Its Playtime for Everyone

by Steve Brinkel
Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Playtime LLC

Anyone who has traveled with kids knows the importance of keeping the younger ones busy. Good hotels and resorts offer a wide range of family activities. Great hotels and resorts go a step farther, creating kid-friendly environments where children can have new experiences.

Resorts around the world are opening, building or seriously considering new water play attractions to generate more visitors, longer stays and higher revenues. Universally, the prime demographic for water parks is young people, especially children. By creating kid-friendly environments and combining a water park with water features that target toddlers and young children, resorts can create a one-stop, stress-free vacation, and provide hours of entertainment for the entire family.

Indoor water parks are the fastest growing trend in the water play industry. According to Hotel Water Park Resorts Construction Report, hotels with indoor waterparks are growing from 28% to 36% annually while the overall hotel industry expects new supply to grow less than 1.0% in 2005 and 2006. In 2000, there were only 18 hotel waterpark resorts. In 2006, over 100 were open nationwide.

Industry studies have verified the profitability of water play on the resort’s profitability. Average nightly room rates are 61 percent higher in hotels or resorts with water play attractions compared to those without. In addition, average occupancy rates run 27 percent for resorts and hotels with water parks.

The lure of resorts with water play attractions reflects a change in Americans’ vacation habits. Families are enjoying short vacations and last minute weekend getaways, in addition to a long summer vacation. Family vacations can be a risky business, even under the best circumstances. Throw in a cranky toddler or a sulky teen, and the going can get pretty rough. When a resort or hotel can create an environment focusing on what kids want, parents can sit back and relax. Families will gravitate towards and return more often to resorts where they have the best experience.

A kid-friendly destination offers young guests a variety of amenities; kids’ theme rooms, restaurants with children’s menus, themed lobbies, water play areas that feature a wide variety of hands-on entertainment, log walks, a wading pool with slides, a giant slide for the big kids and perhaps a slow-moving river, assuring that everyone in the family will have a great time on vacation. If you do it right, you will create a vacation experience where the kids will never want to leave and families will keep coming back!

To ensure you succeed in creating the ultimate experience while generating healthy profits, you need a seasoned expert, contact an experienced professional today.