012120

SKAR

Hotel Administration 2550 Hospitality Development and Planning

Spring 2020

COURSE SYLLABUS

LECTURES: INSTRUCTOR:
Lecture 1 – Statler 396 Dr. Stephani Robson
TR 1:25 255 Statler Hall
Email: skr4@cornell.edu
Lecture 2 – Statler 396
TR 2:55 SKR’s Drop-in Office Hours:
Wednesdays 12:00 noon – 4:30 pm

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This required course introduces and provides a management overview of the problems and opportunities in
the development, planning and construction of hospitality facilities, specifically hotels and to a lesser extent,
restaurants. Course components include the real estate cycle and project development teams and process;
feasibility; site analysis; programming hotels; the interpretation of preliminary architectural and consultant
drawings, and the organization of the construction process. The emphasis is on applied knowledge: setting
appropriate facilities requirements, understanding industry practice, and implementing property asset
decisions within a balanced physical, operational, and financial framework.

It is expected that all students enrolling in this course understand – at a minimum – major lodging brands
and markets, basic financial concepts, and industry terms such as occupancy, ADR, and average check.
Students from outside the Hotel School or new transfers are strongly advised to solicit assistance from the
teaching assistants and work with their Hotelie classmates to master this material, and may be asked to do
additional work to develop their knowledge in these areas.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
The principal objectives in HADM 2550 are for each student to:
(1) understand the various lodging categories, their target markets, and typical physical characteristics;
(2) understand the process of developing hospitality facilities, and the role of each major participant in
the development process;
(3) understand basic programming, planning and design criteria for hospitality facilities, both front-
and back-of-the-house;
(4) gain experience and confidence in interpreting building plans; and
(5) understand the construction process from the owner’s perspective, emphasizing issues which create
timely, cost effective, and high quality facilities.
TEACHING ASSISTANTS
A schedule of TA contact info and office hours will be available online starting in Week 2. Note that the
schedule is subject to change, so check the website for updates.

Your TA is there to help you master the material through office hours and through grading comments.
TA’s have been specifically requested to not read through your draft assignments before they are
submitted. They can answer specific questions you may have but will not “pre-grade” your work.
Your assignments are randomly assigned to different TA’s or to the instructor for review and feedback.
TA’s will read and make comments on your assignments but do not assign any homework grades. Only
the instructor assigns homework grades. TA’s also advise the instructor on student progress and
behaviors as they relate to HADM 2550.

GRADES
The grade you receive in this course solely reflects your demonstrated level of mastery of the course
material based on the grades for the three assignments and your three best scores on the exams in this
course. Note that effort, while a key component of obtaining mastery, is not the only determinant of
success. While attendance will not be taken in this course, the instructor reserves the right to incorporate
some in-class activities that may provide a modest boost to exam scores for those students in attendance
for the activity.

There are seven assessments in this course. You must complete all three assignments and three of the
four exams, all weighted the same:
Assignments 3 @ 16.67%
In-class Exams 3 @ 16.67%
Cumulative Final Exam (during Finals Week) 16.67%

In many cases, the assignments closely precede the in-class exams on purpose. The assignments are
designed to reinforce major concepts from the class and help you do well on the exams.

Your grade will be based on your three assignments (all required) and your top three exam scores. To be
fair to everyone by ensuring that all students have the same amount of study time for exams, there will be
no makeups for in-class exams in this course. If you need to miss an in-class exam for any reason
(illness, sporting event, interviews, Super Days, personal travel, etc.), your missing exam score of
zero will be replaced by your score on the Final Exam for the calculation of your course grade. If
you have taken and passed the first three exams, you are welcome to skip the Final Exam and I’ll base
your final grade on just your in-class exams. Of course you can choose to take the Final Exam anyway –
it cannot hurt your grade in any way. If your Final Exam score is lower than all of your other exam
scores, it will be dropped, but if it is higher than at least one of your other exam scores, it may help raise
your final grade in the course. Course policies related to grading and exams are non-negotiable.

