HA530 I RESORT DEVELOPMENT & MANAGEMENT RESORT DEVELO

HA530 I
RESORT DEVELOPMENT & MANAGEMENT
RESORT DEVELOPMENT PLAN PROJECT
Project Snapshot
Picture this…you are an innovative entrepreneur looking to
build a unique resort that will cater to a
specific target market. Your mission is to develop a
comprehensive resort development plan that
outlines major resort design decisions, including site
drawings/floor plans and other supporting visuals.
During the process of creating your plan, you will make a series
of decisions based on the content of the
course. For instance, in terms of size, will your resort be high-
rise, garden-type, sprawling ranch or
timeshares? Where will your resort be located—in the
mountains, on an exotic beach or maybe a
peaceful lakeside retreat? As far as service, will your resort
offer world-class amenities, headliner
entertainment, celebrity chefs, or versatile recreation options?
These are just some of the aspects you

will consider as you visualize your resort concept and layout.
The key is to apply the principles learned through your readings
and discussions to develop a viable
resort development plan. Throughout this course, the
development plan will form your assignment and
some discussion requirements.
Specifications
Project Length
• 5 weeks
Components
• 5-Phase Resort Development Plan
− Phase 1: Resort Concept & Offerings
− Phase 2: Resort Design & Environmental Concerns
− Phase 3: Resort Market Profile & Analysis
− Phase 4: Financial Projections
− Phase 5: Operations Management Plan
PHASE 1: RESORT CONCEPT & OFFERINGS

Part I: Resort Concept is the most critical piece of your resort
development plan because here is where
you are shaping a product and/or service to the needs of a
specific target market. To be successful, it’s
important to think things through—make sure your resort
offerings are creative, but logical for the
audience you have selected. With a solid concept in place, the
rest of your report will be able to flow
smoothly and reinforce your exciting ideas.
A. Resort Theme
1. Resort Type -- Describe the type of resort you are developing
(spa, seaside, fishing, ski,
mega resort, urban, casino…or another type not listed here)
2. Seasonality – Explain whether your resort is operational in
winter, summer or both and
why that makes sense
B. Resort Name
How did you come up with the name? Does it have any
symbolic meaning? Why is it a
good choice for your resort theme and audience? What
impression do you want the
name to convey (fun, sophistication, romance, exotic, rustic,
family, etc.)? Paint a
picture of how you want your resort to be viewed by your
audience. Your name should
give a visual of who you are, but how do you further describe

that?
C. Resort Location
Provide a general overview of the area in which your resort will
be developed:
1. Physical Location – City, state, country
2. Description of the location (climate? remoteness? suitable
landscape/terrain)
3. Justification for This Location (nearby attractions?
accessibility? any other reasons?)
Part II: Resort Offerings: Whether your guests are traveling for
business, pleasure, or a combination of
both, your resort offerings should create a wide range of
potential benefits for your guests. Remember,
make your resort shine and be the venue of choice by offering
facilities that lend themselves well to
achieving whatever your guest goals/needs/expectations may be!
A. Accommodations
Include an overview statement that gives us a general sense of
your accommodations and
what makes it unique in the industry.
1. Total Number of Rooms – How many rooms does your resort
offer?

2. Types/Number of Accommodations – Provide a breakdown of
each type of
accommodation and how many of those accommodations you
offer. (Ex.: kings, queens,
double queens, double doubles, suites [no. of rooms/suite,
presidential, executive, etc.],
cabins, condos, townhouses, etc.)
3. Special Features – Describe any special characteristics or
features of certain
accommodation types that make it unique or attractive to your
target audience.
(Ex.: adjoining/connecting rooms, barrier-free, free high-speed
Internet, free cable,
Jacuzzi, view, bar, etc.)
4. ADA accommodations – How many ADA rooms will you
have? What are the features
that classify them as ADA compliant?
B. Food/Beverage/Entertainment Outlets
1. On-site Restaurants/Eateries – Provide colorful descriptions
of each restaurant on your
premises – What is the seating capacity? Is the restaurant
informal, formal, gourmet,
themed, a snack bar, etc.? Does your restaurant sell liquor?
Have an adjacent bar? Is
there any form of entertainment in your restaurant? Any other
creative features that
make your restaurant fun, exciting, romantic, etc.?

