RESORT & CLUB MANAGEMENT

CHAPTER 1 Resorts : An Introduction

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RESORT?
Any place or places with pleasant environment and atmosphere conducive to comfort, healthful relaxation and rest, offering food, sleeping accomodation and recreational facilities to the public for a fee (definition per DOT Rules on Accreditation) Elements of a resort 1. Recreational facilities that draw guests to the facility 2. Housing and Food & Beverage services that cater to people away from home 3. Activities to occupy guests during their stay

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HISTORY OF RESORTS
To understand where the resort industry is today, it is important to consider how resorts have evolved through the ages. A historical perspective leads to a picture of the modern types of resorts.

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Roman Empire: Baths

The origin of resorts can be traced back to the second century B.C. to the public baths of Rome. The first baths were small, modest and separated the genders. Eventually, the baths became larger, more elaborate and were opened to both men and women. These baths were large buildings built at the publics expense. Some were even built by wealthy emperors who wanted to make a statement. Most baths were free but few had small entrance fees. Baths were much like resorts of today because of all the amenities offered at their location. After bathing there was always plenty to do. Most baths included gyms, libraries, snack bars, restaurants, shops, lounges, taverns, museums and theatres. The facilities were used for health and social purposes

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Europe: Mass Follows Class

The first noteworthy resort area was developed in Belgium in 1326 in a town now called Spa. An ironmaster, named Colin le Loup, was cured of a long-term illness when he bathed in the iron-rich waters near Liege. He opened a shelter there and the town surged in popularity. Spa means fountain. The popularity of spas and resorts in England is a result of King Charles II visiting trendy hot spots in the 1600s. Today, royalty and superstars still seem to set trends of where the best places to go are. Many English spas are unique because they have gambling and dancing. Spas also became popular because of the medical benefits that were attributed to them such as waters that were rich in certain minerals and could cure ailments

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The Swiss resort industry was developed in the 1800s to aid the need of private resort facilities for more prosperous people. At the time, travel was not simple. People who traveled to resorts stayed for long periods of time up to two months to get the best value for their travel expenses. This led to resort facilities being built to accommodate a guest better than your average inn. Hotel Baur au Lac, built in Zurich, was the first resort to utilize the value of a scenic view. At first, Switzerland resorts were seen as summer places, but soon skiing became popular as well as gambling

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North America: Spas

Like Europe, North American hotels were developed around spas in the late 1800s. The first resorts were built first in the east in Virginia, New York and West Virginia. Shortly after, seaside resorts became popular. It was not until later that beach resorts were built in the south and mountain-based resorts were developed out west. The first luxury resort was built in 1829 in Boston. It was called the Tremont House and featured bellboys, gaslights instead of candles and marble and private rooms with locks for each family. The first big hotel was built by Gideon Putman in Saratoga Springs, New York centered around the hot sulfur spa there

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MANAGEMENT STRUCTURES OF RESORTS

To understand where the resort industry is today, it is important to consider how resorts have evolved through the ages. A historical perspective leads to a picture of the modern types of resorts.

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JOB DESCRIPTION IN RESORTS

Resorts all around the world offer various types of jobs within their establishments, so let's take some time to look at the different types of positions that are available that you can apply for.
You will learn about the skills you need to be a great resort worker and what you might need to work on a bit more before you apply for any resort job. You will find that most of the resort employment does not require much in terms of skills, other than to be very friendly and personable. You will also find that if you have any previous hospitality experience it will be beneficial to you securing a higher paying job, but most resort jobs are offered with no previous experience and employers often provide on the job training anyway.

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RESORT MANAGER
Resort managers are responsible for maintaining resort lodgings, supplies, hospitality services and event offerings. Though no degree is required to become a resort manager, the experience and education gained through attending a hospitality management degree program can be beneficial.
Resort managers oversee all resort staff members, from front desk clerks to janitorial services. Depending on the size of a resort, the resort manager may have several assistant managers helping to cover all needs of the facility. Typical job duties of resort managers include reviewing finances, overseeing hiring practices, holding meetings with the facility's various department heads, greeting and interacting with resort guests and checking on necessary supplies in various sectors of the resort.

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Responsibilities Because resort managers are responsible for the day-to-day running of a lodging facility, they must have a broad vision of the facility as well as an attention to detail. From knowing the number of poolside towels that are in stock, to recruiting, hiring and training new staff members, resort managers must keep track of all aspects of running a resort.

Resorts can vary as to the types of recreation, entertainment, dining facilities and tourist attractions they offer. Because of this, resort managers may specialize in a particular brand of entertainment and amenities.

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ACCOUNTANT RESORT JOBS

Working as an accountant at a resort will require a certain level of hospitality knowledge, but more importantly you will need to be qualified in an accountancy field as a CPA, or Certified Public Accountant.You will need to follow the hotel and resorts accounting principles as set out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and earn your CPA License before you can apply for any accounting jobs at a resort or hotel.

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FOODSERVICE RESORT JOBS

The food service industry comprises of various jobs including that of chef, baker, waiters, bartenders, dishwashers, bussers, food and beverage managers and more.

