Case study Hotel owners and operators recognize that while we are currently living in a world of scant lodging demand, talk of reopening the country is the necessary precursor to a recovery in travel and the need for hotel accommodations. Just like cities and states need to plan, closed hotels must plan the "how" and "when" of their reopening. As in any business decision, the costs and benefits of remaining closed versus resuming operations must be weighed. During a time when travel is restricted and little can be done to stimulate demand, the primary objective is to limit operating losses through cost containment. At the same time, hotel owners and managers must prepare for an eventual recovery in demand and the reopening of their property. Touch base with your competitors to see when they plan on reopening. It may or may not make sense to reopen when they do, depending on the anticipated depth of demand at that time. Beyond their timing, are your competitors shifting their mix of business and/or distribution strategy? How has their pricing changed since prior to the crisis? Online research or market research providers will help you determine shifts in their marketing or positioning, or lack thereof, potentially providing you with alternate opportunities. Drive-to locations such as regional resorts are more likely to benefit, as well, due to the pent-up demand for vacations and weekend staycations. While urban destinations have historically attracted drive-in demand during a recession because consumers save money, compared with the costs of flying, city centers may have less appeal in this downturn until the fear of group mingling and dense locations diminish. Urban hotels, particularly those with a group orientation, will have to find ways to adapt creatively to this new environment. Government lodging contracts for first responders, medical professionals, and quarantined individuals are helping many urban hotels survive this period of low demand. Another consideration is the hotel's historical transient vs. group mix, which will often parallel the amount of meeting and function space relative to the number of guestrooms. The more the hotel is dependent on group demand, the more it will be critical to see clear indications from planners of the intent to book in order to identify when to reopen. Transient travelers, whether they be corporate, leisure, or any other sub-segment, can make and implement travel decisions quickly, whereas the lead time for group demand is longer than that for the transient segment, making the lead time for reopening necessarily longer, as well. Another factor to consider when weighing when to reopen is the weekly volatility of demand. Will you be opening to accommodate infrequent events that generate high occupancy temporarily and then be faced with abnormally low occupancy that caused you to close in the first place? Having to carry the ongoing costs of an open hotel may only be worthwhile if an adequate level of steady demand is sustainable. If this is a risk, opening just parts of the hotel, such as wings/floors or only certain outlets, could mitigate the financial exposure. As a member of a leading 5’star hotel in Sri Lanka and a under graduate how would you find answers / give alternatives for the below questions.
1. Based on the given case study identify when receiving goods/raw material to the hotel?
2. Identify temperature checks for the staff and guests?
3. Based on the given case study how are you going to promote
adventure tourism to the local
market?
4.Based on the given case study identify Why do you need to
monitor the competition for
Arugambay?
5.Based on the given case study identify What health and safety
measures you are going to
implement for tourists who are going to visit Sri Lanka from 1st of
August after Covid – 19
6.EpidemicsEvent management can generate a lot of revenue
comparatively in a short period of
time. Plan an event for 1750pax in your hotel by providing an event
sheet an appropriate menu with
vegetarian choices and a sample budget (generic fixed and variable
costs). Please elaborate your
answer with appropriate examples.
7.Why emerging tourism trends are playing a vital role in terms
of revenue generation? How can
we promote destinations within the island to create a niche market
for this demand? Please explain
your answer with appropriate examples.
In: Operations Management
In 2016 the Better Business Bureau settled 80% of complaints they received in the United States. Suppose you have been hired by the Better Business Bureau to investigate the complaints they received this year involving new car dealers. You plan to select a sample of new car dealer complaints to estimate the proportion of complaints the Better Business Bureau is able to settle. Assume the population proportion of complaints settled for new car dealers is 0.80, the same as the overall proportion of complaints settled in 2016.
(a)
Suppose you select a sample of 180 complaints involving new car dealers. Show the sampling distribution of
p.
A bell-shaped curve is above a horizontal axis labeled p.
A bell-shaped curve is above a horizontal axis labeled p.
A bell-shaped curve is above a horizontal axis labeled p.
A bell-shaped curve is above a horizontal axis labeled p.
(b)
Based upon a sample of 180 complaints, what is the probability that the sample proportion will be within 0.04 of the population proportion? (Round your answer to four decimal places.)
