CESIM HOSPITALITY Introduction

Simulation for hotel and restaurant management

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Cesim Hospitality is an interactive hospitality simulation game which focuses on running a hotel and a hotel restaurant.

The simulation integrates concepts from various hospitality management related functions, including revenue management, sales channels, menu engineering, housekeeping, maintenance, staffing, and procurement.

The use of the simulation is done with an on-line platform that provides flexibility and independence of the delivery formats. Participants only need a computer with internet connection and a browser.

Competition against other teams makes the learning experience motivating and fun.

What is Cesim Hospitality?

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To develop the participants’ capabilities in identifying, analysing, and acting on the key operational & environmental variables that influence hotel and restaurant operations

To enhance fact-based analytical decision-making and illuminate the financial implications of operational decisions by linking the decisions to cash flows and bottom line performance

To review concepts and ideas concerning the hospitality industry as well as general business management, deepening their understanding by demonstrating them in a concrete context

To give students practical experiences in teamwork and problem solving and excite competitive spirits in a dynamically evolving marketplace

Learning Goals

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Learning Process

Applying new ideas

Analysis & planning

Observations & reflections

Results & teamwork

Generalizing from the

experience

Lectures & discussion

Concrete experience

Decision making

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The simulation is completely web based. There is no need to install any separate applications and the simulation can be accessed from any computer that has an internet connection.

The simulation platform allows team members to work virtually if they wish. Each team member has her/his own account that enables them to make decisions and scenarios on their own and later combine the outcomes with the other team members on the [decision checklist] -page.

The platform also includes a communications forum that can be used to communicate within teams and between all teams in one market.

Web Based Solution

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The simulation platform includes the following pages:

[Home] - Overview page with deadlines

[Decisions] - All decisions are made under ’Decisions’

[Results] - Results become available in this area after each deadline

[Schedule] - Simulation schedule is available on this page

[Teams] - Teams and team members in your market can be viewed here

[Communications] - Access to the discussion forums for team and market

[Readings] - Access to the decision making instructions and case description

Simulation Platform Structure

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Each simulation market consists of 2-12 teams, with 1-8 members in each. The number of parallel simulation markets is not limited, making it possible to utilize the simulation for any number of students in the class.

All teams are starting from exactly the same position, with similar market shares and profits. Equally, teams will face the same market conditions during the simulation.

Note that the teams compete against other teams in their own market, not against a computer. The decisions of each team influences the other teams’ results and the market development overall.

Simulation Organization

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1.  Go to Cesim website http://www.cesim.com. 2.  Find the “Register” link on the top right corner of the home page 3.  Use a valid e-mail address in the registration. E-mails are used

only for in-game purposes. 4.  Use the course code to register in to the right course. 5.  Follow the on-screen instructions and confirm your registration. 6.  After logging into the game user-interface, find the “Readings”

tab on the top. 7.  Read the Decision-making guide, case description, and whatever

additional material has been provided. You can also find the video tutorial there.

8.  Study the market outlook on the “Outlook” tab. 9.  Start the decision making process!

Student Registration Process

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Flow of Operations

Introduction Practice Round

Strategy and Objectives

Decision making (x 5 – 12)

Conclusion and Analysis

Decision making with the web interface

System calculates

the results automatically at the given deadline

Results from the previous round and

market info for the new round available

Analysis and

planning

Note that it is not possible to modify the decisions after the round deadline. If the team has not saved its decisions for a round, the system will automatically use the results of the previous round.

After the introduction, the teams familiarize themselves with the decision making process via a practice round. The results of the practice round will not have any influence on the actual game results.

The instructor decides the number of actual decision making rounds (5-12) and decision making follows the cycle on the right.

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The main objective for the teams is to deliver sustainable, profitable growth. In Cesim Hospitality this is measured by cumulative profits during the decision-making rounds.

The instructor may, at his/her discretion, choose to use other criteria to measure the performance of the teams.

Main Objective & Winning Criteria

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Decision making is round based. One decision making period corresponds to two weeks of real time.

In the beginning of the game, so called ‘initial round results’ are available. These can be used as a starting point for the practice round decisions. After the practice round, the situation is cleared back to the initial, and decisions will be made for the first round.

The manual and the case description should be read before the practice round. The market outlooks should be read before starting to make decisions for each round. A new market outlook containing information about the market development becomes available as soon as the previous round has passed.

Remember to save the decisions before the deadline.

Decision Making Fundamentals I

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Decisions are entered in the grey cells. These will be used in the actual calculation of the results. Estimations are entered in the blue cells. These will not be used for the calculation of the results, but they are important because together with the decisions they form the basis for the budgets. Drop-down menus are used in certain decisions where there are some specific options to choose from.

