THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 22, 1996 TAG: 9603210152
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
After reading your Feb. 18 Beacon cover story (``Can We Afford It?''), I have a few thoughts.
The resort area needs the ``4-Wheel Drive'' concept and we cannot get the best results unless we use all four wheels. What does that mean? It means we must think like a profit-making business when we plan to upgrade the resort area.
A profit-making business must carefully plan the steps in proper order. This assures the most income possible as it expends funds to do that segment of business. It does not put a high priority on costly expenditure segments which have a low ratio of return. They may truly be needed; however, the priority order is lower.
Now, where does the ``4-Wheel drive'' come in? There are four segments that are needed to ``drive'' a successful tourist area. These segments are not someone's guess or dream. They come from studies and surveys or other successful tourist areas as well as from the potential tourist themselves. In other words, what does the tourist want in order to be attracted to an area? This is the first law of business: ``Find a need and fill it.''
The statistics show those key four wheels to tourist fortunes are ``Quality and Variety'' of the following:
1. Sightseeing and recreational activities
2. Shopping and dining availability
3. Hotel and motel accommodations
4. Sporting activities
The four elements are not always in this order. That priority depends on the area, the existing facilities, the type of season and above all, the long-range goal of the market area.
Of the 4-wheels to tourist fortunes, we are (or will soon be) in pretty good shape on numbers one and four. Number three is only fair, and the shopping half of number two is woefully poor.
At this point one may ask, ``what makes this person writing this an authority''? Well, while I have spent many years in the hospitality industry, was the co-founder of the Econo Lodge chain of hotels and motels (which was solely a marketing concept) and while I do have a doctorate in marketing (which may or may not prove something), one does not actually have to be an authority to be right. All one has to do is read the statistics of what tourists want and go to school on those areas which have successfully accomplished the tourists' desires.
Our resort area does not have the shopping needed to accomplish this goal. It's the part of the 4-wheel drive which is in the worst shape. Following in second place priority is a need for a hotel of quality and size which can accommodate the desires of guests who would come to medical, insurance, legal, etc., meetings and conventions. We surely know there are plenty of motel rooms in the resort area; however, let me ask one question. Would Norfolk have secured the Ford Motor Co.'s stockholders meeting last year if they had not had the Omni Hotel and the Waterside Marriott Hotel and Convention Center? No!
I commend those who have brought the rehabilitation of Atlantic Avenue into being. That too was a must. At this time, however, I suggest we listen to the words of Resort Area Advisory Commission chairman Roger Newill. I quote from the Feb. 18 Beacon wherein he said, ``. . . the city may have to rethink its spending priorities,'' and ``. . . the importance of continuing Atlantic Avenue improvements onto Pacific Avenue may have diminished in the past year,'' and ``. . . projects with greater dollar generating potential are becoming higher priorities.''
Mr. Newill went on to say, ``I'm still feeling that if I had $50 million in my pocket right now I'd do Ocean Square (the Laskin Road retail development) and the same sort of thing at 17th Street,'' and ``. . . I'm not convinced Pacific Avenue is the most important thing to do right now.''
Let's not try to create new wheels out of priority order. It is extremely expensive to do that. It is a lot easier to go to school on other successful tourist areas and stick to the proven 4-wheel drives of success. . . do the shopping next.
Lloyd T. Tarbutton,
CEO, Tarbutton Associates by CNB