Restaurant, Hotel and Institutional Management

Overton Hotel Partnership

Providing students with hands-on laboratory experiences remains one of the critical components of the undergraduate degree program. The Overton Hotel and Conference Center is providing RHIM students with enhanced laboratory experiences in a full-service hotel in areas of:

• Front Office
• Housekeeping
• Property & Facility Management
• Convention Sales and Event Planning

Students in the RHIM 2308-Hotel Operations course attend class in the RHIM classroom facility on the second floor of the Overton Hotel. They are also involved in a weekly laboratory where they get hands-on experience in a number of hotel departments. RHIM 3320-Facilities Management students also work with the hotel's staff to develop equipment preventive maintenance plans.

The RHIM classroom is used for a variety of activities including faculty meetings, dietetic intern conferences, and a wine marketing course. Many RHIM students work at the hotel and a select few have been fortunate to participate in a summer internship program.

A Unique Opportunity

In a unique partnership between business and academia, Garfield Traub Development constructed the full service Overton Hotel and Conference Center which opened on July 25, 2009. The hotel also serves as a learning facility for students and faculty of Texas Tech University's Restaurant, Hotel, and Institutional Management (RHIM) program.

This project is a public/private partnership with the City of Lubbock. The hotel is managed by 1859 Historic Hotels Ltd. and consist of 303 rooms, a full-service restaurant, lounge, a swimming pool, exercise facility, and business center.

The adjacent conference center, including 20,000 square feet of meeting and ballroom space to complement the downtown Lubbock Convention Center, land, and parking area is owned by the City of Lubbock.

• The RHIM Program
  • The Restaurant, Hotel and Institutional Management (RHIM) program was established in 1983 and currently offers bachelor, master's and doctoral degrees in hospitality management. The program enrolls nearly 500 undergraduate and 50 graduate students, and over 3,000 graduates have completed the program. More than 90% of the graduating students are placed before graduation. Executives from 40 to 50 major hospitality companies visit the campus each semester to actively recruit RHIM students.
• Garfield Traub Development
  • Garfield Traub Development is a national real estate development firm that uses innovative and cost-effective financing methods to offer turnkey solutions tailored toward the requirements of public and private sector clients.
• 1859 Historic Hotels Ltd
• 1859 Historic Hotels Ltd. blends classic hospitality skills with state-of-the-art technology to provide effective management styles for any situation.

The Facility

The facility was designed by meeting and conference professionals for today's events, with 47,600 square feet of all the resources you need for effective, memorable and productive events:

• 11,250-square-foot column-free ballroom/exhibit area, with sound-deadening walls to convert the space into three separate rooms.
• Accommodations for outdoor events.
• Four smaller meeting rooms and two executive board rooms.
• The latest audio-visual equipment.
• Complete catering and food service operation equipped to serve thousands of meals a day.
• Connected 15-story full-service hotel tower with 303 upscale rooms and suites.
• Relaxing restaurant and bar.
• Spacious and flexible pre-function areas.
• Modern and fully wired business center.
• Fitness facility and outdoor pool.
• Ample and convenient parking.