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Tutorial subject: Resort & Spa Hotel ManagementTeacher: Xiao QuDate: 2 April 2008

Programme Bachelor of Hotel ManagementSubject Resort & Spa Hotel Management HTM3012Audience 130 x 2nd Year hotel management studentsTopic/week Resort Hotel virtual field tripRationale fortutorial

This subject provides students with the basic understanding of resort and spahotel management. It will help students to develop an understanding ofservice and facilities needed in the resort and spa hotel, select the suitablesite, activities provided for the guest, and managing the hotel operations.Second Life field trip to an in-world resort hotel will be used to deepenstudents’ knowledge.

Course Learning Outcomes• Students will be able to identify the internal and external environment

in resort planning and explain the basic elements of a resort and spacomplex.

• Students will be able to apply concepts in the planning and developingof a resort hotel and explain the importance of safety and security.

• Students will be able to evaluate the planning of resort facilities forthe leisure tourists’ needs and consider different marketing strategies.

• Students will be able to communicate and react proactively to thestakeholders in the hospitality industry in the areas of resort planningand management.

Most students may not have had the opportunity to visit a resort hotel, so thistutorial will enable students to visit a virtual resort hotel and holiday villas(Rixos, Turkey). The Field Trip will be used to enhance students’understanding of the subject and stimulate their thinking on the relevanttopics. Students will undertake the following activities.

Class divided into groups of 6. Each student in the group will have a differenttask:

1. Student 1 will attend the first briefing meeting with the GM of thehotel in the conference room and have a chance to ask questions

2. Student 2 will meet the hotel designer in the first briefing to find outabout the design and layout of the hotel and to ask questions

3. Student 3 will do a survey of the hotel outdoor leisure facilities andlayout – is the design suitable, convenient etc.

4. Student 4 will do a survey of the hotel indoor facilities and layout – isthe layout suitable, what are the strong points, what is missing etc.

5. Student 5 will review the Rixos Villas, compare the different stylesand layouts and meet with the Rixos Villa owners.

6. Student 6 will attend the second briefing meeting with the GM of thehotel in the conference room and have a chance to ask questions

7. Student 7 will meet the hotel designer in the second briefing meetingto find out about the design and layout of the hotel and to askquestions

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Total 18 students to each group to make it manageable.

Learningarchetype

Virtual field trip

1. This tutorial will allow students to benefit from a visit to a 3D virtualhotel modelled on a real hotel, and with rooms and facilities available tolet.

2. Students will be able to meet with real hotel staff and management,interact in a virtual hotel environment

Learningobjectives

The students will be able to:

• Discuss hotel design and management aspects with the GM and thehotel designer.

• Critically evaluate the resort hotel design and facilities.• Reflect on the interactions and experience and discuss aspects with

their peers.

SL Location Rixos Hotel and Rixos Villas

Features of hotel (from Marketing Manager Eyup Kaplan) "Our hotel willoffer all the luxury you would imagine, reception, silver service restaurants,bars, an Irish Pub, game room, sauna and spa, swimming pool, beach,standard rooms, honeymoon and king suites, wedding chapel all operationaland fully serviced." The entertainment center, which will launch later, willhost unique games and contests. Guests will be able to stay at the hotel, usethe facilities, enjoy water sports and a spa, and even arrange a weddingreception. Charges to stay in the hotel have not been determined yet.

Preparationfor field trip

Two weeks before class:• Students will attend an orientation to Second Life – prepare their

avatars and learn the basics of navigation.One week before class:

• Students receive briefing in tutorial about the virtual field trip.• Field trip instructions posted on website for downloading• Students will be divided into 7 groups, each with a different mission

and task.• Students prepare questions to ask hotel staff, and a survey instrument

to guide their visit to the resort facilities• A short demonstration visit to the Rixos hotel for familiarization.

