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Children at resorts
Children at Resorts: Customer Service at its Best Many successful resorbs have discovered that developing programs for children is a natural service extension and makes great business sense by James C. Makens RESORTS AND CHILDREN have much in common. Both are dedicated to having fun. That’s why many successful resorts worldwide have discovered that developing programs for kids is a natural service extension and makes great business sense. Think about it: if kids are happy (and exhausted at the end of the day), parents will be thrilled. Also, youngsters have a habit of growing into adults and returning to places that filled their childhood memo0 1992, Cornell University
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ries with giggles and smiles. Disney is into a third generation of happy kids and there is no end in sight. Before you assume that such simple logic is easy to translate into action and hire “Happy the Clown” as a primary draw to your resort, think again. Things have gotten complicated. Competitors’ marketing strategies, societal change, and uptight adults eager to litigate have changed the rules. This article discusses many of the dos and don’ts regarding programs for children learned from the experience of those in the international resort industry, based on 17 research interviews. 25
A Growing Market “Children used to be a rare sight in hotels, but not anymore,” reports Darryl Hartley-Leonard, president of Hyatt Hotels Corporation. “In the last several years, we have seen an increasing number of children staying at Hyatt on vacations, on weekends, and even with their parents who are traveling on business.” Hartley-Leonard attributes the increase to travel-oriented baby James C. Makens, Ph.D., is a professor at the Babcock Graduate School of Management, Wake Forest University.
Omni Sagamore’s Children’s Program The Omni Sagamore’s children’s program, the Teepee Club, was initiated in 1985 and has grown at rates of 25-30 percent per year. In 1991, more than 3,000 children visited the Sagamore and twice as many children were on hand on Labor Day 1991 as had ever before been present for that holiday weekend. The property itself is a Mobil fourstar and AAA four-diamond resort situated on a private 70-acre island in Lake George, located in New York State’s Adirondack Mountains. The Sagamore is an Omni Classic Resort. Availability. The Teepee Club is available seven days a week from July 1 until Labor Day. At all other times the program is available on weekends, holidays, and for groups upon request. (A special New Year’s Eve celebration for children is a major event and grows larger and becomes more popular each year.) The typical children’s day runs from 9:00 AM until 9:00 PM, with every minute filled with some activity suitable for different age groups. Design. The program is designed not only to entertain children but also to educate them. Each day has a different theme with its own special activities-for instance, “Western Day’ may involve dressing up as cowboys and cowgirls and going on a surrey ride, while “Pirate Day” is a chance to play a game of walk-the-plank. The Sagamore takes care to meet the special needs of children. As noted in the main text, the dining room features a kid-size buffet, and one might say the tables and chairs are built in the Goldilocks style, that is, they fit just right. Balloons, coloring books, crayons, and other props at the table make sitting down an adventure in itself. The Teepee Club is constantly being improved and revamped, particularly as the result of successful experiments. For example, the Sagamore’s dinner option, a relatively new idea, is growing in popularity among those adults who bring children to the resort. The Sagamore provides a pick-up service for kids, thereby allowing parents the uncommon luxury to enjoy dessert and coffee at their leisure, while the children take part in the evening program.
The Omni Sagamore, on Sagamore Island in upstate New York, developed its children’s program around the special needs of kids-such as small-size furnishings and a diversity of activities. Marketing. Managers at the Sagamore report that the resort’s sales force aggressively promotes the Teepee Club, especially to meeting planners and other groupbusiness organizers. Nevertheless, they admit that word-of-mouth and free publicity through published stories have sewed as its “promotional foundation.” Staffing and budget. A permanent, full-time director of social activities heads the program and supervises the summer’s full-time staff of ten. During the off season, part-time staff members are employed as required by the number of children guests. The Sagamore’s Teepee Club is not run as a profit center and it does not have its own budget. Appropriations are divided between rooms and the food and beverage departments. The fee charged to guests for using the children’s program is $15.00 for the day program for one child and $10.00 for additional children from the same family. In the evening, the program is complimentary to guests paying for the resorts modified American plan; there is a $10.00 per-child fee for those guests staying on the European plan.-f.L.C. 26
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boomers who are now having families and want to bring their kids along. He said two-career couples who have limited time during the work week look to weekend getaways and holiday vacations as a way to bring the family closer together. “Parents we polled said they want to bring the children along, but they also want some free time alone to play tennis, a game of golf, or share a quiet dinner,” said Hartley-Leonard. The Omni Sagamore typifies the dramatic growth in children who are guests at resorts. During the two-year period 1989-1991 the Omni witnessed a growth from about 50 guest children per day to 130. Design
for Behavior
The design of physical structures for children must match known behavior and desired outcomes. The majority of children at a resort at any given time have never before seen each other, may not speak a common language, and may exhibit different degrees of maturity. A welcome center designed to encourage mixing rather than aloofness can immediately help break down barriers. Industry observers often credit Club Med for leading the way in this area.
Match Programs to the Resort Create programs that clearly match the character and purpose of your resort. Programs that work on board a cruise ship may be a flop in Vail or Cancun. l When appropriate, develop programs around the character, history, and culture of the resort community. Steamboat Springs, Colorado, has a western-cowboy culture and is different from Aspen or Sun Valley. The personality of Steamboat is personified by skier Billy Kidd, an Olympic star who is never THE CORNELL
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seen on the slopes without his cowboy hat. Beware, however, that attempts to force kids into a radically different culture have generally met with resistance or refusal to participate. Be judicious in what you incorporate from the local scene. Children may enjoy participating in Billy Kidd’s western antics but might despise the exotic atmosphere of foreign resorts. . Design your corporate philosophy and mission statement so that these programs become part of the culture of the resort itself rather than add-on appendages.
EXHIBIT 1 1992 family-travel patterns Go
WHY THEY Go
WHERE THEY
Travelers whose most recent vacation trip in the past year was with children cited the following as “very important” motivations.
Family vacationers who intend to travel this year with children are planning the following activities.
92%
82% 73% 43% 42%
31% 18%
Being together as a family Getting away from stress at home and work Finding rest and relaxation Enjoying exciting and new experiences Visiting friends, relatives Learning about new places, people Being physically active Being pampered, indulging in luxury
60%
Ocean, beach vacation
51% 49% 41% 40%
Vist historical sites Visit theme parks, attractions Visit a lake Adventure vacation (camping, hiking) City vacation, resort vacation Overseas vacation, Canadian vacation Ski vacation Cruise vacation Mexican vacation Other
33% 13% 12% 11% 10% 7%
Professional Staff A professional staff is a prerequisite to success. A full-time, salaried staff is essential. Directors and other permanent staff commonly have degrees in higher education such as primary education, recreation management, nursing, and child guidance. Look for mature and dedicated professionals who want to become part of the resort’s management team and the community, but shy away from ski and surf bums. Increasingly, resorts are being developed in nations that have cultures quite different from the guests’ native culture. This can pose difficult problems in finding suitable professional managers. For example, consider that today’s children from affluent families often think and behave quite differently from those children who grew up near the resort. An expatriate director is probably required in such cases. The common experience of resorts with well-meaning but culturally different “local” directors has been unfortunate. One such example involves a Western resort-hotel chain that hired a well-qualified “local” director for an overseas operation. AUGUST
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SOURCE:The Wall Street Journal, April 15, 1992, p. Bl Findings based on a survey by the U.S. Travel Data Center for Better Homes and Gardens magazine, January 1992.
The new director was fluent in English and seemingly familiar with Western culture. While this individual was able to work effectively with Western adults, he expected Eastern discipline and respect from all children. As a result, Western children viewed the director as dictatorial, singleminded, and an impediment to fun. In turn, the director viewed the children as disrespectful, spoiled, self-centered, and uninterested in the centuries-old customs of his culture. Overall, it was a frustrating and disappointing experience for everyone involved. l Include the manager of the children’s program as part of the resort’s management group. This individual should participate in management sessions dealing with problems and strategies affecting the entire enterprise. Managers of children’s programs must be viewed as equivalent to other directors, such as those who are in charge of F&B, operations, reservations, engineering, and sales. 27
. Create career-enrichment programs for managers of children’s programs. This also applies to those who direct adult-recreation and sportfitness programs. Low morale and the subsequent loss of valuable employees often occur when talented individuals desire growth but discover they are barred from consideration as “management material” or from corporate positions because they do not have the appropriate education, background, or training.
