welkconnect - Welk Resorts
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welkconnect - Welk Resorts
welkconnect APRIL 2013 NEWSLETTER Your Owners Lounge Winning Award Resort Mountain Villas New Construction San Diego • Palm Springs • Branson • Cabo San Lucas Transformation Owner Services Growing Our Team Table of Contents 1-3 4 4 4-5 6 7 8 8 9 From our General Managers Owners Lounge Expansion Mountain Villas Expansion Your Award Winning Resort Owner Services Expansion Associate Spotlight Day Use at Welk Resorts! Interval International Owner Assistance Recreational Day Use 2013 Welk Resorts • Cabo San Lucas welkconnect Welcome from Jon Fredricks - Welk Resorts, President To our Dear Welk Family of Owners, I would like to take a minute and introduce our brand new Welk Owners Newsletter. This newsletter was created with the sole purpose of sending you information and insights on what is happening here at Welk Resorts. As you know, we value each of our Welk Family and want to keep you abreast of all the exciting changes and events as we go continue to grow in the new year. We hope you find the information helpful and of course, please feel free to reach out to us and let us know how we’re doing. From our General Managers Dathan Atchison - Welk Resort, Branson, Mo. While the area is a little quiet during the winter season, it’s been very busy at our resort in Branson. Our teams have been working around the clock to renovate the Hotel and it’s looking great! Portions of the project are just about completed and the guests who’ve stayed with us so far have been thrilled. This total renovation literally includes everything from floor to ceiling. Working with Juli Russell Designs, we’ve implemented a concept that is tasteful and compliments the feel of the Ozarks region. Of course the improvements didn’t stop at the guest room door. All of our public areas, meeting rooms, lobby and guest registration will also get a facelift, with targeted completion dates of late April. It’s warm, inviting and we’re sure our guests are going to love it. During this slower paced time of the year, our guests have loved spending time in our cozy and rustic Lodges at Tim- ber Ridge. Relaxing by the fireplace is certainly a favorite past time on a cool, crisp winter night. Maintenance weeks were completed over the winter months as well, with our team taking advantage of the quiet to fine tune each unit with annual preventative care and upkeep. March 14th kicks off our theatre season as TV’s most popular game show returns to Branson! The Price is Right Live, Stage Show premiered with us last season and was a bit hit! Huge audience participation and all the games we love, from Plinko to the Big Wheel. There are dozens of winners in every show, so Come on Down to Win! It’s also not too early to begin making plans to see the legendary entertainer Tony Orlando. Tony will be performing for his 20th and Final Season here in Branson this November. Be sure to catch this inspiring and wonderful performance before it’s gone. 8860 Lawrence Welk Drive • Escondido, CA 92026 www.welkresorts.com Of course there is always so much to see and do in Branson. Silver Dollar City is adding a new $10 million dollar roller coaster, Outlaw Run and travel options into the area abound with the addition of Southwest Airlines. We’re working hard and preparing for a fantastic season and look forward to welcoming you and providing a wonderful vacation experience! ites are the deep Mexican massage, relaxing Mexican massage, reflexology and a neck and shoulder massage. Most services are in our Cabana where you can relax and be in touch with nature. and experience the relaxation with our SPA services and be in touch with the nature, but of course we offer in room treatments as well. The engineering Team has been hard at work to keep a well maintained and beautiful resort. They’ve recently completed painting the exterior of building 1, finished the wood beams and sealed the pool deck. The resort is ready for your visit. Que el sol siempre brillará sobre ti – until next time we meet! Alejandro Neri Welk Resort, Cabo San Lucas, Mx Hola from the beautiful resort of Sirena Del Mar! The sun is usually shining down on Cabo San Lucas, and even when it’s not we still have fun with our guests. We have created two signature events for our guests here, Friday Fiesta and the Sunday Pool Party, and the guests are loving it. Chef Jesus along with our restaurant manager Jaime have been working hard to create a brand new breakfast and lunch menu which we think all the guests will enjoy. “The Palapa” restaurant is now featuring “Moon Light Dinner” where all the guests can soak in the breath taking view on the terrace while enjoying the explosion of flavor with the menu of local seafood. Bill Palmer Welk Resort, Dessert Oasis, Ca. Greetings from the sunny California desert. Also speaking of guest experience, our activities director Manny is always thinking up new attractions and experiences at the resort like Monday Tequila tasting, where everyone can learn all about tequila from production to different types of it. For our active guests you can find Manny in the pool leading the new Aqua Zumba class. 