COOPERSTOWN, NY—Unlike many resorts that are located on remote beaches or isolated mountaintops, the 103-year-old Otesaga Resort Hotel, here, is right in the middle of a historic village. Guests—both leisure and business—may want to enjoy the resort itself, but most also want to visit Cooperstown’s many local destinations while they’re there, starting with the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
These attractions, while creating demand for The Otesaga, also underscore the need for the 13-seat, Ford Econoline 350-model shuttle van that the resort operates, in part, to take guests around town.
“There’s always demand on the shuttle van to transport guests, not only to the Hall of Fame, but to the Farmers’ Museum, the Fenimore Art Museum and the Clark Sports Center, all of which are in fairly close proximity to the resort,” explained Robert Faller, director of sales & marketing.
Demand for the shuttle van is so great, in fact, that The Otesaga maintains a fleet of four limousines that are intended mostly for VIP corporate guests, but that can be pressed into use for other purposes as well. There is also a picturesque trolley car system running through the village that operates independently of the resort, but which guests are welcome to use. A nominal fee gets them an all-day pass.
“We’re fortunate the town has four trolleys, which are charming. We’re their biggest customer,” Faller said. “We’ll hire a trolley to pick up guests at our front door and take them to dinner at the Baseball Hall of Fame, for example, or for an event we’re catering at the Farmers’ Museum. The shuttle van will be on call as back-up.”
With more than 12,000 sq. ft. of meeting and event space, the 135-room resort does a significant amount of group business. Given the demand on the shuttle van and the large number of people involved, however, group meeting planners working with Faller’s staff usually make other arrangements for getting meeting attendees to the property from either the Cooperstown train station or the two closest airports, which are in Albany and Syracuse.
“Considering arrival and departure schedules, it just makes more sense for groups to arrange for their own transportation, whether it means chartered bus or sedan cars,” he noted. “In certain instances, of course, it makes sense to make the shuttle van available, so we proceed on a case-by-case basis.”
Flexibility is the key. During weekends in the peak summer season, when the resort is full, some of The Otesaga’s 320 employees, working certain shifts, may be asked to park their cars off the premises. The shuttle van is then dispatched to bring them the rest of the way.
Of course, as a full-service resort, The Otesaga—which was built in 1909 by Edward and Stephen Clark, heirs to the Singer Sewing Machine Co. fortune—sits on the shore of Lake Otsego and offers a host of amenities right on the property. Consequently, many guests—including repeat guests who have already seen the local attractions—have no need for the shuttle van. The highly regarded Leatherstocking Golf Course, for instance, adjoins the hotel.
Another whole set of demands on the shuttle van comes from guests who are receiving treatment at Cooperstown’s Bassett Medical Center, a 180-bed, acute care training hospital that is affiliated with Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York.
People who are patients at the hospital stay at the resort before being admitted. “They’ll stay with us while they do their pre-op tests. Then after the procedure, they’ll do their post-op tests here,” Faller explained.
Other people may be receiving care strictly on an out-patient basis and they’ll stay at the resort as well. “Similarly, family members of people receiving treatment at Bassett often stay with us, while the patient is receiving care,” he added.
Being able to take the shuttle van up and back to the hospital is certainly appreciated by these guests, Faller noted. “There’s the convenience factor, but also the sense of personal attention they get using our shuttle,” he said.
The shuttle is also appreciated by the hospital because staff members know the service is available and reliable. “They can count on patients getting to their hospital appointments on time.” Like the resort, the medical center was built by the Clark family and members of the family are still active on the board.
Shuttle van drivers tend to be longtime bellmen at the resort. Repeat guests, in particular, get to know them by name, which gives the service a personal dimension. “This is especially true for patients at Bassett,” Faller noted. Drivers obviously also know the town well. So should a guest have forgotten to pack a certain item and need to buy a replacement, the drivers know which shop to find it.
