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805+ (Hard)|   Math Related|   Non-Math Related|                  
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The expenses related to sponsoring a conference can be immense. An org 24 Sep 2025, 09:45
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Why room rent is written per night per guest per room? If it is per guest then actual cost of 1 room for 1 night should be 2*what is mentioned in table?
Sajjad1994
Official Explanation

1. For each of the following sponsors, select Yes if an attendee of the sponsor's conference would spend less money by employing the ROB strategy -- paying the lowest possible room rate in the host hotel and paying the nondiscounted registration fee -- than by reserving a room in the block. Otherwise, select No.

An attendee of the conference sponsored by CC would pay, for registration and a room in the conference block,
$620 + 2($110) = $840

By employing the ROB strategy, an attendee would pay
$720 + 2($70) = $860.

Therefore the attendee would not save money by employing the ROB strategy.

The correct answer is No.

An attendee of the conference sponsored by FFNA would pay, for registration and a room in the conference block,
$275 + 2($140) = $555.

By employing the ROB strategy, an attendee would pay
$325 + 2($70) = $465.

Therefore the attendee would save money by employing the ROB strategy.

The correct answer is Yes.

An attendee of the conference sponsored by HMHPA would pay, for registration and a room in the conference block,
$575 + 2($104) = $783.

By employing the ROB strategy, an attendee would pay
$600 + 2($79) = $758.

Therefore the attendee would save money by employing the ROB strategy.

The correct answer is Yes.

2. For each of the following sponsors, select Yes if an attendee of the sponsor's conference would spend less money by employing the ROHH strategy—paying the lowest possible room rate outside the host hotel and paying the nondiscounted registration fee—than by reserving a room in the block at the host hotel. Otherwise, select No.

CC

For the conference sponsored by CC, an attendee applying the ROHH strategy would save 2($110 − $65) = $90 in room charges and would pay an additional $720 − $620 = $100 on the registration fee. Therefore the attendee would spend an additional $10 by employing the ROHH strategy.

The correct answer is No.

FFNA

For the conference sponsored by FFNA, an attendee applying the ROHH strategy would save 2($140 − $65) = $150 in room charges and would pay an additional $325 − $275 = $50 on the registration fee. Therefore the attendee would spend $100 less by employing the ROHH strategy.

The correct answer is Yes.

PPOA

For the conference sponsored by CC, an attendee applying the ROHH strategy would save 2($105 − $65) = $80 in room charges and would pay an additional $550 − $400 = $150 on the registration fee. Therefore, the attendee would spend an additional $70 by employing the ROHH strategy.

The correct answer is No.

3. Assume that host hotels receive a reimbursement from the conference organizers for 25% of the block rate per night for each unoccupied room in the conference block. For each of the following hotels, select Yes if, for at least one conference on the weekend listed, the hotel would lose room revenue if a room in the block is vacant because an attendee employed the ROB strategy. Otherwise, select No.

Asiawest Center

For a hotel to lose room revenue in this scenario, the lowest rate must be less than 75% of the block rate. This will occur when the ratio of the lowest rate to the block rate is less than 0.75.

For the conferences hosted by the Asiawest Center, the ratios are 185/190≈0.97 for the conference sponsored by CDA and 185195≈0.95 for the conferences sponsored by QRTA and RCD. Therefore the Asiawest Center would not lose room revenue.

The correct answer is No.

Bard Inn

For the one conference hosted by Bard Inn—sponsored by PNDA—the ratio is 125/125=1; thus the Bard Inn would not lose room revenue.

The correct answer is No.

Hilton

For the conference sponsored by CC, the ratio is 70/110≈0.64, which indicates that the host hotel, Hilton, would lose room revenue.

The correct answer is Yes.

4. Many individuals stand to benefit financially from attendees at conferences. For each of the following individuals, choose Loss if the individual would likely earn less money if rooms in the conference block are vacant because of attendees using ROHH strategies. Otherwise select No loss.

Speaker hired by a conference on education to speak about school reform

It is more likely that the speaker's compensation is a fixed cost for the sponsors of the conference. There is nothing in the information provided to suggest that the speaker would earn less as a result of attendees using ROHH strategies.

The correct answer is No loss.