Untrained and Untitled, But.. . College degrees and training are no substitute for the person who loves kids and can think at their level. Big Sam, at the Regent of Fiji, is such a person. Big Sam. No university ever taught this giant of a man to gather a basket of frogs and to laugh and cheer as the race gets underway. Professional training wasn’t needed to give him patience with slightly awkward children who have trouble mastering
The Smugglers’ Notch Children’s Program In the summer of 1976, Smugglers’ Notch began its summer programs by offering family packages that allowed adults to visit the Olympic Games in nearby Montreal while leaving their children behind in the resort’s daycamp program. After the 1976 Olympics the concept and the program itself grew slowly at first, but in 1991 more than 6,000 children were guests of the resorts camp program. Smugglers’ Notch is a comprehensive family resort surrounded by the Mount Mansfield State Forest in northern Vermont. Among its facilities is a new, $lmillion child-care center. Readers of Family Circle magazine voted Smugglers’ Notch the number-one family ski resort in the country in 1991, and the property has received Family Circle’s “family resort of the year” award for three years in a row and was selected by USA Today as one of five of America’s “exceptional children’s programs.” Availability. The Smugglers’ Notch day camp and ski camp are seasonal programs. Day-long programs are available seven days a week for ages six weeks to seventeen years from early June until early September and from Thanksgiving until early April. Design. The Smugglers’ Notch day-camp program is based on the concepts of outdoor education. The idea is to show the children natural environments that they rarely see. The development of the summer program grew from the success of a wintertime children’s ski school. While ski instruction is the winter program’s focus, experts from the Vermont Institute of Natural Sciences teach youngsters about the winter environment and ecology. Both the summer and winter programs stress socialization skills through group activities, and year-round the emphasis is on safety, fun, and learning. Once the day is over and children rejoin their families, the resort provides an array of activities that all family members can participate in
The Smugglers’ Notch day-camp program is based on the concepts of outdoor education-for instance, natural-history outings (pictured in the top photo) are a popular pastime. At Smugglers’ Notch, all the recreational programs stress fun, learning, and age-appropriate activities. together, including board games and card games, tournaments, festivals, bingo, and campfire sing-alongs. The recreational activities are at the center of the resort’s programming, whether for adults or children. The resort’s facilities include three interconnected mountains of skiing with snowmaking, two swimming pools, three water slides, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, miniature golf, horseback
riding, nature trails, an extensive ropes course, hot tubs and saunas, and many other types of outdoor games such as volleyball, horseshoes, and shuffleboard. Marketing. The marketing of all the children’s programs is done primarily through three different departments: family vacations, group vacations, and real estate. All three departments sell packages that include lodging, meal plans, ski tickets, and recreational programming (for both adults and children). Each departments marketing plans involve various tactics, including direct mail, print and broadcast media, public relations, and the use of video (in response to inquiries). Repeat business is extremely important and therefore is the major focus of the resort’s “We want you back” guest-service employee-training initiative. By 1988, the camp program was so popular and successful that Smugglers’ Notch established an assurance program, which became known as “Fun for Kids, Freedom for Parents.. .Guaranteed.” That program is still in existence today and allows any parent whose child did not have fun at the Smugglers’ Notch day camp to receive their money back, no questions asked. (A portion of the price of a family package is allocated to establish a value for the kids’ programs, approximately $35.00 per day.) Staffing and budget. Five fulltime managers are in charge of the overall children’s program and they are assisted by more than a dozen supervisory staff members. When in full swing, the day camp employs a total of 150 individuals. Both the ski school and the activities departments operate on a break-even budget, with large revenue allocations from the resort’s different marketing depattments. At Smugglers’ Notch, children three years of age and older may participate in the day camp for free (there is a small day-care fee for infants younger than three years old).-Peter Delaney, Director of Resort Services, Smugglers’ Notch.
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volleyball or wind surfing. Don’t forget the “Big Sams” of this world when it comes to filling positions. They can’t constitute the body of your staff but they may very well serve as its heart-or its head. Seasonal staff. Fortunately, many resorts are able to attract sufficient numbers of qualified, seasonal staff members through the magnetic pull of the natural attractions in the area. Medical doctors, ministers, nurses, teachers on sabbatical, and a variety of other professionals ranging from stockbrokers to geologists temporarily reside in resort areas. Medical students and recently graduated physicians sometimes desire the experience of working with children prior to specializing in pediatrics. The ease or difficulty of recruiting depends upon the economy. Recession years are banner times for recruiting, but don’t forsake establishing long-term relationships and contacts simply because a lot of talented individuals are knocking at your door. Reserve several openings for students from colleges and universities where recruiting should occur on an annual basis. Look for individuals who have a desire and the personality to become permanent employees. Many schools have internship programs in which students are encouraged to leave their formal studies for a semester or more to gain on-the-job experience. Managers of successful kids’ programs are in agreement that it is mandatory to check thoroughly the references and resumes of all applicants. They also agree that at least one personal interview is essential prior to hiring. While all resorts will draw their share of quality applicants, the unfortunate truth is that pedophiles and other individuals with behavioral disorders may be attracted to such programs. This means requesting a AUGUST
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criminal check for anyone whom you’re seriously considering hiring. It’s also not a bad idea to check credit references. Individuals with bad credit records may have other problems as well, and you may want to inquire about those. The interview process at Smugglers’ Notch Resort, in Vermont, includes a mandatory eight-hour training program with no guarantee of employment. Applicants willingly participate since the experience is considered an asset and therefore greatly enhances their chances of being hired elsewhere in the area in the event they should not be hired at Smugglers’ Notch. This eight-hour program includes a ropes course and every applicant is observed by several Smugglers’ Notch staff members who are looking for signs of leadership, interpersonal skills, physical stamina, and other personal characteristics.’ Train, train, train. When asked to identify success factors, Peter Delaney, director of resort services at Smugglers’ Notch, said, “Train, train, train.” This sentiment is echoed throughout the industry but nowhere more than at ski resorts. Ski resorts are the fortunate recipients of training by the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA). This organization provides instruction, testing, and certification of ski instructors who want to teach children. PSIA is an intensive program that requires expertise in skiing but goes far beyond just the mastery of skiing style and techniques. For example, candidates for accreditation by the PSIA are judged on their knowledge of at ‘A “ropes course” can involve hundred’s of different physical-training situations involving different ropes used in a variety of manners, such as stretched between trees or across a canyon, or suspended just a few feet off the ground. This type of training is most common among military and security organizations and is used to measure physical strength, self confidence. and teamwork skills.
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least three subjects: (1) children, (2) the cognitive and physical development of children aged three to twelve, and (3) movement analysis related to how kids ski. Once certified, instructors are expected to prepare lesson plans and to continue their training. Individuals who wish to serve as instructors in this program are required to take additional training and tests at their expense before qualifying as Junior Educational Training Staff (JETS). Partnership training. Smugglers’ Notch is typical of children’s programs that have cooperative training programs with other organizations. Insurance carriers for this resort provide updated training twice per year based on information these companies have discovered by working with the industry. A question-and-answer session is an important part of the training for both parties. The Steamboat Ski and Resort Company offers cardiopulmonaryresuscitation (CPR) courses through a local college, and training with the National Ski Patrol is continuous at all ski resorts. Environmental training programs by organizations such as the Vermont Institute of Natural Science enhance the expertise and sensibility of staff members. Training in child-abuse recognition is also being added at resorts. Staff members are instructed to report suspected instances of such abuse despite predictable embarrassment and the possibility of lawsuits.
Personal Evaluation and Review Employees of kids’ programs must be regularly evaluated and reviewed against predetermined norms. The fact that this area is new and different from other traditional departments, such as F&B, is sufficient reason to double
Camp Hyatt Camp Hyatt began in 1987 at the suggestion of an employee at Hyatt’s Scottsdale, Arizona, resort. Soon after its creation, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Hyatt President Darryl Hartley-Leonard visited the program with his own son and, apparently liking what he saw, began pushing for the program company wide. Camp Hyatt was officially introduced in 1989, and there are now Camp Hyatts at more than 100 Hyatt hotels and resorts in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. Camp Hyatt is among the most comprehensive programs in the hotel industry for families traveling with children, and it offers the industry’s only frequent-stay program for kids (after four separate visits, the children’s frequent-stay points may be redeemed for Camp Hyatt merchandise). In June of this year, Hyatt launched yet another industry first with its vacation program for teenagers. Dubbed “Rock Hyatt,” the program is designed for teens who, while traveling with their families, desire some free time and a chance to meet other teenagers. (See page 95 for details of the Rock Hyatt program.) Availability. Camp Hyatt is a year-round program. In addition to the basic Camp Hyatt program, supervised daytime and evening camp programs are offered daily at 16 Hyatt resorts from 9:00 AM until 11:OOPM during summers and holiday periods, and on weekends only the rest of the year. Children three to twelve years of age are eligible to participate. Design. At Hyatt hotels, Camp Hyatt is not a supervised, day-care-type program, although hotel staff members are available to help parents arrange for outside baby-sitting services. Fee-based, supervised activity programs are available only at Hyatt resorts. Camp Hyatt is essentially an amenity designed to make children feel welcome and to assist parents in accommodating children’s age-specific needs. Upon check-in, children receive a welcome packet that includes a Camp Hyatt passport, a registration card, room-service menu and activity book, and Camp Hyatt cap. (The passport is stamped each time children check into a Hyatt hotel or resort. After collecting a required number of stamps, the child can redeem the passport for Camp Hyatt merchandise.) In addition, a supply of games from which kids may borrow is kept at the concierge desk or guestservice center. Special features and activities vary among the 16 Hyatt resorts offering supervised camp programs, but each camp offers a variety of hourly activities such as recreational sports, environmental-awareness activities, hula-dancing lessons, and museum tours. Hyatt’s most comprehensive children’s facility is on Maui at the Grand Hyatt Wailea, a resort that opened in September 1991. That resort features a 20,000~square-foot children’s center complete with a movie theater with 60 kid-size seats, a children’s restaurant, computer learning center, craft room with pottery wheels and kilns, video room, and a spa and health program just for children. Children’s menus are offered in virtually all of Hyatt’s restaurants and through room service, and children’s
young guestSfeel welcome and to assist parents in accommodating children’s age-specific needs. Feebased, supervised activity programs are available at 16 Hyatt resorts. At Hyatt hotels, supervised, day-caretype programs are not available, although hotel staff members are available to help parents arrange for outside baby-sitting services. portions of regular menu items are available for half price (kids’ menu prices are generally under $3.00 for breakfast and $5.00 or less for lunch and dinner). Outside baby-sitting services are available at all Hyatt hotels and resorts. Marketing. In 1989, Hyatt began advertising its children’s programs with a $&million campaign in six major markets that was a spin-off of the company’s ongoing resort commercials. Hyatt continues to spend a lot of money on paid advertising, and also relies heavily on public-relations efforts that have gained the attention of family-oriented magazines, the popular press, and such business publications as the Wall Street Journal. Direct mail is a major factor in Camp Hyatt marketing. Both adults and children who have stayed at Hyatt properties receive mailings about the program, and children who have participated in Camp Hyatt anywhere receive the quarterly Camp Hyatt newsletter. In addition, every child who completes and returns a Camp Hyatt registration card receives a birthday postcard that can be redeemed for a free ice cream sundae at any Hyatt restaurant. Marketing incentives include discounted room rates under prescribed conditions, so that families traveling with children may purchase a second room at half the price of the parents’ room. As always, children aged 18 years or under may stay free in existing bed space in their parents’ room. Staffing and budget. At Hyatt hotels, the Camp Hyatt program is managed by guest-services employees. At Hyatt resorts, a Camp Hyatt coordinator manages the program, and camp staff members-all over the age of 21-are hired so as to maintain a ratio of about one staff person for every four children. The Camp Hyatt amenity package at hotels is free of charge. Allocating the costs of running the program is left to each individual property. At the supervised resort programs, fees are charged based on the number of activities in which a child participates. The charges are approximately $5.00 per child per hour or $30.00 per child per day, meals included, and costs not covered by the fees are allocated on an individual-property basis.-/XC.
