News SEAS Hiring Director of Hotel Operations

[ControlsEE]

Looks like SEAS is looking for a "Director of Hotel Operations" to:

• Liaise with the Design and Operations teams to make decisions for operational activities and set strategic goals.
• Ensure operational excellence for all future hotels in portfolio; provides support, critique and guidance to hotels falling short of brand standards and/or company expectations.
• Ensure brand Compliance/Performance and approve action plans generated by hotel.
• Plan and monitor the day-to-day running of hotels to ensure smooth transition and progress.
• Guides, develops, and implements policies, procedure, and systems to improve business operations.
• Regularly evaluate the efficiency of business procedures according to organizational objectives and apply improvements.
• Oversight of all financial aspects of each hotel in portfolio: P & L, CapEx, Forecasting and Budgeting.
• Plan, implement, evaluate, and monitor budgets to achieve financial objectives and promote profitability.
• Manage relationships/agreements with external partners/vendors.

among other things

See full job posting here: Director, Hotel Operations at SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Corporate - SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Career Opportunities - Jobs at SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and Sesame Place


To me, this says that they are investigating hotels/resorts again and are looking for someone experienced in hotel management to help the corporate D&E team work up some projects. Maybe even take over an existing operation based on that 4th point.


Edit: looks like this got bumped to a new thread... guess this is bigger than I thought lol

 

[paintervision]

To me, this says that they are investigating hotels/resorts again and are looking for someone experienced in hotel management to help the corporate D&E team work up some projects. Maybe even take over an existing operation based on that 4th point.

Makes sense. Look at the strides that Cedar Fair, Legoland, and Dollywood have made recently with on-site resorts. That's the competition they should be chasing in regards to corporate strategy, in my opinion. Hotel acquisitions and maybe a new resort or two.

 

[kmccarthy27]

Let's say they do something along the lines of a Great Wolf in Williamsburg, does the water park in said hotel themed to Sesame Street count as a stand alone Sesame Place park they are obligated to build based on that deal that turned Aquatica San Diego into a Sesame Place?

 

[Seaworld History]

Let's say they do something along the lines of a Great Wolf in Williamsburg, does the water park in said hotel themed to Sesame Street count as a stand alone Sesame Place park they are obligated to build based on that deal that turned Aquatica San Diego into a Sesame Place?

Bahahahahah, like they would theme it that much

 

[tursiops]

I'm honestly scared at this point of them doing this. They can't effectively run what they have and understand, let alone this. I have long thought they needed resorts, but their current management style will not work.

 

[paintervision]

Let's say they do something along the lines of a Great Wolf in Williamsburg, does the water park in said hotel themed to Sesame Street count as a stand alone Sesame Place park they are obligated to build based on that deal that turned Aquatica San Diego into a Sesame Place?

I don't have the answer if it would count as a full-blown park. That said, the Sesame Place park in PA has some land next to the entrance that could be developed into a resort hotel, on a small scale like the Legoland Hotel in Florida with ~150 rooms, a pool, a shop, a lounge (with alcohol! for parents, of course) and family restaurant. Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster (owned by Palace Entertainment/Parques Reunidos) has a similar deal with the Cartoon Network hotel next door, too.

Given that PA's Sesame Place's calendar is basically open year-round for weekends in 2023 with the exceptions of a few weeks off in mid-January/early February, it could work well within those limits. Opens up more options for packages. Sesame Street skews young, so the idea of "go back to your hotel for an afternoon nap, steps away from the park" sounds like a good way to market it.

(And if it flops, they could always convert a hotel to employee dorms!)

 

[Nicole]

In case there is confusion about what (I believe) @kmccarthy27 was asking:

This is the referenced Aquatica conversion:

Aquatica San Diego to Become Sesame Place

SEAS has announced that the second Sesame Place will be opening in 2021 in San Diego on the site of the current Aquatica San Diego. https://sesameplace.com/san-diego/ https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/tourism/story/2019-10-21/seaworld-plans-a-new-sesame-place-theme-park-in-san-diego

parkfans.net

This is the referenced (pre-COVID) agreement to build new Sesame Places:

Sesame Place Williamsburg: Pros & Cons – BGWFans

An in-depth analysis of the pros and cons associated with the newly-proposed, Sesame-themed, children's park, Sesame Place Williamsburg

bgwfans.com

 

[deacfan31]

10 years ago, under the AB/Busch family management, I would have been excited. I can't say the same thing now. The cut backs, poor quality food and service, that's getting worse by the day, industry problem of finding employees, the uneven pay and bonuses creating animosity among employees, etc. From my recent experiences at BGW and SWO have me really considering dropping my membership and picking up a season full pass at Dollywood. I hate saying this because I've been a pass member for 20 years and own a lot of SEAS stock. It's all frustrating and sad.