Handing in assignments: Assignments are due in hard copy at the start of your class on the date
indicated in the syllabus. Late assignments will be accepted up to four days after the due date with a
penalty of –5 points per 24-hour period after the official class start time for your section. (If you chose to
use the coupon included in this syllabus for one of your assignments, you’ll have no penalty for the first
24 hours from that assignment’s due date and time. Late penalties will accrue as noted above after the
coupon’s 24-hour grace period. Note that you may only use a coupon once this semester.) Electronic
submissions will not be accepted – hard copies only please! Late projects must be turned in to the
administrative staff in Room 255 during business hours so that they may be logged. Please do not give
late assignments to a TA or put them in anyone’s mailbox, or put them under doors where they may be
lost or damaged.

Please come talk to me if you have concerns

about getting an assignment done on time.
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Grading of assignments: Assignments receive letter grades. Here is the numeric equivalent that we
plug into our Excel grading spreadsheet for calculating assignment grades:

A+ 100% B+ 87% C+ 77% D+ 67% F 0%

A 93% B 83% C 73% D 63%
A- 90% B- 80% C- 70% D- 60%

In your high school years, doing what you were asked to do and not making any significant errors meant
an A. But in the work world (and here at Cornell, where standards are high), doing just what you are
asked to do in a competent way will let you keep your job but won’t get you promoted. Showing
exceptional skill, insight, and initiative – in short, going beyond expectations -- is what it takes to move
up. It’s the same in this course: if you do a reasonable job of doing what is asked of you, you will earn
some flavor of B. B or B+ is not a bad grade at all – it just means you are doing what we asked of
you at an acceptable level. To get an A, you have to show exceptional understanding and engagement
with the course material and do so without any errors. Think of grades as a measure of your progress in
mastering the course material rather than an end in themselves.

Note that only the instructor assigns grades to all assignments and exams, although TA’s assist the
instructor by reading your work and providing feedback. While a TA has input into grades, all grades are
determined by the instructor. We make it a policy to not “pre-grade” i.e. read your assignment in full and
provide detailed feedback before you submit. But the TAs and I are delighted to answer questions, help
guide you as you consider options, and point you toward resources in order to help you master the course
content. You are welcome to bring any question to drop-in office hours, or send an email with your
questions to skr4@cornell.edu and I will respond on the next business day. Emails received late in the
day are generally not answered until the next business day.

Regrading: We’re human so mistakes can happen. Therefore you are welcome to resubmit any
unchanged assignment to the instructor for regrading within one calendar week following the return of the
assignment. Please do not attach any explanation or other documents to your graded assignment when
you submit it for regrading. No regrades will be accepted after their respective regrade deadlines. Any
resubmitted assignment will be regraded in its entirety by the instructor, and thus may result in a higher or
a lower grade. Any change to your grade as a result of a regrade is final.

Final grades: There is no curve and no rounding up in this course: what you earn on your assignments
and exams is precisely what you get, regardless of how your classmates perform. I will base your final
course grade on the average of your assignment grades and your three best exam scores and compute the
grade based on the cutoffs below, always rounding to two decimal places.

CUTOFFS for FINAL LETTER GRADES:

96.5% = A+ 86.5% = B+ 76.5% = C+ 66.5% = D+ F Under 60.0%

92.5% = A 82.5% = B 72.5% = C 62.5% = D
89.5% = A- 79.5% = B- 69.5% = C- 60.0% = D-

Sample final grade calculation:

Assignment 1 = B (83%) (.83+.87+.87+.88+.81+.74+.85) - .74 = .8517 = B for the course

Assignment 2 = B+ (87%) 6
Assignment 3 = B+ (87%)
Exam 1 = 88%
Exam 2 = 81%
Exam 3 = 74% lowest exam score
Final Exam = 85%

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In case of illness or emergencies: If you are ill and have to miss this or any other Hotel class, please
notify all your faculty as soon as possible. We want to know how you’re doing!

Note to students with disabilities: If you have a disability-related need for reasonable academic
accommodations in this course, you will need to provide me with an accommodation letter from
Cornell’s Student Disability Services. Students must give two weeks’ notice of the need for
accommodations on exams so that room and proctor arrangements can be made – if I do not
have your accommodations letter by this time, I may not be able to provide accommodations for
you for that exam. Please arrange to meet with me and/or submit your letter from SDS within the first
two class meetings and I will work with you to ensure you have the accommodations you require to be
successful in the class.

