Seven spring break destinations are offered for spring break tourists from Partee University. For each destination, the table lists the...

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Seven spring break destinations are offered for spring break tourists from Partee University. For each destination, the table lists the plane ticket price, the discounted plane ticket price (if any), the spring break operator, the rate for a waterfront beach house in the block area, and the lowest rate for a waterfront beach house. Spring break traveler groups will require 4 nights of lodging and all beach house rates are per night and per group. All plane ticket prices are also per group of up to six passengers. Each group has no more than six people as there are 6 beds in each beach house. The lowest rate for an available beach house outside of the waterfront is $70.

Destination	Ticket Price	Discounted Ticket Price	Tour Guide	Block Rate	Lowest Rate for Waterfront
Miami	$210	$150	Contiki	$100	$70
Hawaii	$525	$450	WorldSprings	$140	$115
Jamaica	$220	$200	Spring Breakers	$160	$135
Cancun	$480	$350	CancunaBreakers	$150	$120
Daytona	$200	$170	SpringBling	$135	$100
Bahamas	$240	$210	SunFun	$115	$90
Puerto Rico	$425	$400	BeachBurn	$200	$150

Ques. 1/8

Jill and her friends are planning a 5-day/4-night spring break trip to Cancun. Their group has 10 people and they want to stay in the first block of the waterfront area. What is the total cost for Jill and her friends traveling from Partee University?

$500

$950

$1000

$1900

$5000

Solution

OWNING THE DATASET

Understanding Source A: Table - Spring Break Destination Pricing Information

Information from Dataset	Analysis
"Seven spring break destinations are offered"	There are exactly 7 destination options available for Partee University students
"Spring break traveler groups will require 4 nights of lodging"	All trips are standardized to 4-night stays Inference: $\mathrm{Total\,lodging\,cost = nightly\,rate \times 4\,nights}$
"All beach house rates are per night and per group"	Pricing is group-based, not individual Inference: Larger groups get better per-person value
"All plane ticket prices are also per group of up to six passengers"	Groups can accommodate 1-6 people for the same ticket price Inference: Groups are capped at 6 due to beach house capacity
"Each group has no more than six people as there are 6 beds in each beach house"	Physical constraint: 6 beds per house limits group size Inference: This bed capacity explains why plane tickets and pricing are capped at 6 passengers
"The lowest rate for an available beach house outside of the waterfront is $70"	Non-waterfront options exist at $70/night Inference: This appears to be a universal floor price across all destinations
Table showing ticket discounts ranging from $20-$130	Every destination offers some plane ticket discount Inference: Cancun has the largest discount ($130), Jamaica the smallest ($20)
Block rates vs. Lowest waterfront rates comparison	Block rates (first row) are consistently higher than lowest waterfront rates Inference: The premium for block rates ranges from $20-$50 per night

Summary: Source A provides comprehensive pricing data for 7 spring break destinations, showing both transportation and accommodation costs with three pricing tiers: block waterfront (most expensive), non-block waterfront, and non-waterfront ($70/night).

Understanding Source B: Article - Waterfront Housing Arrangements and Pricing Strategies

Information from Dataset	Analysis
"The waterfront beach houses are organized in 3 rows"	There's a physical hierarchy to waterfront properties Inference: Row number likely correlates with distance from water
"The spring break company has set aside a block of beach houses (the first row along the waterfront)"	First row = most desirable/closest to water Inference: The "block" is a reserved section for spring break clients Linkage to Source A: This explains why "Block Rate" prices in the table are the highest
"availability is at a higher-than-normal rate"	Block reservations command premium pricing Linkage to Source A: Confirms why block rates are $20-$50 higher per night than lowest waterfront rates
"ROWFA strategy" - "reserve houses outside the waterfront area"	Cost-saving option by avoiding waterfront entirely Linkage to Source A: This strategy targets the $70/night non-waterfront rate mentioned in Source A
"ROB strategy" - "reserve beach houses outside the block"	Alternative cost-saving within waterfront area (rows 2 or 3) Linkage to Source A: The "Lowest Rate for Waterfront" column shows the prices for this strategy
"increasing the plane ticket by a fixed amount and then offering an equivalent plane ticket price discount"	Companies inflate base prices then offer conditional discounts Linkage to Source A: The discount amounts ($20-$130) shown in the table are these conditional incentives
"if this plane ticket discount is equal to at least half the potential savings...much more likely to reserve a beach house within the first row"	50% threshold is key behavioral tipping point Inference: Students calculate total savings when making decisions Linkage to Source A: This rule can be applied to evaluate which destinations' discounts would be effective

Summary: Source B explains the three-tier waterfront housing system and two cost-saving strategies (ROWFA and ROB), while revealing how operators use conditional plane ticket discounts to incentivize premium block bookings—the specific prices and discounts for these strategies are shown in Source A's table.