2012 was another great year for us at the Welk Resort Desert Oasis. Occupancy at the resort was strong with many positive comments from our owners, exchange guests, and renters. We once again enjoyed top billing with both of the exchange companies and were able to boast about our Gold Crown rating with RCI and our Premier Status with II for 2012. What’s even more exciting is we have already been awarded those same ratings for the 2013 year, as well as being rated number 1 for Hotels in Cathedral City on Trip advisor. Our spa has added a few new packages incorporating the newest relaxation therapies. Our guests all time favor- In 2012 we completed the remodel of the kitchens and baths in 34 of our 162 units, including new cabinets, floor 8860 Lawrence Welk Drive • Escondido, CA 92026 www.welkresorts.com tile, granite counter tops, plumbing fixtures, and stainless steel kitchen appliances. We will continue with another 34 units schedule for this summer. We are bringing HD television and upgraded flat panels into the villas as well. The front entrance to the lobby and the breezeway also saw a facelift, changing out the stamped concrete with fresh awesome looking interlocking pavers and added a bright new desert landscape under the portico. We will be turning to our lobby shortly, renovating this area to give it a new fresh update look that many of you have been asking for. We are always looking for new types of fun to bring to you here in the Desert , like evening BBQ’s and family activities. We always love to hear what you think, so if you have any ideas or suggests please email our Activities Director Robert at [email protected]. Of course, for the golf and tennis players in the group – don’t forget our Cathedral Canyon Country Club and our lit tennis facility. Well that’s all for now. We look forward to your next visit here with us and by all means let us know if there is anything we can do to make your visits more enjoyable! you would be greeted with a three story banner showcasing South Pacific. We also have our Front Desk lobby and associates in South Pacific “theme” which has created a lot of fun for our guests and associates. The remainder of the Theatre season consists of Chicago, Hairspray and A Welk Family Christmas. Our two signature weekly events, Farmers Market (Monday) and Festival Under The Lights (Tuesday) continue to please our owners and guests. We have grown to over 100 vendors and now have our CFO (chief fun officer), Josh Riffe hosting both events. Speaking of our CFO, Josh has expanded an already robust activities program with many new attractions and experiences. One new program I’m excited about is our Media Center. This allows young and old the ability to make movies and have fun writing and creating story boards utilizing our activities staff to produce a movie that guests will have for the rest of their lives. Our Canyon Grille recently updated their breakfast menu and are currently developing family dining to go packages, as well as a whole new lunch and dinner menu. The Galleria has been getting creative this past year, our guests love our new Welk Champagne and Lawrence Welk coffee mugs which are just the beginning of some new and fun items they will be carrying. On the construction front we are continuing our renovations of our Villas on the Green. These consist of new carpeting, furniture, bedding, cabinets, painting and counter tops which is receiving rave reviews. We have currently completed 132 of the 288 units. We continue to strive to exceed our guest expectation keeping our service and property looking fresh and beautiful. We look forward to seeing you in San Diego. Sean Coogan Welk Resort, San Diego, Ca. We’re very excited about 2013 at Welk Resort San Diego. Our team has put together a number of guest experiences and offerings that will create memories to cherish for a lifetime. To start, we have an exciting theatre season for 2013 starting with the Roger & Hammerstein’s classic musical South Pacific. Right now if you were to drive on property Josh Riffe Chief Fun Officer We’ve been having lots of fun designing brand new activities for our already robust activities program, were excited to launch many new attractions and experiences. One new program I’m excited about is WOW Studios. In this day-camp style program, our younger guests will become 8860 Lawrence Welk Drive • Escondido, CA 92026 www.welkresorts.com the actors, directors and producers in their own media project. The projects include movie trailer making, comic book creations, music video making and stop motion animation. As WOW Studios grows, so will the programming, expanding to our more mature guests as well with tech classes about how to use your smart phone, Facebook for Adults and more. Be sure to also check out our newly reinvented Vacation Kick Off Show/Party as well. Beginning March 24th, this new production will include a guest appearance by members of the cast of Chicago with a taste of what’s to come on stage