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the effort to “do it right.” The enormity of the responsibility facing resorts with kids’ programs justifies going beyond normal procedures. All employees at Steamboat Ski and Resort Company facilities are given formal mid-season and endof-year evaluations in addition to constant, ongoing feedback by supervisors. They are evaluated on attendance, punctuality, guest relations, policy adherence, work habits, quality of work, job-skills knowledge, personal appearance, and positive attitude. Despite the generally relaxed atmosphere at a ski resort, Steamboat Ski and Resort Company employees are required to keep their hair cut to an acceptable length, be clean shaven, wear a clean uniform provided by the corporation, and practice good personal hygiene. Visible management. The management of children’s programs must be highly visible. There is no room for desk-bound managers. All those whom I interviewed believed that a caring, dedicated, and highly visible management group is absolutely essential to success. At this stage of development, the management of children’s programs is largely concentrated at the property level. A few hotel-resort groups such as Hyatt have a corporate office devoted to kids’ programs. On the other hand, Westin Hotels and Resorts seems to typify the decentralized nature of children’s programs. Despite having programs at properties in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, and the Philippines, Westin does not have a corporate position dedicated to children’s programs.
Safety, Health, and Security Nothing is more important than the safety, health, and security of those kids. The children’s wellAUGUST
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being cannot be a last-minute, addon consideration. Safety, health, and security must be first concerns at every step of planning and at every moment of the day. Ski resorts speak with a unified voice concerning their three primary objectives: safety is number one, followed by fun and learning. The Regent of Fiji is fortunate to have access to an island a short distance off shore. It’s a great place for picnics and snorkeling. It could also spell disaster during the short boat trip. That’s why the Regent requires that all passengers wear a life jacket and, for added safety, sends a second boat along just in case. Physical facility and equipment planning. Safety is not an afterthought. It begins with architectural design and the purchase of necessary equipment. New resorts are now being designed with separate children’s areas. In part, this is a marketing ploy as it frees swimming pools, spas, and tennis courts for adults who may not appreciate being around 30-or-more splashing and yelling Munchkins sharing the same pool. Of greater importance is the issue of safety and comfort for the child. The Grand Hyatt of Bali incorporated small details such as a sun screen over the sandbox. Bali’s tropical sun and the fair complexion of a four-year-old from Ireland or Wales are a dreadful combination. The Grand Hyatt also planned against land-based problems by enclosing the children’s area with fences thus preventing the possible intrusion of outsiders. Planning of equipment and facilities with the child in mind extends well beyond safety and security concerns. A “child’s eye” view of planning will greatly enhance the pleasure of those pintsize guests. The Omni Sagamore 31
uses a buffet table, tableware, and food servings specifically designed for children. Most buffets weren’t designed with a child in mind, which means that adults must continuously help the child with ladles and serving tongs. At the Omni, miniature french-toast sticks, chocolate and strawberry milk, and other child-designed foods bedeck a kids-level buffet table. Check in, check out. Many resorts commonly require that once children are checked in to the children’s program for the day they can only be checked out by the same individual who brought them. A carefully controlled system of check in and check out is mandatory. At ski resorts, a common procedure is to register the name and ski-lift-ticket number of the parent or guardian at check in. The only person authorized to remove the child is this individual. When this procedure is carefully explained to the parent it is generally considered to be an excellent idea and the vast majority of parents willingly cooperate. The system at the Steamboat Ski and Resort Company combines the computer system with a manual check. The name of each child is entered into a computer along with names of parents, location of parents during the day, and instructions as to who can pick up the child. Additional information includes medical data, level of toilet training for the youngsters, and special information concerning the child such as disabilities. A manual-check system is used to validate the computer data. Parents are given a card when they leave the child. Children are given only to the person with this card. At the end of the day all cards must have been returned. Physiological constraints. Many resorts are located in areas
with climates that are extremely different from that climate in which the children live. Sunburn, exhaustion, altitude sickness, frostbite, and dehydration must be guarded against with extreme care. Children may not express discomfort or even realize they are suffering from-for exampledehydration in subfreezing conditions. Mittens and gloves can become water soaked within minutes. If the child hesitates to tell an adult, frostbite is almost inevitable. Prevention is the prescription. This includes continuous observation, regular refreshment stops, and rest periods. A professional staff, well-trained and operating under a set of procedures, is the surest way to prevent problems. Monitor everything. Similarities between kids’ programs at resorts and day-care centers, kindergartens, and grade schools end with the fact that every week and sometimes every day a new group of children is placed in your care at a resort. Supervisors in a quality day-care center come to learn the normal, predictable reactions of each child. This is impossible at a resort. Bumped heads, cut lips, dizziness, and excessive crying may be symptoms of serious problems. Monitor everything! If problems persist, call for professional aid without delay. Ski resorts are fortunate to have the well-trained ski patrol and often a clinic only minutes away. The medical aspect of child care must be planned into every program. This is doubly important for resorts in relatively remote destinations. A village doctor several miles away is simply not acceptable.
Planning the Trip Children may know several months in advance that the family is planning a ski vacation in Aspen
or a trip to the Great Barrier Reef but may be completely unaware of what lies ahead. The child’s mind often anticipates a unique closeness of family, free from boardingschool separation, nannies, grab-abite dinners, and extended parental business travel. An eight-yearold’s mind never considers the impossibility of 24-hour-a-day bonding as parents challenge black-diamond slopes, play 18 holes of golf, or explore coral reefs. Tears and desperation accompany “separation anxiety” at the child’s sudden realization that the next five days mean Mommy and Daddy won’t be with him or her. Quite often the tears are shed as much by parent as by child. Pre-trip counseling. Separation anxiety can be avoided or at least lessened, so it’s advisable for the resort to counsel parents and families through the mail or with phone calls shortly after reservations are made. For anyone with a children’s program and for those planning to start one, here are a few tips you should offer parents to help them minimize separation anxiety. l Tell parents they should discuss vacation plans with their offspring. While children need not know all the details, the most important one for them to know is how much time the family will spend together. l Advise parents to build a day or two of family time into the vacation. The slopes, the reef, and the golf course will be there tomorrow. They should devote part of the trip to the kids (e.g., plan a day of miniature golf, bowling, sight-seeing, fishing or other family activities). l Suggest that early evenings be set aside as family time, for the moments best preserved in the child’s memory may be when the family eats meals together, sits in the spa as a family, 32
works a puzzle, or shares stories. l Ask parents to have children share their vacation-club experiences, and then counsel the adults to listen to the children tell their stories. (Remind parents that, while it may be tempting to center discussions on that great shot on the 15th hole or the size of the moguls on Widowmaker Run, these topics are as relevant to young children as the theory of fluid dynamics is to resort operators.) l Tell parents that they will have to resist returning to the children during the day for a checkup peek. This simply recharges tear ducts and makes separation anxiety an ongoing battle. Allow kids to be kids. Disappointment for kids will accompany any attempt to force them into rigid and unnatural activities. Let’s look at a few examples of failed ideas. l The balanced meal. Kids want hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, and other so-called junk food. Give them what they want. Remember, it’s their vacation, too. Once the holiday is over, parents or prep-school officials will soon enough push brussels sprouts and broccoli into rebellious mouths. l Behavioral requirements. Gone are the days when children unlucky enough to be dragged to a resort had to look and act like little lords and ladies. Your resort isn’t “Mrs. Wadley’s Finishing School.” This doesn’t mean that any behavior can be accepted. The Regent of Fiji, for example, strictly enforces the rule that all children in its program must wear shirts and caps. This common-sense requirement is addressed at sunburn, not civility. Ski resorts commonly require the applicaTHE CORNELL
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tion of sunscreen before children are allowed on the slopes. All safety regulations such as wearing life vests or observing a “buddy system” in the water must be strictly enforced at resorts. . Basket weaving. Force kids into unwanted “cultural enrichment” and you will pay the price. How many parents go to a resort to learn basket weaving, Batik, cultural dance, or songs in a strange language sung to the accompaniment of a shrill pipe flute? Planners who consider those things to be appropriate kids’ stuff must have bypassed their own childhood years. Cultural-enrichment programs are foisted upon kids as educational experiences so that parents can rationalize spending the money to visit resorts in exotic lands and often to gain the support of year-round residents who protest that resorts threaten their culture. Rids may tolerate such activities just as they do for nine months in school, but they will make life miserable for parents on the way home. The business of fun. While resorts are not in the business of cultural education, they are in the business of fun. The primary education that resorts should build into their programs, above all else, is to teach kids how to have more fun. Teach them to ski, wind surf, ride horseback, play tennis, or golf. If we forget that principle, a rainy day at a resort will spell doom and gloom for kids, parents, and staff. Before substituting basket weaving for real indoor fun, consider the alternatives. Stock up on a library of great videos and popcorn. Buy several sets of Monopoly and other board games. The Circus Circus Hotels of Reno and Las Vegas recognized that most hotels in casino-resort AUGUST
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The two-year-old trade show Fun Expo provides resort and hotel operators the chance to evaluate entertainment-center amusements and to participate in seminars on the design, development, and management of recreation operations.
