Sales & Marketing Services - Success Stories

Six Flags Great Escape Lodge and Indoor Water Park- Queensbury, New York – Pre-Opening Sales and Marketing Direction -- 2005

The HVS Assignment
Six Flags, the amusement park company opened the first indoor water park hotel in New York State and the first water park hotel in their company. The park opened on land that is part of The Great Escape amusement park in Queensbury, New York (between Saratoga Springs and Lake George). The goal was to create a year-round resort in an area traditionally known as a summer destination, though there is skiing in the winter. The opening of the water park was scheduled in the winter, by an organization with only one senior hotel executive. The hotel needed a strong sales and marketing plan that would enable to hotel to quickly position itself in the market. It also had to serve as a turn key plan for a marketing director once hired closer to opening. The hotel also required the tools and mechanisms to have a strong Internet presence.

Results
HVS Sales & Marketing Services spent 9 months in a retainer relationship with the hotel. We worked directly with the Vice President of Hospitality, amusement park management, and guided the efforts of the advertising and public relations agencies. Property visits, weekly conference calls, attending area trade shows and working with clients were all part of our assignment. Additional activities included-

• Researching the feeder markets to the area, learning the corporate, association, and SMERF group meeting needs of the area;
• Understanding how the majority of reservations were made at local hotels in order to create a robust GDS and Internet presence;
• Comparing the Lake George destination to other similar regional areas in the country in order to identify and present a targetted media plan for the hotel.

This information and more was analyzed and assembled to become part of the hotel’s pre-opening sales and marketing plan. We also assisted in establishing rates and expense budgets and developing hotel collateral including the pre-opening website.