Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA) Opens 2024 Student Case Competition

Officials of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association (“HAMA”) today announced that it has now accepting submissions for the 19^th Annual HAMA Student Case Competition. Participating students from more than 40 undergraduate and graduate programs nationwide are given a return on investment scenario to analyze and formulate a recommendation to improve the business. This year, HAMA has partnered with HotStats for benchmarking data and LARC for a market forecast of Boston. These industry leading firms have provided critical reports identical to what HAMA members utilize on an ongoing basis.

Working with a HAMA member and their respective university professors, student teams will be required to prepare a comprehensive financial analysis, recommend a solution and executive summary for a board review. The case study is modeled after a real-life scenario HAMA members have dealt with in their role as an owner’s representative.

Eighteen industry executives serving on the HAMA education committee will evaluate submissions based on the quality of the presentation. Continuing its tradition of working together with students, HAMA mentors volunteer their time in September through November to assist student teams interested in garnering feedback throughout the process and in obtaining additional information and reports as necessary. Schools and universities will select their finalists by January 15, 2025, with graduates and undergraduates being reviewed separately. The two winning teams each will receive a $5,000 prize and an invitation to the spring 2025 HAMA spring conference in Boston. Travel and lodging will be covered by HAMA.

Historically, the annual competition has dealt with general topics and challenges facing operators and ownership of hospitality related assets. HAMA sought feedback from several university professors and updated the format to be more applicable to situations these future students will be confronted with upon graduation. This year’s participants include universities such as University of Denver, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Boston University, Florida International University, University of South Carolina, Rochester Institute of Technology and Penn State University.

“Year after year, we continue to be impressed by the increasingly higher standards these students exhibit as they research and provide meaningful data on their way into a full-fledged hospitality career,” said Adam Tegge, HAMA Education Committee chair. “The level of sophistication exhibited grows annually, and we look forward to what the 2024 class of entrants will present.”