Stephen M. LeBruto

A customer-based approach to hospitality education

Abstract Hospitality management curriculum, the faculty at the sta? Florida consulted the customer—the hospitality ?ing what topics are absolutely essential. Among their operations-related skills were not high on the list.

The educational value of captive hotels.

Abstract Several hotel-management programs operate their own “captive” hospitality facilities for better control of the experiential component of the curriculum. What is the perceived value of those facilities to the industry and to prospective students?

Capital-Budgeting Decisions Using "Crystal Ball"

Abstract The uncertainties inherent in capital-budgeting decisions can be captured using a “Crystal Ball”

A measured approach to food-inventory management.

The consequences of overstocking items or understocking are not pretty. Overstocks absorb money and invite waste. Understocks risk disappointing customers with unavailable menu items or add to food costs by requiring emergency runs to the cash and carry. Through analysis of daily item use and an application of risk, managers can calculate when to reorder; that is, when there is sufficient stock to cover typical demand until the next delivery. To account for unexpected demand, some safety stock must be figured in (by calculating the standard deviation of each days use for the past time period, say, a week, and factoring that with the Z score of the service-level probability that management is willing to absorb). By factoring the lead time (delivery and food-prep), the standard deviation of the usage, and the acceptable probability of a stockout, managers can use a formula to determine precisely when to reorder.

A Survey of Capital Budgeting Methods Used by the Restaurant Industry

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to determine what capital budgeting and cost of capital procedures are being used in the food service segment of the hospitality industry and to compare the responses, where possible, with those reported in the previous studies of capital budgeting techniques in the hospitality industry. The most popular primary capital budgeting techniques selected were the sophisticated or discounted cash flow methods, such as net present value and internal rate of return. The payback method was selected as a secondary technique.

A Survey of Capital Budgeting Methods Used by the Hotel/Gaming Industry

ABSTRACT This study examines the capital-budgeting and cost of capital procedures commonly used in the gaming segment of the hospitality industry using survey research. Findings are compared with previous studies of similar nature. As such, the practice of capital-budgeting/cost of capital techniques in the gaming sector is better understood.

Gaming Stocks: Hot or Not?

ABSTRACT This study analyzed securities of hospitality industry companies that specialize in the gaming segment to determine if their performance surpassed that of the market as a whole. Results of the 21 selected companies were compared with Standard & Poors 500 and Barrons Casino Industry Group Index. Weekly data for the year 1993 were collected on the stocks included in the study. These data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and other tests as deemed appropriate. Although gaming stocks might appear glamorous and hot, according to this study, they have not out-performed the two indices, and are, therefore, not hot.