WILLIAMSBURG, VA— Seeing the success that the waterparks have had in its midwest locations, Great Wolf Lodge branched out and launched a waterpark at its hotel there.
“It was our first property outside of the midwest and we were wondering how it would travel, but literally, the bookings to date— and more importantly for summer— have been just great,” said John Emery, Great Wolf Resorts CEO. “The thinking was that the success that we had in the midwest was not based on geography but on location to families.”
Considering the hotel’s proximity to top family destinations such as Busch Gardens, Jamestown, and colonial Williamsburg, this was an ideal location to test that strategy.
“Families go into historic Willimasburg and spend the day and they’ll come back and use the water park until 10 at night. It gives them something to do regardless of time of day or weather,” Emery said. “There are a lot of markets in the U.S. where there are lots of families and so we took a leap of faith and bought land in Willimsburg, the Poconos and Niagara Falls. We said, ‘We’re going to go where the families go,’ and from what we see here, this seems to be working.”
Emery said that there is no specific occupancy goal set in the first months, but he expects the Williamsburg property to be up to speed within the first 18 months.
“We ramp up very quickly,” he said. “We literally are cash flow positive as soon as we open.”
The company’s other resorts include Sheboygan, WI; Niagara Falls, Ontario; Kansas City, KS; Pocono Mountains, PA; Sandusky, OH; Traverse City, MI; and Wisconsin Dells, WI.
