Hotel & Motel Management - March 17, 2008 - (Page 50) 50 News By Christine Blank CONTRIBUTING EDITOR H&MM March 17, 2008 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition Hotel waterparks continue growth Orlando–Despite a predicted downturn in the U.S. economy in 2008, the construction of hotels and resorts with waterparks is expected to continue to grow. In addition, waterparks will be a part of more mixed-used developments in the future, industry consultants said at the Waterparks Resort Leadership & Development Conference in Orlando. There will be about 97 waterpark hotels under construction in 2008, and another 166 will be in development stages, according to research from JLC Hospitality Consulting in Cave Creek, Ariz. In addition, the industry grew in number of properties by around 26 percent in 2006, and hotels and resorts with waterparks are able to charge higher room rates, JLC found. Despite the credit crunch in the real-estate market and other signs of a lagging economy, hotels and resorts with waterparks likely will continue to perform well, according to Jeff Coy, president of JLC. In fact, some of the nation- Hotels with waterparks occupancy percentage and ADR weekday vs. weekend YE 2006– YTD Sept. 2007 2006 occ 120 $92.13 $96.10 2007 occ 2006 ADR 2007 ADR $106.61 $111.24 80 65.8 49 52.7 70.1 40 0 Weekday Weekend Source: Smith Travel Research al economic trends act in favor of waterpark resorts. For example, while it can be difficult for a family of four to fly to Disneyland or Disney World, driving to a regional hotel/waterpark complex is more feasible, Coy said. “Even if the rooms are $200 a night, they [might] afford that four times a year,” Coy said. The supply-demand ratio for hotel waterparks points to future growth of the industry. While supply of hotel waterparks grew 11.5 percent in 2007, demand rose 13.4 percent, a very healthy ratio, said Vail Brown, v.p. of global sales and marketing, Smith Travel Research. “In regards to the demand side, the waterpark hotels could benefit as the leisure traveler will be looking for trip options that don’t require a lot of travel time, as this expense is continuing to rise,” Brown said. Meanwhile, industry observers predict that waterparks will be just one component of mixed-use developments in the future. “We think that more and more resorts, including hotel waterparks, are going to be part of mixed-use developments,” Coy said. “There is going to be a continued mix of lodging, entertainment complexes, surf parks and sports complexes.” “Currently in our pipeline … several projects have mixed-use, retail, sports facilities and familyoriented elements,” Brown said. As a result, hotel developers are going to be looking for sites with much more square footage and the ability to add different entertainment options. “We want to have an amenities stack [so] people will stay for an extended weekend, such as retail and upscale options,” said Nelson Migdal, a shareholder with law firm Greenberg Traurig. See Hotel waterparks | page 52 CIRCLE NO. 101 http://HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://www.a1textiles.com
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