2. Bars/Lounges – Provide colorful descriptions of the types of
bars on your premises –
How many? Where on the property? Is the bar a pub, lounge,
sports bar, martini bar,
etc.? Is there any type of entertainment offered at the bar?
3. Additional Entertainment – Outside of your restaurants and
bars, do you offer your
guests any other entertainment outlets such as a comedy club,
floor show, theatre,
concert hall, etc.?
C. Recreational Facilities
1. On-site Facilities – Describe the various sports and
recreational activities available to
your guests. (golf, mini-golf, horseback riding, ice skating,
skiing, tennis, racquetball,
weight room, laser tag, etc.) Be sure to elaborate on the
physical specs and special
features of each facility. (Ex: If you have a golf course, is it a 9
or 18-hole course?
Championship caliber? Designed by a famous golfer? Host a
PGA competition? What are
the challenging aspects of the course? Does it include a driving
range, putting green, pro
shop, etc.?)
2. Off-site Recreational Attractions – Describe any other nearby
recreational facilities that
your guests would be interested in (amusement/water parks,
professional sporting
events, boating, ski slopes, bungee jumping, etc.) Off your
resort property, are there any

nearby entertainment venues that cater to your target audience’s
interests? (Such as
annual festivals, concert arenas, historic landmarks, tours, etc.)
D. Meeting & Banquet Facilities
1. Meeting Space – List the types of rooms available for
meetings and conferences. Include
setup options (meeting room style, T-style, R-style, theater
style, etc.) and the seating
capacity for each setup. What features or equipment make the
space conducive for
meetings? (sound-proof, ergonomic design, video conferencing,
etc.) Provide several
examples of the types of meetings that would be typically
booked there.
2. Banquet Space – List the types of indoor or outdoor areas
used to cater special events.
Include any creative touches that make the space unique or
especially alluring to
potential guests. Provide several examples of the types of
affairs that could be held in
these spaces.
E. Retail Space (if applicable)
1. Describe the types of retail businesses available on your
premises. Also describe any
nearby retail establishments that could cater to the needs of
your guests. (Ex.: hair
salons, gift shops, spas, travel agents, eateries, car rentals,

shopping districts, etc.)
F. Modes of Transportation
1. Explain the means by which your guests will travel to and
from your resort. Also explain
how they will be transported to other areas of your property,
other than walking.
(Ex.: airport shuttle, taxicab, tour buses, golf carts, boats,
Segways, parking facilities, etc.)
G. Special Amenities
Most hotels offer standard amenities like shampoo, shoeshine
kits, candy on the pillow,
continental breakfast, etc. Describe the unique amenities you
created that go above and
beyond the please your guests (Ex.: table-side cooking,
personalized concierge service,
celebrity wine-tasting, fresh cut flowers, shoeshine service,
etc.)
PHASE 2: RESORT DESIGN & ENVIRONMENTAL
CONCERNS
Your resort can have the most luxurious accommodations and
state-of-the art offerings, but if

your facilities are not strategically designed or logically
located, your guests may become
frustrated or disinterested. In this section of your report,
explain how your resort elements are
physically situated to make your guests’ experience both
pleasurable and convenient. You will
also include a detailed discussion on the environmental
concerns and decisions you will make.
A. Resort Layout & Justification
Draw and label a diagram that shows the general layout of your
resort, including:
1. Buildings (lodge, cabins, spa, indoor tennis facility,
restaurants, etc.)
2. Outdoor recreational facilities (horseback riding, golf course,
ski slopes, pool,
etc.)
3. Landscaping (lake, ocean, woods, trails, gardens, roadways,
parking, etc.)
4. Explain the reasoning behind your chosen locations (why
each facility or
attraction makes sense where it is located or the way it was
designed).
B. ADA Considerations
In Phase 1 you included ADA specifications for your room

