- 
Making the Most of Your Resort Pool Care
by Steve Carlyle
National Accounts Manager
BioLab Commercial Pool Care
Resort pool facilities have always been a popular and beneficial guest attraction. Your pool facility may or may not have outrageous features like the beach at Mandalay Bay, the zero-entry River Pool at the Atlantis Resort, or the GlenWood Hot Springs diving pool and waterslide in Colorado. However, you want to make sure that the pool facility you do have provides an enjoyable experience for guests and creates customer retention and loyalty.
The main reason for extra resort amenities is to enhance the guest experience. Ensure that you are making the most of your pool by first considering what features are most attractive to your guests, and how best to manage and maintain your pool. Consider Outsourcing Pool care can be more complicated and more costly if the pool is not properly maintained. Ongoing pool maintenance can also require more expertise than many realize.
The person in charge of the pool facility is usually also in charge of the landscaping, building maintenance, HVAC and more. A general facilities maintenance manager may know pool care basics, but most likely does not know how to deal with more complicated pool management issues. These can be specifically related to how to make a facility cost effective, not only based on chemical usage but also when dealing with maintenance and repair.
An easy way to ensure that the pool is properly cared for, and to reduce down time, is to outsource this role to a commercial pool expert. Some companies now offer a wide range of additional services, including pool and spa products, service and maintenance making up a full Water Management Program. Companies such as Ecolab, which has long been an expert in hospitality supply and service, already have the infrastructure, training and personnel in place to manage hospitality facilities. Just as you outsource your laundry and ware washing, why not outsource the even more technically demanding responsibilities such as pool care?
Put simply, outsourcing allows hospitality experts to do what they are trained to do, put their energies and focus on providing a quality guest experience and running the business. By bringing in a partner who knows commercial pools and spas and the proper care and systems needed to keep them running effectively, a resort can reduce costs and stress. With an expert commercial pool professional, you can avoid maintenance or health issues, be ensured sparkling, clean and clear pool water and know that your pool will be up and operating at all times.
By reducing the amount of chemicals and extra service visits needed to maintain a pool, a facility can actually save money. An additional benefit of outsourcing is that the company can offer a range of services including around-the-clock system monitoring and emergency response. Together with a remote monitoring system, a pool care professional can respond immediately to any facility needs. When there is a problem, a certified pool specialist directly receives an alert on a computerized system or a cell phone, allowing an expert to immediately review the data and effectively analyze the steps that need to be taken. This takes the responsibility to diagnose and deal with the problem off of your facilities manager, reducing the time and expertise needed to solve the problem.
Addressing a problem immediately can significantly cut downtime or prevent closure of a facility, which, in turn, means greater revenue, happier guests, customer loyalty, and fewer headaches for the facility staff. Often managers are asked to care for the pool themselves, or hire staff to do so. In either case, training in pool care is not their job priority and turnover is high. When hiring an outside commercial pool professional, you know that they are well-trained and are constantly interacting with other pools and facilities. They stay up-to-date on technologies, regulations, water management and how to maintain the pool with utmost cost efficiency.
Choosing the Proper Method of Pool Sanitation In addition to having an expert responsible for your pool and spa facility, the proper system for your pool can also make a big difference in cost, maintenance and appeal. You must consider a number of factors when choosing a pool system, including the benefits to your guests, and the staff time and budget available to handle the service and maintenance. New technology has emerged that makes saline chlorination an ideal treatment solution for almost every commercial application. In the past, many saline chlorination systems could not effectively handle high bather loads that typically accompany commercial facilities.
ChlorKing has a patented, NSF/UL listed saline chlorination system made for the rigorous conditions of commercial pools, with chlorine outputs of up to 25 pounds per day, is now available that makes pool maintenance easy, effective and cost efficient. Saline chlorination systems provide marked improvement in water appearance and conditions, providing a swimming experience that differentiates you from your competitors. Having a mineral spa type pool can be a strong selling point to guests, many of whom are looking for the ultimate in relaxation while visiting your property.
Better yet, the system eliminates the burning eyes and irritated skin that are typically associated with pools maintained with other chlorine-based chemicals. In saline chlorination, chlorine is produced within the system, reducing handling and storage issues associated with chlorine bleach and acid to treat the pool or having to store chemicals in an onsite facility. Saline chlorination systems can produce up to 25 pounds a day, replacing the need for large amounts of hazardous chemicals.
Sanitizer costs are also locked in because sanitizer is produced onsite instead of added to your pool. You are no longer at the mercy of price increases for sanitizer such as those you experienced last year. Leasing or rental programs are also available without capital cash outlays, meaning additional savings. Due to the benefits associated with the system, many commercial facilities are turning to saline chlorination
It is replacing a large portion of the traditional sanitizer chemicals in the United States and is very common in many international markets, including Australia and South Africa. How to Get Started This decision may seem daunting, but with the right partner, caring for your resort pool facility can bring less worry, cost savings and fewer staff hassles. Your pool facility can be a differentiating factor both for “wowing” your guests and your bottom line.
To find out how to improve your bottom line profits, learn more about saline chlorination, and the advantages of outsourcing, contact your local pool care expert, visit www.commercialpoolcare.com or contact your local EcoLab representative.