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Day 3: Hotel Rescue — Team Problem Solving

Lesson Overview
Time 50 minutes
Objectives Complete the H&L "Hotel Rescue" team activity; play one of six hotel staff roles; brainstorm solutions to 3 hotel crises; present the team's best solution
TEKS d(1)(C), d(3)(I)
Deliverable Group brainstorm sheet + 1 problem solution presented to class
Materials H&L Workbook Ch 10 (pp. 163-165), printed Hotel Rescue role cards (6 roles), chart paper or whiteboard space per group, projector

Warm-Up (5 min)

WARM-UP: Have you ever stayed at a hotel where something went wrong (room not ready, food problem, AC broken)? How did the staff handle it?

Take 3-4 student responses. Bridge: hotels run on teams. When a problem hits, every staff member has to play their role. Today students step into the shoes of hotel staff and solve real problems.

Activity 1: Set the Scenario + Choose Roles (10 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 10, p. 163, "Hotel Rescue" (Career Climb activity)

Read aloud the workbook background (Ch 10, p. 163): Students are part of a team that runs a large hotel. They are preparing for an important week with lots of events and guests. But there's a BIG problem to solve, actually three problems, and they can't be solved alone.

Group students into teams of 6 (or 4-5 if class is smaller; assign multiple roles to one student if needed). Hand out the role cards from the workbook (Ch 10, p. 163):

  • Hotel Director: Oversees the hotel and makes the big decisions
  • Front Desk Agent: Greets guests and handles check-in and check-out services
  • Events Planner: Organizes special events and hotel activities
  • Head Chef: Runs the hotel restaurants and prepares the meals
  • Guest Services Manager: Organizes staff and ensures all rooms are ready for guests
  • Senior Concierge: Helps guests with travel plans, entertainment, and special requests

Each student writes their initials next to their role on the workbook page. Each role brings a different skill set to the team.

Facilitation Tip

Some students will fight over the "Hotel Director" role because it sounds important. Reframe: the Hotel Director can't fix anything alone. The Head Chef is the only one who can solve the kitchen crisis. The Front Desk Agent is the only one who can negotiate with guests at check-in. Every role is essential.

Activity 2: The 3 Problems + Brainstorm (25 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 10, pp. 163-164, "Step 2: Read about the Problems" + "Step 3: Brainstorm Solutions"

Project the 3 problems from the workbook on the screen so all groups can see them:

  • Problem 1: The hotel is overbooked. There are not enough rooms for all the guests who made reservations. How can you fix this?
  • Problem 2: A large business retreat event is planned. The Head Chef planned an elaborate menu, but now some kitchen staff are sick and can't come to work. What do you do?
  • Problem 3: A VIP guest is staying at the hotel and has an important meeting to get ready for. They paid extra for early check-in and amenities, but the room is not ready. How can you help?

Each team works through ALL 3 problems, using the workbook brainstorm boxes (Ch 10, p. 164):

Step 1 (5 min): Each role brainstorms on their OWN, what would your specific staff position contribute to solving each problem? Write 1-2 ideas per problem.

Step 2 (15 min): Teams share role-by-role and combine ideas into one team solution per problem. The Hotel Director can facilitate the discussion (it's part of their role).

Step 3 (5 min): Each team picks ONE problem to present to the class. The team writes their final solution on chart paper or a whiteboard, then assigns one speaker per role (each role says one sentence about how their position helped solve the problem).

DOK 3: What conclusions can you draw about why hotels need a Hotel Director AND a Guest Services Manager AND a Front Desk Agent? Why not just one big "Hotel Boss"?

Activity 3: Quick Class Share (8 min)

Each team has 60-90 seconds to present their chosen problem and team solution. After all teams present, discuss the workbook's class discussion questions (Ch 10, p. 165):

  • What did you learn about teamwork during this activity?
  • What two skills do you think are most important for anyone with a career in Hospitality and Tourism?
  • What was easiest and hardest about working with people in different roles?

Connect to entrepreneurship: someone who owns a small hotel or B&B has to wear ALL of these hats themselves (or hire people for each). That's the entrepreneurial side of hospitality.

Exit Ticket (2 min)

EXIT TICKET (Decision Tree / Branching Prompt) · Printable PDF:

My Hotel Rescue role today: _____ (Hotel Director / Front Desk Agent / Events Planner / Head Chef / Guest Services Manager / Senior Concierge)

New crisis: A large wedding is scheduled tonight at the hotel but a water leak just shut down the ballroom.

Step 1: What does MY ROLE do FIRST in the next 15 minutes?

Step 2: Branch on resources —

IF I can move the wedding to another hotel space (lobby, outdoor deck, restaurant), what do I do next? _____________

IF NO other hotel space works, what do I do next? _____________

Step 3: Name ONE entrepreneurial opportunity in Hospitality (small B&B, food truck, event-planning company, wedding venue) that a small-business owner could build to handle BOTH cooking AND venue crises:

(d(1)(C), d(3)(I))

Differentiation

  • Support: Provide a "Solution Starter" sheet for each role with sentence stems: "As the Head Chef, I would solve the kitchen problem by _____." Students fill in the blanks.
  • Extension: Add a 4th hotel crisis your team would have to solve (e.g., a power outage during a wedding reception, a flood in the parking garage). What roles handle it?
  • ELL: Pre-teach: Hotel = Hotel, Director = Director/a, Guest = Huésped, Chef = Chef, Concierge = Conserje. Color-code role cards so non-English speakers can identify their role visually. Pair with bilingual peers.