JHTC, Teaching and Case Notes, Volume 5, Issue 1

Table of Contents, Abstracts

Hotel Benchmarking Task Force: A case study
(Warren, Boyland)

This case study is a simulated “task force” assignment. The case involves an underperforming unit of a multi-unit hotel chain. The unit is failing across multiple parameters including market share, revenue and cost performance, labor productivity, inventory turnover, and guest satisfaction. The supporting documentation is similar to that be found in industry practice.  A series of reports is presented for students to analyze with the goal of proposing solutions for the unit management to take to move the unit performance closer to the company performance benchmarks.

Keywords: hotel, benchmarking, operations, analysis

Case Study
Teaching Note
 

RB Leipzig—A Novel Approach to Sport Stadium Hospitality
(Merkle, Lewis)

The case examines a German league football club’s process of procuring the stadium hospitality and public catering rights and the activation of those rights in the club’s own capacity. The club’s approach of organizing a tender process and selecting service providers is discussed. The decision to separately award the catering and hospitality lots to two different bidders is examined together with innovations in the service providers’ event delivery processes and match day organization. The impact of the close co-operation between the club and its main sponsor, energy drink company Red Bull, on catering and hospitality operations is reviewed.

Key Words: Catering, Food and Beverage, Football, Hospitality, Marketing, Soccer

Case Study
Teaching Note

Food ‘Trucks’ for Thought
(Deale, Schoffstall)

As food trucks increase in popularity across the United States, it is imperative to include this topic in food and beverage management courses.  This case study examines one particular food truck operation, discussing both its rewarding and challenging operational aspects so far.  Brief explanations of topics that concern food truck operators, including: laws and regulations, menu design and pricing, useful marketing strategies, technology and equipment considerations, effective customer service, and enhancing competitiveness are presented and may be incorporated into a variety of courses.

Key Words: Food trucks, operations, customer service, competitive advantage

Case Study
Teaching Note
 

Vendor Gifts at Indian Trails Country Club: An ethical dilemma
(Collins)

Tom LaFranz, the general manager of a country club, accepted gifts from vendors who significantly increased their prices, negatively affecting the club’s profitability. The club’s board of directors and parent-company executives grapple with Tom’s seemingly unethical behavior in the absence of conduct standards. This case study scenario addresses a common dilemma, from both a legal and ethical perspective, and factors that affect how it may be interpreted and evaluated. It also illuminates the importance of having a well-understood code of ethics to help employees recognize and appropriately deal with situations that may pose a conflict of interest.

Key Words: ethics, gifts, kickbacks, ethical theories, code of ethics, hospitality

Case Study
Teaching Note

Developing Soft Skills for Future Hospitality Leaders: A case study
(Crawford, Weber)

This case study examines a five factor model of soft skills for the hospitality industry.  Interestingly, many companies are not often concerned with the technical skills and abilities of their entry-level managers because they will train them according to their company standards.  These companies want their future managers to have the soft skills needed to be successful within the environment of their organization and will select from applicants with those soft skills.  Therefore this case focuses on the development of a model of soft skills for hospitality leaders, application of the model into human resources within the hospitality industry, and application of the model for each student in preparation for future industry success.

Key words: human resources, soft skills, hospitality, management

Case Study
Teaching Note
 

Who is Losing the Breakfast Battle? A Case Study of McDonald’s and Taco Bell
(Ramasubramanian, Khan, Pham)

This case study focuses on the breakfast advertising battle between McDonald’s and Taco Bell.  Fast food chains have steered their focus toward the attractive breakfast market to maximize sales in every possible day part.  Although it is not very common, it is not new to attack competitors through marketing campaigns. Taco Bell did exactly that to promote their new breakfast menu in March 2014 by using Ronald McDonald’s name.  McDonald’s immediately responded using a creative advertisement.  The case illustrates how competitive and combative advertisements can have a positive or negative impact.  Several examples of advertising are provided to help in understanding the theoretical underpinnings. 

Key Words: McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Competitive Advertising, Combative Advertising, The prisoner’s dilemma, Brand wars.

Case Study
Teaching Note

The NCAA Football National Championship Playoff Tourism: Marketing and planning for tourism
(McGill, Robert M. O’Halloran)

On Monday, January 12, 2015 the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) held its inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship (CFPNC). Semi-final games were played the previous weekend that pitted the top four ranked college football teams to determine which two teams would play in this first championship game. Winners of the two semi-final games were the University of Oregon with the current Heisman winning quarterback challenging Ohio State University featuring a third string quarterback playing due to injuries to its two top ranked quarterbacks (both of whom were potential Heisman winners). Despite this apparent disadvantage, Ohio State won the game handily. The game achieved an 18.5 overnight TV rating, the highest rating ESPN (the cable station that carried the game) had ever received (Andreeva, 2015).  Ratings, which measure the live audience for a broadcast, are of particular significance for television broadcast networks and its advertisers. Higher overnight ratings can justify the network’s charging higher advertising rates. This case will examine the site selection and marketing processes for these popular events.

Key Words: National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), College Football Playoff National Championship (CFPNC), TV overnight ratings, Bowl games, tourism impact, marketing planning process

Case Study
Teaching Note
 

Roxy's Grilled Cheese
(Szende, George, Raeisinafchi)

This case study is about James DiSabatino an entrepreneur and food truck owner in Boston, Massachusetts. Students explore operational challenges and act in the role of the food truck owner.

An owner’s assessment of their current situation is presented and students are expected to analyze root causes of existing issues and recommend actions. To reinforce basic tools of operations management in a food truck setting, the purpose of the case is to introduce students to the concepts of process analysis and decision making related to food truck design and equipment placement. 

Key Words: Food Trucks, Foodservice, Process Analysis, Bottleneck

Case Study
Teaching Note
 

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