plus hilarious guest participation, all hosted by me, the CFO. Owners Lounge Transformation If you haven’t visited ownserslounge.welkresorts.com you’re in for a big surprise. The Owners Lounge has been going through some major transformations lately and we think its expansion is exciting. Now most Owners have the ability to book your reservations or check availability online, whenever you want. The new lounge also allows you to check your current vacation balances, review existing reservations, pay your annual maintenance fees, purchase insurance, update your information, request your vacation be deposited to II or RCI and many other conveniences. Depending on your ownership, you may also be able to book full and split weeks, future years, accrue your points and make day use reservations. This allows you the freedom to maintain your Vacation Ownership when it’s convenient for you. “We sat down with our Owner Services and IT teams and developed a very intricate list of all the services that we felt would be beneficial to our Owners. Our IT team took the ball and ran with it, developing one of the most dynamic applications to ever be offered within our industry. We are thrilled to say that we are the only Vacation Ownership company that can provide our Owners with such a robust, full service portal that allows for booking of reservations as well as an array of online services.“ said Glen Clinton, Vice President of Resort Operations. To be able to access the new Lounge you’ll need to register using your owner ID. Of course feel free to reach out to our Owner Service agents any time you need personal care, we are always happy to speak with you. Mountain Villas - New Construction Construction is well under way at Welk Resorts San Diego with the expansion of Mountain Villa’s up on the hill behind the Fountains Golf Course. We broke ground last fall and have been watching the buildings rise quickly before our eyes. The current projects are comprised of two buildings making up a total of 36 new villas. The first building, which is slated to be completed in July of 2013 will include 12 new two bedroom lockoffs. Each two bedroom unit is 1,435 square feet and the lock off measured out to 584 square feet. The second building, slated for completion in September 2013, will boast our very first three bedroom villas at Welk San Diego. The new building will include 6 – two bedroom non lock off Villas at 1,430 square feet a unit and 6 three bedroom non lock off Villas at 1,575 square feet a unit. Both new building will be designed with the same luxury appointments as our current Mountain Villas. Your Award Winning Resort Last year was a big year for the baby in our family of resorts. Welk Resorts Sirena Del Mar received two awards of distinction during the year - the Trip Advisor Travellers Choice award and the Expedia Insiders Select Award as well as receiving high rankings in customer satisfaction. The TripAdvisors Travellers Choice Award is received by less than one percent of all accommodations listed on TripAdvisor. Hotels and resorts are selected by their trip advisor ratings which are received from guests of the 8860 Lawrence Welk Drive • Escondido, CA 92026 www.welkresorts.com resort. Sirena del Mar also has the distinction of being ranked 10 out of 25 of the top 25 Relaxation/Spa hotels in Mexico for 2013. Cabo also received the Expedia Insiders Select award for being one of Expedia’s top-ranked properties. This is an annual award recognizing the very best hotels available on Expedias’ 30 branded travel sites worldwide, as judged by the experiences of Expedia’s customers. Cabo was one of only 650 selected winners worldwide and has been identified as consistently delivering superior services, an exceptional guest experience and notable value. Earning a place on the select list is a testament to ongoing commitment to excellence. “I am very proud of my staff here at Sirena del Mar and all of the hard work they put in to make sure that our Owners and guests have an experience that will last a lifetime. For us to receive such high rankings in customer satisfaction is a testimony to their hard work, and the Trip Advisor Traveller’s choice award and Expedia Insiders Select award proved that all of our hard work pays off. Of course it is nothing compared to the smiles on our Owners and guests faces. “ Alejandro Neri, General Manager, Welk Resorts Sirena del Mar. Owner Services began a transformation that included moving to a new facility and expanding the call center. The team then built a highly intense training program for all new Owner Service Agents. Each agent is put through an 8 week program before they are put on the phones with our Owners. “We want to make sure that each of our agents hits the ground running to better serve our Owners. They must be able to answer any question and handle any challenge without difficulty” said Ellis. The class of January 2013 consisted of 11 new agents and the plan is to add another 21 before the end of the year. These additions have shown a dramatic decrease in on-hold times, better customer service