Resort hotels outperformed standard hotels during 1990 in terms of occupancy levels, room rates and operating profits. During that year, occupancy levels exceeded standard hotels by 11 percent in the United States and elsewhere, and the average room rate in a resort was 80 percent higher than at standard hotels. This translates to an average occupancy rate of 75 percent for resorts and 64 percent for standard hotels (Blum, 18). Recognizing that resorts compose a unique and lucrative component of the hotel market, this research seeks to understand the different types of resorts and the occupancy problems that are associated with each. In addition, methods of increasing the occupancy rate are examined. The scope of the research is limited to the United States.
Resorts are hotels that are destinations in and of themselves. Guests do not have to go outside the property for meals, entertainment or other amenities. Resorts are often located in striking natural surroundings, such as the Ahwahnee at Yosemite National Park. Or, they may be built around physical activities, such as golf and tennis resorts. Still others have developed in conjunction with recreational activities that are strictly for amusement, such as the Disneyland Hotel in California.
The earliest American resorts were developed near mineral springs, and had has their influence the health resorts of Wiesbaden, Spa and Saint-Moritz. These European health resorts provided all the amenities to which their patrons were accustomed, and provided the American resort operators with models on which to base their own resorts. The emphasis was ostensibly on the health benefits associated with the mineral springs themselves, but guests enjoyed the rural atmosphere and seclusion that the resorts afforded, as well (Limerick et al,รก19).
It was during the middle and late eighteenth century that resort hotels came into their own in the United States. Grand hotels were bu...