Entrepreneur's Dilemma: Hotel Investments in Emerging Markets

Estimating the required rate of return for hotel properties is a daunting task because a lodging property is considered a hybrid between a real estate asset, and a revenue-generating enterprise affiliated with a hotel brand. Computing the expected rate of return for a hotel becomes even more complicated when a third party foreign investor/entrepreneur is the one performing the computation for an investment hotel in an emerging country. This clinical case illustrates the challenges surrounding the estimation of a project’s cost of equity in the multinational hotel industry. The results reveal that estimating cost of equity in emerging markets for hotel investments continues to be a conundrum. Future investors should make multiple adjustments and use several models when making their capital investment decisions.

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Emergency and Transitional Shelters [Literature Review]

Over the past two decades the number of recorded disasters has doubled from approximately 200 to over 400 disasters per year. Such an increase in the frequency of disasters has not been without consequence, producing ever-greater waves of population displacements throughout the developing world. The United Nation’s Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) responsible for the coordination of international humanitarian responses states unequivocally that populations displaced by disaster have a right to protection and the provision of basic necessities such as adequate food, water, clothing, sanitation, and essential health services (IASC, 2006 and The Sphere Project, 2011). Shelter responses are often a vital node around which many of these humanitarian concerns are addressed. This document is a review of 3 case studies, 6 field reports, 1 concept paper, 16 guidelines, 1 call for proposals, and 4 strategic framework documents prepared by organizations active in the humanitarian shelter sector on emergency and transitional shelters. While emergency shelter response is focused primarily on protection and relief during and immediately after a disaster has occurred, the transitional shelter approach emphasizes integrating disaster response into an immediate transition towards reconstruction, recovery, and sustainable development.