The food service staff are required to serve food and drinks to the guests whether it is at the resort restaurant, to their rooms when requested, at the resort bar, or poolside. The food service staff must make sure that the guests have a top class dining experience at all times, from the kitchen through to the dining room.

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FRONT DESK RESORT JOBS

Front desk jobs are all positions related to the front desk where guests check in and out of the resort, including receptionists, registrars, and information clerks. These employees are the vital link between the guests and the rest of the hotel staff. Any requests or problems that guests have come through the front desk and the personnel there must distribute the information accordingly, whether it is to book a dining room reservation, order room service, report a room repair, or process payments through the accounts department.

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MAINTENANCE STAFF RESORT JOBS

The maintenance staff headed by the maintenance manager or maintenance supervisor and includes grounds men and repairmen who are required to fix anything that might not be functioning properly at the hotel and providing regular overall maintenance checks.
This could be in the guests' rooms, or in any of the public facilities, as well as outdoors. Jobs could involve changing light bulbs, unblocking drains, fixing window and doors, painting, and much more. It is beneficial to have certain licenses for these jobs.

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HOUSEKEEPING RESORT JOBS

The housekeeping department is made up of various staff members including the executive housekeeper, assistant housekeepers, housekeeping members, and linen porters. These jobs provide the guests with that relaxing, luxurious vacation experience that comes from fresh linen each day and spotless rooms. Housekeeping also refers to the cleaning of the public areas of a resort including the toilets, lounges and lobby.

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GUEST SERVICE RESORT JOBS

Guest services entail all jobs where guests require direct service for any of the resort facilities. These jobs include the doorman, bellhop, valet parking attendant, and concierge and are there to provide the resort and hotel guests with unique service giving them an excellent first impression of the resort and for assistance with anything during their stay.

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LIFE GUARD RESORT JOBS

The lifeguard jobs not only apply to the lifeguard on duty at the resort swimming pools, but are also hired to watch over swimmers that access the nearby beaches and rivers. Lifeguards are an important employee to have at any resort as they will look after the guests and keep them safe

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SECURITY RESORT JOBS

To remain a safe place for guests and employees, resorts hire security staff to ensure that everything is run smoothly and that everyone is safe. This can extend from checking ID's at the resort bar to patrolling the grounds at night to prevent thefts. Depending on the size of the resort hotel or amusement park, a team of security personnel will be hired including the manager, patrol guards, entrance guards, and security room operators.

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LODGING OPERATION
Nine Types of Lodging Operations 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Classic hotels Resorts Spas Convention hotels Motels and motor hotels Condominium hotels Residential hotels and service apartments Casino hotels and resorts All-suite hotels

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TYPES OF RESORTS
By seasonality: Year-round resort Summer resort Winter resort By form of ownership: Conventional Syndicate Interval/timeshare Condo resort Vacation club Luxury destination club By designation: Spa resort Golf resort Ski resort Guest ranch Diving resort Fishing resort Marina resort Casino resort Conference resort Camp-site Eco resort Theme park resort
By location: Urban resort Beach or seaside resort Lake resort Mountain resort Island resort Desert resort Tropical rainforest resort (sensitive and restrictive) Farm-related

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By size: Mega-resort Characterized by size of property and size of investment that reaches billions of dollars. 3,000 rooms with multiple golf courses and other recreational facilities. Their size requires the entire property to be zoned into smaller geographical areas

By size: Boutique resort Characterized by a smaller level of development 100-200 room size. Despite their size, they can be very lucrative investments especially those that are classified as luxury botique resorts. (Villa Feltrinelli by Lake Garda)

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Others: All-inclusive resort Mixed-use resort Themed/fantasy (storyline) Floating (cruise ships)

All inclusive Total vacation packages that includes transportation to and from the resort. Based on the model created by Club Med All inclusive resorts can be found in Mexico, Carribean, Bahamas and Bermuda. Popular with families because of the convenience it provides. Costs in this type are all upfrontno hidden charges. More profitable to sell for TMCs.

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Mixed use A real estate project with planned integration of some combination of retail, office, residential, hotel, recreation or other functions. It is pedestrian oriented and contains elements of a livework-play environment. It maximizes spaced usage and has amenities and architectural expression and tends to mitigate traffic and sprawl.

Mixed use These have hotels that serve as the center piece of a customer friendly leisure work environment. Attracts offices, shopper traffic for retail stores, buyers for timeshares, players for recreational activities and others for purposes beyond the hotels own purpose.

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Themed Resorts: Can take many forms but limited by human imagination. Can be based on different shows, ideas and themes. Storyline resorts are classified under this type. A story is created which is used as the theme of the entire resort as it is developed.

Floating Resorts Includes Cruise Ships, Casino Riverboats or structures over water that are moored or otherwise attached to land. Most current cruise ships are floating resorts in the truest sense boasting stacked towers of facilities and accommodations.

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INDUSTRY TREND
Health Spas and Fitness Facilities Soft Adventure Programs Gaming Ecotourism

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Q&A sessions
THE end

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