14 Hotel Waterpark Resorts Coming in 2015! The big news is that two major hotel waterpark resorts, Kalahari Waterpark Resort and Camelback Mountain Resort, have opened in the Pocono Mountains, giving new life to the familiar destination. Hotel developers and waterpark lovers alike are watching for the excitement to unfold this year — as brand names, like Lego, Nashville, Dollywood, Schlitterbahn, Kalahari, Courtyard and Norwegian Cruise Lines open new properties and add to existing ones. New hotel waterpark construction is upward bound. Twenty-seven hotel waterpark resorts are estimated to open in 2016.
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Before a developer or organization considers construction of a new indoor or outdoor waterpark resort and/or outdoor waterpark, the mortgage lender and investors generally require a feasibility study. A feasibility study is typically performed by an independent third-party consultant who specializes in analyzing the performance of waterpark and hotel projects. The purpose for performing the feasibility study is to determine if the proposed waterpark development is economically feasible. A proposed project is economically feasible if the value of the proposed project equals or exceeds the development costs when completed and operational. The feasibility study will analyze revenues, expenses, and net…
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The waterpark industry continues to grow and thrive. Waterparks have proven themselves as fun, safe, and much desired vacation destinations for families with children. In an effort to select a vacation with children’s interests in mind, more families look to waterpark resorts to provide a true family vacation experience that has something for everyone to enjoy.
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Developers and waterpark-loving families alike are watching for the excitement to unfold this year — as brand names, like Lego, Nashville, Dollywood, Kalahari, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Genting open new properties and add to existing ones.
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January 6, 2015 — Nineteen (19) hotel waterpark resort projects opened in the USA during 2014, a 7.5% increase over last year. This compares with 25 in 2013, 20 in 2012 and the record high of 40 in 2007. Twelve (12) projects were brand names such as Lego, Great Wolf, Royal Caribbean, Ramada and Four Seasons and 7 projects were independent owner projects. Seven (7) projects were all new openings, and 12 were additions or conversions of existing properties.
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Successful resort development has evolved over the decades through a series of strategies that added WOW to the guest experience. Today’s hotel guest is looking for an experience, not just the same old amenities. Meeting planners are looking for resorts that offer a unique on-site experience so they can avoid the hassle and cost of arranging vans to transport attendees to off-site locations. A growing number of resort owners “get it” and are leading the way. And now we are seeing another major trend in resort development — the emergence of Adventure Parks & Resorts. Innovators, sporting enthusiasts and entrepreneurs…
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A white paper about safety and insurance considerations when deciding to install water amusements in your hotel. Recognized expert in the field of waterpark safety issues and insurance. The strong trend to add water amenities in hotels is causing hotel owners everywhere ask questions about slides and waterparks while they look for ways to head off competition from a new waterpark being built nearby or to gain a competitive advantage over local rivals. The two most common options are to add a slide to an existing pool, or to expand through new construction of a waterpark.From a cost perspective, the…
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If you’re planning to add an indoor waterpark to your existing hotel or start from scratch with a new construction project, like the Kalahari Resort or Great Wolf Lodge at Wisconsin Dells, you may want to get the experts involved early. Did you hear the one about the guy who built a yacht in his basement and then had to tear down his house to get the boat out? Well, it can be the same problem in reverse when you’re building an indoor waterpark. Many times, you have to build the water structure first – — you know, the waterslides and the treehouse. Then…
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At a recent conference I asked a panel of great waterpark hotel designers “What Waterpark elements appeal to adults” their answers were okay but I could tell they weren’t really interested. In fact the last guy on the panel, one of the lions of waterpark design simply said “they’ve all answered” and looked to move on. I was baffled, why is it that no one believes that we can have a successful adult oriented indoor water park? Though we’re a young industry, the waterpark industry is slow to challenge our own assumptions. Why just a dozen years ago few believed…
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Within the past five years, a new concept has developed: the water park resort, a pairing of lodging facilities with an indoor water park. The concept was conceived in the Wisconsin Dells, when the Polynesian Resort added indoor water features, in an attempt to improve that property’s occupancy rates. The project was an immediate success and other properties quickly followed suit with indoor water features of their own. At last count, there were 18 properties in the Dells with some type of indoor water features. In addition, some 30 water park resorts have been developed in other parts of Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest. The…
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