(c)
Suppose you select a sample of 470 complaints involving new car dealers. Show the sampling distribution of
p.
A bell-shaped curve is above a horizontal axis labeled p.
A bell-shaped curve is above a horizontal axis labeled p.
A bell-shaped curve is above a horizontal axis labeled p.
A bell-shaped curve is above a horizontal axis labeled p.
(d)
Based upon the larger sample of 470 complaints, what is the probability that the sample proportion will be within 0.04 of the population proportion? (Round your answer to four decimal places.)
(e)
As measured by the increase in probability, how much do you gain in precision by taking the larger sample in part (d)?
In: Finance
LimeBike is a start-up founded in 2017 located in San Mateo, California. Its mission is to make shared bicycles accessible and affordable. The company has taken the basic idea of shared bicycles and eliminated the need to return the bike to a docking station, which may not be near the cyclist’s destination.
LimeBike charges $1 per 30 minutes of riding. Students receive a discounted rate of $0.50 per ride.
To use LimeBike, you first use the LimeBike app to locate one of the citrus-colored bikes near your location. Once you are at the bike, you scan the QR code on the bike or enter the bike’s plate number into the app to unlock the bike. When you are finished using the bike, you park the bike by a bike rack or post – anywhere that is legal and visible. Once you press down the back wheel lock, the trip is finalized and your payment is processed – all within the LimeBike app.
LimeBike operates the bicycle networks within cities, eliminating the need for cities to maintain the bikes or deal with other logistics. The shared bicycle network is not dependent on government funding, making it appealing to cities with tight budgets.
LimeBike just raised $12 million in funding from investors to expand its operations. It is set to begin operating in as-of-yet undisclosed cities in April or May of 2017.
You are one of the only accountants in LimeBike headquarter's office.
The company’s CEO, Toby Sun, has tasked you with forming the company's the company’s accounting policies.
For the discussion post, write an email to the company CEO and address all of the following typical company scenarios and whether each item should be expensed or capitalized at LimeBike:
The cost of customized bikes. This includes the bike's purchase price, shipping, assembly and sales tax.
Development costs of the smart phone app for locating, paying, and returning bikes. (Resource: Accounting for Software Development)
Salary of the salesperson who works to get cities to adopt the Lime Bike program.
Replacement tires for bikes.
Routine bike maintenance including chain lubrication, brake pad replacement, and drive train cleaning
Electricity and other utilities in administrative offices
Somewhere in your email, also address why this classification is important. Be sure to include how these decisions would impact the company’s balance sheet and income statement.
In: Accounting
Erica, the human resource manager, was frustrated by many of her hotel staff speaking Spanish in the hallways and rooms as they were cleaning them.
The Sawmill Hotel where Erica works is situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota’s downtown. It’s target market includes sports enthusiasts attending nearby professional (Twins, Vikings, Timberwolves, Wild) games but also business professionals and families. This four-star hotel features an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, message center, three stores, two restaurants, and a beauty shop. Total staff includes about 10 managers, 30 cleaning assistants to take care of rooms, 10 front desk specialists, and 25 who are involved with the stores, restaurants, and beauty shops. Each are required to focus on customer service as their number one value.
Erica hires everyone in the hotel except for the Chief Executive Officer, Vice President of Finance, and Vice President of Marketing. For the rest of the managers, the 30 cleaning assistants, store, restaurant, and beauty shop workers, she advertises for openings with the local job service and the Minneapolis Tribune (with the associated website). A typical Tribune ad for a cleaning assistant reads as follows: Cleaning Assistants Wanted, Sawmill Hotel, $9-11 hour, prepare rooms for customers and prepare laundry. Contact: Erica Hollie, Human Resource Manager, xxx-xxx-xxxx.
As a result of the advertising, Erica has been able to obtain good help through the local target market. Twenty seven of the thirty cleaning assistants are women. Twenty of the thirty have a Hispanic background. Of the Hispanics, all can speak English at varying levels.
Rachel, the lead cleaning assistant believes that maximizing communication among employees helps the assistants become more productive and stable within the hotel system. She uses both English and Spanish to talk to assistants under her. Spanish is useful with many assistants because they know Spanish much better than English. Spanish also is the “good friends” language that allows the Spanish speakers to freely catch up on each other’s affairs that motivates them to stay working at the hotel. The use of the Spanish language among cleaning assistants had been common practice among them for two years since the hotel opened.
