20EE Tasks and decisions

There is still some small changes to come, almost ready :-)

Your tasks during the game week (April 27 - April 30)

The total of this assignment has 4 parts: each part linked to the years 1 to 4. Be sure to work on this assignment during the gameweek in the applicable years. Find the deadlines for each part from the schedule and please make sure to e-mail them in time! This work will get evaluated and has an influence on your final mark. Be sure to write specific, in a business-style and give sources etc. Please write in English. For any questions on this you can consult your staff in Tallinn. An indication is to have 3 to 6 pages on each of the 4 parts, so all together 12 - 24 pages of real content.
All assignments have to be handed in on time by mail: efhcoach@gmail.com. For the deadlines see the schedule!

Year01, part 1 in combination with the Trade Fair

During the Trade Fair we advice your teams to have one or two members checking out the competition. This is of use for your gameplay but also needed for this part.
Strategic analysis of the competition
This part should hold two major elements.

A - Reflection on your performance on the Trade Fair

• What were our goals on the Trade Fair
• What went right and what went wrong?
• How does this effect your hotel?
• What would you do differently next time and why?

B - Competition analysis based on the Trade Fair

• Make a competition analysis for your hotel.
  

This should consist of three parts:

Competition in the city
You are playing this game in a competition: all of the teams start with the same history. The main outlines of your tasks in running the hotel are:

• keep the hotel financially healthy, and run it in a profitable way. This does not mean you have to go for maximum profit: you can have other targets as well, as long as you make (acceptable) profit.
• keep it independent (no joining of a big company, no selling of the assets or the total of the hotel etc.).

With a number of teams you will compete over customers in your city. Among the other competing teams in your city the customers will be "divided". The market will develop depending on the actions of all of the hotels in their city too. So a market can develop different in any city, because all of the teams go, for instance, for price-leadership.
There is also a page on competition that might help you with more information.

Theory on competition
In competition models, such as Porters Five Forces Model, competition can be seen on several levels. You are free to choseany structured way of doing a competition analysis but be sure there is a model behind your choice.

Our choice as a model to used to structure competition analysis, would be looking at three forms of competitions.

• Generic competition on time and money.

How many people do travel, what is the average income? What do they average spend their income on. What are the consumers sentiments? Consumers can only spend their money once and their time as well. Use realistic figures from Estonia and for instance Tallinn! The example is from another country and competition.

Example of general and some specific competition.

• Specific competition on alternatives.

If they decide to spend their money on leisure they can chose for a stay in a hotel, camping ground, friends and relatives etc. In the business market the alternatives are less logical. Try to use some realistic figures from Estonia and for instance Tallinn!

• Selective competition your direct competitors: so the consumers choice for a brand.

Do they chose for a hotel, the other competitor offering practically the same products are the most likely competitor, the competition is now mostly on brand and product specifications. Now look especially at your city Amstelburg. This is what you do on the Trade Fair, and only for your own city!

The example is from another country and competition.

Example of overview direct competitors.

Of course explanations on this table is needed.
Is is handy to prepare some form to use on the Trade Fair. So while some team members are working in the booth, others should visit the competitors and immediately work on this assignment.

Year02, part 2 in combination with your financial results

This part is in combination with your financial results you have had so far.
In the secure section you can find your operating review of your first year under the tab results. Your Key metrics are in there, which you will need to make this part.

Calculating ratio's
The is a number of figure in the results section and some Key metrics. Using this information and other pages in Category:Hotel info calculate the next items. For each of them be sure to show in a proper way the calculations and explaining them.

• the number of guests-nights in weekend, during the week, and total. Check the general occupancy rate and persons per room
• the average F&B-turnover per present person in weekend, during the week, and total.
• think of two more yourself and indicate why you chose those.

Other ratio's
Look for ratio's for year 1, which can be taken from your hotel results for year 1.

• fixed costs per room per day
• fixed cost per occupied room per day
• variable cost per room per day
• variable cost per occupied room per day
• net profit per occupied room per day
• average margin on any occupied room per day in euro's
• average margin on any occupied room per day as % of the average sales price of these rooms.

Further Instructions and Recommendations
Use suitable literature or websites to prepare and analyze the results, including managerial and financial accounting textbooks. Give all sources.

Try to find benchmarks for a real hotel like the Emerald Forest in Estonia. Reflect then on

• sales prices of your hotel and match that with real figures in the market.
• occupancy rates of your hotel and match that with real figures in the market.
• calculate the different revenue-sources and their contribution to the total revenues and match that with real figures in the market.
• the net profit of your hotel and match that with real figures in the market.

Write in a concrete and serious way as to show knowledge on the subject. Be sure to make calculations and explain them! Maybe make the calculations in Excel en copy past them into your file.

Year03, part 3 in combination with the event happening

This part goes in combination with the management issue that take place during this year.
Being the management of a hotel always brings upon unexpected situations where you have to react quickly. This can be in damage-control in case of a problem but it can also be in seizing an opportunity which arises. Explain what you have done and why.

Give a comprehensive explanation in your assignment that answers the next questions.

This year your hotel faces a special situation.

• Assess the situation that took place and the impact on all stakeholders.
• What actions did you take on hearing the news? Put in screenshots of your actions taken, give the right URL's!
• Explain which organizational concepts you used for solving this situation.
• Give the step by step actions you took and explain each step.
• Try to assess the total damage of the incident and it's solution in money (also think of staff costs). Be as specific as possible.
• How are the responsibilities in your hotel regarding this kind of problems: be very specific and concrete in this!
• What do you think of the solutions you have heard from other teams?
• How will you prevent this from ever happening again? Use theory like the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points to give a theoretical view but also operational on how to handle situations like this.

