake.

What is Swiss federal accreditation for a hotel school?

Institutional accreditation under the Swiss Higher Education Act, decided by the Swiss Accreditation Council. It is required before an institution may call itself a university, a university of applied sciences or a university of applied sciences institute, which are legally protected designations. EHL holds it through its association with HES-SO, a public university of applied sciences; Les Roches, Glion and César Ritz hold it as institutes.

What is EduQua?

A Swiss quality label for continuing education providers. It certifies an institution’s quality management system through an audit by a body such as SQS and is renewed every three years. It is not an accreditation of degrees and does not confer the right to any protected academic title. SHMS, César Ritz, IMI and HTMi hold it.

What does it mean when a Swiss school awards a UK degree?

The degree is awarded or validated by a British university and is a British degree: the University of Derby for SHMS, Robert Gordon University for the BHMS master’s, Ulster University and Edinburgh Napier University for HTMi. HIM’s bachelor is awarded with Northwood University in the United States. The partner university stands behind the qualification; Swiss federal recognition of the school itself is a separate question, and most of these schools do not hold it.

Which Swiss hotel school is best?

On the 2026 QS ranking for hospitality and leisure management, EHL is first, Les Roches second and Glion third, followed by SHMS, César Ritz, HIM, Culinary Arts Academy Switzerland, BHMS, IMI, HTMi and École Hôtelière de Genève between fourth and twenty second. QS measures reputation and research citations, not teaching, and no authoritative ranking of teaching quality exists.

Did the hoteliers in The Luxury of Attention go to Swiss schools?

Two of the thirty six general managers name one: Marc C. Brugger of Rosewood studied at EHL, and Ralph Radtke of Kempinski graduated from Glion. None names any of the other nine schools on this page, and several of the hoteliers reached the top without a hotel school at all.