Spears Business HTM teams earn top honors at a pair of ICHRIE competitions to maximize hotel operations, profits
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Media Contact: Stephen Howard | Director of Marketing & Communications | 405.744.4363 | stephen.howard@okstate.edu
Oklahoma State University’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management program students have been raking in honors at the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education (ICHRIE) competitions this spring.
Doctoral student Abraham Terrah and undergraduate senior Sienna Lawson earned second and third place, respectively, at the ICHRIE 2025 Level Up Competition, which pitted students against each other in a realistic hotel management simulation. Students made critical decisions that impacted their hotel’s financial performance, with end goals of maximizing profits, achieving the highest occupancy, optimizing the average daily rate and building the highest revenue per available room.
“In the last six months, I have had three opportunities to gain real-world experience through revenue management and real estate competitions,” Lawson said. “I am lucky enough to have taken home wins in two out of the three competitions, but I find true value in the experience. In the ICHRIE Level Up Competition, I was able to work in a simulation as a general manager of a 500-room hotel and make day-by-day adjustments to maximize that month’s profit.
“In the Forecaster Cup, I got to use industry resources to forecast occupancy rates for downtown Nashville in real time. Both competitions helped me realize how much I enjoy revenue management and will continue to influence my career path. I feel lucky to be in a department with professors like Steven West, who encourages students to seek out new sectors of the industry and provides them opportunities to gain experience and pursue passion.”
Not to be outdone, junior Taylor Parker also took second place at the ICHRIE Hotel Challenge by Knowledge Matters. In this competition, participants managed a simulated hotel, including the front desk operations, housekeeping, marketing, public relations, group sales, banquets, pricing, revenue management, social media and restaurant operations. Participants were judged on a balanced scorecard that included profitability, customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction.
“We are really fortunate that we have been able to find students interested in this aspect of hospitality,” said Steven West, an associate professor of professional practice in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. “Often, students get so focused on the shiny side of the industry that they forget there is an integral and profitable segment just under the surface. OSU only started entering competitions 12 months ago and we have brought home several top-10 finishes, and even national championships.
“Naturally, I am very proud of our accomplishments, but more importantly, other universities have to be asking themselves where these folks calling themselves Cowboys have come from and are suddenly dominating in every competition they have entered. These finishes are a testament to our students and the real-world concepts that we teach here at OSU.”
As West mentioned, OSU is a relative newcomer to hospitality and tourism competitions, but has burst onto the scene and won its share of national honors.
In February, senior Mikayla Herrera and junior Emily Howe earned awards at the 2025 International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education Eta Sigma Delta Undergraduate Research Symposium. Herrera received the Best Paper Award for her research on authentic Native American tourism, while Howe earned the Meritorious Award for her study on inclusivity for people with disabilities who attend large events.
In December, OSU placed third overall in the Forecaster Cup, a seven-week remote competition that concluded at the end of November. OSU had four entries, two of which ranked fourth or higher in the team standings. The graduate student team of Emily Poulin, Niger Brishty and Terrah placed second, while the undergraduate duo of McKenzie Beesley and Lawson finished fourth.
Last summer, a team of HTM students advanced to the semifinals of the prestigious Sustainable Hospitality Challenge thanks to their pioneering concept, Cargotel, an eco-friendly hotel made from repurposed shipping containers. Also, HTM students Lindsay Zhou and Monika Verma earned top honors at the AAHOACON24 Hotel Turnaround Collegiate Championship at the nation’s largest trade show.
Founded in 1937, the OSU School of Hospitality and Tourism Management in the Spears School of Business has evolved into a business-focused academic program that educates students and conducts research for the food and beverage, lodging, event planning and tourism management industries. The program currently ranks OSU No. 8 in the U.S. and No. 22 in the world among hospitality and tourism management programs according to ShanghaiRanking.com.