Room service waiter at the conference hotel whose earnings are primarily from gratuities

If attendees are employing ROHH strategies, then necessarily they would not be staying in the conference hotel. If this contributes to vacancies in the host hotel as is suggested, then it is likely that fewer people would be ordering room service. Therefore, it is likely that the waiters would earn less.

The correct answer is Loss.

Salaried front desk manager at the conference hotel

Salaries are usually fixed amounts; thus, the front desk manager's salary most likely represents a fixed cost for the host hotel. There is nothing in the information provided to suggest that the front desk manager would earn less.

The correct answer is No loss.

5. Let X denote the block rate of the host hotel for a particular conference, and let Y denote the lowest room rate available in the host hotel outside of the conference block. For a conference that requires a two-night hotel stay, which one of the following expressions represents the least amount of discount on the conference registration fee that, according to the article, would be sufficient to deter conference attendees from employing the ROB strategy in choosing accommodations?

For an attendee employing the ROB strategy, the savings on room fees is $X − Y per night. Over two nights, then, the attendee would save $2(X − Y). According to the study cited in the article, a registration discount equal to half of the savings of an attendee’s cost-saving strategy would be sufficient to deter the use of that strategy. Therefore the registration discount should be set at

\(\frac{2(X−Y)}{2} = X−Y\)

The correct answer is C.
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The expenses related to sponsoring a conference can be immense. An org 25 Sep 2025, 01:30
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Why room rent is written per night per guest per room? If it is per guest then actual cost of 1 room for 1 night should be 2*what is mentioned in table?

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The rates are already quoted per guest with double occupancy assumed. So each guest pays the listed rate, and two guests together pay twice that for the room.
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The expenses related to sponsoring a conference can be immense. An org 25 Sep 2025, 10:43
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So as per this the total cost should be 4* mentioned cost . 2 person 2 night so per room total cost of two days is 4 times mentioned cost but you have only done 2 times
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The rates are already quoted per guest with double occupancy assumed. So each guest pays the listed rate, and two guests together pay twice that for the room.
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The expenses related to sponsoring a conference can be immense. An org 25 Sep 2025, 10:48
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mkeshri185
So as per this the total cost should be 4* mentioned cost . 2 person 2 night so per room total cost of two days is 4 times mentioned cost but you have only done 2 times

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The table gives cost per guest per night. For 2 guests over 2 nights, the total is 4 times the listed rate. In the earlier step we were comparing one guest’s share, so only 2 times was applied for 2 nights. We don’t calculate for two guests. All costs are taken per guest, so the comparison is always for one guest only.
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The expenses related to sponsoring a conference can be immense. An org 25 Sep 2025, 17:52
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Bunuel

Suggested edit: The final column should say "Lowest rate in host hotel", not "Lowest Rate
for Waterfront". "Waterfront" is a bit confusing, because it comes out of nowhere.

Here's a screenshot from the OG.

Thanks!


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GMAT-Club-Forum-9bby8gpf.png [ 128.1 KiB | Viewed 736 times ]
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GMATCoachBen

Bunuel

Suggested edit: The final column should say "Lowest rate in host hotel", not "Lowest Rate
for Waterfront". "Waterfront" is a bit confusing, because it comes out of nowhere.

Here's a screenshot from the OG.

Thanks!


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Fixed the typo. Thank you!
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The expenses related to sponsoring a conference can be immense. An org 27 Nov 2025, 05:51
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I have had this question 3 times in practice questions that I've done - every single time I can't even begin to get my head around it in 8 minutes. My level is about 80 DI and 86 verbal, this thing just makes absolutely no sense - how is anyone tackling this?
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The expenses related to sponsoring a conference can be immense. An org 16 Jul 2026, 01:47
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Why in Question 3 the difference in registration fee is not being considered for revenue loss. Because if any strategy is employed ROHH (not included in Q3) or ROB, they have to pay full registration fees. While if they opt for staying in the conference block, they will get an additional discount on registration fee which will create a difference in the revenue?

Sajjad1994
Official Explanation

1. For each of the following sponsors, select Yes if an attendee of the sponsor's conference would spend less money by employing the ROB strategy -- paying the lowest possible room rate in the host hotel and paying the nondiscounted registration fee -- than by reserving a room in the block. Otherwise, select No.