A Place to Start For many properties, attracting the leisure traveler means bringing in babyboomer parents who want their children entertained while the adults get the rest and relaxation they need. As explained in the accompanying article, hospitality operations increasingly are offering amusement centers and children’s programs as part of their facilities and amenities, and the article focuses on well-organized, comprehensive activity programs for those guests who happen to be children. For those properties seeking to offer a small-scale diversion for children, an in-house amusement center or playroom may be the solution, and the trade show Fun Expo may be a good place to start. Fun Expo, now in its second year, is the first show of its kind to address the entertainment-center needs of the hospitality industry. Through specialty seminars and trade exhibits, owners, managers, and employees of leisure and vacation businesses can focus on enhancing and expanding a property’s youthrecreation operations, thereby encouraging new and repeat business. In 1991, the exposition’s lineup of two dozen seminars included programs such as “Developing a Family Entertainment Center,” “Strategic Planning for Fun Centers,” “Assessing the Entertainment Potential of Your Property,” “Maintenance, Operations, and Safety,” “Advertising, Promotion, and Public Relations,” “Insurance Concerns,” “Customer Service and Personnel Motivation,” and “Creative Financing in the 1990s.” Exposition show manager Bailey Beeken says the expanded 1992 seminar schedule will be modeled after the success of last year’s program: “Because of the highly focused program, Fun Expo was able to meet the specific needs of exhibitors and attendees who are involved in the growing fun-center market. A comprehensive and targeted seminar program provided educational opportunities for both the seasoned operator as well as the industry newcomer. This year’s wide range of in-depth seminars is perfect for industry experts or anyone interested in learning more about amusements and family fun.” Exhibitors at the trade show, numbering more than 200, represent such diverse products as miniature-golf installations, custom-designed simulation attractions, carousels and other amusement-park attractions, and playroom equipment (including one product line that claims it encourages “play that is exercise to the aerobic effect”). Fun Expo 1992 takes place in New Orleans from September 17 to 19. For more information, contact Bailey Beeken, Bellwether Expositions Company, telephone 914-682-2027 (telefacsimile 914-682-2152).-F.L.C.
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areas had no accommodations whatsoever for kids. The message seemed to be, anyone who can’t spend money in the casino must be an annoyance. Circus Circus, then, carved itself a special market niche by offering live circus acts, carnival games, and miles of video games upstairs for the kids while parents tested for Lady Luck in the casino below. Kids who stay at Circus Circus hotels don’t know or care whether it’s raining outside. Seek the assistance of other departments at the resort. The “Kactus Ramp” for Rids at the Westin La Paloma, in Tucson, takes kids on back-of-the-house tours. Rids learn how food is prepared in a modern kitchen and get to bake cookies under the supervision of a chef. In the engineering department they see what it takes to make a hotel operate, and they can cut small wood blocks in the carpentry department. Hotel staff members can become both teachers and entertainers, and many seem to have more fun than the kids themselves. Smugglers’ Notch recognizes that kids must have fun. That’s why they offer a money-back guarantee to any parents whose kids complain they had no fun. With over 8,000 kids per year, only 12 complaints in 11 years of operation have required fulfillment of that guarantee.
Ensure Variety Adult guests at resorts want diversity and change. Few are content to sit for three days with a good book beneath a beach umbrella. Kids, too, are susceptible to the expectations of continual change that are well-established in modern society. Successful response demands careful planning. Many kids’ programs have adopted the vocabulary of primaryschool educators and require daily
brochures, and an article placed in USA Today. The most common approach concerning marketing is simply to build information into resort promotional material and to provide a detailed, tag-along brochure or flyer concerning the program. This limited strategy is quickly becoming obsolete as many resorts adopt professional marketing programs. As kids’ programs expand in size and season, the need for indepenSteamboat’s Ski School offers superdent marketing programs has vised programs for kids from six become self evident. Steamboat Ski months to fifteen years of age. In addition to games, puppet shows, and Resort is now facing this need movies, and arts and crafts, the with its expanded summer pronursery-care program offers ski gram. It’s one thing to reach ski instruction for children as young as visitors with a tag-along brochure three and a half years old. First graders and quite another to promote a through fifteen-year-olds may receive ski lessons or participate in other new season altogether. activities that are tailored for their age Marketing at Smugglers’ Notch group. (Photo by Larry Pierce, couris neither left to chance nor does it tesy of Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp.) depend on just a few brochures. This resort aggressively competes “lesson plans” of their counselors. and has won awards such as The Omni Sagamore offers a Family Circle magazine’s “Best different theme each day during Family Ski Area Resort” award, in the week. “Pirate’s Day” includes 1991, and a Better Homes and pirate costumes for the kids as well Gardens award, in 1990. No as a pirate-ship lunch box. The amount of advertising dollars can next day may be “Country-Western top that kind of publicity. Day” or some other theme. Increasingly, the promotion of Developing and ensuring change children’s programs includes a has been a basic function within proven promotional mix already in the food and beverage areas of use by the hotels marketing successful hotels and resorts for department or the resort area. years. Transference of these skills Targeted direct mail; selected to children’s programs has proven print, broadcast, and television to be fairly simple. The real chaladvertising; vertical media; promolenge is straight out of Marketing tional events; and a heavy dose of 101: First, study and understand publicity and public-relations the needs of those little guests; groundwork are becoming part of then, use the talent and experience the vernacular in the management that already exists in your resort to of children’s programs at resorts. ensure change. Hyatt Hotels and Resorts Marketing supports its Camp Hyatt program with a multi-million-dollar marketAs in other areas of the resort, well ing program that includes print planned marketing pays dividends. and television advertising. AddiThe Westin La Paloma lost money tionally, Hyatt and Hyatt Internaon its kids’ program for two years tional have targeted frequent-stay until an advertising and publicchildren with incentives to return relations program promoted the and to use the food and beverage program through radio spots, 34
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services of the hotel. (Specific marketing ideas used by Hyatt, the Sagamore, and Smugglers’ Notch are included in the accompanying sidebars. 1
Growing Complexity As fured costs for children’s programs climb, there is a desire to avoid seasonality. The program at Steamboat Springs started 20 years ago as a baby-sitting service. Today, it has more than 100 employees and a summer program that includes kayaking, fishing, tubing, horseback riding, and mountain climbing. For all ages. No age segment should be ignored. Services should start with infants and end with teenagers. Licensed nurseries at places like Steamboat Springs and Smugglers’ Notch are equipped for infants as young as six weeks old. “Special” children. The disabled are increasingly being mainlined into programs at resorts. Several resorts work with organizations such as Blind Outdoor Leisure Development and with the Special Olympics. Another challenge is to care for kids who, as a group, may speak a dozen different languages and who may have special religious taboos and practices. In addition to staff sensitivity training, some resortssuch as those that cater to large numbers of Hispanics-have found it necessary to hire bilingual staff members. Learning can be fun. As children’s programs become more proficient at ensuring the first two requirements of a good program (safety and fun), they have increasingly turned their attention to learning. This poses a particular challenge since children are out of school and commonly feel that education should be ignored. The challenge is to make learning fun. That’s where formal lessons in basket weaving usually fail. Kids AUGUST
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view such tasks as too much like the schoolroom grind they just left. Take children on a hike to a nearby beaver pond and let them experience the thrill of hearing a slapped tail on the pond’s surface. That’s the time to explain where the beaver went, how they build their homes, and the various ways those animals benefit the environment. The back-of-the-house tours sponsored by Westin are as much education as fun, but don’t tell the kids this is learning. Children’s programs at many resorts, particularly those at ski resorts, are becoming leading-edge trend setters, not just for resorts but for the entire child-care industry. The nursery at Smugglers’ Notch, for example, recently earned the distinction as being one of the finest in New England.
Cooperate with Nearby Resorts Many resorts simply aren’t ready to commit the human resources, financial capital, and time required to develop kids’ programs that can compete in the 1990s. Prior to committing to a children’s program, hotels in concentrated resort areas might consider the Steamboat Springs model. Supporting a common kids’ program rather than entering into a battle for a small share of the market probably makes sense for many resort hotels. Some kids’ programs are run by organizations independent of hotels, such as the ski-and-resort corporation at Steamboat Springs and at Smugglers’ Notch. The Sheraton hotel at the base of the ski mountain in Steamboat Springs discontinued its program and now supports that of the ski-and-resort corporation, as do other hotels in the area and the Chamber of Commerce. “Unless hotels are willing to make a major commitment to the 35
development and growth of professional children’s programs, it’s best that they consider supporting a resort-wide program such as the one at Steamboat,” said Sarah Rickarby, supervisor of the children’s program at Steamboat Springs.
