Resort owner sees new opportunities in the industry

Move over, legendary La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., Jack Kalins, owner of the Resort at Split Rock, Lake Harmony, is investing $1.5 million in another venture - renovating the former Mountain Laurel Resort into a "first-class" spa which will emulate La Costa in soothing and pampering

The new Mountain Laurel Resort and Spa, down the road from Kalins' Resort at Split Rock, is scheduled to open this month. "Mountain Laurel Resort and Spa will be the first of its kind in northeastern Pennsylvania," Kalins claims. "There's nothing like it in the Poconos. Spas are a hot ticket in the time-sharing business today. Spas chief selling points are relaxation and fitness."

Kalins believes the secret to being a successful resort operator ties in knowing your client market inside out. "In the Poconos," he notes, "that's catering to middle income clientele.

"We hope to be able to house more than 200 guests," says Kalins. "We'll be catering to both timesharing guests and the general public."

Kalins has always been a strong believer in timesharing. His other properties, the Carriage House at Pocono Manor and golf villas in Bonita Springs, Fla., also feature time-sharing units.

Timesharing is the fastest growing segment of the tour and travel industry, with U.S. sales topping $3 billion, according to Lodging Hospitality. More than two million Americans own a timeshare, with 300,000 buying a resort interval just last year, according to the travel magazine.

Ed Kinney, senior advertising director, Marriott Vacation Club, says Marriott is actively seeking opportunities to pair timeshares developments with its own hotels. "When you have a traditional hotel or lodging product adjacent to or integrated into a facility that also has resort ownership, they actually complement each other very well."

Kinney believes resorts in today's highly competitive hospitality market have to provide amenities such as restaurants, spas and sports facilities - and timeshares, which typically have higher year-round occupancy - to provide ready customers.

Kalins echoes Kinney's sentiments. But he warns timesharing is not for everybody. "In timesharing, one takes longer to generate new prospects," he says. "The secret in timesharing is to keep your costs down."

Kalins' purchase of Mountain Laurel Resort this past summer for $3.8 million will create about 150 jobs for the Mountain Laurel Resort and Spa. Mountain Laurel went bankrupt in 1997. It closed two days before Christmas, 1997, leaving 250 employees without jobs.

Kalins believes in paying his employees at Split Rock and Mountain Laurel more than the minimum wage. "Our front desk people get $10 an hour," he says. "There are more than a dozen of our waitresses who make better than $20,000 a year."

Monroe County is losing some of its tourist appeal, according to Kalins, who is also president of the Pocono Mountains Vacation Bureau. "But there'll always be hospitality pockets in the Poconos as far as tourism is concerned," he points out.

Kalins thinks Monroe County is becoming a "bedroom community," with light industry making inroads. He believes the county should have adopted its 20-20 Open Space program years ago. The comprehensive program allows Monroe County and its 20 municipalities to make land-use decisions for the next generation.

Monroe County voters approved a $25 million bond issue to fund efforts to buy open space protective moats in the county, such as wildlife habitat and recreational parks.

Kalins started in the resort business when he worked his way through the University of Scranton at Mount Airy Lodge in 1959. "I was a bartender and short-order cook at Mount Airy," he remembers. "I was even personal waiter to the owner, John Martens.

"I ran the Yankee Doodle cafe at the High Point Inn in Mount Pocono," he continues. "I worked at the Tobyhanna Depot as an assistant analyst. I sold stock in the Pocono Mountain Raceway, operated the Handyman Rental Center in Pocono Summit, and built some 200 homes in the Poconos."