An attendee of the conference sponsored by CC would pay, for registration and a room in the conference block,
$620 + 2($110) = $840

By employing the ROB strategy, an attendee would pay
$720 + 2($70) = $860.

Therefore the attendee would not save money by employing the ROB strategy.

The correct answer is No.

An attendee of the conference sponsored by FFNA would pay, for registration and a room in the conference block,
$275 + 2($140) = $555.

By employing the ROB strategy, an attendee would pay
$325 + 2($70) = $465.

Therefore the attendee would save money by employing the ROB strategy.

The correct answer is Yes.

An attendee of the conference sponsored by HMHPA would pay, for registration and a room in the conference block,
$575 + 2($104) = $783.

By employing the ROB strategy, an attendee would pay
$600 + 2($79) = $758.

Therefore the attendee would save money by employing the ROB strategy.

The correct answer is Yes.

2. For each of the following sponsors, select Yes if an attendee of the sponsor's conference would spend less money by employing the ROHH strategy—paying the lowest possible room rate outside the host hotel and paying the nondiscounted registration fee—than by reserving a room in the block at the host hotel. Otherwise, select No.

CC

For the conference sponsored by CC, an attendee applying the ROHH strategy would save 2($110 − $65) = $90 in room charges and would pay an additional $720 − $620 = $100 on the registration fee. Therefore the attendee would spend an additional $10 by employing the ROHH strategy.

The correct answer is No.

FFNA

For the conference sponsored by FFNA, an attendee applying the ROHH strategy would save 2($140 − $65) = $150 in room charges and would pay an additional $325 − $275 = $50 on the registration fee. Therefore the attendee would spend $100 less by employing the ROHH strategy.

The correct answer is Yes.

PPOA

For the conference sponsored by CC, an attendee applying the ROHH strategy would save 2($105 − $65) = $80 in room charges and would pay an additional $550 − $400 = $150 on the registration fee. Therefore, the attendee would spend an additional $70 by employing the ROHH strategy.

The correct answer is No.

3. Assume that host hotels receive a reimbursement from the conference organizers for 25% of the block rate per night for each unoccupied room in the conference block. For each of the following hotels, select Yes if, for at least one conference on the weekend listed, the hotel would lose room revenue if a room in the block is vacant because an attendee employed the ROB strategy. Otherwise, select No.

Asiawest Center

For a hotel to lose room revenue in this scenario, the lowest rate must be less than 75% of the block rate. This will occur when the ratio of the lowest rate to the block rate is less than 0.75.

For the conferences hosted by the Asiawest Center, the ratios are 185/190≈0.97 for the conference sponsored by CDA and 185195≈0.95 for the conferences sponsored by QRTA and RCD. Therefore the Asiawest Center would not lose room revenue.

The correct answer is No.

Bard Inn

For the one conference hosted by Bard Inn—sponsored by PNDA—the ratio is 125/125=1; thus the Bard Inn would not lose room revenue.

The correct answer is No.

Hilton

For the conference sponsored by CC, the ratio is 70/110≈0.64, which indicates that the host hotel, Hilton, would lose room revenue.

The correct answer is Yes.

4. Many individuals stand to benefit financially from attendees at conferences. For each of the following individuals, choose Loss if the individual would likely earn less money if rooms in the conference block are vacant because of attendees using ROHH strategies. Otherwise select No loss.

Speaker hired by a conference on education to speak about school reform

It is more likely that the speaker's compensation is a fixed cost for the sponsors of the conference. There is nothing in the information provided to suggest that the speaker would earn less as a result of attendees using ROHH strategies.

The correct answer is No loss.

Room service waiter at the conference hotel whose earnings are primarily from gratuities

If attendees are employing ROHH strategies, then necessarily they would not be staying in the conference hotel. If this contributes to vacancies in the host hotel as is suggested, then it is likely that fewer people would be ordering room service. Therefore, it is likely that the waiters would earn less.

The correct answer is Loss.

Salaried front desk manager at the conference hotel

Salaries are usually fixed amounts; thus, the front desk manager's salary most likely represents a fixed cost for the host hotel. There is nothing in the information provided to suggest that the front desk manager would earn less.

The correct answer is No loss.