Remember to save the decisions before the deadline.

Decision Making Fundamentals II

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Hotel Cesim is a medium-sized, high-end hotel in Cesim City. The hotel has been operational for 20 years and gained a good reputation during these years. There are three groups of customers in this hotel; leisure customers, business customers and conference customers. In addition, the hotel also operates a restaurant.

The team will develop and execute operational strategies and the success will depend on the team’s capability to manage revenue and cost both in hotel and restaurant operations. Careful analysis, good planning, and team-work are the main keys to success.

Business Case: Hotel Cesim

The participant UI

•  Participants are provided with a decision-making tool that helps them to try and practice with different scenarios as well as analyse the outcomes of their decisions and projections. In addition, the

simulation generates a range of reports that will help the teams to analyse and benchmark their own performance against their competitors.

  Decision views

  General information concerning the current season (”Outlook” view)

  Budget view showing revenue and cost items automatically combined from decisions and estimates given on other views

  Reports covering operational, financial and other outcomes from previous rounds

  Forums for discussion with other team members and with other articipants and instructors

•  Team information, settings, schedule viewer and other administrative UI features

Instructor tools

  Courses   Course creation and administration (moving participants from one team to

another, deleting participants)

  Course scheduling (round deadlines etc.)

  Access to logs and metrics

  Access to individual team-member’s area

  Access to results and teams’ decisions for review   Sneak-preview on results

  Analyzer

  Decision logs

  Case management

  Materials   Instructor can upload and share materials to participants

  Forums

Decisions: Desk

•  The Desk function covers managing the reception and the sales office

•  Decisions:

  Front desk manager focus

  Desk staff level

o  For weekday/weekend shifts

  Room rates

o  Current season/next season/next to next season x weekend/weekday

  Promotion decision

Decisions: Restaurant

•  The restaurant function is operationally divided to the kitchen side and the dining room side

•  Decisions:

  Restaurant staff level

o  Number of kitchen staff for weekdays/weekend

o  Dining room staff; can be adjusted on short notice by outsourcing

  Dish selection by raw material, preparation style and time spent in detailing

  Pricing and sales estimations

  Beverages; selction (limited - wide)

  Materials – raw, semi-finished, frozen

  Seating, crowded – sparse

  Sales estimates

Decisions: Housekeeping

The housekeeping function handles cleaning and tidying of rooms and other facilities, laundry, garden and plant watering etc. The most laborious duty for the housekeeping function is the daily room-cleaning routine.

  Decisions:   Overall housekeeping target level

  Type of housekeeping firm used

  Head housekeeper focus

  Housekeeping priority decisions? Select ”priority one” areas, and a separate policy item for overall quality standard:

Decisions: Maintainance

•  The maintenance function keeps the facilities in working order, makes repairs of all sorts and directs renovation projects

•  Decisions:   Maintenance priorities; Which facilities and/or types of problems or projects are

given priority

  Manager focus in maintenance to be selected

Decisions: HR

  Staff training using external trainers (in addition, key personnel focus areas can include some staff training options)

  Staff compensation, including bonuses

  Target staff size and target capability level (”quality”) of new recruits per personnel group   With staff turnover and compensation decisions this leads to total recruiting and

new-worker training needs. Compensation and capability requirements determine the availability of the specified staff.

  Policy selection of using extra hands on need basis

Decisions: Procurement

  Raw-materials, beverages, room consumables

  Decision how much to purchase

  In case of too low purchase the gap will be filled but with higher costs

  Spoilage may happen if purchase too much

Outcomes of the decisions

The decisions of each team have several kinds of consequences

  Immediate results for the team, shown in reports after the round

  for example, room vacancy and total revenue – see Reports

  Longer-term effects for the team, affecting success in later rounds

  for example, staff skill level reached

  Cumulative degree of success with respect to some victory criteria

  such as cumulative return for hotel owners’ capital over time

  Effects to the success of other teams competing in the same group

  for example, low room price attracts customers that could otherwise find their way to the other teams’ hotels

  Competitor reactions

  for example, if a mid-price, excellent-service strategy seems to work brilliantly for one team, other teams are likely to emulate this approach on later rounds, leading to intensified competitive pressures

Reports

  Key figures report

  Hotel operations and satisfaction report

  Restaurant operations and satisfaction report

  Personnel report

  Facilities report

  Financial reports   Financial statements

  Cash and borrowing calculations

  Revenue splits (different splits: weekends/weekdays; rooms/restaurant)

  Cost splits (different splits: weekends/weekdays; rooms/restaurant)

  Key ratios

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Cesim Arkadiankatu 21 A 00100 Helsinki, Finland Tel. +358 9 406 660 www.cesim.com contact@cesim.com

Technical Support support@cesim.com

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