CESAE Business&Tourism School

What CESAE Business&Tourism School does

CESAE Business&Tourism School is a Madrid-headquartered private educational institution founded in 2010 that delivers online specialized training for hospitality, tourism, gastronomy, and wellness/spa professionals. The school operates a proprietary e-learning platform offering 10 Master's degree programs, 13+ expert/professional programs, and 40+ specialized courses, serving a cumulative alumni base of more than 15,000 trainees across global Spanish-speaking markets. Its technology stack centers on a proprietary "Campus Virtual" learning management system and a "Hotel Management Simulator" that supports applied, scenario-based training; no mobile app or external API is offered.

The business model is tuition-based, with program fees paid by individual professionals seeking career advancement in hospitality and tourism, partially underwritten by Spain's Fundación Estatal (public employment training funds), which introduces a regulatory dependency on continued state workforce-training appropriations. The institution holds three ISO certifications (9001 quality, 14001 environmental, 27001 information security), maintains formal academic-validation partnerships with three Spanish universities (Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Universidad Nebrija, UCAM), and holds an industry affiliation with AEDH (Asociación Española de Directores de Hotel). It reports a 90% post-program employment rate and 150+ internship-partner companies, claims that are not independently verified in the available data. The school has received the "Best Tourism Business School" recognition for two consecutive years.

Name

CESAE Business&Tourism School

Legal name

CENTRO INTERNACIONAL DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DE ADMINISTRACIÓN Y DESARROLLO EMPRESARIAL, S.R.L.

Website

https://cesae.es

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CESAE Business&Tourism School is a Madrid-based online education institution delivering specialized Master's degrees, expert programs, and courses for hospitality, tourism, gastronomy, and wellness professionals across Spanish-speaking markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hospitality & Tourism Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Hospitality, Tourism & Sports Management Schools (within Business Schools) (EDAHAHAL)

Keywords

• Hospitality education
• Tourism training
• Online masters programs
• Professional certifications
• Gastronomy education

Headquarters

HQ city

Madrid

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Educational Programs Tuition: Revenue generated from tuition fees for various educational programs including MBAs, Master's degrees, Expert programs, and professional courses in hospitality, tourism, and gastronomy. Programs are priced individually and can be financed or subsidized through the Fundación Estatal (state training foundation).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CESAE Business & Tourism School is an online education institution based in Madrid, Spain, that sells master's degrees, expert programs, professional programs, and shorter specialized courses aimed at professionals in the hospitality, tourism, and gastronomy sectors. Programs are delivered remotely through a proprietary virtual campus and a hotel management simulation tool, with academic titles issued in coordination with partner Spanish universities.

Product overview

CESAE Business&Tourism School offers a comprehensive portfolio of educational products in tourism and hospitality management. The portfolio comprises 10 specialized Master's degrees (MBA programs) including hotel management, revenue management, gastronomy, and events; 13 professional programs (Programas Superiores and Expertos) covering areas like hospitality management, restaurant management, wellness & spa, and digital communication; and 13 expert programs (Expertos) in specialized areas such as MICE tourism, revenue management, social media, and culinary arts. Additionally, the school provides over 40 professional courses organized in 8 categories (Revenue Management, Hotel Management, Protocol, Wellness & Spa, Restaurant, Tourism, Gastronomy, and Business Management), a PDD executive development program with 21 modules, and supplementary services including an educational blog and job placement assistance through partnerships with over 150 companies. Programs are delivered online with practical case-based methodology and include access to a proprietary hotel management simulator. Some programs offer university titles in partnership with Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Universidad Nebrija, and Universidad Católica de Murcia (UCAM).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Online Master's Degrees in Hospitality, Tourism, and Gastronomy

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% of alumni achieve employment in tourism sector
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Universidad Francisco de VitoriacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirm collaboration agreement for granting own university degrees in Masters, specialists, experts, and university courses. Students receive dual credentials from CESAE and the university.
• Universidad NebrijacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration agreement for granting own university degrees in Masters, specialists, experts, and university courses.
• Universidad Católica de Murcia (UCAM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for university-recognized degrees with UCAM, particularly in gastronomy and culinary programs. UCAM is recognized by ANECA for gastronomy studies.
• Asociación Española de Directores de Hotel (AEDH)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration agreement signed with AEDH, an association working since 1972 to support and promote hotel directors' professional interests.
• Fundación EstatalminorOthersState training foundation enabling companies to subsidize employee training through CESAE programs.

Scale indicators4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Glion Institute of Higher Education: Swiss hospitality school with Bachelor's, Master's and executive programs covering hotel, luxury and event management. Comparable on program structure, learner profile and emphasis on practical/operational training for the upscale hospitality segment.
• École hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL): World-leading hospitality school offering Bachelor's and Master's in hospitality, gastronomy and real estate. Comparable curriculum focus (hotel management, revenue, F&B) at a higher price tier; EHL is the reference benchmark CESAE positions against in the Spanish-speaking market.
• Les Roches International School of Hotel Management: Swiss-based premium hospitality school offering Bachelor's and Master's in hotel management, luxury and revenue management. Closest international comparable by curriculum scope and target learner (aspiring hotel professionals seeking careers in 4-5 star operations).
• César Ritz Colleges Switzerland: Swiss hospitality school (César Ritz Colleges) offering Bachelor's and Master's programs in hotel and tourism management with strong entrepreneurship focus. Comparable on curriculum, learner profile and emphasis on luxury hospitality careers.
• Ostelea: Spain-based school of tourism and hospitality offering Master's and postgraduate programs in hotel management, MICE and tourism marketing. Direct competitor with very similar niche, target student (Spanish-speaking professionals) and online/on-campus mix.

Others

• CTH (Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality): UK-based professional certification body offering vocational and management qualifications in tourism and hospitality. Adjacent, ecosystem-level peer whose certifications CESAE learners may also pursue; not a direct competitor but influences curriculum and credentialing standards.

Broad incumbents

• ESIC Business & Marketing School: Spanish business school with marketing, digital and management programs. Adjacent competitor for postgraduate students in Spain whose curricula overlap in digital marketing, events and revenue management, though ESIC is broader and not hospitality-specialised.
• IE School of Hospitality & Tourism (IE University): Hospitality and tourism school within IE University (Madrid/Spain), offering Bachelor's and Master's programs. Broader incumbent competing for the same Spanish-speaking student pool but with a stronger general-management/degree brand.
• Cornell SC Johnson College of Business - Hotel Administration: Cornell's hospitality school within a top-tier US university. Broader incumbent competing for international hospitality students with degree-granting authority; comparable on program topics (revenue, operations, F&B) though positioned at much higher price tier.

Emerging players

• The Hotel School (Segafredo Zanetti) / Switzerland Tourism schools: Smaller, specialised hospitality training schools in Switzerland offering executive and short programs in hotel management. Comparable on adult-learner focus and short-course format; partial overlap with CESAE's expert and professional course catalogue.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CesaeFormacion
• Facebookfacebook.com/cesaeescueladenegocios
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/cesae-escuela-de-negocios
• Instagraminstagram.com/cesae_business_tourism_school
• Xtwitter.com/CesaeFormacion

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CESAE Business&Tourism School