THE HISTORY AND CHARACTERISTICS OF RESORTS
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Roots of the resort concept traced to the Romans. Rests were initially built in and around Rome before being developed for the pleasure of Roman legionnaires and consuls throughout the empire – from the coast of North Africa to Greece and Turkey, from South Germany to St. Moritz in Switzerland, and on through England.
s 5th century A.D. - Roman Empire began declining and Social life at English languished(unpleasant existed) until the seventeenth century;
s It was refuelled again by improvements in roads and the introduction of the stagecoach( four wheeled public transportation).
History of resorts, cont.
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1. Europe: in A.D 1326, Colin le Loup, a Belgian ironmaster was cured of a long-term illness by the iron-rich waters of a spring near Liege. Being thankful, he developed a shelter there to welcome others.
s The popularity of the area grew so much it was renamed Spa, meaning ‘Fountain’.
s 2. North America: the earliest resorts in United States were developed in the East and, as in Europe, established around spas.
s Resort hotels were opened in Virginia, New York, and West Virginia in the eighteenth century.
s Seaside resorts became popular, examples were Long Beach, New Jersey, and Newport, Rhode Island.
History of resorts, cont.
s Civil War –(in the 1860’s) changed the nature of many eastern resorts .
s Resorts Cities - America’s first resort city was Atlantic City, developed in the late 1800s, it attracted the middle as well as the upper classes.
s First boardwalk (a promenade along a beach or waterfront, typically made of wood) was built to accommodate those seeking the health benefits of sunshine and fresh air,
Eg, the first amusem*nt pier that extended over the Atlantic and Observation Roundabout – later renamed Ferris Wheel.
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Railroad brought day trippers; other guests stayed for the season in boarding –houses and resort hotels. Today buses bring day gamblers from New York City and other metropolitan areas.
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The resort concept
s A resort concept has to be a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer 's wants, such as food, drink, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises.
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For 25 years, Resort Concepts has been widely regarded as one of the nation's preeminent(highly quality) developers of luxury resort properties—including golf, lake and mountain neighborhoods, master planned communities and amenitized residential products.
s Source: https://www.resortconceptsco.com/
What is a resort?
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“A resort is a place that offers all the modern luxuries and a blending of these luxuries with nature’s splendor, along with various other spa and recreational facilities, providing an ideal getaway for holidaying”.
s Ref: http://www.bizymoms.com/besthotels/what-is-a-resort.html
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3 Resorts characteristics
s 2. Setting and Primary Amenities:
s Visitors categorize resorts by their:
s location and amenities, (resorts, lake/river resorts, mountain/skis resorts, gold resorts).
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Ocean resorts depend on the quality and extent of their beaches, views, climate, and water sports activities. Lake/river resorts obviously rely on water but rely even more on the recreational activities that are water-oriented than do ocean resorts.
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Characteristics of resorts, cont.
s Most distinguishing features of resorts:
ØThe favorable climate and wide range of recreational activities they provide. The tropical and desert climates provide relief from cold and dreary winters and the moderate mountain climates provide relief from hot and humid summers.
ØResorts are generally located in less populated areas thereby offering relief from smog and congestion.
Resort recreation and activities – Full service
s Full-service resorts/hotels offer:
1) large and up-to-date exercise rooms,
2) indoor/outdoor swimming pools, and
3) even whirlpools -a body of rotating water
4) Saunas- a room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions
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some offer tennis and basketball courts but they are not the focal point of the hotel.
Conventional hotel recreation and activities
s Resort activities are generally outdoor and take advantage of the favorable climate and natural desert or tropical setting
s Location of the time of the year will determine what the resort is capable of offering.
s Distinguishing characteristics of these resort activities;
s Attendants are available to give lessons or assist guests.
s Shops offer merchandise and equipment;
s Golf courses are upgraded to include carts, tournaments, and often more than 18 holes;
s Spas offer treatments, exercise programs, personal trainers and specific food and beverage for health conscious guests.
s Beach attendants can organise group activities and rent beach equipment from cabanas( small tent/huts), and umbrellas to catamarans and jet skis;
s Attendants coordinate and make reservations for local tours and activities
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Water complexes may include lap pools, sport pools, water slides, beaches, rafting waterfalls, and multiple whirlpools;
s Tennis courts may offer selection of hard, clay or grass surfaces;
s Ski lessons, equipment rental, and packages are tailored and offered to guests.
s Source: http://www2.nau.edu/-ha401-c/class/mod_1top_1/read1-1.html
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The development of Gaming
s The key factor is the desire to achieve economic benefits.
