Hospitality Economics and Disruptive Business Assessment 1 Detecting Real Market Demand Innovative Business Idea Template – Hospitality Industry Focus This template is designed to help you formulate an innovative business concept rooted in real market demand within the hospitality industry. Drawing from the Lean Canvas framework and integrating economic principles, the structure encourages you to identify a validated problem, analyze current trends, and propose a sustainable and innovative business model. Total Word Count Target: 1,700–2,000 words. 1. Market Context and Problem Identification (550–650 words) 1.1 Sector Trend Overview Briefly describe the current macroeconomic and industry-specific trends shaping the hospitality sector. Think about such factors as labor, sustainability, digitalization, consumer behavior, or post-pandemic recovery. Highlight 3 current trends using recent data or visual evidence (charts, graphs, or references from market reports). 1.2 Problem Definition Identify a concrete, validated problem in the industry that affects a clear user segment. This must be a pain point that is either unmet or inefficiently addressed by current market offerings. Explain why this problem persists using basic economic reasoning (e.g., information asymmetry, coordination failures, principal-agent problems, or externalities). List at least 2–3 existing alternatives or competitors. Assess why they are insufficient (e.g., expensive, inaccessible, outdated tech, poor UX). 2. Solution Design and Business Model (850–950 words) Clearly define the core solution to the problem. This should be innovative, feasible, and realistically implementable in the short to medium term. 2.1 Core of the business idea Fill in the following Lean Canvas sections with precise, thought-through answers: • Unique Value Proposition: What makes your solution valuable, compelling, and different? Use the "only X that Y" format. • Unfair Advantage: What can’t be easily copied or bought? (e.g., proprietary data, access to key partnerships, community trust). • Customer Segments: Who are your early adopters? Be specific (e.g., boutique hotel owners in urban centers). • Channels: How will you reach and deliver value to your customer segments? (e.g., digital marketing, trade fairs, direct B2B sales). • Key Metrics: What measurable indicators will you track to understand growth and product-market fit? (e.g., customer acquisition cost, churn rate, booking conversions). Explain what your MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is. An MVP is not a final product. It’s a basic prototype, landing page, mock-up, or small pilot that helps you. In one paragraph, describe your MVP by answering: • What will you build first? (e.g., a demo, website, fake feature, pre-order page) • Who will test it? (target customers) • What will you measure? (interest, signups, feedback, clicks, etc.) Example: “We will create a simple one-page website that explains our app for personalized hotel booking. Users can sign up for early access. We’ll test the idea by tracking how many visitors leave their email and what feedback they give.” 2.2 Cost structure and revenue streams List your most significant fixed and variable costs (e.g., platform development, marketing, labor, licensing fees). Mention any potential economies of scale or cost synergies if applicable. Describe the primary ways the business will earn money (e.g., subscription fees, commission per transaction, freemium model). Consider customer willingness to pay and pricing elasticity 3. Limits & Market Failures (200–250 words) Identify potential risks, barriers, or limitations, such as (examples): • Regulatory constraints • Technology adoption resistance • High customer acquisition costs • Two-sided market development issues (if applicable) Mention possible market failures you might face (e.g., lack of information, monopolistic competition, network effects not reached). 4. Conclusion (100–150 words) Summarize the key elements of your business concept. Reiterate how your idea is solving a real, validated problem with an innovative, market-responsive solution. Mention how your model is economically viable and scalable with an awareness of its limitations. List of references List all sources as full references in alphabetical order according to the APA7 style. Important information! Each student must submit this document separately in a PDF file. All submissions will be checked automatically (Turnitin) as well as by your professors for originality. No copied content is accepted including pasted sentences from any AI platform. Make sure to use 1.5 line spacing with a suggested wordcount of 1700 to 2000 from the title page to the conclusion section. The list of references does not count. The Lean Canvas template must not be submitted as it is only your support material used as a draft during the residential week. In case of inserting any chart, image or table, make sure to provide a title as well as a source. Have a look at the following example: The given figure must be inserted as a caption (right click on the given object) with the label above the selected item adjusted to the centre. Make sure to choose as caption “figure” for any chart, graph or image and “table” if presenting data organized into a table. As the last step, add a source aligned to the centre under the figure that clearly states who or which organization published the chosen figure/table and when. The full source must be provided in the list of references with the hyperlink. Figure 1: Leading domestic hotel chains in Spain as of July 2023, by hotel establishments Source: Statista (2024)