TO HELP SUPPORT EVERYONE’S LEARNING:

I understand that learning in a large, lecture-based class can be difficult. In an effort to make
everyone’s learning experience as positive and productive as possible, please observe the
following:

 As professionals, we all must be seated in class on time and ready to do good work.
 If you absolutely must leave the class during a lecture, do so discreetly with minimal
disruption.
 Each lecture costs you over $150 in tuition (based on a 15-credit schedule). This
investment suggests that you should make every effort to attend every class, even though
attendance is not taken on a formal basis. If you miss a class, you are personally responsible
for obtaining notes from a classmate – the instructor will not give personal tutoring for
material you missed. Handouts that are not available online may be picked up in Room 255.
 Laptops, tablets or phones may not be used during class except for announced
“workshop” sessions. The only exception is for those students who have a letter from SDS
that clearly indicates that one of these devices is required to accommodate a disability.
 No photographs or video recordings may be made in class without prior express
permission from the instructor.
 Questions during lecture are very welcome. Make sure to speak up when asking so the
class – and your instructor! -- may hear your question. Or, if you prefer, come see the
instructor before or after class.
 In an effort to protect our substantial investment in classroom facilities, food is not permitted
in the classroom. Beverages in a container with a lid are fine.
 Talking to each other during class is rude to your instructor and inconsiderate to your
classmates who are trying to listen. Disruption of this kind – as well as sleeping in class,
listening to music, texting or otherwise using your phone, web-surfing, and other
unprofessional behaviors – may result in your being asked to leave the class.
 Your TAs are part of the teaching team and deserve the same respect and consideration that
you would extend to an instructor. Please honor any appointments you make with TAs and
respect their privacy outside of posted office hours.
 Email is the preferred way to contact the instructor outside of class or office hours.
When sending emails to me, please use your cornell.edu address at all times and adopt
professional communication skills in all your emails with SHA personnel.
 The following words and phrases are banned from your assignments in this course: hip,
trendy, decent, plethora, myriad, “for the guest's convenience” and “to meet guests'
expectations.” Try to write more dynamically and specifically in all your work!

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ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:

You are personally responsible for ensuring that only your own work is submitted for all assignments
and exams. You are also personally responsible for ensuring that your work is protected from
misappropriation by others. This instructor takes plagiarism and academic integrity issues very
seriously.

The following statement is excerpted from the University's Code of Academic Integrity:
A Cornell student's submission of work for academic credit indicates that the work is the student's
own. All outside assistance should be acknowledged, and the student's academic position truthfully
reported at all times. In addition, Cornell students have a right to expect academic integrity from each
of their peers.
General Responsibilities:
(1) A student shall in no way misrepresent his/her work.
(2) A student shall in no way fraudulently or unfairly advance his/her academic position.
(3) A student shall refuse to be a party to another student's failure to maintain academic integrity.
(4) A student shall not in any other manner violate the principle of academic integrity.

Policy on Studying and Working Together

You are encouraged to study together and to discuss information and concepts covered in lecture and the
readings with other students. You can give "consulting" help to or receive "consulting" help from each
other; however, this permissible cooperation should never involve one student having possession of a
copy of all or part of assigned work done by someone else, even if they are not in the class, in the form
of an e-mail, digital file, or a hard copy, either handwritten, photocopied or typed/word processed. Also,
all work submitted for a grade MUST be solely your own work.

What’s OK:

 Sharing lecture notes and textbooks

 Working together on practice exams and website exercises
 Discussing ideas for homework projects
 Forming a study group to review weekly lectures and readings

What’s not OK:

 Working collaboratively without explicit authorization or comparing answers for any graded
assignment with any Cornell student
 Having in your possession a hard or digital copy of anyone else's work for this course, from any
semester, other than materials that may be posted on the Canvas site for your use. This includes
materials held in fraternity or sorority files, by the way!
 Using unauthorized materials during any exam (including asking questions of TAs or hiding books in
the bathroom!)
 Sharing, posting and/or selling any course materials to any individual, organization or website
without express prior written permission from the instructor.

Students found in violation of the Code of Academic Integrity will receive at a minimum a grade of 0
(zero) for the relevant assignment or examination. Such a finding may also jeopardize a student’s ability
to be employed as a teaching assistant or participate in Study Abroad or internship opportunities.
Repeated violation can and has resulted in expulsion from the school.

If you are feeling stressed, don’t cheat or copy – come see me. I want you to
do well and can point you toward resources on campus that can assist you.
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TEXT AND COURSE READINGS:
Much of the reading this semester will come from the following text:
Richard H. Penner, Lawrence Adams, and Stephani K. A. Robson. Hotel Design, Planning,
and Development, 2nd edition. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012.