Committed Corporate Programs Hyatt Hotels and Resorts offers a model for what may lie ahead. Camp Hyatt is available at more than 100 hotels and resorts in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, and claims to be “the most comprehensive program for children in the hotel industry.” While the bulk of children’s programs currently are viewed as guest services to entice the patronage of parents, a few, such as that at Steamboat Springs, are organized as profit centers. Some now accept and market to non-guests. Only 40 percent of the children at Westin’s La Paloma are hotel guests. The remaining 60 percent are children of Tucson residents who are members of the adjoining country club. Here to stay. Children’s programs at resorts are clearly here to stay and are rapidly evolving as they move beyond the first stages of their product life cycle. It is probably inevitable that shake-outs will occur as some resorts decide not to commit what is needed to compete in an increasingly professional industry. Children’s programs at resorts are demonstrating they can serve as models for the child-care industry. It is entirely possible that the experience gained at resorts may lead some hotel and resort companies to eventually expand into professional child care outside the hospitality industry, thus creating new opportunities for corporations in the crowded hotel and resort industry. CQ
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ries with giggles and smiles. Disney is into a third generation of happy kids and there is no end in sight. Before you assume that such simple logic is easy to translate into action and hire “Happy the Clown” as a primary draw to your resort, think again. Things have gotten complicated. Competitors’ marketing strategies, societal change, and uptight adults eager to litigate have changed the rules. This article discusses many of the dos and don’ts regarding programs for children learned from the experience of those in the international resort industry, based on 17 research interviews. 25
A Growing Market “Children used to be a rare sight in hotels, but not anymore,” reports Darryl Hartley-Leonard, president of Hyatt Hotels Corporation. “In the last several years, we have seen an increasing number of children staying at Hyatt on vacations, on weekends, and even with their parents who are traveling on business.” Hartley-Leonard attributes the increase to travel-oriented baby James C. Makens, Ph.D., is a professor at the Babcock Graduate School of Management, Wake Forest University.
Omni Sagamore’s Children’s Program The Omni Sagamore’s children’s program, the Teepee Club, was initiated in 1985 and has grown at rates of 25-30 percent per year. In 1991, more than 3,000 children visited the Sagamore and twice as many children were on hand on Labor Day 1991 as had ever before been present for that holiday weekend. The property itself is a Mobil fourstar and AAA four-diamond resort situated on a private 70-acre island in Lake George, located in New York State’s Adirondack Mountains. The Sagamore is an Omni Classic Resort. Availability. The Teepee Club is available seven days a week from July 1 until Labor Day. At all other times the program is available on weekends, holidays, and for groups upon request. (A special New Year’s Eve celebration for children is a major event and grows larger and becomes more popular each year.) The typical children’s day runs from 9:00 AM until 9:00 PM, with every minute filled with some activity suitable for different age groups. Design. The program is designed not only to entertain children but also to educate them. Each day has a different theme with its own special activities-for instance, “Western Day’ may involve dressing up as cowboys and cowgirls and going on a surrey ride, while “Pirate Day” is a chance to play a game of walk-the-plank. The Sagamore takes care to meet the special needs of children. As noted in the main text, the dining room features a kid-size buffet, and one might say the tables and chairs are built in the Goldilocks style, that is, they fit just right. Balloons, coloring books, crayons, and other props at the table make sitting down an adventure in itself. The Teepee Club is constantly being improved and revamped, particularly as the result of successful experiments. For example, the Sagamore’s dinner option, a relatively new idea, is growing in popularity among those adults who bring children to the resort. The Sagamore provides a pick-up service for kids, thereby allowing parents the uncommon luxury to enjoy dessert and coffee at their leisure, while the children take part in the evening program.
The Omni Sagamore, on Sagamore Island in upstate New York, developed its children’s program around the special needs of kids-such as small-size furnishings and a diversity of activities. Marketing. Managers at the Sagamore report that the resort’s sales force aggressively promotes the Teepee Club, especially to meeting planners and other groupbusiness organizers. Nevertheless, they admit that word-of-mouth and free publicity through published stories have sewed as its “promotional foundation.” Staffing and budget. A permanent, full-time director of social activities heads the program and supervises the summer’s full-time staff of ten. During the off season, part-time staff members are employed as required by the number of children guests. The Sagamore’s Teepee Club is not run as a profit center and it does not have its own budget. Appropriations are divided between rooms and the food and beverage departments. The fee charged to guests for using the children’s program is $15.00 for the day program for one child and $10.00 for additional children from the same family. In the evening, the program is complimentary to guests paying for the resorts modified American plan; there is a $10.00 per-child fee for those guests staying on the European plan.-f.L.C. 26
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boomers who are now having families and want to bring their kids along. He said two-career couples who have limited time during the work week look to weekend getaways and holiday vacations as a way to bring the family closer together. “Parents we polled said they want to bring the children along, but they also want some free time alone to play tennis, a game of golf, or share a quiet dinner,” said Hartley-Leonard. The Omni Sagamore typifies the dramatic growth in children who are guests at resorts. During the two-year period 1989-1991 the Omni witnessed a growth from about 50 guest children per day to 130. Design
for Behavior
The design of physical structures for children must match known behavior and desired outcomes. The majority of children at a resort at any given time have never before seen each other, may not speak a common language, and may exhibit different degrees of maturity. A welcome center designed to encourage mixing rather than aloofness can immediately help break down barriers. Industry observers often credit Club Med for leading the way in this area.
Match Programs to the Resort Create programs that clearly match the character and purpose of your resort. Programs that work on board a cruise ship may be a flop in Vail or Cancun. l When appropriate, develop programs around the character, history, and culture of the resort community. Steamboat Springs, Colorado, has a western-cowboy culture and is different from Aspen or Sun Valley. The personality of Steamboat is personified by skier Billy Kidd, an Olympic star who is never THE CORNELL
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seen on the slopes without his cowboy hat. Beware, however, that attempts to force kids into a radically different culture have generally met with resistance or refusal to participate. Be judicious in what you incorporate from the local scene. Children may enjoy participating in Billy Kidd’s western antics but might despise the exotic atmosphere of foreign resorts. . Design your corporate philosophy and mission statement so that these programs become part of the culture of the resort itself rather than add-on appendages.
EXHIBIT 1 1992 family-travel patterns Go
WHY THEY Go
WHERE THEY
Travelers whose most recent vacation trip in the past year was with children cited the following as “very important” motivations.
Family vacationers who intend to travel this year with children are planning the following activities.
92%
82% 73% 43% 42%
31% 18%
Being together as a family Getting away from stress at home and work Finding rest and relaxation Enjoying exciting and new experiences Visiting friends, relatives Learning about new places, people Being physically active Being pampered, indulging in luxury
60%
Ocean, beach vacation
51% 49% 41% 40%
Vist historical sites Visit theme parks, attractions Visit a lake Adventure vacation (camping, hiking) City vacation, resort vacation Overseas vacation, Canadian vacation Ski vacation Cruise vacation Mexican vacation Other
33% 13% 12% 11% 10% 7%
Professional Staff A professional staff is a prerequisite to success. A full-time, salaried staff is essential. Directors and other permanent staff commonly have degrees in higher education such as primary education, recreation management, nursing, and child guidance. Look for mature and dedicated professionals who want to become part of the resort’s management team and the community, but shy away from ski and surf bums. Increasingly, resorts are being developed in nations that have cultures quite different from the guests’ native culture. This can pose difficult problems in finding suitable professional managers. For example, consider that today’s children from affluent families often think and behave quite differently from those children who grew up near the resort. An expatriate director is probably required in such cases. The common experience of resorts with well-meaning but culturally different “local” directors has been unfortunate. One such example involves a Western resort-hotel chain that hired a well-qualified “local” director for an overseas operation. AUGUST
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SOURCE:The Wall Street Journal, April 15, 1992, p. Bl Findings based on a survey by the U.S. Travel Data Center for Better Homes and Gardens magazine, January 1992.
The new director was fluent in English and seemingly familiar with Western culture. While this individual was able to work effectively with Western adults, he expected Eastern discipline and respect from all children. As a result, Western children viewed the director as dictatorial, singleminded, and an impediment to fun. In turn, the director viewed the children as disrespectful, spoiled, self-centered, and uninterested in the centuries-old customs of his culture. Overall, it was a frustrating and disappointing experience for everyone involved. l Include the manager of the children’s program as part of the resort’s management group. This individual should participate in management sessions dealing with problems and strategies affecting the entire enterprise. Managers of children’s programs must be viewed as equivalent to other directors, such as those who are in charge of F&B, operations, reservations, engineering, and sales. 27
. Create career-enrichment programs for managers of children’s programs. This also applies to those who direct adult-recreation and sportfitness programs. Low morale and the subsequent loss of valuable employees often occur when talented individuals desire growth but discover they are barred from consideration as “management material” or from corporate positions because they do not have the appropriate education, background, or training.
