MEDIA COVERAGE
The Calgary Herald, Jan. 2, 2010
Please scroll down to see the text version of the article.
B.C. resort offers instant activities; Buyers keen on ready-made recreation
It's all about families, says an official with a four-season resort in B.C.
Following a year of deep price discounts, resort failures and development postponements, Fairmont Hot Springs Resort is having sales success by aiming its marketing campaign toward recreation buyers -- not investors or speculators, says resort sales specialist Dan Oliver.
The change came when the resort
launched its Mountainside Ridge home sites in June, which included amenity-based incentives such as golf, ski and hot springs passes.
"Highlighting existing amenities and its B.C. Rockies Adventures program -- which includes interpretative hikes, snowshoe fondues, educational kids camps, dogsledding and many other outdoor mountain adventures, all led by professional naturalists -- enabled the resort to target buyers not wanting to wait to enjoy all the perks of recreation property ownership," says Oliver.
The sales team at Mountainside Ridge sold the most homesites in the Columbia Valley, with 11 homesites sold and $1.6 million in sales, says Fairmont Hot Springs Resort,
"This year, we made our home-sites more attractive to resort end-users -- and fortunately with three golf courses, the family ski hill and natural mineral hot springs all in operation, we have the facilities to do that," says Oliver.
Buyers are able to take advantage of the privileges that come with purchasing in an established resort community.
A voucher pack for 60 golf tee times, 60 ski lift tickets and 60 swim passes for the natural mineral hot springs was included with every homesite.
In addition, buyers were given five two-night stays at the resort's lodge so they can easily monitor the progress of their new vacation home.
"Buyers in the market for a vacation home recognized the value of the package we
are offering and were excited to build at an established resort," says Richard Haworth, vice-president of real estate development at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort. "They were able to see and use the amenities they were buying into and that inspired a lot of confidence in the purchase."
Prices were also adjusted to make the homesites more accessible to families, with prices starting at $114,900 for some homesites.
Further solidifying the view that end-users are the dominating force in the market, many homesite owners are already submitting building plans for approval despite a flexible construction schedule that allows owners to break ground up to five years after purchase.
Fairmont Hot Springs Resort offers 45 holes of golf at the Mountainside and Riverside courses, as well as the par three Creekside nine-holer.
Located In the heart of B.C.'s Columbia Valley on Highway 93/95, Fairmont Hot Springs is a one-hour drive north of Cranbrook, B.C. and is a three-hour drive west of Calgary.
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