Hotel™ | Business Simulation

Four hotels in a Thai resort are up for lease, and teams bid at auction to secure the one they'll run - overpay and you're saddled with a bigger bank loan, so caution is key. From the latest set of accounts, teams must work out how to turn their hotel around: a total rebrand is needed, starting with the name, mission statement, slogan and refurbishment, all of which feed directly into business performance.

Occupancy is everything. Setting the right room rate, targeting the right market and managing costs are crucial - but nothing stands still. Over six quarter-year periods, teams make rounds of decisions on pricing, advertising, staffing and more. Business opportunities and threats arrive constantly, and advice is on offer - though teams must decide whether to take it. Optional crisis situations can also be thrown into the mix, each one affecting the bottom line and demanding quick thinking.

The team with the highest profit at the end wins.

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How It Works — Choose Your Delivery Method

When you purchase this activity you receive both versions, so you can run it whichever way suits your group.

• Fully Online – Teams and the facilitator each work on their own device. Teams study the hotel information and bid at auction on-screen, then enter their decisions each round through the platform. Results - including a full P&L account - are generated instantly for everyone. The facilitator monitors all teams from a central hub dashboard. Take a look at the starting data teams study online here.

• Paper-Based – Only the facilitator needs a computer. Teams discuss and record their decisions on paper, hand them to the facilitator, who inputs them and prints the results (or saves them as PDFs to share with each team individually).

Everything else - the discussion, the debate, the decision-making - happens away from screens (with both versions!).

• Tests entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen
• Demonstrates business principles
• Highlights need to know your customer
• Gives an opportunity to analyse business finance data, and establish control of the costs
• Shows the importance of training and looking after staff
• Gives insights into dealing with business crises

This activity includes two formats - fully online and paper-based - and your role differs depending on which you run. Full guidance for both is provided in each Trainer's Notes.

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Fully Online Version

1. Arrange the group into teams (up to four teams of 3–6 people). Ensure each team has its own laptop.
2. Set up the teams on the Northgate TrainerHub and send each team their URL and password.
3. Introduce the session - verbally or using the optional PowerPoint.
4. Start the session. Teams study the initial data on four hotels before submitting their bids at auction to secure a hotel.
5. Teams study their hotel's recent P&L account and a consultant's report, then complete their first set of decisions. In return they receive Q1 results, along with advice and details of new opportunities. Optional Crisis situations can be enabled for teams to consider before results are issued each round.
6. Teams have approximately 20 minutes to analyse their results before making the next set of decisions (Q2). The process repeats for up to six quarters.
7. Throughout, your hub dashboard gives you visibility of all teams' decisions and outcomes - useful for observing how teams are working and gathering material for the debrief.
8. Announce the winning team and lead a debrief on the learning outcomes and key lessons.

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Paper-Based Version

1. Introduce the activity.
2. Issue Team Folders. Allow teams to study the details of the hotels and bid for the one they want to run.
3. Conduct the auction (program-aided).
4. Issue teams with their hotel's initial performance data and allow them to make their first set of decisions.
5. While teams are working, issue Crisis Card No. 1.
6. Collect teams' decisions and enter them into the program. Print the results (P&L accounts, including opportunities and threats) and hand them out - or save as PDFs to distribute individually.
7. Repeat for up to six rounds, each representing a quarter-year period.
8. Announce the winning team and lead a debrief to discuss the learning outcomes and key lessons.

Full guidance supplied in the Trainer’s Notes.

Hard & Digital Copy

• ☑️ Hard copy pack supplied
• ☑️ Programs x2 supplied (internet access required)
• ☑️ PDFs & PowerPoint supplied

Digital Copy

• ☑️ Programs x2 supplied (internet access required)
• ☑️ PDFs & PowerPoint supplied

Contents

• Trainer's Notes
• Team Folders
• Crisis Cards
• Computer Programs x2 (internet access required)
• PowerPoint Presentation

This activity is for face-to-face and virtual classroom use. The digital files are supplied via the Northgate Trainerhub.

This Northgate Training activity comes with a five-year licence for repeat use with up to 24 participants at a time, for use by Trainers based at one licence-holding site (one Trainer can use the simulation at a time).

All Trainers physically based at the same office location can access the Northgate resources during the five-year term, including the digital resources supplied on the Trainerhub via your own site-specific Trainer Dashboard. If you have Trainers based at other locations, and/or remote workers, who would like to access and use the Northgate resources, we can advise further depending on your requirements.

For further information on our licence terms please view the Northgate Licence Agreement.