 

[paintervision]

10 years ago, under the AB/Busch family management, I would have been excited. I can't say the same thing now. The cut backs, poor quality food and service, that's getting worse by the day, industry problem of finding employees, the uneven pay and bonuses creating animosity among employees, etc. From my recent experiences at BGW and SWO have me really considering dropping my membership and picking up a season full pass at Dollywood. I hate saying this because I've been a pass member for 20 years and own a lot of SEAS stock. It's all frustrating and sad.

Resort hotels are an investment up front, but can become cash cows in their own rights. It's a premium hotel that's connected with a park, either by walking paths or direct transportation, for guest convenience. Vacation packages usually end up costing more, with a few exclusive perks thrown in, like front of the line passes, character dining, theme rooms/suites, or extra park hours. However, these are popular because it's all bundled together, and it's hard to really breakdown or itemize the pricing for these perks.

From the business end, you can price rooms at a premium. As long as the room fixtures are in good condition, it's easy to keep the same room style for a decade or more. With a more year-round schedule at a lot of SeaWorld parks, even just selling out on weekends would be enough to keep a modest hotel afloat. It doesn't have to be just hotels, either. RV Campgrounds and cabin offerings are also popular - look at Lighthouse Point at Cedar Point, for example.

 

[Nicole]

I think the point is that SEAS no longer seems like a chain willing to make a high-quality investment regardless of the long-term gains. Moreover, it certainly isn’t running its parks in a way that would lead many of us to expect them to staff and maintain a resort in a way that would make it a pleasant experience.

 

[warfelg]

I think the point is that SEAS no longer seems like a chain willing to make a high-quality investment regardless of the long-term gains. Moreover, it certainly isn’t running its parks in a way that would lead many of us to expect them to staff and maintain a resort in a way that would make it a pleasant experience.

Sadly the “what should happen” is also the “least likely” too. Find a hotel to partner with that will let them do a “Busch Gardens/Seaworld/Sesame Street Inn by….” Basically let the hotel partner run it while SEAS gets the branding.

 

[kmccarthy27]

Sadly the “what should happen” is also the “least likely” too. Find a hotel to partner with that will let them do a “Busch Gardens/Seaworld/Sesame Street Inn by….” Basically let the hotel partner run it while SEAS gets the branding.

Much like how KOA is running Kings Dominion's campground know?

 

[Mushroom]

Much like how KOA is running Kings Dominion's campground know?

KOA doesn’t run KD’s campground. The park still operates it. They just have KOA’s branding now.

 

[ControlsEE]

KOA doesn’t run KD’s campground. The park still operates it. They just have KOA’s branding now.

So it's a franchise. If I'm not mistaken, I believe that's how a lot of hotel chains operate. I seem to remember something a while back about a lawsuit against Hilton because some manager didn't accommodate for some ADA thing. The suit was dismissed on the grounds that Hilton was not responsible for their franchisee's actions, so long as the corporate entity didn't direct them to do something illegal.

 

[Jonesta6]

If my memory serves, that campground has always had KOA branding but may have changed out amenities - definitely got rid of Hannah-Barbera IP.

 

[Nicole]

So. Hotels at SEAS parks...

 

[Jonesta6]

I question the necessity for most of their operations.

The reality is they operate mostly seasonal regional parks. Sure a hotel at the truly year-round parks may be profitable but it's questionable - not hard to imagine there may not be enough demand for them given other offerings close by and at some points through the year the majority of guests are locals.

For the seasonal parks, there's even more chance for the demand to be low, especially for the premium pricing likely to be charged.

I'd also think there's not really good locations for these hotels - the parks weren't designed with the idea of a resort in mind, so retrofitting then into the existing footprint may be difficult/expensive.


Obviously, though, SEAS has thought through these things and decided to go for it anyways.

 

[paintervision]

For the seasonal parks, there's even more chance for the demand to be low, especially for the premium pricing likely to be charged.

It's all about scalability. Room rates can change, and you can charge more when a seasonal park is open, or close a resort when it's not.
Also, what SeaWorld parks are seasonal anymore? BGW's basically year-round on weekends these days. Compare that to a park like Cedar Point which is truly seasonal (May through October, no Spring Break or Christmas events).