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16 | I NSIGH T • D e v e m b e r 2 0 14 w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m FACE T I M E Blue Harbor is the largest resort on Lake Michigan. We have 246 rooms, counting the main resort and the villas that are part of it. On an average day in the summer, we'll have 1,100 guests on the property, increasing the population of Sheboygan by 2 percent. the water park business, we're not in the conference business — we're in the experience business. Our mission statement says we will exceed the expectations of every guest, every day, by creating one smile at a time. Every guest who comes here for a conference is a potential return guest for a leisure visit, and many leisure guests have the potential to return corporate business to us. When I came on board, the two owners and I independently came up with very similar conclusions: at we had to broaden the appeal of the resort. I coined the phrase, "We needed to 'de-mermaid it.'" e interior aspects were totally children- oriented. ere were mermaids in the carpet and very whimsical, overly-themed elements to rooms and public spaces. Blue Harbor is the largest resort on Lake Michigan. We have 246 rooms, counting the main resort and the villas that are part of it. On an average day in the summer, we'll have 1,100 guests on the property, increasing the population of Sheboygan by 2 percent. e key benchmark statistic in any hotel is revenue per available room. Since 2012, that's up about 40 percent. Total revenues have come close to doubling. I attribute it to the people that work there and the owners that invested in the property. In a waterpark property, the slowest months are April and May, and September and October. But they are the best months for conferences. In the last two years our conference business has more than doubled; that comes from going out and fighting for the business. e first big push was to broaden the appeal of the interior. We totally gutted the central core of the building, including the lobby, restaurants, retail and all the public areas and all that was finished in mid-March 2012. Since then, there has been more guest room work and work on the villas. By next May we will double the size of the outdoor pool deck and put in a big fire pit and a big hot tub. We're installing a surfing simulator in the water park called a flow rider; it's a $1.6 million project and will open mid-December. Sheboygan is known as the Malibu of the Midwest and the surfing capital of the Midwest, so there's a natural tie-in there. Sheboygan is also one of five U.S. Sailing Centers in the nation. It's a very enjoyable experience to sit on the lobby patio with a nice glass of wine and watch these sailboats out on the lake. e future for Blue Harbor and Sheboygan is very bright. So many people come and say, "I had no idea this was here!" To learn more about growing your career with the only insurance company dedicated solely to jewelry owners and the jewelry industry, visit JewelersMutual.com today. 800-558-6411 humanresources@jminsure.com JewelersMutual.com Neenah, Wisconsin Add sparkle to your career at Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company 2 0 1 4 F O X C I T I E S B U S I N E S S O F T H E Y E A R insight 122014 jewelers mutual.indd 1 11/10/14 11:29 AM