virna17janmar

JANUARY – MARCH 2017
VACATION INDUSTRY REVIEW
RESORTDEVELOPER.COM
products of live fish — yields fresh mint, basil, and
green onions. “It’s such a great story to be able to
tell guests, ‘We grew this basil 50 feet away from
where you are right now, and we picked it an hour
before we started dinner service.’”
The farm-to-fork philosophy will carry over
to the restaurant at The Westin Nanea Ocean
Villas, also in Maui, scheduled to open this year.
A key component of the sustainability story
is community. “Because of our size, our purchasing
power can really make an impact,” Maeda says.
“The more we use locally, the more we help support
farmers and growers, which, in turn, supports the
community. Being on an island, we need to make
sure we’re driving the local economy in the right
direction, too.”
JOYÀ at Vidanta Riviera Maya blends a dining experience with a Cirque du Soleil
show. The dishes reflect the action on stage, and even the menu can be eaten.
Tying in Timesharing
Timeshare resorts are discovering that creating
buzz by offering a unique restaurant experience
can increase sales, bolster brand loyalty, and generate
additional revenue by attracting more tourists and local residents.
“With 50 restaurant and bar venues, we are a very sizeable force
in the restaurant business,” Waltrip says. “We’re operating at about a
22-percent margin, so it’s become a very healthy, very vibrant part of
our business.” Area tourists and local residents make up two-thirds of
Westgate’s restaurant clientele in the popular vacation destinations
it serves, and Westgate rewards its vacation owners with a 15-percent
discount.
A different formula guided the establishment of Lakeside Seafood
& Grill, a 150-seat steakhouse featuring certified Angus beef, which
opened with the third phase of The Huronic Residences at Living Water
on the shores of Georgian Bay in Collingwood, Ontario, Canada.
“We’re a town with 22,000 people and over 100 restaurants, so it’s
quite a competitive market,” says Warren Smith, executive vice president
of Law Development Group. “Even though we knew we had a great
location, we had to make sure that the resort was big enough to sustain
about 50 percent of the business.” The only waterfront restaurant within
37 miles (60 kilometers), Lakeside was an instant hit — serving steak,
sustainable seafood, fresh lake fish, and locally grown fruits and vegetables
— with phenomenal lake views. “What I’ve heard now is that it’s
really the place to eat in Collingwood,” Smith says.
The decision to also include a 16-seat kitchen theater at the resort
was made with tour generation in mind. “We’ve actually noticed the efficiencies
are quite high on those tours, in particular,” he says. “I think,
traditionally, timeshare marketing has been here’s what you do and you
do it by yourself. This gets people communicating and gives them that
social outlet they’re looking for.”
A Passion for Participating
Participation is the secret ingredient of the new dining experience.
Guests are trying new flavors, learning cooking techniques, touring
on-site greenhouses and aquaponics gardens, and posting photos of
dinner plates on Instagram.
“We’re pushing for more sharing dishes on our menus
so people can literally share food, which brings up a conversation,”
Karisma’s Hanlo says. “We believe in total
transparency. If someone wants to walk with me into the
butchery to see how things are done, that’s not a problem.
We’re proud of the products we have. We know how to
handle them.”
The resorts’ passion for innovation and guest hunger
for new experiences feed on each other. The Westin
Ka’anapali’s Maeda recounts, “Sometimes we’ll post
something, and literally minutes later, somebody will
show up and say, ‘Hey, I just saw this thing about what
you guys are doing. Can you tell me more about it?’ We
have to stay on top of it and be sure that we can answer
those questions and share the stories when people
come to us. It’s exciting.”
Joyce Hadley Copeland, based in Tucson, Arizona, contributes
regularly to travel and hospitality publications and websites.
20