5. Let X denote the block rate of the host hotel for a particular conference, and let Y denote the lowest room rate available in the host hotel outside of the conference block. For a conference that requires a two-night hotel stay, which one of the following expressions represents the least amount of discount on the conference registration fee that, according to the article, would be sufficient to deter conference attendees from employing the ROB strategy in choosing accommodations?

For an attendee employing the ROB strategy, the savings on room fees is $X − Y per night. Over two nights, then, the attendee would save $2(X − Y). According to the study cited in the article, a registration discount equal to half of the savings of an attendee’s cost-saving strategy would be sufficient to deter the use of that strategy. Therefore the registration discount should be set at

\(\frac{2(X−Y)}{2} = X−Y\)

The correct answer is C.
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The expenses related to sponsoring a conference can be immense. An org 17 Jul 2026, 00:36
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Hi INeel,

Your instinct about the registration fee differential is real money, but here it lands in the wrong pocket. The key is whose revenue Q3 is asking about.

Look again at what Q3 measures: whether the hotel would lose room revenue. Now check the first source (the Article):

- Registration fees are collected by the organization sponsoring the conference - "An organization sponsoring a conference can recoup these expenses through registration fees..."
- The hotel's money comes from room rates (plus, in Q3's added rule, a 25% reimbursement on each vacant block room).

So the discounted-vs-nondiscounted registration difference is a swing in the sponsor's books, not the hotel's. When you're totaling the hotel's room revenue, that fee never enters - the hotel doesn't receive it either way. This is exactly the point KarishmaB made earlier in the thread: "the hotel doesn't get the registration fee. It is the organisation that gets it."

That's why Q3's whole test reduces to room dollars only:

- Block room taken - hotel gets the block rate (B).
- ROB used - hotel gets the lowest host-hotel rate (L) + 0.25·B reimbursement.
- Loss only if L + 0.25·B < B, i.e. L < 0.75·B.

No registration term appears anywhere, because none of it flows to the hotel.

A quick way to feel the split:

- Tab A: "Ticket money goes to the event organizer."
- Tab B: "Concession stand keeps its own food sales."

If you're asked whether the concession stand lost money, the ticket price is irrelevant - it was never theirs. Same move here: the registration fee belongs to the sponsor, so it's off the hotel's ledger.

Keep the two parties' wallets separate and Q3 stays clean: it's purely a room-revenue comparison.

Answer: Asiawest Center: No, Bard Inn: No, Hilton: Yes

INeel
Why in Question 3 the difference in registration fee is not being considered for revenue loss. Because if any strategy is employed ROHH (not included in Q3) or ROB, they have to pay full registration fees. While if they opt for staying in the conference block, they will get an additional discount on registration fee which will create a difference in the revenue?


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The expenses related to sponsoring a conference can be immense. An org 20 Jul 2026, 02:18
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Why are we not considering "A study has shown that if this registration discount is equal to at least half the potential savings of an attendee's particular cost-saving strategy, the attendee is much more likely to reserve a room within the block." in any question ?
for Q1,2,3 ans would be different if consider that attendee would not go for ROB if discount is atleast 50% of savings?
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Hi NetOrb,

Great catch on that study line, and your instinct isn't wrong - you've just placed it under the wrong question. The 50%-rule from the Article tab is a behavioral prediction - it tells us when an attendee is more likely to reserve a room in the block. But look carefully at what Q1, Q2, and Q3 actually ask.

Q1 and Q2 are pure arithmetic. The stems say "select Yes if an attendee would spend less money by employing the ROB/ROHH strategy." That is a straight cost comparison - which total is the smaller number - not a prediction of what the attendee will choose. So the study never enters; we just add up dollars on each side.

This is exactly the point macjas raised earlier in the thread for HMHPA: even though the discount there equals half the savings (so the person would likely stay in the block), the ROB total is still lower - so "spends less?" is Yes. "Would spend less" and "is likely to book the block" are two different questions, and only the first is being asked.

Q3 gives you the vacancy as a fact. Read its wording: "...if a room in the block is vacant because an attendee employed the ROB strategy." The question hands you the outcome - the room is already empty. You don't need the study to predict whether they'd leave the block; you're told they did. All that's left is the hotel's room-revenue math (block rate vs. lowest rate + the 25% reimbursement).

