Learning Hotel Operation Management Through Real-Life Simulation
The PMI General Manager Competition at the Norwegian School of Hotel Management, University of Stavanger, brings hotel operations to life in a fun and engaging way. This year, we congratulate the two winners who impressed with their skills and creativity. As part of their reward, they will embark on a field trip to one of d2o’s partner hotels in Norway or abroad, where they can experience PMI best practices in action.
The two best in class and winners of the competition are:
Erlend enthusiastically asserts:
“I benefitted greatly from taking the course. It was exciting and invaluable to experience how a hotel operations can be effectively managed using PMI best practices. This course content really supplements well with theories we have been through. Very educational!”
Maya with work experience as restaurant manager states:
”It has been very insightful and fun learning experience. I was thrilled to see how easy it was to get a complete overview of all significant aspects of the operations”
A Need for a New Approach to Hotel Management
The rise of Revenue Management systems is pushing hoteliers to move from cost-plus pricing toward market-based strategies. **As a result**, staying competitive now requires adapting quickly to this shift.
Furthermore, to deliver sustainable profits for owners, hotels need ongoing operational planning and active resource management. Aligning resources with daily demand fluctuations is becoming a key skill for next-generation hoteliers.
Meanwhile, traditional budgeting and cost-control methods—often siloed and period-based—are losing relevance. Therefore, world-class hoteliers are adopting modern tools that promote collaboration and streamline forecasting. With these solutions, they can respond to demand shifts, boost productivity, and cut waste.
Performance Management Intelligence (PMI)—an HSMAI Europe award-winning productivity software—empowers hoteliers to achieve these goals.
In addition, to prepare hospitality students for real-world challenges, d2o runs the PMI General Manager Competition. The competition gives students hands-on experience with next-generation practices and state-of-the-art tools.
By managing their own virtual hotels, students collaborate, compete, and learn in a fun and engaging way.
How the GM Competition Game Is Delivered
d2o provides PMI as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), complete with realistic market and property data. Each student manages their own hotel, setting prices and controlling costs to maximize profitability under changing conditions.
As the competition continues, students conduct market research, evaluate competitors, and manage key hotel functions such as:
- Daily occupancy, F&B cost drivers, and revenue live forecasting
- Food purchasing and stock control
- Productivity management, staffing, and scheduling across departments
Through gamification techniques, including PMI index scores and structured coaching, students:
- Receive instant feedback on performance
- Practice creative problem-solving and decision-making
- Reflect on the cause-and-effect of their choices
“The lectures on dynamic productivity management best practices are insightful and is brought to “live” through hands-on GM Competition Game.”
– Professor Helge Jørgensen
Professor Helge Jørgensen highlights the value of the initiative:
“This educational approach creates a safe and playful learning environment where students can perform key management tasks and experiment with their own ideas. Students consistently report that the course is intense, highly educational, and exhilarating.
In short, d2o’s contribution strongly supports our teaching ambitions and explains why our partnership with d2o has been so valuable since 2011.”
d2o Academy
Since 2013, d2o has partnered with leading institutions—including the University of Stavanger, The Arctic University of Norway, Finnmark University College, and Rosen College in Florida, USA—to deliver university-level courses in Dynamic Productivity Management.
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