Resort Managerment

RESORTS: AN INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1
- Introduction
- Types of Resorts
1. 1.1 History of resorts
Introduction
Introduction
• A resort is a self-contained
commercial establishment that tries
to provide most of a vacationer’s
wants, such as food, drink, lodging,
sports, entertainment, shopping,…
on the premises.
• A resort can also be defined as a
place that is frequented for holiday
or recreation or for a particular
purpose.
• The roots of the resort concept can be traced to the Romans.
- Public baths: small, modest, separated genders.
Roman Empire: - Most baths were free but few had small entrance fees.
- As the Roman Empire expanded, most baths were built or located on sites
Baths with mineral hot springs
- Greeks associated these hot springs with the gods and built sacred wells and
alters on this site
Europe: Mass follow class
• Belgium: The first noteworthy resort area was

developed in Belgium in 1326 in a town called
Spa (fountain) by an ironmaster - Colin le Loup,
he was cured of a long-term illness by the iron-
rich waters of a spring, then he opened a shelter
there to welcome others
• England: King Charles II spent time at the
popular resorts of the day in the 1600s.
• Switzerland: the resort industry was developed
in the 1800s to aid the need of private resort
facilities for more prosperous people.
• At that time travel was not simple. People who travelled
Continue to resorts stay for long periods – up to 2 months to get
the best value for their travel expenses.
• The first resort utilized the value of a scenic view: Hotel
Baur au Lac – Zurich.
• Early 1800s, Switzerland was known as a summer resort,
but soon skiing, gambling became popular.
North America
- Hotel were developed around spas in the late

1800s. Shortly after, seaside resorts became
popular.
- Amenities: The first luxury resort was built in
1829 in Boston. It was called the Tremont House
with innovated service: elegant marble, carved
walnut furniture in private room, bellboys to
handle guest luggage
- Civil war: The American Civil War changed the
nature of many resorts. Some had long catered to
gentlemen who brought horses (and their slaves)
with them to race while they took the waters.
Later, the resort focused on its social activities:
gambling, racetrack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFUtYTm6930
The 21st Century
• North America: Summer operation,

improvement in transportation changed
the structure. Railroads and resorts
targeted the wealthy individuals.
• Winter resort: become popular until the
development of the automobile.
• The development of Disneyland in 1955,
Disney World 1971
• 1960s: four-season resort, added skiing,
golf, tennis, summer music festivals,
convention centers
• New type: mega-resorts or family resorts
(spa,fitness center, shopping,
recreational activities, fun nightlife.)
Continue
• Boutique resort hotel: high-end
market
• Eastern Europe, Japan, some
part of western Europe: social
tourism (offering employees
vacations)
Consumer trends that will
impact luxury shared
owner ship
• Fractional ownership:
- Status Symbols
- Time (new currency)
- Unfixed theme: shift from having physical
goods to collecting experiences, sharing is
better than owning.
- Brand assets: customer can buy hotel
company-branded furniture and bedding.
21 century
st
1. Lodging, recreation and entertainment concepts are merging.

Urban areas: hotel, recreation entertainment, sporting activities,
shopping, convention centers and large-scale attractions are being
developed in mixed-user resort destination complexes.
Rural areas: hotel and indoor-outdoor waterparks are being
combined.
2. Long weekends vs long vacations.
3. Increased popularity of multi generational family gatherings.
4. Resort waterparks: can enhance occupancy rate.
5. Adventure sports: become mainstream, involve nature
Continue
• Movement from natural to man-made
facilities: golf simulators, artificial rock
walls, artificial skating surfaces and
wave-generating equipment.
• Indoor activities are being developed
(40 snow domes worldwide)
• New structure and enclosures cover
large spaces affordably, the effect of
weather is being minimized.
Recap lessons
1. The history of transportation has, to a large