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During thefield trip

1. Go directly to group area if in meeting with Hotel staff2. Try to move around in an orderly fashion and don’t bump other people.3. When asking questions please wait for your turn4. Thank the hotel staff for their help5. If you are in the second meeting groups make sure you arrive at the

meeting place on time.6. Make notes of your trip for review next week.7. Logout 10 minutes before end of tutorial and join the rest of the class for

short debrief on immediate reactions to experience.

After the fieldtrip

• Follow-up out of class or in following week tutorial where video canbe shown and evaluation, review and discussion of field trip can bedone.

• Student groups may wish to post a short journal of their experience forother students to read.

Evaluationstrategies

• We will record parts of the field trip as a machinima video and uploadthe file to WebCT or YouTube for student reflection and possiblefurther discussion.

• A short feedback evaluation should be provided for the student tocomplete to comment on their experience after the tutorial.

Anticipatedchallenges

Technical problems• locating the island, password lost, navigation etc (these should be

covered in the prep sessions)Other problems

• sufficient PCs with SL installed (use HTRC or HTTU if available) orwork on home PCs

Background toRixos hotels(From TurkishDaily NewsTuesday,September 11,2007)

At the virtual hotel opened by Rixos Hotels in the virtual world of SecondLife, everything operates in the same way as in real Rixos Hotels in Turkey.The hotel also plans to choose its future personnel from among the personnelwho prove to be successful in the second life

Turkey's Rixos Hotel Group, a luxury chain, is opening its latest luxury hotelin “Second Life (SL),” an Internet based virtual world launched in 2003 thatnow has over eight million registered users. SL is a kind of semi-structuredvirtual environment where characters undertake activities for their personalenjoyment.

Upon its completion, Rixos Hotel Group will be the highest investor in the SLwith golf areas, entertainment and other social facilities. The hotel willchoose its future personnel from among registered users who prove to besuccessful in the virtual world. The hotel's operation will be the same as inthe real world and will also enable students studying tourism to virtually runthe various departments of the hotel.

“As we couldn't open the hotel on time in real life, we decided to open one upin the virtual world,” said Fettah Tamince, chairman of the hotel chain.

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He said they opened the hotel in Amsterdam in the SL and that there was nodifference between opening a hotel in reality or virtually. “We are watchingthe developments, changing trends and needs in the world. Virtual investmentis the result of this kind of vision.”

Tamince expects the benefit of finding good personnel for their real hotels inTurkey from among the virtual employees. “The hotel in the virtual worldshould be managed in the same way as it is handled in the real world. Aprofessional team will thus work at the virtual hotel and they will do the samework as they had to do in real hotels,” he said. “So, our project will offer jobopportunities for those who are studying tourism and want to work in ourhotel chain.”

The services and their quality will be the same as those offered in real Rixoshotels and discounted holiday rates will be offered to customers whopreferred to stay at the virtual Rixos. A 5,000-member team currently runs thehotel.

The Rixos Hotel World, which is built on an island belonging to the RixosHotel Group, has a 40-room hotel, spa and wellness center, meeting hall,shopping centers, restaurant and French Street.

Second Life is an Internet-based virtual world launched in 2003, which cameto international attention via mainstream news media in late 2006 and early2007. A downloadable client program called the Second Life Viewer enablesusers, called “Residents,” to interact with each other through motionalavatars, providing an advanced level of a social networking combined withgeneral aspects of a metaverse. Residents can explore, meet other residents,socialize, participate in individual and group activities, create and trade items(virtual property) and services.

While Second Life is sometimes referred to as a game, this description isdisputed. It does not have points, scores, winners or losers, levels, an end-strategy, or most of the other characteristics of games, though it can bethought of as a game on a more basic level. It is a semi-structured virtualenvironment where characters undertake activities for personal enjoyment. Inall, more than 8.9 million accounts have been registered, although many areinactive, some residents have multiple accounts, and there are no reliablefigures for actual long-term consistent usage.Retrieved on 6. Feb 2008 from:http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=82950

Rixos Villas http://www.rixosvillas.com/Rixos Hotels http://www.rixos.com/main.php

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