accommodations, now we
want to look at the rest of the property. Describe six (6) other
ways that your resort
will accommodate the needs of individuals with disabilities.
This could be applied to
any area of the resort.
C. Environmental Considerations
Resort developments have always impacted the environments
and societies in which
they are created.
1. For your specified location, identify and discuss three (3)
environmental issues
you may face. For each one, identify solutions which will bring
benefits to all
parties concerned.
2. Identify and discuss at least six (6) design elements and/or
practices that would
qualify your resort as an environmentally responsible “green
resort.”
PHASE 3: RESORT MARKET PROFILE & ANALYSIS
Your resort can have the most luxurious accommodations and

state-of-the art offerings, but if your
resort is not strategically designed for, and marketed to, your
identified target group then all your
efforts may be in vain. In this section of your report, you will
provide a detailed view of your target
market, your competition, and a description of the ways you
will differentiate your product from the
competition.
A. Target Market (Potential Guests)
a. Identify your potential customers and explain why this
market segment is a good fit for
your resort concept. You should use the following market
segmentation strategies in
your analysis (as applicable):
• Geographics
• Demographics
• Socio-economic
• Psychographics
• Behavior Patterns
• Consumption Patterns
• Consumer

Predispositions
B. Competitive Analysis
1. Key Competitors – Who are they and where are they located?
Each resort must be
aware of who is its immediate competitor, and typically identify
a group of competitors
to measure against. Identify four (4) competitors in your
identified location to form
your competitive set. For each competitor, provide a detailed
description of their facility
and offerings. Discuss why you chose each of these as a member
of your competitive
set.
2. Competitor Comparison – Select one (1) key competitor from
your competitive set and
conduct a comparative analysis of both yours and their strengths
and weaknesses in
terms of:
i. Facilities
ii. Services/amenities
iii. Packages/price levels
3. Provide a detailed description of how your property will
stand out from the rest of
the competition?

PHASE 4: FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS
In this section of your report, you will calculate a rooms
supportable estimate and a one -year
financial projection to the point of income before fixed charges
for the hypothetical resort
development project. All calculations in Microsoft Excel
requires a formula. You MUST input the
formula where required. Download the excel template and
SAVE AS Development Plan Phase 4.
A. Rooms Supportable Estimate – Microsoft Excel
Using data from the competitive set identified, you will
calculate the rooms supportable estimate on
Sheet 1 of the Excel file provided. Some assumptions are made
for you; however, you will use the data
for the competitive set identified in Phase 3 of the project. The
objective is to calculate the number of
rooms the market can support at this time.
After calculating, analyze the results. Your analysis should
answer the questions: 1) Will your project be
a good fit for this market? 2) Why or why not?

B. One-year Financial Projection – Microsoft Excel
On Sheet 2 of the Excel file, use the following information to
calculate financial projections for your
property. You will make decisions about some elements, while
others are assumed for you. After
calculating, analyze the results. Your analysis should answer
the questions: 1) Will your project be a
financially viable one? 2) Why or why not?
Financial Projection Data
Number of rooms in YOUR proposed resort property Data
needed
YOUR proposed Average Room Rate Data needed
Projected Occupancy Market Occupancy calculated in
Sheet 1
Food Revenues (calculate using most expensive restaurant
dinner meal)
Number of seats in YOUR proposed restaurant Data
needed
Average check in YOUR proposed restaurant Data
needed
Seat Turn-over Rate for YOUR proposed restaurant

Data needed
Beverage Revenues 32% of food revenues
Telecommunications Revenue $1.50 per occupied room
Other Revenues 15% of room revenues
Expense Assumptions
Rooms:
Payroll & related expenses 27%
Other expenses 15%
Food & Beverage
Food Cost 32%
Beverage Cost 18%
Payroll & related expenses 17%
Other F & B expenses 9%
Telecommunication Expense 7% greater than telephone
revenues
Undistributed Operating Expenses
Administrative & General (A&G) 7%
Marketing 5%

