H&LA News

David J. Sangree, MAI, CPA, ISHC was a speaker at the International Society of Hospitality Consultants conference which was held in Quebec City in early October. He was asked to participate in the ISHC Insights videos which can be viewed by clicking on the following links:
Video One
Video Two
Video Three

Mr. Sangree was a speaker at the World Waterpark Association annual conference held in Orlando at Walt Disney World, October 20-24. He spoke at the two day development workshop. His comments provided an overview of the indoor waterpark resort industry. Go to the Publications page to view his presentation.

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.

Eric B. Hansen, AIA ISHC, Director of Development Services, was a featured speaker at the 2008 OH&LA Annual Conference. The conference was titled "Lodging Innovation, Opening New Doors" and was held in Cincinnati on November 23-24, 2008. Mr. Hansen's presentation explored industry trends and innovations, and identified their value propositions and market differentiation characteristics. Here is a PowerPoint of Mr. Hansen's presentation.

H&LA was ranked the 10th largest hotel consulting firm on Hotel & Motel Management's 2008 Top Hotel Consultants Survey based on firm revenue in 2007. This ranking was out of 25 and appeared in the April, 2008 issue of Hotel Motel Management. To see a complete list of all the ranked firms click here.

David J. Sangree and Kalahari Resort President Todd Nelson were featured on CNBC in a story entitled "Water Wave of Profits" which highlighted the recent expansion of the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio. This feature focused on how waterpark resorts are one of the fastest growing segments in the multi-billion dollar vacation industry.
View the CNBC segment.

David J. Sangree was featured on Good Morning America on Saturday, June 23, 2007, in a segment about the growing popularity of waterpark resorts across the United States.  Mr. Sangree noted that waterpark resorts are extremely competitive with one another and that within the last five years there have been tremendous improvements in their technology and attractions.  You can view the Good Morning America segment entitled “Water Park Wars” at
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3309256.

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: The year 2009 will go into the record books as one of the most challenging years for hotels and resorts in recent decades.  The market endured a drop in both occupancy levels and average daily rates which caused one of the largest RevPAR declines in history.  Hotel & Leisure Advisors forecasts 2010 to show slight improvement for the national hospitality industry. We forecast overall occupancy levels to increase in many markets as the national economy starts to improve. We forecast overall average daily rates to be relatively flat from the previous year or achieve only slight improvement in some markets. 

Major changes occurred to a number of Midwestern indoor waterpark resorts in the fall of 2009.  The former Lodge at Cedar Creek in Wausau, Wisconsin, was purchased and reopened as the Grand Lodge by Stoney Creek in early 2010. The Keylime Cove Resort in Gurnee, Illinois, was foreclosed on by the lender in late 2009 but continues to operate in a normal fashion.  The Sheraton CocoKey Arlington Heights in suburban Chicago closed in late December 2009 after having been open for only three years. 

The Hope Lake Lodge opened in Cortland, New York, in December of 2009 as part of the Greek Peak Ski Resort.  This indoor waterpark resort includes 150 hotel rooms primarily owned as condominium units.  The property includes a midsized indoor waterpark, restaurant, lounge, spa, meeting space, and fitness center.  It is offering packages inclusive of skiing and usage of the indoor waterpark throughout the year.

Openings: New property openings for both hotels and indoor waterpark resort properties will be severely curtailed in 2010 due to the financing crisis in 2009 which greatly reduced the amount of available construction financing.  This has especially affected larger resort properties that have been unable to obtain financing to begin construction.  Smaller chain-affiliated properties will continue to open in 2010, though at a lower rate than previous years.

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• Insightful feasibility and impact analysis
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• Expertise with hotels, outdoor and indoor waterparks, amusement parks, resorts, conference and convention centers, golf courses, ski resorts, restaurants and other leisure real estate
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