Session 10
HOSPITALITY
AND TOURISM TRACK
Track Chair and Session Chair: Peter Rainsford, University of Denver
CASES:
John W. Patterson, University of Guelph
Ivor Morgan and Jay Rao, Babson College
Craig C. Lundberg, Cornell University
Udo Schlentrich and Margaret J. Naumes, University of New Hampshire
Betsy Jane Clary, College of Charleston
John Patterson, University of Guelph
THE BAGEL CAFE
John W. Patterson, University of Guelph
This case examines the concept of highest and best use for revenue producing space in a leased multi unit quick service restaurant complex. The student is encouraged to select an appropriate use of recently vacated space from a number of viable alternatives. The teaching note is comprehensive and the case is intended for senior level undergraduate courses in operations, marketing or strategy. The case might also be used at the graduate level early in the same courses.
Case Synopsis
On February 4th, 1999, Arch Jollymore had to recommend a possible use for the recently vacated 400 square foot Bagel Cafe space to Mainway Developments, the owner of the Quick-Service Restaurant (QSR) Complex and its surrounding two-and-one-half acres at the corner of Mainway Road and Walkers Line in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Arch’s company, Brule Foods Limited, leased the entire Complex and held the franchises for the Tim Hortons, Wendy’s, Mrs. Vanellis, and New York Fries units in the Complex. Total Complex sales for 1998 were over $5 million, more than half of which was generated by Tim Hortons. From June 11th, 1996 until January 31st, 1999, the Bagel Cafe, an experimental concept developed and operated by Tim Donut Limited (TDL), Tim Hortons parent company, was operated to test market menu items and to examine the feasibility of an upscale QSR chain primarily serving bagels and specialty coffees. Based upon the test results and the recent introduction of bagels and flavoured cappuccinos to the Tim Hortons menu, TDL did not believe that operating a separate chain of specialty coffee and bagel, QSRs was necessary. Consequently, TDL decided to close the Bagel Cafe on January 31st 1999.
Arch was considering putting a new QSR concept in the Bagel Cafe space. He hoped to find a QSR franchise that had been proven successful as a stand-alone operation and that complemented his existing mix of concepts in the Complex. Arch was also considering a non-food retail outlet in the Bagel Cafe space. He also contemplated using the Bagel Cafe space for additional seating in order to potentially capitalize on the high demand for seating during the lunch period. Arch knew that any recommendation he made to Mainway Developments was related to his decision on whether or not to expand the main Tim Hortons sandwich and bagel preparation area.
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Contact: John Patterson, School of Hotel and Food Administration, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1. Voice: 519 824 4120 ext. 3971. FAX 519 823 5512. email: jwpatter@uoguelph.ca.
BOB THE CHEF’S: A SOUL FOOD EXPERIENCE
Ivor Morgan, Babson College
Jay Rao, Babson College
This
case focuses on an entrepreneur who has bought a 40-year-old restaurant. To
grow the business, he has added a take-out service, a catering business
operated from the original restaurant and a fast-food, limited service
operation at a different location. The case examines the results of these
expansion efforts to date, their relationship to the original business, and
some new ideas being entertained by the entrepreneur. The entrepreneur is facing
a number of problems with each of his additions and his lack of delegation has
left him little time for sleep. Decisions to alleviate several of his problems
are pressing but need to be put into a framework of current market trends and
log-tern prospects for his business. In addition to the marketing dimensions,
it is necessary to consider key operational dimensions -- staffing &
management structure, quality control and operations planning--as well as
accounting aspects in the analysis.
This is a field-researched case suitable for use at both graduate and undergraduate levels. It describes a classic situation of a first-time entrepreneur navigating through a sea of possibilities trying hard to avoid minefields on the way to a misty destination. Appropriate courses include entrepreneurship/small business, services management, services marketing, operations management, and strategic management.
Bob The Chef’s (BTC) is a Soul Food restaurant located in Boston’s South End. For 40 years, BTC has been known as the best place to get southern cuisine and/or soul food. Darryl Settles, the owner, had turned the place from near bankruptcy in 1990 to profitability in 1996. By summer 1996 BTC had expanded to include several businesses: Bob the Chef’s Restaurant, Bob the Chef’s Express, a take-out business from the original restaurant, a catering service, and a real estate business. Though still the only traditional southern soul food restaurant in the Boston area, BTC operated from an aging restaurant structure in a geographical area that was attracting many new entrants, and one experiencing an underlying change in its market demographics. In the case, Darryl Settles is a high energy entrepreneur but one whose time is stretched. Hence, parts of his business are suffering. There are many pressing decisions facing Darryl which include: decisions about re-positioning and/or restructuring the original restaurant, the future of BTC Express and the overall strategic direction for the whole business. In all of this, there are some key questions for Darryl himself as he has run out of hours in the day and he is in need of assistance to accomplish his goals.