Property Operations & Maintenance (P.O.M.) 5%
Energy 7%
Management Fees 9%
NOTES
Room Revenue= No. of rooms * average rate * occupancy * 365
days (for example: 350 * $175 *
73% * 365)
Telecommunications Revenue Example:
• $1.50 per occupied rooms
• Occupied rooms = 365 days X Projected Occupancy X Number
of rooms
• Telecommunications Revenue: ([365 * 73% * 350] * 1.50)
The components of this assignment should include:
1. Lodging Demand Profile
2. Market Segmentation
3. Potential Growth Demand
4. Rooms Supportable Estimate
5. Projected Revenues and Expenses

PHASE 5: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT PLAN
Resort operations are quite different than the usual lodging
operations. For starters, guests are
generally staying longer than a night or two...usually a
minimum of a week. Because they are staying for
the purpose of leisure and relaxation and are more times than
not paying a hefty price for such, guests
have raised expectations. This puts an additional strain on the
personnel and property.
In a successful resort, the people and partnerships are as
important as the services offered. In this
section of your report, outline your plan to develop a positive
corporate culture that promotes
productivity, unity, and respect among your employees and
community.
A. Mission Statement
Write a succinct mission statement that reveals the ‘what, who
and why’ of your resort.
B. Organizational Chart
Draw and label a chart that shows the chain of command within
your organization, including
departments and job titles.

C. Guest Services
Referring to your mission statement, describe how you would
organize different departments to
display a TRUE ‘culture of service’ to guests of your resort
(how will your employees deliver on
high quality service). Additionally, identify one (1) unique
feature/strategy/amenity which each
department will be known for. These departments may include,
but are not limited to, the
following:
• Reservations
• Front Office
• Food and Beverage
• Recreation
• Housekeeping
D. Personnel
Briefly describe the following in relation to your resort:
1. Recruitment – List and describe the various recruiting
techniques that you would use to
locate prospective employees
2. Community Involvement – identify and describe three (3)
community programs/social
initiatives that would be important for you (as a company) and

your identified locale. How
would you be involved in these community programs and
immerse yourself in the
development of the society?
E. Potential Partnerships
Now that you have completely designed your resort, identify,
and discuss some partnerships which
may be influential in your successful operations. You are
required to identify the following and
provide purpose and advantages of each component:
a) Two (2) purveyors of products for operations
b) Two (2) purveyors of products/services for guests
c) Two (2) industry-related membership organizations
d) Two (2) distribution channels, and
e) make a case for, or against, branding (franchising).
As well, review negative impacts, if any, and discuss a plan to
reduce those impacts.
FINAL SUBMISSION

Over the next few days, take the opportunity to review your
entire plan to tie up loose ends,
add detail as needed, and perform any remaining
editing/proofing that will enhance the quality
of the final product. Remember to incorporate any omissions,
changes, adjustments, edits,
that may have resulted from the discussion board component
and/or instructor comments on
phases graded.
All changes must be indexed in a table (sample below) and
submitted as a separate document.
EDITS PAGE # RATIONALE FOR CHANGE
Redesigned position of the
pool closer to activities
department
15 As my colleague pointed out, the noise from the
pool may have been too much for the rooms close
by.
THE FULL FINAL PLAN SUBMISSION:

Copy and paste all individual phases into one seamless
document, include a cover page. Your
cover page can be one designed to reflect your concept. Copy
and paste Excel components into
Word for inclusion. Submit the Project Development Plan as
one final document. The edits
table is submitted as a separate document with the final plan.
Social Media Marketing Plan: The Consultant Sheet
#1: Clarify Your Social Media Strategy to Develop a Clear Path
Forward
Marketers know that having a documented strategy is strongly
correlated with success. But we also know that social media
marketing moves fast, often leaving documented strategies
obsolete shortly after they’re written.
The best approach, then, is to keep your strategy simple,
flexible, and adaptable. That way, you can provide your team
with a framework to follow without spending an excessive
amount of time crafting a plan that will be rendered useless
tomorrow.
Here’s what a basic strategy should include:
· Goals. What will you achieve?
· Customer persona. Who are you targeting?
· Brand voice summary. How should your content sound?
· Selected networks. Where will you be present?
· Posting frequency. How often will you post?
· Budget. How much will it cost?
You can easily document your strategy by creating a Word
document or PowerPoint presentation with sections dedicated to
each of these points.