Untrained and Untitled, But.. . College degrees and training are no substitute for the person who loves kids and can think at their level. Big Sam, at the Regent of Fiji, is such a person. Big Sam. No university ever taught this giant of a man to gather a basket of frogs and to laugh and cheer as the race gets underway. Professional training wasn’t needed to give him patience with slightly awkward children who have trouble mastering
The Smugglers’ Notch Children’s Program In the summer of 1976, Smugglers’ Notch began its summer programs by offering family packages that allowed adults to visit the Olympic Games in nearby Montreal while leaving their children behind in the resort’s daycamp program. After the 1976 Olympics the concept and the program itself grew slowly at first, but in 1991 more than 6,000 children were guests of the resorts camp program. Smugglers’ Notch is a comprehensive family resort surrounded by the Mount Mansfield State Forest in northern Vermont. Among its facilities is a new, $lmillion child-care center. Readers of Family Circle magazine voted Smugglers’ Notch the number-one family ski resort in the country in 1991, and the property has received Family Circle’s “family resort of the year” award for three years in a row and was selected by USA Today as one of five of America’s “exceptional children’s programs.” Availability. The Smugglers’ Notch day camp and ski camp are seasonal programs. Day-long programs are available seven days a week for ages six weeks to seventeen years from early June until early September and from Thanksgiving until early April. Design. The Smugglers’ Notch day-camp program is based on the concepts of outdoor education. The idea is to show the children natural environments that they rarely see. The development of the summer program grew from the success of a wintertime children’s ski school. While ski instruction is the winter program’s focus, experts from the Vermont Institute of Natural Sciences teach youngsters about the winter environment and ecology. Both the summer and winter programs stress socialization skills through group activities, and year-round the emphasis is on safety, fun, and learning. Once the day is over and children rejoin their families, the resort provides an array of activities that all family members can participate in
The Smugglers’ Notch day-camp program is based on the concepts of outdoor education-for instance, natural-history outings (pictured in the top photo) are a popular pastime. At Smugglers’ Notch, all the recreational programs stress fun, learning, and age-appropriate activities. together, including board games and card games, tournaments, festivals, bingo, and campfire sing-alongs. The recreational activities are at the center of the resort’s programming, whether for adults or children. The resort’s facilities include three interconnected mountains of skiing with snowmaking, two swimming pools, three water slides, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, miniature golf, horseback
riding, nature trails, an extensive ropes course, hot tubs and saunas, and many other types of outdoor games such as volleyball, horseshoes, and shuffleboard. Marketing. The marketing of all the children’s programs is done primarily through three different departments: family vacations, group vacations, and real estate. All three departments sell packages that include lodging, meal plans, ski tickets, and recreational programming (for both adults and children). Each departments marketing plans involve various tactics, including direct mail, print and broadcast media, public relations, and the use of video (in response to inquiries). Repeat business is extremely important and therefore is the major focus of the resort’s “We want you back” guest-service employee-training initiative. By 1988, the camp program was so popular and successful that Smugglers’ Notch established an assurance program, which became known as “Fun for Kids, Freedom for Parents.. .Guaranteed.” That program is still in existence today and allows any parent whose child did not have fun at the Smugglers’ Notch day camp to receive their money back, no questions asked. (A portion of the price of a family package is allocated to establish a value for the kids’ programs, approximately $35.00 per day.) Staffing and budget. Five fulltime managers are in charge of the overall children’s program and they are assisted by more than a dozen supervisory staff members. When in full swing, the day camp employs a total of 150 individuals. Both the ski school and the activities departments operate on a break-even budget, with large revenue allocations from the resort’s different marketing depattments. At Smugglers’ Notch, children three years of age and older may participate in the day camp for free (there is a small day-care fee for infants younger than three years old).-Peter Delaney, Director of Resort Services, Smugglers’ Notch.
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volleyball or wind surfing. Don’t forget the “Big Sams” of this world when it comes to filling positions. They can’t constitute the body of your staff but they may very well serve as its heart-or its head. Seasonal staff. Fortunately, many resorts are able to attract sufficient numbers of qualified, seasonal staff members through the magnetic pull of the natural attractions in the area. Medical doctors, ministers, nurses, teachers on sabbatical, and a variety of other professionals ranging from stockbrokers to geologists temporarily reside in resort areas. Medical students and recently graduated physicians sometimes desire the experience of working with children prior to specializing in pediatrics. The ease or difficulty of recruiting depends upon the economy. Recession years are banner times for recruiting, but don’t forsake establishing long-term relationships and contacts simply because a lot of talented individuals are knocking at your door. Reserve several openings for students from colleges and universities where recruiting should occur on an annual basis. Look for individuals who have a desire and the personality to become permanent employees. Many schools have internship programs in which students are encouraged to leave their formal studies for a semester or more to gain on-the-job experience. Managers of successful kids’ programs are in agreement that it is mandatory to check thoroughly the references and resumes of all applicants. They also agree that at least one personal interview is essential prior to hiring. While all resorts will draw their share of quality applicants, the unfortunate truth is that pedophiles and other individuals with behavioral disorders may be attracted to such programs. This means requesting a AUGUST
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criminal check for anyone whom you’re seriously considering hiring. It’s also not a bad idea to check credit references. Individuals with bad credit records may have other problems as well, and you may want to inquire about those. The interview process at Smugglers’ Notch Resort, in Vermont, includes a mandatory eight-hour training program with no guarantee of employment. Applicants willingly participate since the experience is considered an asset and therefore greatly enhances their chances of being hired elsewhere in the area in the event they should not be hired at Smugglers’ Notch. This eight-hour program includes a ropes course and every applicant is observed by several Smugglers’ Notch staff members who are looking for signs of leadership, interpersonal skills, physical stamina, and other personal characteristics.’ Train, train, train. When asked to identify success factors, Peter Delaney, director of resort services at Smugglers’ Notch, said, “Train, train, train.” This sentiment is echoed throughout the industry but nowhere more than at ski resorts. Ski resorts are the fortunate recipients of training by the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA). This organization provides instruction, testing, and certification of ski instructors who want to teach children. PSIA is an intensive program that requires expertise in skiing but goes far beyond just the mastery of skiing style and techniques. For example, candidates for accreditation by the PSIA are judged on their knowledge of at ‘A “ropes course” can involve hundred’s of different physical-training situations involving different ropes used in a variety of manners, such as stretched between trees or across a canyon, or suspended just a few feet off the ground. This type of training is most common among military and security organizations and is used to measure physical strength, self confidence. and teamwork skills.
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least three subjects: (1) children, (2) the cognitive and physical development of children aged three to twelve, and (3) movement analysis related to how kids ski. Once certified, instructors are expected to prepare lesson plans and to continue their training. Individuals who wish to serve as instructors in this program are required to take additional training and tests at their expense before qualifying as Junior Educational Training Staff (JETS). Partnership training. Smugglers’ Notch is typical of children’s programs that have cooperative training programs with other organizations. Insurance carriers for this resort provide updated training twice per year based on information these companies have discovered by working with the industry. A question-and-answer session is an important part of the training for both parties. The Steamboat Ski and Resort Company offers cardiopulmonaryresuscitation (CPR) courses through a local college, and training with the National Ski Patrol is continuous at all ski resorts. Environmental training programs by organizations such as the Vermont Institute of Natural Science enhance the expertise and sensibility of staff members. Training in child-abuse recognition is also being added at resorts. Staff members are instructed to report suspected instances of such abuse despite predictable embarrassment and the possibility of lawsuits.
Personal Evaluation and Review Employees of kids’ programs must be regularly evaluated and reviewed against predetermined norms. The fact that this area is new and different from other traditional departments, such as F&B, is sufficient reason to double
Camp Hyatt Camp Hyatt began in 1987 at the suggestion of an employee at Hyatt’s Scottsdale, Arizona, resort. Soon after its creation, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Hyatt President Darryl Hartley-Leonard visited the program with his own son and, apparently liking what he saw, began pushing for the program company wide. Camp Hyatt was officially introduced in 1989, and there are now Camp Hyatts at more than 100 Hyatt hotels and resorts in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. Camp Hyatt is among the most comprehensive programs in the hotel industry for families traveling with children, and it offers the industry’s only frequent-stay program for kids (after four separate visits, the children’s frequent-stay points may be redeemed for Camp Hyatt merchandise). In June of this year, Hyatt launched yet another industry first with its vacation program for teenagers. Dubbed “Rock Hyatt,” the program is designed for teens who, while traveling with their families, desire some free time and a chance to meet other teenagers. (See page 95 for details of the Rock Hyatt program.) Availability. Camp Hyatt is a year-round program. In addition to the basic Camp Hyatt program, supervised daytime and evening camp programs are offered daily at 16 Hyatt resorts from 9:00 AM until 11:OOPM during summers and holiday periods, and on weekends only the rest of the year. Children three to twelve years of age are eligible to participate. Design. At Hyatt hotels, Camp Hyatt is not a supervised, day-care-type program, although hotel staff members are available to help parents arrange for outside baby-sitting services. Fee-based, supervised activity programs are available only at Hyatt resorts. Camp Hyatt is essentially an amenity designed to make children feel welcome and to assist parents in accommodating children’s age-specific needs. Upon check-in, children receive a welcome packet that includes a Camp Hyatt passport, a registration card, room-service menu and activity book, and Camp Hyatt cap. (The passport is stamped each time children check into a Hyatt hotel or resort. After collecting a required number of stamps, the child can redeem the passport for Camp Hyatt merchandise.) In addition, a supply of games from which kids may borrow is kept at the concierge desk or guestservice center. Special features and activities vary among the 16 Hyatt resorts offering supervised camp programs, but each camp offers a variety of hourly activities such as recreational sports, environmental-awareness activities, hula-dancing lessons, and museum tours. Hyatt’s most comprehensive children’s facility is on Maui at the Grand Hyatt Wailea, a resort that opened in September 1991. That resort features a 20,000~square-foot children’s center complete with a movie theater with 60 kid-size seats, a children’s restaurant, computer learning center, craft room with pottery wheels and kilns, video room, and a spa and health program just for children. Children’s menus are offered in virtually all of Hyatt’s restaurants and through room service, and children’s
young guestSfeel welcome and to assist parents in accommodating children’s age-specific needs. Feebased, supervised activity programs are available at 16 Hyatt resorts. At Hyatt hotels, supervised, day-caretype programs are not available, although hotel staff members are available to help parents arrange for outside baby-sitting services. portions of regular menu items are available for half price (kids’ menu prices are generally under $3.00 for breakfast and $5.00 or less for lunch and dinner). Outside baby-sitting services are available at all Hyatt hotels and resorts. Marketing. In 1989, Hyatt began advertising its children’s programs with a $&million campaign in six major markets that was a spin-off of the company’s ongoing resort commercials. Hyatt continues to spend a lot of money on paid advertising, and also relies heavily on public-relations efforts that have gained the attention of family-oriented magazines, the popular press, and such business publications as the Wall Street Journal. Direct mail is a major factor in Camp Hyatt marketing. Both adults and children who have stayed at Hyatt properties receive mailings about the program, and children who have participated in Camp Hyatt anywhere receive the quarterly Camp Hyatt newsletter. In addition, every child who completes and returns a Camp Hyatt registration card receives a birthday postcard that can be redeemed for a free ice cream sundae at any Hyatt restaurant. Marketing incentives include discounted room rates under prescribed conditions, so that families traveling with children may purchase a second room at half the price of the parents’ room. As always, children aged 18 years or under may stay free in existing bed space in their parents’ room. Staffing and budget. At Hyatt hotels, the Camp Hyatt program is managed by guest-services employees. At Hyatt resorts, a Camp Hyatt coordinator manages the program, and camp staff members-all over the age of 21-are hired so as to maintain a ratio of about one staff person for every four children. The Camp Hyatt amenity package at hotels is free of charge. Allocating the costs of running the program is left to each individual property. At the supervised resort programs, fees are charged based on the number of activities in which a child participates. The charges are approximately $5.00 per child per hour or $30.00 per child per day, meals included, and costs not covered by the fees are allocated on an individual-property basis.-/XC.
