The determinants of student satisfaction with internship programs in the hospitality industry: A case study in the USA

Internship programs have become an increasingly essential component for hospitality education. A successful internship program helps student interns to integrate their theoretical knowledge with practical experience gained through internship programs. The purpose of this study is to determine the factors affecting hospitality students’ satisfaction with their internship programs. This study employed an online questionnaire as the data-gathering instrument. A total of 100 undergraduate hospitality students who had participated in an internship program were surveyed. The structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the data using AMOS Software. The results of the current study showed that feedback, autonomy, university supervisor support, academic preparedness, flexible working hours, student self-initiatives, location, and skills variety are imperative factors contributing towards internship satisfaction. The findings of the current study provide important practical implications for both university and internship host companies.