There may be additional readings posted to Canvas to help you master the material. Please check the
site often.

The video tutorials posted on Canvas are also required and fully testable. These tutorials are
intended to help you master material presented in lecture or to go deeper into topics that we can't
cover fully in the short time we have together. In addition, the class website has other materials to
help prepare you for prelims and the final exam. You’ll perform best if you keep up to date with
online materials, readings and the videos. Everything is considered testable unless specifically
listed as “optional”.

The Powerpoint files for each lecture will be posted on Canvas in advance of class. If you wish to
take notes on the slides, please print out your own copy and bring it with you to class. Please do not
wait until just before class to print, as some of the files are large due to the high number of images
and thus will take several minutes to process. You may not use laptops nor tablets to take notes
during class unless you have an accommodations letter from SDS, in which case you must sit in
the front row.

NOTE: All course materials posted on Canvas or handed out in class are the intellectual
property of the instructor and/or guests. Buying, selling or otherwise making these materials
available to anyone outside the course, online or through any other means, constitutes academic
misconduct and will be strongly penalized. Besides, sharing this content online reduces your
competitive advantage as graduates of the Hotel School!

All submitted assignments may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to
Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism at the request and discretion of the instructor. Use of
Turnitin.com service is subject to the Usage Policy posted on the Turnitin.com site.

Your Name: ________________________________________

This coupon is good for a

24-HOUR EXTENSION
WITHOUT PENALTY
on any one (1) homework assignment
in HADM 2550 – Spring 2020

 You must print out/cut out this coupon and attach it to your printed
assignment when you hand it in to be exempt from a one-day late
penalty. (No digital submissions accepted.) Hand in your assignment
with coupon attached at Room 255 (M-Th, 8:30-4:30; Fridays 8:30-3:30).
 This coupon gives you 24 hours of time to continue working on any
single assignment, penalty-free. Example: if your assignment is due at
1:25 pm on Monday, this coupon gives you until 1:25 pm on Tuesday to
submit the assignment without penalty. Penalties on that assignment
will start to accrue on submissions received more than 24 hours after
the original due date and time.
 Only one coupon may be redeemed per student per semester.

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 COURSE SCHEDULE
(topics subject to change depending on class progress)

Date Lecture Topic To Do Before Class

21-Jan The Hotel Real Estate Cycle Textbook Chapter 1
23-Jan The Development Process Textbook Chapter 14
28-Jan Development Players and Their Roles
30-Jan Hotel Feasibility Studies
4-Feb Analyzing the Market
6-Feb Hotel Feasibility Calculation Workshop Video Tutorials 1-6
11-Feb Analyzing the Competitive Set HW 1 due: Occupancy Projection
13-Feb PRELIM EXAM 1 – in class
18-Feb Analyzing the Site 1 Textbook Chapter 13
20-Feb Analyzing the Site 2 Video Tutorial 7
25-Feb FEBRUARY BREAK Relax!
27-Feb Site Analysis Workshop
3-Mar Introduction to Programming
5-Mar Hotel Sizing Calculation Workshop Video Tutorials 8-10
10-Mar Hospitality Building Types and Features 1 HW 2 due: Context Analysis
12-Mar Hospitality Building Types and Features 2 Skim Textbook Chapters 2 - 11
17-Mar Key Development Decisions
19-Mar PRELIM EXAM 2 – in class
24-Mar How to Read Architectural Plans Video Tutorials 11-13
26-Mar Guestroom Design Textbook Chapter 16
st
1 Wk Apr SPRING BREAK Relax!
7-Apr Planning Guestroom Floors Textbook Chapter 15
9-Apr Planning Public Spaces 1 Textbook Chapter 17
14-Apr Planning Public Spaces 2 Video Tutorials 14-17
16-Apr Planning BOH Areas Textbook Chapter 18
21-Apr Hotel Planning Swing Class HW 3 due: Plan Analysis
23-Apr Codes and Laws
28-Apr PRELIM EXAM 3 – in class
30-Apr Construction Contracts
5-May Construction Process Textbook Chapter 19

11-May FINAL EXAM at 9 am

(may be used to replace any one [1] earlier exam score)
OPTIONAL