Overall Summary

The dataset reveals a sophisticated spring break pricing system where operators offer three accommodation tiers across seven destinations: premium block waterfront (row 1), regular waterfront (rows 2-3), and non-waterfront ($70/night)
To counter student cost-saving strategies (ROWFA: choosing non-waterfront; ROB: choosing rows 2-3), operators inflate plane ticket prices then offer conditional discounts ($20-$130) for block bookings
These discounts are most effective when they equal at least 50% of potential savings, with effectiveness varying by destination based on the size of the waterfront premium ($20-$50/night differential)

Question Analysis

Calculate the total cost (flights plus accommodation) for 10 people traveling from Partee University to Cancun, staying in the first block waterfront beach houses for 4 nights.

Key Constraints:

Destination: Cancun
Group size: 10 people
Accommodation: First block (row 1) waterfront
Duration: 4 nights
Include total cost (flights + accommodation)

Answer Type Needed: Numerical calculation

Connecting to Our Analysis

Using the given pricing details: discounted ticket price $\$350$ per group up to 6 people, block rate $\$150$ per night per beach house, group must be split into 2 groups (6 and 4 people), and staying 4 nights in first block waterfront qualifies for discounted tickets.

Can answer from analysis alone: Yes - all necessary pricing information provided in the sources

Extracting Relevant Findings

Calculate total cost for 10 people traveling to Cancun with first block waterfront accommodation. Base calculation: 10 people split into 2 groups (max 6 per group).

Hypothesis: Total cost = (2 groups × discounted ticket price) + (2 beach houses × 4 nights × block rate).

Transportation Cost Analysis

Transportation costs $2 \times \$350 = \$700$ compared to regular tickets at $2 \times \$480 = \$960$, saving $\$260$ by booking first block discounted tickets. Transportation portion costs $\$700$.

Accommodation Cost Analysis

Accommodation costs $2 \times \$150 \times 4 = \$1200$ compared to lower priced waterfront at $2 \times \$120 \times 4 = \$960$, paying $\$240$ premium for first block waterfront location. Accommodation portion costs $\$1200$.

Total Cost Calculation

Total cost is $\$700 + \$1200 = \$1900$. Alternative strategies cost less, but don't match constraints. Total cost matches the $\$1900$ option provided.

Individual Statement/Option Evaluations

Option 1 Evaluation: $500

Assessment: This amount is significantly below the calculated total cost
Analysis: $\$500$ doesn't even cover the transportation costs alone ($\$700$)
Conclusion: Insufficient to meet the travel requirements

Option 2 Evaluation: $950

Assessment: This amount covers transportation but not accommodation
Analysis: $\$950$ is close to regular ticket pricing but falls short of total cost including accommodation
Conclusion: Does not meet the complete travel package requirements

Option 3 Evaluation: $1000

Assessment: This amount exceeds transportation costs but is insufficient for total package
Analysis: $\$1000$ covers transportation ($\$700$) with remainder, but cannot cover accommodation costs ($\$1200$)
Conclusion: Inadequate for the complete travel requirements

Option 4 Evaluation: $1900

Assessment: This matches the calculated total cost exactly
Analysis: $\$1900 = \$700$ (transportation) + $\$1200$ (accommodation)
Conclusion: Precisely meets all travel requirements and constraints

Option 5 Evaluation: $5000

Assessment: This amount significantly exceeds the calculated total cost
Analysis: $\$5000$ is more than double the required amount for the specified travel package
Conclusion: Excessive for the stated requirements

Systematic Checking

Verification of calculations and alignment with question details and answer options:

10 people require splitting into 2 groups (6 max per group)
Booking first block waterfront qualifies for discounted ticket price ($\$350$)
Block rate in Cancun is $\$150$ per night per beach house
The stay duration is 4 nights
Total cost of $\$1900$ matches one of the given answer options

Final Answer

$\$1900$

Answer Choices Explained

$500

$950

$1000

$1900

$5000

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