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the effort to “do it right.” The enormity of the responsibility facing resorts with kids’ programs justifies going beyond normal procedures. All employees at Steamboat Ski and Resort Company facilities are given formal mid-season and endof-year evaluations in addition to constant, ongoing feedback by supervisors. They are evaluated on attendance, punctuality, guest relations, policy adherence, work habits, quality of work, job-skills knowledge, personal appearance, and positive attitude. Despite the generally relaxed atmosphere at a ski resort, Steamboat Ski and Resort Company employees are required to keep their hair cut to an acceptable length, be clean shaven, wear a clean uniform provided by the corporation, and practice good personal hygiene. Visible management. The management of children’s programs must be highly visible. There is no room for desk-bound managers. All those whom I interviewed believed that a caring, dedicated, and highly visible management group is absolutely essential to success. At this stage of development, the management of children’s programs is largely concentrated at the property level. A few hotel-resort groups such as Hyatt have a corporate office devoted to kids’ programs. On the other hand, Westin Hotels and Resorts seems to typify the decentralized nature of children’s programs. Despite having programs at properties in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, and the Philippines, Westin does not have a corporate position dedicated to children’s programs.
Safety, Health, and Security Nothing is more important than the safety, health, and security of those kids. The children’s wellAUGUST
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being cannot be a last-minute, addon consideration. Safety, health, and security must be first concerns at every step of planning and at every moment of the day. Ski resorts speak with a unified voice concerning their three primary objectives: safety is number one, followed by fun and learning. The Regent of Fiji is fortunate to have access to an island a short distance off shore. It’s a great place for picnics and snorkeling. It could also spell disaster during the short boat trip. That’s why the Regent requires that all passengers wear a life jacket and, for added safety, sends a second boat along just in case. Physical facility and equipment planning. Safety is not an afterthought. It begins with architectural design and the purchase of necessary equipment. New resorts are now being designed with separate children’s areas. In part, this is a marketing ploy as it frees swimming pools, spas, and tennis courts for adults who may not appreciate being around 30-or-more splashing and yelling Munchkins sharing the same pool. Of greater importance is the issue of safety and comfort for the child. The Grand Hyatt of Bali incorporated small details such as a sun screen over the sandbox. Bali’s tropical sun and the fair complexion of a four-year-old from Ireland or Wales are a dreadful combination. The Grand Hyatt also planned against land-based problems by enclosing the children’s area with fences thus preventing the possible intrusion of outsiders. Planning of equipment and facilities with the child in mind extends well beyond safety and security concerns. A “child’s eye” view of planning will greatly enhance the pleasure of those pintsize guests. The Omni Sagamore 31
uses a buffet table, tableware, and food servings specifically designed for children. Most buffets weren’t designed with a child in mind, which means that adults must continuously help the child with ladles and serving tongs. At the Omni, miniature french-toast sticks, chocolate and strawberry milk, and other child-designed foods bedeck a kids-level buffet table. Check in, check out. Many resorts commonly require that once children are checked in to the children’s program for the day they can only be checked out by the same individual who brought them. A carefully controlled system of check in and check out is mandatory. At ski resorts, a common procedure is to register the name and ski-lift-ticket number of the parent or guardian at check in. The only person authorized to remove the child is this individual. When this procedure is carefully explained to the parent it is generally considered to be an excellent idea and the vast majority of parents willingly cooperate. The system at the Steamboat Ski and Resort Company combines the computer system with a manual check. The name of each child is entered into a computer along with names of parents, location of parents during the day, and instructions as to who can pick up the child. Additional information includes medical data, level of toilet training for the youngsters, and special information concerning the child such as disabilities. A manual-check system is used to validate the computer data. Parents are given a card when they leave the child. Children are given only to the person with this card. At the end of the day all cards must have been returned. Physiological constraints. Many resorts are located in areas
with climates that are extremely different from that climate in which the children live. Sunburn, exhaustion, altitude sickness, frostbite, and dehydration must be guarded against with extreme care. Children may not express discomfort or even realize they are suffering from-for exampledehydration in subfreezing conditions. Mittens and gloves can become water soaked within minutes. If the child hesitates to tell an adult, frostbite is almost inevitable. Prevention is the prescription. This includes continuous observation, regular refreshment stops, and rest periods. A professional staff, well-trained and operating under a set of procedures, is the surest way to prevent problems. Monitor everything. Similarities between kids’ programs at resorts and day-care centers, kindergartens, and grade schools end with the fact that every week and sometimes every day a new group of children is placed in your care at a resort. Supervisors in a quality day-care center come to learn the normal, predictable reactions of each child. This is impossible at a resort. Bumped heads, cut lips, dizziness, and excessive crying may be symptoms of serious problems. Monitor everything! If problems persist, call for professional aid without delay. Ski resorts are fortunate to have the well-trained ski patrol and often a clinic only minutes away. The medical aspect of child care must be planned into every program. This is doubly important for resorts in relatively remote destinations. A village doctor several miles away is simply not acceptable.
Planning the Trip Children may know several months in advance that the family is planning a ski vacation in Aspen
or a trip to the Great Barrier Reef but may be completely unaware of what lies ahead. The child’s mind often anticipates a unique closeness of family, free from boardingschool separation, nannies, grab-abite dinners, and extended parental business travel. An eight-yearold’s mind never considers the impossibility of 24-hour-a-day bonding as parents challenge black-diamond slopes, play 18 holes of golf, or explore coral reefs. Tears and desperation accompany “separation anxiety” at the child’s sudden realization that the next five days mean Mommy and Daddy won’t be with him or her. Quite often the tears are shed as much by parent as by child. Pre-trip counseling. Separation anxiety can be avoided or at least lessened, so it’s advisable for the resort to counsel parents and families through the mail or with phone calls shortly after reservations are made. For anyone with a children’s program and for those planning to start one, here are a few tips you should offer parents to help them minimize separation anxiety. l Tell parents they should discuss vacation plans with their offspring. While children need not know all the details, the most important one for them to know is how much time the family will spend together. l Advise parents to build a day or two of family time into the vacation. The slopes, the reef, and the golf course will be there tomorrow. They should devote part of the trip to the kids (e.g., plan a day of miniature golf, bowling, sight-seeing, fishing or other family activities). l Suggest that early evenings be set aside as family time, for the moments best preserved in the child’s memory may be when the family eats meals together, sits in the spa as a family, 32
works a puzzle, or shares stories. l Ask parents to have children share their vacation-club experiences, and then counsel the adults to listen to the children tell their stories. (Remind parents that, while it may be tempting to center discussions on that great shot on the 15th hole or the size of the moguls on Widowmaker Run, these topics are as relevant to young children as the theory of fluid dynamics is to resort operators.) l Tell parents that they will have to resist returning to the children during the day for a checkup peek. This simply recharges tear ducts and makes separation anxiety an ongoing battle. Allow kids to be kids. Disappointment for kids will accompany any attempt to force them into rigid and unnatural activities. Let’s look at a few examples of failed ideas. l The balanced meal. Kids want hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, and other so-called junk food. Give them what they want. Remember, it’s their vacation, too. Once the holiday is over, parents or prep-school officials will soon enough push brussels sprouts and broccoli into rebellious mouths. l Behavioral requirements. Gone are the days when children unlucky enough to be dragged to a resort had to look and act like little lords and ladies. Your resort isn’t “Mrs. Wadley’s Finishing School.” This doesn’t mean that any behavior can be accepted. The Regent of Fiji, for example, strictly enforces the rule that all children in its program must wear shirts and caps. This common-sense requirement is addressed at sunburn, not civility. Ski resorts commonly require the applicaTHE CORNELL
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tion of sunscreen before children are allowed on the slopes. All safety regulations such as wearing life vests or observing a “buddy system” in the water must be strictly enforced at resorts. . Basket weaving. Force kids into unwanted “cultural enrichment” and you will pay the price. How many parents go to a resort to learn basket weaving, Batik, cultural dance, or songs in a strange language sung to the accompaniment of a shrill pipe flute? Planners who consider those things to be appropriate kids’ stuff must have bypassed their own childhood years. Cultural-enrichment programs are foisted upon kids as educational experiences so that parents can rationalize spending the money to visit resorts in exotic lands and often to gain the support of year-round residents who protest that resorts threaten their culture. Rids may tolerate such activities just as they do for nine months in school, but they will make life miserable for parents on the way home. The business of fun. While resorts are not in the business of cultural education, they are in the business of fun. The primary education that resorts should build into their programs, above all else, is to teach kids how to have more fun. Teach them to ski, wind surf, ride horseback, play tennis, or golf. If we forget that principle, a rainy day at a resort will spell doom and gloom for kids, parents, and staff. Before substituting basket weaving for real indoor fun, consider the alternatives. Stock up on a library of great videos and popcorn. Buy several sets of Monopoly and other board games. The Circus Circus Hotels of Reno and Las Vegas recognized that most hotels in casino-resort AUGUST
1992
The two-year-old trade show Fun Expo provides resort and hotel operators the chance to evaluate entertainment-center amusements and to participate in seminars on the design, development, and management of recreation operations.