and more attention paid to each of our individual owners. Owner Services – Growing Our Team Breckenridge, CO We are pleased to announce a new addition to our Welk Resort Family, in January we finalized plans to expand into Breckenridge, Co. Ann Ellis, Director of Owner Services and her team are always looking for more ways to make their team more efficient to assist our Owners more effectively. As call volumes increased by 33% from 2011 to 2012, the need to increase the Owners Service department became necessary. “The opportunity to open in the beautiful Alpine town of Breckenridge will not only provide additional value to our owners and guests who enjoy the Welk family of resorts, but also provide a unique experience for world-class skiing in the winter and unparalleled beauty and activity in the summer months for Welk’s new resort property” said Michael Gehrig, President of Sales and Marketing. “With most of our existing 44,000 owners residing in the Western U.S. and Missouri, Colorado is the ideal ski resort 8860 Lawrence Welk Drive • Escondido, CA 92026 www.welkresorts.com location to add to our Welk family of resorts.” This is an exciting time for our company, and even more so for our family of owners, as we begin the process of establishing our beautiful new property in Breckenridge.” Resting on 6.5 acres of land on the Blue River in Breckenridge, the new resort will consist of 126 luxurious units, in a mix of one- bedroom, one-bathroom suites, large one-bedroom, one-bathroom villas and deluxe two-bedroom, two-bathroom villas, each with a kitchen, living room, dining area, balcony or patio and fireplace. It will also house a Preview and Meetings Center, lobby, housekeeping and maintenance facility as well as employee housing. Plans are still being designed to include an owners lounge, state-of-the-art fitness center, game room, movie room, indoor/outdoor pool, Jacuzzi, fire-pits and BBQ areas. The property is framed by mountains, including views of the Breckenridge ski area. We plan to provide shuttle service to connect our guests to the base of the mountain, which is a quick five minute drive away. There is also a bicycle path for our summer guests that connects Breckenridge with Vail, Colorado. The location on the Blue River is a favorite fly-fishing spot. “To me the Rocky Mountain experience is breath-taking - the beauty and majesty of the mountains combined with the kindness, hospitality and warmth of the people of Breckenridge makes this a tremendous opportunity for Welk Resorts. Vail Resorts operates one of Colorado’s best ski areas at Breckenridge, and the expansion plans for the mountain are impressive” says Jon Fredricks, President of Welk Resorts. Associate Spotlight While Welk Resort Group is proud of its latest physical and digital growth, we are extremely proud of the growth of our associates. ARDA LEAPS is a new program through the American Resort Development Association, designed to develop and educate future leaders committed to serving the shared vacation ownership industry. This is a one year program that offers association leadership development for individuals at various management levels within ARDA member companies. Each individual must be nominated and accepted to the program and agree to make a minimum of a one year commitment. The goal of the program is to help industry professionals become future leaders. We are very proud to announce that Aundralise Diaz de Leon was nominated and accepted into the program. “We are very honored to have Aundralise represent Welk in the ARDA LEAPS program. We are confident she will portray Welk in only the finest light and are very fortunate to have her on our team” says Jon Fredericks, President of Welk Resorts. “She has been a shining example of what it means to be committed to our Owners and always puts her best and brightest foot forward for us.” Aundralise started with the Welk Family in 2005 and in less than two years assumed her role as Vacation Ownership Inventory Manager, a new position that was designed to aid with the changing environment and new growth of the resorts. She quickly analyzed the needs of the company and became instrumental in the development of inventory coordination, trending and reporting for best utilization of inventory. “Aundralise took the initiative to create new reports that allow us to make relevant occupancy forecasts. By providing this information, the resort is able to not only staff accordingly, but focus on the needs of our owners and exchange guests” says Ann Ellis, Director of Owner Services. “It is so amazing to me how much faith this company and the leaders of this company have in me and my abilities. And I promise to do everything I can to represent Welk as finely as you all have” said Aundralise. Congratulations Aundralise from the entire Welk Family! 