Where the study does live

It's not ignored across the whole set - it's the entire engine of Q5, which asks for the least discount that would deter the ROB strategy. That's a likelihood question, so the 50% rule is exactly what you apply: half of 2(X-Y) = X-Y.

Quick habit to lock this in - before using any rule, match it to the stem's verb:
- "spends less" / "costs less" - compare the totals (Q1, Q2)
- "loses revenue, given the room is vacant" - fact is given, just do the math (Q3)
- "more likely to choose" / "sufficient to deter" - now bring in the study (Q5)

Keep that split and the set stays clean.

Answer: No, Yes, Yes; No, Yes, No; No, No, Yes

NetOrb
Why are we not considering "A study has shown that if this registration discount is equal to at least half the potential savings of an attendee's particular cost-saving strategy, the attendee is much more likely to reserve a room within the block." in any question ?
for Q1,2,3 ans would be different if consider that attendee would not go for ROB if discount is atleast 50% of savings?
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The expenses related to sponsoring a conference can be immense. An org 25 Jul 2026, 05:13
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Hi bb, how often do these type of difficult questions come up? I understand that some questions on GMAT club are tougher which helps u prepare for the ones on actual...but sometimes practising these ones demotivate me after getting them wrong, so just wanted to see if this is something i should DEF work on.

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This is a pretty nasty question. It does say that room rates are based on 2-person occupancy so I guess you would have to assume that there has to be 2 registrations or half a room type of thing... there are also 2 nights...
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Hi RealGold,

Fair question, and I'd rather answer the deeper part of it than the surface part.

On frequency: MSR is a guaranteed part of Data Insights, and sets built exactly like this one, two tabs with one of them a dense table, plus a rule stated in the text that you have to apply to the data, show up regularly. This particular set sits on the harder end of the scale, mostly because of how many near-identical definitions it juggles. So no, you won't see six questions this punishing in a row. But you will absolutely see the skills it's testing.

And that's the part worth your attention. Look at what this set actually asks you to do.

1. Hold two definitions apart when they're deliberately similar. ROHH and ROB differ by one detail: whether you leave the hotel, or just leave the block. Get them mixed up and every number that follows is wrong. This is term sheets. This is pricing tiers. This is two vendor contracts where clause 7 differs by a single word, and that word is worth $2M.

2. Compare total cost, not one component. Q1 and Q2 fail you if you compare room rates and forget that the registration fee moves in the opposite direction. Cheaper room, pricier registration: which wins? That trade-off structure is the single most common analytical error in business. People approve the lower sticker price and eat the higher total.

3. Apply a stated policy to messy data. Q3 hands you a new rule (25% reimbursement) and asks what it implies. Translating "the hotel loses revenue" into "lowest rate < 0.75 x block rate" is exactly what you do with a debt covenant, a discount-approval threshold, or a rebate clause.

4. Work out who actually bears the loss. Q4 has no arithmetic at all. The room-service waiter on tips loses, the salaried front-desk manager doesn't, the speaker on a fixed fee doesn't. That's fixed vs. variable cost incidence, the foundation of unit economics and of every "who is exposed if volume drops" conversation you'll have.

5. Read scope precisely. Q3 says "at least one conference." Asiawest hosts three. Check one, answer No, and you're wrong, not because you can't compute, but because you generalized from partial data.

Those five things are the job description of a good analyst and a good business leader. A difficulty rating is just a classification. So if you got this wrong, don't log it as "hard MSR question." Log it as which of those five broke down, because that's the thing that will break down again, in a meeting, with real money.

So yes: DEF work on it.
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quick question, question 1 and 2, why are we multiplying the block rate by 2? Each question states that "if an attendee". This made me not multiply any of the block rates by 2 as the fee in the stem would be per person.
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architkap
quick question, question 1 and 2, why are we multiplying the block rate by 2? Each question states that "if an attendee". This made me not multiply any of the block rates by 2 as the fee in the stem would be per person.
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The *2 is not because there are two attendees. It is because the stem says that each attendee requires two nights of lodging, and the room rates are given per guest, per night.

So for one attendee:

Total lodging cost = nightly rate * 2 nights.
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