Newsletter – July 2008 – Article 2

Indoor Waterparks: Surfing a Wave in North America in ‘08

By:  David J. Sangree, MAI, CPA, ISHC

Indoor waterpark resorts have continued to expand throughout North America with 107 open facilities in the United States and an additional 14 open facilities in Canada as of June, 2008.  There are  4,138,150 indoor aquatic square feet and  31,865 hotel rooms associated with indoor waterparks as of June, 2008.  This family-oriented resort segment has established itself as a viable segment of the travel industry and has expanded well beyond its original Wisconsin base. By the end of 2008, 26 states and five provinces will have at least one indoor waterpark resort.  The number of indoor waterparks has grown significantly since their inception in the early 1980s, and the average number of hotel rooms attached to these waterparks has also increased substantially over the years.  Between 1998 and 2007 in the United States and Canada, 96 indoor waterpark resorts opened either as new construction properties or as additions to existing hotels.   The following table shows the number of waterpark resorts and square feet of indoor waterparks that opened in the U.S. and Canada from 1998 to 2007.

The following chart indicates the number of hotel rooms and the square feet of indoor waterpark space for indoor waterpark resorts during the period 1998 to 2007 for the U.S. and Canada.

Hotel & Leisure Advisors (H&LA) defines an indoor waterpark resort as a lodging establishment containing an aquatic facility with a minimum of 10,000 square feet of indoor waterpark space and inclusive of amenities such as slides, tubes, and a variety of indoor water play features. Although numerous hotels bill their indoor pools as waterparks, those with less than 10,000 square feet of aquatic area should be categorized as hotels with water features rather than as waterparks.  H&LA divides indoor waterpark resorts into two categories:

• Indoor waterpark destination resort

• Hotel with indoor waterpark

A hotel with indoor waterpark is a hotel with an attached indoor waterpark with 10,000 to 30,000 square feet of indoor waterpark space where the indoor waterpark serves as an amenity to the hotel versus a true destination. An indoor waterpark destination resort is a resort with  30,000 square feet or more of indoor waterpark space and is considered a true destination resort that families visit on a year round basis primarily to visit the waterpark and secondarily because of other attractions or events in the area.  The following table summarizes our supply analysis of indoor waterpark resorts.

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