The candidate must analyze whether a luxury hotel targeting high-net-worth individuals (‘whales’) in Dubai is financially viable. Through five questions, they calculate demand (4,000 peak/2,000 off-peak whales per night), determine hotel size (3 stories × 1,500 rooms), compute investment ($5.5B) and annual profit ($1.5B), and ultimately recommend to the CEO whether to proceed despite missing the 5-year payback target by 8 months.
Key Insights:
- Pool quality directly correlates with whale customer percentage and rate pricing—excellent pools command premium rates and attract more high-value guests
- Seasonality severely impacts demand (3-month peak with 25% uplift) requiring capacity analysis for peak season demand, not average demand
- The Belzor operating at 100% utilization signals unmet demand in the market, validating the business case for a new entrant
- Financial viability requires examining not just annual profit but payback period relative to total investment and construction timeline
- Strong quantitative performance ($1.5B annual profit) can still result in a borderline recommendation if payback exceeds investor hurdle rates