extent, determined where, when and what
types of resorts have evolved.
2. The desire for pleasure travel is deep-
rooted
3. Resorts began as seasonal operations, but
later developed year-round attractions and
appealed to the group market
4. Resort develop through life cycles. To be
successful, resorts have had to adapt to
changes in transportation, consumer
tastes, demographics, and competition.
2. Types of
resorts
Resort can be
characterized in terms of:
• Proximity to primary market
• Setting and primary amenities
• Mix of residential lodging properties
• Destination resorts/non-destination resorts:
- How far the resort is from its primary market
- How visitor reach the resort
- The patterns of stay: how many times, how
long, the quality..
2.1. Proximity to
primary market
Destination resorts
• At least several hundred miles from
the market
• Visitors tend to fly rather than drive
there, visit once a year for 1-2 weeks.
• Located at attractive places
Non-destination resorts
• Tend to be within 2-3 hour drive of the
primary market.
• Guest arrive by car, visit more
frequently, stay 3-4 days each time.
2.2. Setting and primary
amenities
• Visitor categorize resorts by their
location and amenities:
- Ocean resorts
- Lake/river resorts
- Mountain/ski resorts
- Golf resorts
2.3. Residential and
lodging properties
• Real estate people like to categorize
resorts based on the type and mix of
residential lodging facilities:
1. Traditional lodging
2. Timeshare or vacation ownership
3. Condominium hotels
4. Destination clubs
• The resort hotel is the most common form of
resort development.
• Requires a relatively modest financial
investment
• The guest at a traditional hotel selects the
property on the basis of convenience.
2.3.1. Traditional
lodging
• Timesharing began in France in the late 1960s
• Timeshare is attractive to hotel companies
because:
Multiple sources of income from actual contract
sales to interest payments on mortgaged units,
maintenance, and club membership fees.
2.3.2. Timeshare
and vacation
ownership resorts
Continue
• When buying a timeshare, consider
the following features:
- Quality of accommodation
- Exchange opportunities
- Credibility of company
- Resort features
- Affordable ongoing costs
- Affordable purchase price
Vacation ownership
= timeshare
• Owners pay a lump sum up
front either in full or financed
over a 7-8 year period.
• The purchaser owns the
accommodation for the
amount of time it is used,
usually 1-2 weeks per year.
• Timeshare owners can
exchange weeks through
membership in exchange
companies.
Timeshare options
• Several timeshare options are possible:

- fixed-week: consumers buy a specific week. Ex: the first week in August.
- floating-week: buy a week within a given period.
- combination: allows weeks in high-demand periods to be fixed and low-
demand period to float
*Point-based membership: giving members points that can be used to “buy”
resort stays.
The club • The club concept does not involve any ownership of real estate. Consumer
buy shares or points in the club. Ex: Hyatt’s Vacation Club.
concept
2.3.3. Condominium
hotels
• Condominium/condotel: guests buy fee-

simple equity in the unit – buying a hotel
guestroom.
• Owner can earn income (depending on the
policy of the hotel) by renting out their
unit independently or through the rental
program of the management company.
• Condo hotel can be:
- Ownership structure where rooms are sold
to individuals as an investment.
- Mixed-use project
Mix-use developments
• An issues involved in timeshare. major

reason for mixed-use development is
the high cost of amenities. High-quality
amenities cost a great deal of money,
being able to spread out the use and
cost of these facilities.
• The financing of a timeshare property is
different from that of a traditional
hotel, the leading process is more
complex because of the regulatory.
Destination clubs offer non-equity
membership that allows members
2.3.4. to access the club’s portfolio of
homes.
Destination
clubs Member pay deposit and annual
fee.
Second-home development
A second home is a “a home that is owned fee simple by an individual or

family that also owns or rents another home as a primary residence".
Compared to primary homes, second homes place more emphasis on

outdoor areas, developed at lower densities.
The time-equity continuum
• In considering the various types of resorts described
above, it is obvious that developments are offering
either time or equity.
• The forms of resorts that evolve in the future will be
some combination of selling time or equity.
Summary
A brief history resort related to transportation;
Resorts developed year-round operations to minimize the risk of relying on

one season.
Today, resorts can be characterized in term of proximity to market, setting and

primary amenities, the mix of residential and lodging properties.

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RESORTS: AN INTRODUCTION

• Belgium: The first noteworthy resort area was

- Hotel were developed around spas in the late

• North America: Summer operation,

1. Lodging, recreation and entertainment concepts are merging.

1. The history of transportation has, to a large

• Several timeshare options are possible:

• Condominium/condotel: guests buy fee-

• An issues involved in timeshare. major

A second home is a “a home that is owned fee simple by an individual or

Compared to primary homes, second homes place more emphasis on

A brief history resort related to transportation;

Resorts developed year-round operations to minimize the risk of relying on

Today, resorts can be characterized in term of proximity to market, setting and

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