In the last few months, top management decided to have an even greater focus on customer service by ensuring customer comment cards are available in each room and at the front desk. Customers also can comment about their stay at the hotel online.
There have been several customer complaints that cleaning assistants have been laughing about them behind their back in Spanish. One customer, Kathy, thought that staffers negatively commented about her tight pink stretch pants covering her overweight legs. Other customers have complained they didn’t think asking staff for help was easy given the amount of Spanish spoken. In all, about 15 out of 42 complaints in a typical month were associated with the use of the Spanish language.
Though Bellhops and front desk clerks are typically the workers who handle complaints first, Erica, the human resource manager, has the main responsibility to notify workers about customer complaint patterns and to set policy in dealing with the complaints. The prevalence of complaints concerning workers speaking Spanish each month led Erica to make a significant change in policy concerning the use of Spanish. In consultation with top management, Erica instituted the following employee handbook policy effective immediately:
“English is the main language spoken at the hotel. Any communication among employees shall be in English. Use of Spanish or other languages is prohibited unless specifically requested by management or the customer.”
In an e-mail explanation for the new policy, Erica stated the number of complaints that had come from the use of Spanish and the need for customer courtesy and communication.
Rachel immediately responded to Erica’s e-mail by stating that the new policy was too harsh on the native Spanish speaking assistants at the hotel. She thought that a better policy is to allow her assistants to communicate with each other through Spanish but by quietly doing so away from customer earshot. If there is a general discussion in front of a customer, it is recommended to speak English. There should never be discussions in any language about customer appearances.
Though Rachel grumbled, the policy stuck because Erica and top management wanted to stop customer complaints. As a result of the policy, ten of the twenty Spanish speaking assistants quit within two months. These were high quality assistants who had been with the hotel since the start. Their replacements came from a job service and have not worked out as well in their performance.
Questions and Answers
What law(s) do you think might apply in this case?
Should a complete ban of Spanish be instituted among staff of the hotel unless customers use Spanish themselves or should the use of Spanish be completely allowed by staff among themselves as long as it is quiet (why or why not)?
What rules, if any would you put into effect in this situation, knowing about the customer complaints? Explain your answer.
In: Operations Management
Problem 8-3A Asset cost allocation; straight-line depreciation LO C1, P1
[The following information applies to the questions
displayed below.]
In January 2017, Mitzu Co. pays $2,600,000 for a tract of land
with two buildings on it. It plans to demolish Building 1 and build
a new store in its place. Building 2 will be a company office; it
is appraised at $644,000, with a useful life of 20 years and a
$60,000 salvage value. A lighted parking lot near Building 1 has
improvements (Land Improvements 1) valued at $420,000 that are
expected to last another 12 years with no salvage value. Without
the buildings and improvements, the tract of land is valued at
$1,736,000. The company also incurs the following additional
costs:
| Cost to demolish Building 1 | $ | 328,400 | |
| Cost of additional land grading | 175,400 | ||
| Cost to construct new building (Building 3), having a useful life of 25 years and a $392,000 salvage value | 2,202,000 | ||
| Cost of new land improvements (Land Improvements 2) near Building 2 having a 20-year useful life and no salvage value | 164,000 | ||
Problem 8-3A Part 3
3. Using the straight-line method, prepare the December 31 adjusting entries to record depreciation for the 12 months of 2017 when these assets were in use.
In: Accounting
In: Finance
In: Operations Management
What are the differences between a casino hotel and other types of hotels in terms of the organization, facility, and management?
In: Operations Management
What are the challenges a US based hotel may face in the Greece because of its accounting standards?
In: Accounting
The Hotel Arcata faces a risk that it will suffer a fire causing a $ 200 million dollar loss with a probability of 0.02. The owner of the firm, Jackie Johnson, has a utility function of the form U(W) = W ½, where W is the owner’s wealth. The wealth is measured by the value of the hotel, which is $ 225 million dollars (i.e., W = 225).
A. What is Jackie Johnson’s expected loss?
B. What is Jackie Johnson’s expected utility?
C. What is Jackie Johnson’s risk premium?
In: Economics