Year04, part 4 combined with your 3 minutes and promotion

1. There is a paintball club in Tallinn that is organizing the games in different locations, also in one of the forests not far from Emerald Forest Hotel. The club has a lot of high quality equipment and professional staff, but not enough clients and good marketing ideas. The paintball club management proposes you to create an effective marketing campaign for attracting new clients. In exchange the club will organize the paintball games for the visitors of Emerald Forest Hotel for free during one year.

2. Let's have a look at the international situation. Check out the page Category:Emerald forest finished teams and check out the pages All teams with logo's from finished competitions. We would like you to find cultural differences which would influence the management of your hotel.

• Chose two team photos which you think are totally not suitable for a hotel management team and explain why!
• Chose two logo's which you think are totally not suitable for a hotel and explain why!
• Chose two hotel names which you think are totally not suitable for a hotel and explain why!

You can click on the user link underneath the photo's to go to the teampage of these teams.

3.
3 minutes
You acted at the 3 minutes of fame. Answer the next questions as if it all where for real, so from a business perspective. You do not have a lot of times after the three minutes. Most of the following questions can be made upfront.

• what was the exact goals you had in mind with this presentation?
• what was the target group as an audience you aimed at?
• what will, concrete, be the planned follow-up after the 3 minutes
• how could you measure the result of the 3 minutes related to the goals in a concrete way?
• how does your performance match with the Trade Fair?

Write in a concrete and serious way as to show knowledge on the subject. Make sure you decide on who is going to do what tasks.

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Task 6: Tuesday 7 February (year 01) - Day of Creativity
On this first day your team will demonstrate its creativity and thereby present the new hotel in a more promising strategic direction, as well as distinguishing your hotel from your competitors.
> 09.00 - 10.00 Meet with your team, work on decisions and explanations.
> 10.00 Deadline assignment 1.
> 10.00 - 11.00 AGM: results year 00, instructions year 01.
> 11.00 - 12.00 Round table: “Managing Your Hotel: Communication and Media Strategies” and costing game.
> 12.00 - 15.00 Lunch break and

1. Preparations for Trade Fair
2. Work on decisions and explanations both in your teamsheet via the secret link for year 01. Read the page secret link teamsheet and fill your decisions out. You will absolutely have to read the page decisions as to get a grip on things.
   

> 15.00 Deadline for Decisions and explanations for year 1
> 15.00 - 17.00 Trade Fair (Opening by Guest-of-Honour at 15.10). Present your hotel and work on your assignment on the Trade Fair. Participation of all team members mandatory.
> From 17.00 Work on Assignment 2 and look ahead to the rest of the tasks.

Task 7: Wednesday 8 February (year 02) - Day of Calculations
Analyze the results, the operational costs made and the key indicators for your hotel. On this day, focus on the calculations a manager often has to make. "Financial language" is key in the hotel sector. Further, linking these to benchmarks is crucial to profitability. After receiving your first results (on year 01) you need to study them, in order to decide on how to react in the next year.
> 09.00 - 10.00 Meet with your team, work on decisions and explanations.
> 10.00 Deadline for Assignment 2.
> 10.00 - 10.30 AGM: results year 01, instruction on year 02.
> 10.30 - 11.30 Round table
> 11.30 - 16.00 Analysis of the results, make new decisions and work on assignment 03 in this year. Continue developing marketing strategies. > 16.00 Deadline for Decisions and explanations for year 02.
> 16.00 – 16.30 Brief on evening event.
> 18.30 Meet in front of library to begin evening event.

Task 8: Thursday 9 February (year 03) - Day of Managing the Company
The managing of a hotel relies heavily on the ability to communicate with customers as well as your staff, especially when exceptional situations arise. The hotel management will need to deal directly, actively and creatively with the event, as well as to take timely decisions to resolve it.
> 09.00 - 10.00 Meet with your team, work on decisions and explanations.
> 10.00 Deadline for Assignment 3.
> 10.00 - 10.30 AGM: results year 02, instruction on year 03.
> 10.30 - 11.30 Round table.
> 11.30 - 16.00 Resolve management issues; pricing decisions, adjust team page. Work on your assignment 4 and make new decisions!
> 16.00 Deadline for Decisions and explanations for year 03.
> 16.00 Prepare for the 3 minutes of fame, work on the assignment and look ahead to the rest of the tasks. Tomorrow is going to be a really packed day!
> 17.00 - 18.45 Film screening (optional).

Task 9: Friday 10 February (year 04) - Day of Promotion
On this day your team will show how to sell its services and make hotel promotions attractive through the use of internet and social media. The competitions finish today. Final results will be determined and the teams with the most profit and that were the most creative will be awarded.
> 08.00 - 09.00 Meet with your team, work on decisions and explanations.
> 09.00 Deadline for Assignment 4.
> 09.00 - 10.00 AGM: results year 03, instruction on year 04.
> 10.00 – 10.30/11.00 Team preparation of 3 minutes of fame; pricing decisions, adjust team page etc.; coaches available for feedback and questions.
> 10.30 Deadline for handing in the data sticks for the 3 minutes of fame
> 11.00 Deadline for Decisions and explanations for year 04.
> 11.00 - 13.00 3 minutes of fame (all team members are in).
> 16.00 - 17.00 Game Final: Award Ceremony.
> 17.00 - 18.00 After the game final we kindly ask you to evaluate the game by filling out the handed out questionnaire; it helps us to further improve the game! Please also help to clean up the place before leaving the premise.
> 18.00 All participants meet for dinner together (optional).

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Emerald Forest Hotel offering an emerald hotel experience! | Run your own hotel in this management simulation.