Publications

May 2010 (Revised September 2023)
Case

Qingdao Sea View Garden Hotel

By: Robert G. Eccles, Das Narayandas and Cheng-Hua Tzeng

Keywords: Travel Industry; Travel Industry; China

October 1986 (Revised June 1988)
Case

Americana (A)

Americana Hotels decides to lease a resort hotel on Jamaica's north coast from the Jamaican government. Management must decide whether to operate it as a traditional resort, or as an all-inclusive, club-type resort, similar to those operated by Club Med. The... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Accommodations Industry; Accommodations Industry; Jamaica

Keywords: Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries

01 Jun 2010
News

Sail Away

in the past don’t faze Robb, who, with Frank Carlucci (MBA ’56) and another partner, cofounded the Frontier Group, a private equity firm that is mounting the project. Said Robb, “The Utopia has significant financial backing as well as very significant View Details

02 Jan 2019
What Do You Think?

SUMMING UP: Do We Need an Artificial Intelligence Czar?

times but would invest in preventing (the) law of (the) jungle from taking over.” ArlenMD suggested that there are organizations on whose efforts an oversight initiative could be built. He cited as one example the American Medical Informatics Association as a vehicle... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Technology

March 2025
Case

Boom, Bust, or Bullseye? Navigating the Short-Term Rental Market

By: John Macomber, Juan Pablo Heusser Killing, Siddhant Pardeshi and Sally Su

Short-term rentals listed via apps like AirBnB and VRBO are increasingly interesting investments for small-scale real estate investors. However, they have substantial operating costs, vacancy risk, and regulatory exposure compared to traditional long-term leases... View Details

Keywords: Housing; Acquisition; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Bids and Bidding; Leasing; Renting or Rental; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Arizona; California; Texas

August 2014 (Revised March 2015)
Case

Optimization and Expansion at OpenTable

By: Benjamin Edelman and Karen Webster

OpenTable considers adjustments to increase its benefits to merchants, including a novel payments service that lets customers skip the multi-step process of using a credit card. View Details

Keywords: Payments; Pricing; Mobile; Rollout; Incrementality; Innovation Strategy; Credit Cards; Accommodations Industry; Accommodations Industry; United States

December 2012 (Revised May 2014)
Case

Hotel Ivory

By: Arthur I Segel, Nicolas P. Retsinas and Jonathan Lo

Cheick Sanankoua is an MBA student who believes that he has found the perfect investment property, a small, independently owned hotel, on the Ivory Coast. However, he has had trouble raising money for the investment beyond friends and family. Through contacts in the... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Emergent Countries; Investing; Entrepreneurial Finance; Debts; Cash Flow; Quantitative Analysis; Financing; Development Stage Enterprises; Small ＆ Medium-sized Enterprises; Africa; Ivory Coast; Venture Capital; Emerging Markets; Property; Investment; Accommodations Industry; Accommodations Industry; Africa

Web

Doing Business with China 2035: Navigating Uncertainty - Course Catalog

many of the enterprises we study, in industries such as telecommunications, healthcare, consumer products, agribusiness, semiconductors, education, and automobiles. Course Overview This course prepares Harvard Business School students for... View Details

12 Feb 2025
Blog Post

How risk can be the key to a sustainable future with Sophie Levin (MS/MBA: Engineering Sciences 2022)

leaders I most admired often had interdisciplinary backgrounds. Around the same time, I realized I wanted to explore new industries and expand my skill set. HBS’s focus on leadership and its commitment to creating positive change felt... View Details

01 Jun 2006
News

India Arrives

the airport’s few runways. On the ground, there’s traffic congestion of an entirely different sort. Cars, trucks, three-wheelers, bicycles, rickshaws, and even a couple of horsemen jockey for position on a road far too small to View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna

19 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Designing Cities for a Sustainable Future

On a June day in Manhattan with temperatures heading into the 90s, a straphanger named Mike is taking his customary subway ride to work. People are grumbling about the heat, but hey, it's summer, it's supposed to be hot, and besides, "Whaddya gonna do?" New Yorkers... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Construction; Real Estate

Web

Wartime Innovation - Georges F. Doriot : Educating Leaders, Building Companies, Baker Library, Harvard Business School

accommodate three pairs of socks, and durable enough to withstand cold weather. Doriot relied on his vast network of contacts in diverse industries as well. He recruited Monsanto and Dow Chemical Company to... View Details

16 Jan 2025
Blog Post

Alumni Career Journey: Sophie Levin (MS/MBA 2022) - How Risk Can Be the Key to a Sustainable Future

leaders I most admired often had interdisciplinary backgrounds. Around the same time, I realized I wanted to explore new industries and expand my skill set. HBS’s focus on leadership and its commitment to creating positive change felt... View Details

Web

Wartime Innovation - Georges F. Doriot : Educating Leaders, Building Companies, Baker Library, Harvard Business School

accommodate three pairs of socks, and durable enough to withstand cold weather. Doriot relied on his vast network of contacts in diverse industries as well. He recruited Monsanto and Dow Chemical Company to... View Details

September 2002 (Revised May 2008)
Case

The Arts Property and Hotel

By: Arthur I Segel and Ani M Vartanian

Julio Martinez finds himself as one of the owners of the Arts Hotel Project in Barcelona, Spain. The 455-room hotel is managed by the Ritz Carlton and is in a 44-story tower along Barcelona's beachfront. Julio needs to figure out a strategy to maximize his investment,... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Agreements and Arrangements; Property; Strategy; Accommodations Industry; Accommodations Industry; Barcelona

December 2012
Teaching Note

The Paris Opera Hotel (TN)

By: Arthur I Segel

This case provides an introduction to hotel investment, development and management from the perspective of a short term oriented investor group. Students learn that hotels are a unique real estate property type, with performance often tied to the broader economy, and... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Hotel; Paris; Business or Company Management; Negotiation; Finance; Accommodations Industry; Accommodations Industry

June 2024
Case

SnapTravel: Betting on 'Super.com'

By: Reza Satchu and Tom Quinn

This case explores SnapTravel, a travel startup offering discounted hotel rooms, and its founders’ desire to pivot to a “super app” that saved customers money across many different purchase types. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hussein Fazal and Henry Shi saw SnapTravel... View Details

April 2011 (Revised January 2015)
Case

The Eleganzia Group

By: Elie Ofek, Elena Corsi, Bharat Sajnani, Sorina Casian-Botez and Francesco Tronci

Eleganzia Group management faces tough decisions heading into the summer of 2010. With tourism on the decline due to the global economic recession, General Manager Giannuzzi must decide how to set prices at the Forte Village Resort, the Group's most well-known... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Pricing Strategy; Customer Management; Branding; Customer Relationship Management; Price; Luxury; Business Strategy; Brands and Branding; Accommodations Industry; Accommodations Industry; Italy