Contact person: Ivor Morgan, Babson College, Babson Park, MA 02457, Tel: 781-239-5015, Fax: 781-239-5272, Email: morgan@babson.edu
THE CASINO GRANDE
Craig C. Lundberg, Cornell
University
This
case was written with three objectives.
One is to provide an opportunity for students to predict employee
responses to a managerial action that most will perceive as unjust and to
clarify the reasoning behind their predictions. A second objective is see, through an analysis of the case
situation, how managerial beliefs influence manager perceptions and practices
and how these in turn impact employee perceptions and behaviors. A third objective is to provide students
with case data enabling them to do a fine-grained search for cues about the
quality of superior-subordinate relationships, interaction style, emotions, and
self concepts and related constructs.
The case and note was
written for undergraduate courses in management and organizational behavior and
may be of special interest to hospitality students. It emphasizes the importance of carefully considering the range
of possible consequences of even minor appearing management action.
The
general manager of an eastern mid-sized casino hotel notices two female
reservations employees in the cafeteria after the beginning of the morning
shift. He subsequently emphatically
tells, for the second time, the reservation manager to correct the
behavior. The manager and supervisor of
the two employees then talk with the women, who agree to change their
behavior. About two months later, the
general manager posts a notice to all office employees on the employee bulletin
board that firmly restates the time work starts, lists new, restrictive rules
about employee coffee breaks and threatens cancellation of coffee breaks altogether
if the new rules are ignored.
__________________
Contact Person: Craig C. Lundberg, Cornell University.
Mail: School of Hotel Administration, Cornell
University, Ithaca, NY, 14853 USA
Voice: (607) 255 8361; FAX (607) 255 4179
FRANK’S CASE (A-1 & A-2)
Udo Schlentrich, University of New Hampshire
Margaret Naumes, University of New Hampshire
This case series (A-1 and A-2) gives students the opportunity to
negotiate concerning a top level hotel management position, and to understand
the importance of personal, professional, cultural and ethical issues beyond
the obvious financial issues. The case
concerns Frank Hall, general manager of a large corporation’s luxury hotel in
New York City, who was approached by a VIP guest. The guest wanted Frank to assist him with the turnaround of a
troubled luxury hotel in London that he had recently purchased. The first case describes the initial contacts
between the guest and the general manager. Students are asked to consider both
the personal requirements of the general manager as well as his organizational
needs: the resources, structure and authority that he will need to be
successful. The second case describes
the actual negotiation and contract formulation process. Students are also asked to propose
strategies addressing the problems that exist at the London hotel. The case is based on personal experience and
field interviews.
This case was developed for a course in Strategic Management, the capstone course for a program in Hospitality Management, at the undergraduate level. However, the issues of negotiation, both for oneself and for the conditions for success, are also applicable at the graduate or even executive program level. There is a strong, and unmet, need for professional development cases for programs in professional development.
Frank Hall, who managed a New York City luxury hotel, part of a world-wide chain of hotels, was approached by a VIP guest, a Middle Eastern businessman, who was staying at the hotel for the first time and liked what he saw. The businessman had recently purchased a hotel in London, once considered one of the leading luxury hotels but now ranked 12th among London's luxury hotels (out of 12). While he had already started renovations, the businessman asked Frank to advise him on the project. With the approval of corporate headquarters, Frank agreed, seeing it as a form of customer service and asking only for reimbursement of travel expenses. He made a weekend trip to evaluate the hotel's situation, and wrote an Executive Summary of his recommendations. Several weeks later, he was asked to make a second round trip, to meet with the architects and designers. The businessman then asked him to take over management of the London hotel. The case ends with the issues of what would be needed, both personally and professionally, for Frank to take on and turn around this hotel, an assignment not without risk.
The second case raises the question of cultural attitudes and differences as they would relate both to repositioning and re-launching the hotel, and as they might affect Frank’s ability to work with the owner. It then describes the actual contract formulation process.