A Place to Start For many properties, attracting the leisure traveler means bringing in babyboomer parents who want their children entertained while the adults get the rest and relaxation they need. As explained in the accompanying article, hospitality operations increasingly are offering amusement centers and children’s programs as part of their facilities and amenities, and the article focuses on well-organized, comprehensive activity programs for those guests who happen to be children. For those properties seeking to offer a small-scale diversion for children, an in-house amusement center or playroom may be the solution, and the trade show Fun Expo may be a good place to start. Fun Expo, now in its second year, is the first show of its kind to address the entertainment-center needs of the hospitality industry. Through specialty seminars and trade exhibits, owners, managers, and employees of leisure and vacation businesses can focus on enhancing and expanding a property’s youthrecreation operations, thereby encouraging new and repeat business. In 1991, the exposition’s lineup of two dozen seminars included programs such as “Developing a Family Entertainment Center,” “Strategic Planning for Fun Centers,” “Assessing the Entertainment Potential of Your Property,” “Maintenance, Operations, and Safety,” “Advertising, Promotion, and Public Relations,” “Insurance Concerns,” “Customer Service and Personnel Motivation,” and “Creative Financing in the 1990s.” Exposition show manager Bailey Beeken says the expanded 1992 seminar schedule will be modeled after the success of last year’s program: “Because of the highly focused program, Fun Expo was able to meet the specific needs of exhibitors and attendees who are involved in the growing fun-center market. A comprehensive and targeted seminar program provided educational opportunities for both the seasoned operator as well as the industry newcomer. This year’s wide range of in-depth seminars is perfect for industry experts or anyone interested in learning more about amusements and family fun.” Exhibitors at the trade show, numbering more than 200, represent such diverse products as miniature-golf installations, custom-designed simulation attractions, carousels and other amusement-park attractions, and playroom equipment (including one product line that claims it encourages “play that is exercise to the aerobic effect”). Fun Expo 1992 takes place in New Orleans from September 17 to 19. For more information, contact Bailey Beeken, Bellwether Expositions Company, telephone 914-682-2027 (telefacsimile 914-682-2152).-F.L.C.
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areas had no accommodations whatsoever for kids. The message seemed to be, anyone who can’t spend money in the casino must be an annoyance. Circus Circus, then, carved itself a special market niche by offering live circus acts, carnival games, and miles of video games upstairs for the kids while parents tested for Lady Luck in the casino below. Kids who stay at Circus Circus hotels don’t know or care whether it’s raining outside. Seek the assistance of other departments at the resort. The “Kactus Ramp” for Rids at the Westin La Paloma, in Tucson, takes kids on back-of-the-house tours. Rids learn how food is prepared in a modern kitchen and get to bake cookies under the supervision of a chef. In the engineering department they see what it takes to make a hotel operate, and they can cut small wood blocks in the carpentry department. Hotel staff members can become both teachers and entertainers, and many seem to have more fun than the kids themselves. Smugglers’ Notch recognizes that kids must have fun. That’s why they offer a money-back guarantee to any parents whose kids complain they had no fun. With over 8,000 kids per year, only 12 complaints in 11 years of operation have required fulfillment of that guarantee.
Ensure Variety Adult guests at resorts want diversity and change. Few are content to sit for three days with a good book beneath a beach umbrella. Kids, too, are susceptible to the expectations of continual change that are well-established in modern society. Successful response demands careful planning. Many kids’ programs have adopted the vocabulary of primaryschool educators and require daily
brochures, and an article placed in USA Today. The most common approach concerning marketing is simply to build information into resort promotional material and to provide a detailed, tag-along brochure or flyer concerning the program. This limited strategy is quickly becoming obsolete as many resorts adopt professional marketing programs. As kids’ programs expand in size and season, the need for indepenSteamboat’s Ski School offers superdent marketing programs has vised programs for kids from six become self evident. Steamboat Ski months to fifteen years of age. In addition to games, puppet shows, and Resort is now facing this need movies, and arts and crafts, the with its expanded summer pronursery-care program offers ski gram. It’s one thing to reach ski instruction for children as young as visitors with a tag-along brochure three and a half years old. First graders and quite another to promote a through fifteen-year-olds may receive ski lessons or participate in other new season altogether. activities that are tailored for their age Marketing at Smugglers’ Notch group. (Photo by Larry Pierce, couris neither left to chance nor does it tesy of Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp.) depend on just a few brochures. This resort aggressively competes “lesson plans” of their counselors. and has won awards such as The Omni Sagamore offers a Family Circle magazine’s “Best different theme each day during Family Ski Area Resort” award, in the week. “Pirate’s Day” includes 1991, and a Better Homes and pirate costumes for the kids as well Gardens award, in 1990. No as a pirate-ship lunch box. The amount of advertising dollars can next day may be “Country-Western top that kind of publicity. Day” or some other theme. Increasingly, the promotion of Developing and ensuring change children’s programs includes a has been a basic function within proven promotional mix already in the food and beverage areas of use by the hotels marketing successful hotels and resorts for department or the resort area. years. Transference of these skills Targeted direct mail; selected to children’s programs has proven print, broadcast, and television to be fairly simple. The real chaladvertising; vertical media; promolenge is straight out of Marketing tional events; and a heavy dose of 101: First, study and understand publicity and public-relations the needs of those little guests; groundwork are becoming part of then, use the talent and experience the vernacular in the management that already exists in your resort to of children’s programs at resorts. ensure change. Hyatt Hotels and Resorts Marketing supports its Camp Hyatt program with a multi-million-dollar marketAs in other areas of the resort, well ing program that includes print planned marketing pays dividends. and television advertising. AddiThe Westin La Paloma lost money tionally, Hyatt and Hyatt Internaon its kids’ program for two years tional have targeted frequent-stay until an advertising and publicchildren with incentives to return relations program promoted the and to use the food and beverage program through radio spots, 34
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services of the hotel. (Specific marketing ideas used by Hyatt, the Sagamore, and Smugglers’ Notch are included in the accompanying sidebars. 1
Growing Complexity As fured costs for children’s programs climb, there is a desire to avoid seasonality. The program at Steamboat Springs started 20 years ago as a baby-sitting service. Today, it has more than 100 employees and a summer program that includes kayaking, fishing, tubing, horseback riding, and mountain climbing. For all ages. No age segment should be ignored. Services should start with infants and end with teenagers. Licensed nurseries at places like Steamboat Springs and Smugglers’ Notch are equipped for infants as young as six weeks old. “Special” children. The disabled are increasingly being mainlined into programs at resorts. Several resorts work with organizations such as Blind Outdoor Leisure Development and with the Special Olympics. Another challenge is to care for kids who, as a group, may speak a dozen different languages and who may have special religious taboos and practices. In addition to staff sensitivity training, some resortssuch as those that cater to large numbers of Hispanics-have found it necessary to hire bilingual staff members. Learning can be fun. As children’s programs become more proficient at ensuring the first two requirements of a good program (safety and fun), they have increasingly turned their attention to learning. This poses a particular challenge since children are out of school and commonly feel that education should be ignored. The challenge is to make learning fun. That’s where formal lessons in basket weaving usually fail. Kids AUGUST
1992
view such tasks as too much like the schoolroom grind they just left. Take children on a hike to a nearby beaver pond and let them experience the thrill of hearing a slapped tail on the pond’s surface. That’s the time to explain where the beaver went, how they build their homes, and the various ways those animals benefit the environment. The back-of-the-house tours sponsored by Westin are as much education as fun, but don’t tell the kids this is learning. Children’s programs at many resorts, particularly those at ski resorts, are becoming leading-edge trend setters, not just for resorts but for the entire child-care industry. The nursery at Smugglers’ Notch, for example, recently earned the distinction as being one of the finest in New England.
Cooperate with Nearby Resorts Many resorts simply aren’t ready to commit the human resources, financial capital, and time required to develop kids’ programs that can compete in the 1990s. Prior to committing to a children’s program, hotels in concentrated resort areas might consider the Steamboat Springs model. Supporting a common kids’ program rather than entering into a battle for a small share of the market probably makes sense for many resort hotels. Some kids’ programs are run by organizations independent of hotels, such as the ski-and-resort corporation at Steamboat Springs and at Smugglers’ Notch. The Sheraton hotel at the base of the ski mountain in Steamboat Springs discontinued its program and now supports that of the ski-and-resort corporation, as do other hotels in the area and the Chamber of Commerce. “Unless hotels are willing to make a major commitment to the 35
development and growth of professional children’s programs, it’s best that they consider supporting a resort-wide program such as the one at Steamboat,” said Sarah Rickarby, supervisor of the children’s program at Steamboat Springs.
Committed Corporate Programs Hyatt Hotels and Resorts offers a model for what may lie ahead. Camp Hyatt is available at more than 100 hotels and resorts in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, and claims to be “the most comprehensive program for children in the hotel industry.” While the bulk of children’s programs currently are viewed as guest services to entice the patronage of parents, a few, such as that at Steamboat Springs, are organized as profit centers. Some now accept and market to non-guests. Only 40 percent of the children at Westin’s La Paloma are hotel guests. The remaining 60 percent are children of Tucson residents who are members of the adjoining country club. Here to stay. Children’s programs at resorts are clearly here to stay and are rapidly evolving as they move beyond the first stages of their product life cycle. It is probably inevitable that shake-outs will occur as some resorts decide not to commit what is needed to compete in an increasingly professional industry. Children’s programs at resorts are demonstrating they can serve as models for the child-care industry. It is entirely possible that the experience gained at resorts may lead some hotel and resort companies to eventually expand into professional child care outside the hospitality industry, thus creating new opportunities for corporations in the crowded hotel and resort industry. CQ