To save some time, you can use this publicly available Google
Sheets template. It’s easily editable and includes a slide for
each of the following sections.
Set Goals
This post is all about getting organized to improve your odds of
success. Before you can define success, however, you need to
set clear goals. They’re what you’ll measure your results
against.
The first step is to determine your business objectives, and then
set social media goals that align with those objectives. This will
ensure that your strategy impacts actual business outcomes.
Marketers commonly ask how they can set ambitious yet
achievable goals. This question is difficult to answer without
knowing how your business is currently performing, how long
it’s been active on a given network, and other factors.
If you’re struggling to nail down numbers, consider starting
with the average of your performance over the last 90 days on
any given metrics, and aim for a 10% improvement over the
next quarter. Should you blow past that goal, increase the
percentage for the following quarter after that. Fall short,
however, and you may need to reconsider your strategy or
tactics.
Using an experimental approach, the idea is to simply find a
starting point, and then go from there based on data and
performance.
What matters most is that you’re paying attention to the social
media metrics that most closely align with what your business
needs to achieve.
Develop a Customer Persona
If your marketing team has already created a persona for your
target customer, then this step will be easy.
However, if you’re developing one from scratch, there are ways
to simplify the process. Creating personas can be complex but
you can take a lean approach to get started.
Begin by determining who your target customer might be. Your

marketing team may have this information or it might be within
another business unit in your organization.
Next, use in-app analytics on your company’s Facebook page to
find some basic information about your fans.
Log into your company’s Facebook page, then visit the Insights
tab, and click People within the left-hand navigation. Here, you
can find some basic information about your fans:
· Age
· Gender
· Geographic location
· Language
Next, ask the following questions:
· Who do we believe is our target customer?
· Does our social media following align with this demographic?
· How can we construct a basic description of our ideal
customer?
The answers to these questions will help you understand
whether social media is attracting the best prospects to your
business. It can also help you understand the interests of the
visitors who convert most on your website.
Establish a Brand Voice for Social Media
What do many of the most successful brands on social media
have in common?
A distinctive voice/personality.
How do these brands do it? They understand their brand voice.
Developing one for your company is a key part of staying
organized versus having your posts sound scattershot.
Here’s an easy way to establish brand voice:
· Ask a few questions about who you are?
· Ask a few questions regarding who you are not?
For example, your finished brand voice summary might be:
We are light-hearted, but we are not goofy.
We are humorous, but we are not snarky.
We are inspirational, but we are not cheesy.
Try it and see what you can come up with that might resonate
with your audience.

Audit and Prioritize Your Networks
The next step in getting organized is understanding which
networks you need to be on.
This includes determining:
· Which networks are performing well right now: Analytics of
each platform will let you know what’s doing well and what
isn’t.
· Which networks are underperforming: Consider whether
they’re worth keeping or if your execution simply needs
improvement.
· Which networks you should consider joining: Are there
networks you’re not on but that could be effective for your
business?
It’s best to manage each network within a social media
scheduling and management platform. There are many of these
available. Consider options that include collaboration,
workflow, and task management capabilities to maximize your
organizational power.
Establish a Posting Frequency
There’s no set posting frequency that can guarantee success.
However, maintaining a consistent posting schedule is vital for
staying organized and maintaining a continuous presence.
A business could start with the following schedule for each
network:
· Facebook: 1 post per day
· Twitter: 3 tweets per day
· Pinterest: 2 pins per day
· LinkedIn: 1 post per day
· Instagram: 2 post per day
· TikTok: 1 post per week
· YouTube: 2 videos per week
Adjust your approach according to resulting social media
metrics, which networks you’re active on, and available
resources to create social content.
#2: Organize Project Planning to Eliminate Ambiguity
Proper planning precedes success. Marketers who carefully plan

