H&LA News

At the Ohio Conference on Tourism, held at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Eric B. Hansen, AIA, ISHC was elected to a three-year term as a NEO regional representative to the Ohio Travel Association Board of Directors. In addition, he was appointed co-chair of the Legislative Committee. He explained to the entire conference the formation of the OTA’s new Legislative Action Fund, which can initiate pro-active measures against proposed legislation that is detrimental for Ohio’s tourism industry.

David J. Sangree, MAI, CPA, ISHC was a speaker at the World Waterpark Association's 31st Annual Symposium and Tradeshow that took place October 2-5, 2011 in New Orleans, LA.

David J. Sangree, MAI, CPA, ISHC, was a panelist at a session discussing distressed hotel assets at the Midwest Lodging Investors Summit in Chicago on July 17-19, 2011. Click here to read an article that discusses the MLIS panel on distress that Mr. Sangree participated in and features quotes from several of the participants.

Eric B. Hansen recently spoke at the Cleveland meeting of the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association.  He presented a Cleveland hotel update with a focus on the downtown market and the several development projects currently in progress.

David J. Sangree, Eric B. Hansen, and Laura Sangree discussed the economics of hotels and waterparks with the children of the Lincoln Elementary School in Lakewood, OH.  During a field trip the H&LA office, the students learned about supply and demand, profit, and general economics.

David J. Sangree was named one of Aquatics International Magazine's "Power 25." Aquatics International publishes an annual list of professionals it deems the 25 most powerful people in the aquatics industry.
To read the article honoring Mr. Sangree click here.

The Appraisal Institute has appointed David Sangree to the editorial review board for the Appraisal Journal.

Waterpark Resort and Hotel Industry News

Overall Hotel Market: Hotel & Leisure Advisors' analysis indicates that the United States' hotel market in 2011 achieved improving occupancy and average daily rate levels in most cities with overall national averages showing improvements in both occupancy and average daily rate. We project continued improvement in 2012 throughout the United States with higher percentage gains for the upscale and luxury properties. New property openings of hotels will continue to be limited in 2012 because of the lack of financing available for new construction properties. This has especially affected larger resort properties, which have been unable to obtain financing to begin construction. Smaller chain-affiliated properties will continue to open in 2012, though at a lower rate than before 2009.

Jay Peak Resort in Jay, Vermont added an indoor waterpark to its four season resort campus in December 2011. In 2012, the resort will open a new hotel. The indoor waterpark features the only indoor Aqualoop by Whitewater in the United States as well as a double FlowRider surfing machine, indoor activity river, and multiple slides.

Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio constructed a $22 million, 115,000 square foot addition to its conference space, which opened in December 2011. The addition includes a 38,000 square foot grand ballroom/exposition center.

Splash Lagoon Indoor Waterpark in Erie, Pennsylvania added a large wave pool and additional rides to the existing 65,000 square foot indoor waterpark facility. The expansion opened in the fall 2011. The owners of Splash Lagoon purchased a nearby ski resort and are now offering packages including skiing and the indoor waterpark.

The Mount Olympus Water and Theme Park in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin purchased four nearby hotels and motels and have remodeled and themed these properties, which total 367 rooms. Guests at these properties now receive passes included in the room rate to utilize the indoor waterpark, outdoor waterpark, and amusement park.

The Evergreen Indoor Waterpark opened in June, 2011 in McMinnville, Oregon. It is one of only a few standalone indoor waterparks in the United States and has an actual 747 Boeing airplane located on the top of the waterpark from which various slides start. The recently opened waterpark is already a big hit with families and children in the Northwestern United States.

A number of properties have changed names and franchise flag affiliations during the past 12 months.  These include the former Holiday Inn with indoor waterpark in Elmhurst, Illinois, which is now a Waverton Hotel; the former Howard Johnson with indoor waterpark in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which is now Budget Host Suites; and the former Marriott CoCo Key indoor waterpark in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, which is now Hotel ML with CoCo Key Indoor Waterpark.

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