Lodge Area Activity Visioning

[Katie Williams]

Current Activities -

Signature dining
Wifi
Weddings
Pool
Tennis
Seasonal Bistro
Retail
Rec barn
Coffee cart

Suggested Activities -

Bike rentals
Skating rink
Basketball
Hot tub
Covered tennis
Outdoor gathering place / plaza
Exercise / fitness center
Rock climing

Other ideas -

Wedding pavillion
Meeting space


WHAT ARE YOUR IDEAS??

[Scott Huntsman]

Nice

[Mike Gurry]

I would place a high priority on improving the facilities in the Lodge
area to create an attractive and convenient location for accomodating
small business meetings. If we had a really convenient place for small
meetings I think that would attract people who would then rent rooms,
play golf and eat at the restuarants in the Spring and Fall when we
have unused capacity.

On Jul 23, 3:49 pm, Katie Williams <kwilli...@blackbutteranch.com>
wrote:

[Katie Williams]

Hi Mike! Thanks for the input. Those are all great ideas and ones we
are definitely taking a look at. Please help us keep the dialog going
and invite your BBR neighbors and friends to give us their comments as
well. The more people we have participate in this process the better
we will be able to determine what works best for the Ranch as well as
homeowners. Feel free to comeback anytime and post your ideas,
opinions, and comments.

> > WHAT ARE YOUR IDEAS??- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[pjacks...@comcast.net]

Thanks for posting this.

First a question: Is this area primarily for homeowners and renters
or does this area need to serve a broader audience (including
appealing to day visitors as I think it has in the past)? The latter
supports the argument that day visitors generate modest revenue but
hopefully lead to return overnight stays and more revenue that helps
offset our operating expenses and contributes to our capital pool. If
we want to entice some level of day visitor then we may want a
different compliment of experiences and services than if it were only
homeowners and renters. Bottom line, we need a signature "go to place"
on the ranch, and the lodge area has been and should be it !

That said, here's a few thoughts off the top of my head:

1) green space - I'd hate to see us fill in all the lodge area green
space with buildings and activities. I think this helps create "zones"
for different types of activity and associated noise (and quiet).

2) space versus connectedness - do we prefer the current spread of
services around the lodge area (walking outside from one facility to
another)? Personally I do and am less interested in building out a
giant complex that physically connects a lot of services.

3) there is a balance we need to consider between convenience and
duplication - let's be thoughtful about where we put things and avoid
duplicating services (.e.g., basketball) as much as possible unless
they are high volume and we consciously want to approach it in a
distributed model like the pools. The downside of that is that it is
likely to create duplicate operational infrastructure and increased
operating expenses.

4) I like the idea of a gathering place in the lodge (big fireplace
with couches) AND plaza or some such designated outdoor gathering
place leveraging our views. Different seasonal gathering places are
appealing as well as gathering places that appeal to different
demographics.

5) restaurant/bar patio - seems like we are missing an opportunity.
Again, we ought to consider taking advantage of the incredible view -
Aspen lounge outdoor seating is much too small and to the best of my
knowledge there is no outdoor dining space other than the Lakeside
Bistro. Fire pit for chilly evenings? We do need to be respectful of
the noise associated with outdoor activities for our lodge area
homeowners and guests.

6) not sure what capital and operating expenses are associated with
maintaining a modest fitness center or an ice rink but it's worth a
look.

7) do we want to leverage a winter lodge fire place to work with
nordic skiing services?

OK, done for now.

Thanks Phil

On Jul 23, 3:49 pm, Katie Williams <kwilli...@blackbutteranch.com>
wrote:

[bakergroup]

Thanks for the thoughtful comments Phil. Let me try to respond to
your question for the benefit of everybody interested. Last year the
BBR Board voted to implement recommendations of the Business Model
Review Task Force. One of the key recommendations from that task
force was to increase the number of day visitors, especially in the
shoulder seasons (at the same time, we are sensitive to controlling
"behind the gate" activities for the benefit of homeowners and
registered guests). To your point, the Lodge Area has historically
been the "go to" place on the ranch and it's a great place to bring
day visitors too (they support the restaurant business). As part of
the LATF review we will be looking at both homeowner/guest use and day
visitor use.

