Volume 2, No. 5. March 8, 2002
Eco econ II
One U.S. attraction that predates
the current eco-tourism boom by more than 50 years also is making plans to capture
the up-scale end of this growth market. Callaway in Pine Mountain, Georgia,
is testing the waters for a plan to turn the botanical gardens and nature preserve
into a five-star resort.
Last week Callaway announced the latest in a significant string of capital improvement
plans: a proposed $30 million hotel, private golf club and condominium club
homes. The 100 room luxury Southern Pine Lodge would include meeting rooms,
a restaurant, exercise and spa facilities, and outdoor entertainment areas.
This news comes on the heels of under-way upgrades to Callaway's existing hotels
and cabins, plus a $12.6 million, 54,000-square-foot (16,000 square-meter) executive-level
conference center with restaurant, gift shop and a new check-in center for the
cabins. Called The Southern Pine, it is scheduled to open in September.
Both projects are aimed at beefing up Callaway's appeal as a long-stay resort
destination, but the Southern Pine Lodge expressly targets a higher class of
traveler. "We see this opening us up to a new group of people who want to travel
in more luxurious accommodations," said George Fischer, president of Callaway.
Differentiating Callaway from the competition, however, is not just the gardens
themselves but the ecological foundation of the parent company. "Ours is not
going to be marble on the floors and mirrors on the walls," Fischer said. The
Southern Pine Lodge, would be a "green building" minimizing impact on the environment
in design, construction and operation.
Such a high ecological standard the Gardens itself set two years ago with its
Virginia Hand Callaway Discovery Center visitor's complex. That building, on
the shores of Mountain Creek Lake, has a bamboo floor and is naturally heated
and cooled by water circulated from the lake.
Callaway currently is soliciting reservations for both the lodge and club to
gauge interest: $1,000 refundable reservations for a club home, and $100 for
a club membership. "Once we hit the level we are looking for we will do construction
drawings and secure financing," Fischer said. He would not say how many reservations
the resort needed to move forward, but said the Gardens expects to take the
next step by May 1. "Interest has been very high," he said. "We've been pleased
with the response we've gotten, and we've taken a number of reservations" just
in the first week.
Fischer—himself with 14 years of experience managing five-star hotels—has
recruited Joe Henry from Gaylord's Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, as
the resort's new director of operations. "I've known Joe Henry 20 years, so
when we had this opening I went to him to ask for suggestions of people to pursue,
and he said he was interested," Fischer said. "He's very good at making things
happen."
While Callaway strengthens its resort appeal, Fischer believes the Gardens will
continue to draw strongly as a regional attraction. "I don't think it's going
to change people's perceptions of the Gardens, but I think it will change their
perception of the resort. Even if they choose a less expensive accommodation,
they will feel like they are part of an expensive resort."