their campaigns and projects are more likely to be successful.
Start Every Campaign With a Creative Brief
It’s easier to keep projects organized when everyone is
(literally) on the same page.
A creative brief (or project brief, depending on your preferred
terminology) is a one-page document that lists the requirements
for a project or campaign. It should include the following pieces
of information:
· Project summary: Describe the project or campaign at a high
level.
· Details: This should answer who the project is aimed at, its
goal, and the technical requirements for deliverables (e.g.,
image sizes, video resolution, etc.).
· Process: List the steps that need to be completed in order.
· Team members: Who will work on this project?
· Timeline: When is the project due?
· Resources: What will you need to get this done?
You can also use the template pictured below, which you can
find here.
Set Up Social Media Workflows With Checklists
Checklists are powerful organizational tools when wielded the
right way.
By documenting your workflows as checklists, you can make
sure every task and campaign gets completed the right way
every time. They ensure nothing gets missed and help develop
positive habits.
Follow these steps to plan out an effective workflow:
· List all the steps required to complete a certain type of project
(campaign planning, video shoot, etc.).
· Estimate how long each step generally takes (and if you don’t
know the answer, ask the person who typically completes that

task).
· Assign each task to a team member along with a deadline for
each task.
Here’s a sample set of steps for creating a social media
campaign.
[ ] Develop campaign concept.
[ ] Write social media posts.
[ ] Draft direction for social media design.
[ ] Design social media graphics.
[ ] Review copy and design.
[ ] Import copy and graphics into social media scheduling tool.
[ ] Set publishing date and time.
Now, here’s the same workflow with a team member assigned to
each step:
[ ] Develop campaign concept. (Strategist)
[ ] Write social media posts. (Copywriter)
[ ] Draft direction for social media design. (Copywriter)
[ ] Design social media graphics. (Graphic Designer)
[ ] Review copy and design. (Manager)
[ ] Import copy and graphics into social media scheduling tool.
(Strategist)
[ ] Set publishing date and time. (Strategist)
Follow this process to develop workflows that make sense for
you. Start with tasks, then add assignees and estimated
completion times.
#3: Coordinate Posts and Campaigns With a Social Media
Calendar
How often have you been asked to create a post (or even a
campaign) on the spot? And how have you felt about the work
you’ve completed without planning? The answer to those
questions is probably “too often” and “not great.”
What’s the solution? Use a social media calendar to
strategically plan posts and make sure you always have enough
content to keep your audience engaged.
The most cost-effective way to build a calendar is with a
spreadsheet; you can find a publicly available template at no

cost here (please download the file or click File > Make a Copy
to create a copy for yourself). This is what it looks like:
It’s simple and straightforward to use. For each post, include
the following:
· Post copy: Your caption or post text.
· Image link: Store your image in cloud storage (Google Drive,
Dropbox, etc.) or a digital asset manager, and link to where
each image can be found.
· Time: When should the post be published?
· URL: If the post will include an external link.
Next, devise a simple color-coding system to organize your
calendar. Here are some ideas for how your calendar could be
organized by color:
· Campaigns: All posts tied to one campaign should be color -
coded together.
· Content types: Videos, posts sharing blog posts, and others
· Team members: Who’s responsible for creating each post?
You can edit or color-code this calendar to fit as many posts as
you need, and organize it any way you’d like.
Pro Tip: Use a content-approval process to review work
efficiently and make sure errors don’t get published.
#4: Develop a Budget Showing Costs
Although much of social media is free, there are usually costs
associated with increased usage options for business purposes.
As you develop your social media marketing plan, include the
costs involved for personnel, promotion, hardware acquisition
and software utilization.
#5: Establish a Reporting Schedule to Prove Your Value
Part of the reason we’re taking time to get organized is to
improve business and marketing outcomes. To show how you’re
doing this, you’ll need to report on social media marketing
performance. This should be something that’s done on a regular
basis so you aren’t caught without an answer when asked how
you’re contributing value to the company.
Most social media management platforms include analytics and

reporting functionality. Use yours to export and email reports
on a weekly or monthly basis. Consider looping in anyone who
might benefit from having that information (or anyone who may
be interested).
Adapted from the Social Media Marketing Plan by Ben Sailer.

HA530 I RESORT DEVELOPMENT & MANAGEMENT RESORT DEVELO

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