8860 Lawrence Welk Drive • Escondido, CA 92026 www.welkresorts.com Day Use at Welk Resorts! It’s that time again! Summer is right around the corner and we want you to come enjoy our San Diego and Branson properties. Please remember the following rules San Diego: • Day Use reservations are required for Holiday Weekends and Friday, Saturday and Sundays during June, July and August. • Please log onto Welk Resorts website (www.welkresorts.com) and log into your Owner’s Lounge Account. You may reserve dates online 2 to 30 days in advance to obtain a Day Use Reservation Number. • Two guests are allowed per Owner Card. • Children are considered guests. All owner children under 18 are allowed and are not included in the guest count. • Owners and Guests may be required to park in our lower parking lots or street parking. Shuttle Service is available from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. from Memorial Weekend through Labor Day Weekend. • Bring your Owner Membership Card and ID • Cards are not transferable and may be used only by the person to whom they are issued. Branson Splash-A-Torium: • Call ahead to verify our maximum capacity. • Check In at the Front Desk. • Bring your Owner Membership Card and ID. • Two guests are allowed per Owner Card. • Children are considered guests. All owner children under18 are allowed and are not included in the guest count. • You will be issued a colored wrist band for the day. • Daily 10am-10pm Seasonal hours may apply in the winter months. Call the resort to verify operating hours. • Welk Resorts Branson (417) 336-3575 Interval International Owner Assistance Let us help you plan an exchange vacation now. Call Owner Services to deposit your time and then use the “Welk Hotline” for Interval International to place your exchange vacation request (866-909-9355). If you are staying at Welk Resort San Diego, visit Marilyn Fraser our on-site Interval International Representative. She is happy to personally assist. Appointments are available daily excluding Saturday and Wednesday. 8860 Lawrence Welk Drive • Escondido, CA 92026 www.welkresorts.com RECREATIONAL DAY USE 2013 As part of our Vacation Ownership Family, you are entitled to year-round day use of the recreational facilities at Melody Hill, Broadway Hill, Harmony Hill and Boulder Springs Club House, Mountain Springs Club House and all water slides. Day Use Pr ivile ge s • 2 (two) guests per card holder, maximum of 3 (three) people per card. Ownership Card and ID required. Children are counted as guests.* • All fees must be current to utilize Day Use privileges. • For your parking pass, please sign in and out with the Main Villa Gate or Day Use Booth. They will have a list of all confirmed reservations for the day. Please have your reservation number (on days requiring reservations), Owner Card and ID ready. • Owners utilizing Day Use are limited to one car. Owners and Guests will be required to park in our lower parking lots or street parking. Shuttle Service is available daily from 9 am to 8pm from Memorial Day to Labor Day. • Please accompany your guests at all times. Guests are required to leave with you. • One cooler (small size) per group is allowed at all Recreation Centers EXCEPT Mountain Springs. NO coolers and NO outside food or beverages are permitted at Mountain Springs, where food and beverages are available for purchase from Memorial Day to Labor Day. • NO glass containers allowed at any recreation center/pool area, at any time. • Please bring your own towels. Towels are NOT provided at recreation centers. • Lost your card? New cards may be ordered from Owner Services for $15 each. • Temporary cards can be obtained from Front Desk for $5 each. • Remember, Day Use cards are non-transferable. Re se r vation Sche dule Winte r/Sp r ing New Year’s ‘13: Dec 28–Jan 1 Spring Break: March 22-24 Easter: March 29-31 Spring Break: April 5-7 Mother’s Day: May 10-12 Memorial Day: May 24-27 Summe r June / July / August Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays Father’s Day: June 14-16 Independence Day: July 4-7 Fa ll / Winte r Labor Day: Aug 30--Sept 2 Thanksgiving: Nov 28--Dec 1 Christmas: Dec 20-25 New Year’s ‘14: Dec 27–Jan 1 We will reserve ample space throughout all of the recreation centers to accommodate Day Use guests; however, space will be limited to a first reserved basis. Even with a reservation, Resort Safety may deem that a specific pool is "full" (based on owners staying on property with first rights to use). In this case, they will direct you to another pool. Owner must make reservations no more than 30 days and no less than 2 days in advance. Reservations may be made through our Owner Services Department in one of two ways: 1.Log onto your online Owner’s Lounge page at ownerslounge.welkresorts.com and select the Day Use button to make a reservation (you must be a registered user). 2.Call Owner Services at 1-800-240-9342. Please bring your confirmation numbers. Day Use Hours are 9am–8pm daily. *Excluding the day use owner's children under 18 years of age. **Advance reservations are required. This program is made available at the discretion of the Board of Directors and the Management Company and may be changed or modified at any time without notice. 8860 Lawrence Welk Drive • Escondido, CA 92026 www.welkresorts.com
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