At Star Resort Group, what do we see for the balance of 2011?
Looking back is not particularly encouraging: After the September 2008 financial collapse, we knew that business would be slow for a period of time. But did we expect it to be dormant this long? No. Consumer confidence is still in the dumper. We are worried about hyperinflation. Does the White House economic team know what they are doing? How do we get out from under the huge debt burden? What about entitlements?
We aren’t Americans for nothing! For amid all this uncertainty, our phones are ringing… not exactly off the hook, but ringing none-the-less. That has not happened for some time!
Who is calling? Developers, those wonderful folk who are either eternally optimistic or incredibly level headed. Projects in Wisconsin, Florida, Europe, Maine and upper New York are all coming alive.
Closer to home—at our own Residence Club at Whitefish Lake—we are ramping up our marketing to make a major push this summer to sell out our existing inventory and bring on new product. Drinking our own Kool-Aid? Yes we are.
Based on a solid marketing plan by our senior marketing guru Chris Cannon and aided by the visitor analysis created by Corey Ryan, we are dedicated to breaking open the sales log jam and get back into real business!
On that note, the 2010 Ragatz Study has just been released. It’s a bleak report, but we believe that it will stand as the industry’s nadir. So read it now; in eight months, we will be able to look back with pride at how far we’ve come since the dark days of 2009–10.
Here at Star we are off and running!
