Lakeland University hospitality management students recently competed in a Battle of the Universities at the Hotel ROI conference in Chicago at the Wyndham Grand Riverfront Hotel.
Dani Chismarick, Emma Lehr, Olivia Parrott, Trent Nelson and Nate Vanderwaal worked together as a team to present a hotel brand concept which included a construction plan, marketing plan, competitive analysis, restaurant concept, a plan for return on investment and vision for franchising in the future. Their brand concept was a student-operated hotel on Lakeland's campus named Lodge 1862.
The project was voluntary and the students completed the work on their own time outside of their coursework.
Lakeland competed against Florida International University, Northwestern Ohio University and University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley.
“I'm incredibly proud of the work these ladies and gentlemen did,” said Britanni Meinnert, Lakeland’s instructor of hospitality management. “They came together as a team and completed a comprehensive brand concept in less than a month. The plan is incredibly viable, as well as unique. These students utilized all their learning of business and presentation skills and applied it into this project.”