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According to reports, casinos are a major provider of tourism infrastructure and play a key role in the rejuvenation of urban environments.
s these benefits, casinos provide substantial gaming taxes and licensing revenues to state governments
s https://theconversation.com/casino-precincts-and-tourism-gambling-our-way-toprosperity-19558
The development of Gaming, cont..
s Game development is a complex process.
s Professional game studios have teams of hundreds of people working on concept design,
programming, art design, modeling, animation, and sound design.
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Even if you don't already have all of these skills, you can design a simple game yourself based on what you already know.
s Source: https://www.bing.com/search?q=the+development+of+gaming
Social impact of development of gaming; casinos
s As a stand-alone concept, casinos attract a fair share of adverse commentary on their social, political and economic impacts.
s However, there is a growing literature on the economic benefits of casinos to national economies.
s Research has showna significant rise in the number of problem gamblers in Singapore since 2010.
s Police have noticed a sharp rise in crime relating to the presence of the casinos. Amongst these criminal activities are petty theft, cheating and prostitution.
A casino within the resort complex and problems.
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The inclusion of a casino within the resort complex becomes problematic due to the concerns over problem gambling and crime. However, any major tourism development must involve the building of significant infrastructure and this must be paid for either by the government or industry.
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Casinos are also major employers and they attract over 1 million international tourists to Australia each year. These same tourists spend around Aud$5 billion during their visits. Individually each international casino visitor spends about twice as much as those who don’t visit casinos. In addition to these benefits, casinos provide substantial gaming taxes and licensing revenues to state governments.
The Conversation, 2013. Casino precincts and tourism: gambling our way to prosperity?
shttps://theconversation.com/casino-precincts-andtourism-gambling-our-way-to-prosperity-19558
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
ØTypical resort hotel in North America in summer operation improvements in transportation changed the structure of resorts.
ØRailroads were instrumental in opening up areas of the country that were previously inaccessible.
ØBoth rail roads and resorts targeted the relatively few, very wealthy individuals who, before the enactment of a federal income tax law, had a great deal of disposable income. ØWinter resorts did not become popular until the development of the automobile, which provided access to areas of the country suitable for winter vacations.
ØIn mid 1950s – development of jet travel opened up, for North Americans, areas of Europe and the Pacific that were inaccessible.
ØAir travel was still costly, however and relatively few could afford it.
ØIn Eastern Europe, Japan and some parts of Western Europe, social tourism contributed to resort development.
Resorts in the 21st Century – a Comparison
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The COVID-19 pandemic may be unique to the 21st century, but if history repeats itself, the social shifts will reverberate (echo/resonate) throughout the populations of the world and have a changing effect on lifestyle, wellness, and the built environment.
s It affected the consumers’ confidence in travel due to concerns over individual health. Resulting in reducing the confidence and influence in hotel occupancy.
s Lemons, T., (2020), 21st Century Healthy Hotels and Resorts. https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4099413.html
History and major health events
Health influenced the development of modern architecture.
s 14th century: The bubonic plague wiped out one-third of the population of Europe and as a result, cities expanded space for housing and public activities.
s 18th century: Yellow fever caused pain and destruction around the world,
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19th-century: cholera and smallpox, while wreaking havoc, influenced the development of modern planning innovations that included suburbs, wide boulevards, city sewers, indoor plumbing and a growing understanding of the importance of natural light and allowing breezes to reach inner sections of cities.
s 1918 to 1920 : The Spanish flu pandemic killed tens of millions across the globe.
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1800s: major percent of the urban population of Europe and America was infected with tuberculosis, and as many as seventy percent of those infected died of the disease. This gave rise to the sanatorium movement in Europe and the United States, designed to treat and isolate patients, these institutions emphasized strict hygiene and ample exposure to sunlight and air.
s Before the development of medications for tuberculosis, treatment was environmental. These clinical environments inspired the development of healthy architecture and thus modern architecture was born.
s Source: https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4099413.html
Improvements for the new healthy hotel resort
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The effects of COVID-19 pandemic should not be considered a bump in the road, rather a catalyst for the design of healthy buildings. The integration of wellness features in our buildings will help us to deal with future pandemics and will allow our buildings to align with the 4.2 billion dollar global wellness economy.