Contact Person: Udo
Schlentrich, Whittemore School of Business & Economics, University of New
Hampshire, Durham, NH, 03824. Phone
(603) 862-0137; fax (603) 862-3383; email: uas@cisunix.unh.edu
HOTEL AND
RESTAURANT MILLION
ALBERTVILLE,
FRANCE
Betsy Jane Clary, College of
Charleston
Case Objectives and Use
After
analyzing this case, students will have the opportunity to develop strategies
to increase occupancy, renovate the property, develop ancillary services such
as a cooking school, and generally create sustainable competitive
advantage. Students will also have the
opportunity to decide how to operate the hotel/restaurant once the Millions are
no longer on the staff, and they should determine whether Jose should attempt
to earn a second Michelin star.
This
case is appropriate for the following courses: hospitality/tourism management,
business policy, marketing, and small business management. While this course could be used for graduate
courses, it is written for senior undergraduate students who have completed most
of their required courses. This case
would not be particularly useful in executive MBA programs.
Case
Synopsis
In
1999 Chef Jose deAnacleto purchased the 200 year-old Hotel and Restaurant
Million from the family who had owned the property since its founding in
1770. It was at Restaurant Million that
Chef deAnacleto had apprenticed, and it was with Philippe Million, the owner of
the property and the chef at the restaurant, that deAnacleto had operated a
restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina, for about fifteen years. Hotel and Restaurant Million is located in
Albertville, France, in the French Alps, the site of the 1992 Winter
Olympics. The property was purchased
with a mortgage and funds from the principal and investors.
The hotel includes twenty-six
guest rooms, all with private baths and air conditioning, and is rated as a
three-star hotel in the French rating system.
The gourmet French restaurant has one Michelin star and is considered to
be the premier restaurant in the immediate area. In order to make Hotel and Restaurant Million a highly-profitable
business, deAnacleto must find ways to increase occupancy rates at the hotel,
increase the number of meals served in the restaurant, and increase the
efficiency with which the business is run.
_______________________________________________________________
Contact
Person: Betsy Jane Clary, School of
Business and Economics, College of Charleston, SC 29424. Tel: (843) 953-8107; Fax: (843) 953-5697; E-Mail: claryj@cofc.edu
ROYAL YORK HOTEL
Food and Beverage Facilities and Operations
John W. Patterson, University of Guelph
Case Objectives and Use
This case demonstrates the need for a comprehensive and strategic approach to food and beverage operations in large hotels. The student is encouraged to develop their approach to many alternative action possibilities and to recognize the effective use of existing fixed assets. The teaching note is comprehensive and is intended for the senior undergraduate level or early in a graduate level course in operations or strategic management. The concept of highest and best use of revenue producing space is particularly highlighted.
Case Synopsis
On January 28, 1999, Mr. Fred Lawlor, Manager of the 1365 room, 70 year old, Royal York Hotel (RYH) in Toronto, Ontario operated by Canadian Pacific Hotels was looking down the 470 foot long main kitchen corridor and was concerned about what the next step should be in the Food and Beverage (F&B) Department’s action plan. The RYH’s 1998 F&B revenues were over thirty million dollars, and since 1992 the RYH has invested over five million dollars to completely redesign the Benihan Restaurant. In December 1998, the RYH received approval to proceed with a complete redesign of the Imperial Room at an estimated cost of seven million dollars. Mr. Lawlor was particularly concerned about the performance and mix of facilities on the arcade level of the Hotel including the five existing F&B facilities. Finally, the Acadian Dining Room located on the lobby level, their premier facility for serving hotel guests and other local customers, had not had a major renovation in twenty-five years and needed to be upgraded. The F&B department facilities included one of the largest commercial kitchens in Canada; its last major renovation was approximately 20 years ago.
Mr. Lawlor had assembled information regarding all of these facilities and operations and was considering what changes, if any, needed to be made. The current action plan did not include specific proposals on any of these areas. However, Mr. Lawlor realized that the most recent changes and approved plans for change created the need for a more comprehensive approach to the entire F&B area. Mr. Lawlor suspected that any additional changes would require major financial investment, and he needed to make his recommendations as soon as possible in order that they be included in the property improvement plan for this year. The sooner the plan was completed, the better the chance for approval from the RYH’s executive committee and regional Vice President.
_________________________
Contact: John Patterson, School of
Hotel and Food Administration, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada,
N0B 1S0. Voice: 519 824 4120 ext. 3971.
FAX: 519 823 5512. email: jwpatter@uoguelph.ca