Hotels are racing to build indoor water parks, which offer family fun whatever the weather The beaches at the Lake Erie resort community of Sandusky, Ohio, are empty, the marina is closed, and the parks are covered in snow. But the Kalahari resort in town is packed. One of three hotels in Sandusky that have built indoor water parks to lure off-season tourists, the Kalahari offers four acres of rides and one million gallons of water under a giant high-tech plastic roof designed to allow visitors to sunbathe. As infants splash in a wading pool, teens careen through a giant…
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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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The amount of indoor and outdoor waterpark square footage will grow at a faster rate in 2014 than in any year since the Great Recession. Twelve indoor waterpark resorts or standalone indoor waterparks will be opened or expanded in 2014 compared to 9 in 2013. The projected 370,000 new indoor square feet in 2014 dwarfs the 68,000 indoor square feet added in 2013. Eight private outdoor waterparks are projected to open in 2014 compared to 5 in 2013.
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Numerous hotel owners are considering adding an indoor waterpark to their existing hotel as a way to boost occupancy levels and revenues at their property. How does one determine if this is a good idea? How much does it cost to add a waterpark to a property?
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You have your plans and reports in hand and are ready to start your indoor waterpark resort. Where does the money come from?
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The dam has broken and new places for waterplay are rising up everywhere. In the first decades of development, waterplay was limited to waterparks of three types: publicly owned aquatic centers, privately owned waterparks serving local markets, and large themed waterparks in major tourism destinations.
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The original premise of the waterpark resort hotel was to sell access to a great family amenity through high hotel rates. Today, that idea is adapting in ways we couldn’t have expected when it all began. It’s already transformed incrementally. For example, with more revenues from spas, food and beverage, and upgraded rooms, the waterpark is not necessarily the profit leader anymore.
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If you are just coming into the waterpark hotel business today or have been here awhile, it’s time to take a fresh look at the business model. The basic business model is adapting in ways we couldn’t have expected when it all began
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In this section we will review key areas to explore when considering adding a waterpark feature or developing a hotel waterpark from project inception.
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There are about 900 waterparks worldwide and nearly 400 of them are located in the USA. About 114 major waterparks in the USA have attendance over 200,000 visitors annually. Most of them are outdoor waterparks located in the Sunbelt states from California to Florida with some notable exceptions, such as the Wisconsin Dells. The Dells has 14 hotels with indoor waterparks. Some waterpark owners have built hotels adjacent to their parks. But now, there is a growing trend of building hotels with indoor waterparks that is significantly boosting occupancies, increasing revenues and extending peak season to year round.
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