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WELK RESORT
GROUP
By Catherine Lackner
Two years ago, Welk Resort Group, known for its focus on guest experi-
ences, created a new position — chief
fun
officer — and hired Patrick Dolan to
oversee innovative guest programming across all properties.
“My goal is to create unique, meaningful events that connect our guests
with each other, our locations, and our brand,” Dolan says. “This includes
developing a program of experiences that our guests can find nowhere else.”
But programming isn’t Welk’s only focus of late: The company is devel-
oping new resorts in Breckenridge, Colorado, and Kauai, Hawaii. “We are on
target with our plans, and anticipate strong, sustained growth in the
foreseeable future as we capitalize on physical and experiential improve-
ments, and the incredible foundation of quality for which our brand is known,”
says Jon Fredricks, Welk Resort Group president and CEO.
Birth of a “CFO”
The decision to create the chief fun officer position wasn’t made lightly, Glen
Clinton, Welk’s senior vice president of resort operations recalls. “Jon and I
were having a philosophical, ‘what if?’ discussion about the guest experience.
At the time, we had traditional activities and programs; there’s nothing wrong
with that. But because we want to own the activities segment, we want to do
what no one else is doing.”
The hunt was on. “We cast a wide net,” Clinton says, interviewing candidates
with solid hospitality backgrounds and impressive credentials. “And then
there was Patrick.”
Clinton met Dolan at a nearby Starbucks. “He came to that meeting with a
proposal to take us to the next level,” Clinton says. “He looks at life differently,
and I can’t say enough great things about him. He elevates the guest experi-
ence in ways we couldn’t have imagined.”
Since the beloved
Lawrence Welk Show
debuted in the 1950s,
the Welk name has been synonymous with entertainment. Now,
a new chapter is unfolding.
Focus on Fun
A Fundamental
OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2016
RESORTDEVELOPER.COM
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