I'd like to comment on your point about "green space" as well. Many
of the comments we have received echo your view of the open space and
great views. This area has some of the most spectacular views in
Oregon. Our architect TVA Architects has already expressed the need
to keep/enhance these views.

Finally, I'd like to encourage others to send us your opinions. Do
you agree or disagree with Phil or me? Please let us know! Thanks
everybody.

Matt Baker
BBR Board of Directors




On Jul 30, 4:36 pm, "pjackson29...@comcast.net"

[golfnuts]

I do not like the idea of encouraging day visitors who regularly use
our free recreational areas unless they are coming to play our golf
courses or eat at our restaurants. We pay a lot of money to have the
pool, tennis, etc. facilites here and if anybody outside the Ranch can
use them whenever they want why ever buy a place at BBR. It would be
a lot cheaper than paying all our fees, expenses, and assessments.

The Lodge should be a "go to" place with comfortable chair and sofas,
a desk with attendant to answer questions (like we had), newspapers,
brochures about BBR. Of course someday when the Lodge is redone,
hopefully a big blazing fireplace.

And I hope that the beautiful Brooks room remains a delightful place
for small groups to gather and have meetings or meals with a beautiful
patio and view. The library idea is good but it sould be a dark
comfortable quiet spot, definitely not the Brooks Room.

> > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

[Katie Williams]

Dear Sir,
Thank you for posting your thoughts and comments on the lodge and the
placement of the library in the Brooks Room. Your feedback is very
important to us and we will discuss the placement of the library and keep
you updated on that conversation. It has been encouraging to see the
passion that people feel about Black Butte Ranch. That's what makes it such
a great place. I encourage you to continue to share your comments and ideas
on this discussion board.

Regards,

Katie Williams

-----Original Message-----
From: lodge-area...@googlegroups.com
[mailto:lodge-area...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of golfnuts
Sent: Saturday, August 15, 2009 10:25 PM
To: Lodge Area Task Force Discussion Board

[nighthawk]

Katie:

I am so glad to see that "weddings" and "wedding pavillion" are
mentioned in your list.

We have had a house at Black Butte since 1974 and I have wondered for
years why we don't capitalize more on the beauty of the Ranch for
wedding settings. I think we are missing out on a great souce of
revenue by not having ADEQUATE wedding facilities. Doing so could
help us ameliorate our losses in revenue caused by so much competition
from other golf courses.

We need to have facilities for wedding receptions that would enable
the wedding party to have a band and not worry about sound carrying
across the lake to disturb homeowners. I would call this a "no-
brainer." A sound-proof reception facility would certainly be
attainable.

The last time I checked online, the average wedding costs in excess of
$30,000. What is keeping us from being a part of such happy
occasions?

Also, attracting more weddings would improve our rentals, as so many
people involved in a wedding would stay more than one night. Because
of the romantic nature of weddings, we are convinced that many people
who come to the ranch for a wedding would be overwhelmed by our
incomparable view and our facilities, and would return to rent units
after the wedding was but a memory.

nighthawk

On Jul 23, 3:49 pm, Katie Williams <kwilli...@blackbutteranch.com>
wrote:

[davem]

I think that a first step should include inventorying the Ranch
facilities that do exist, their locations, ages, positives & negatives
and compare that list to our wish list to see if it includes
duplicates and if it makes sense to add a duplicate or not, improve an
existing facility, or not, or if we should eliminate an existing
facility. Also, if we believe a new facility is needed at the Ranch,
then see what locations best fits that use. Many of the "activities"
listed so far for the Lodge exist elsewhere. Some, like meeting
rooms, are brand new at the administration building, bike rentals, at
Glaze, etc. It seems to me that the goal for updating the Lodge area
should be to identify those activities that do not exist at the Ranch,
or those that are BEST located at the Lodge. We've seen, it seems,
with the addition of the Welcome Center, Administration Bldg., and Big
Meadow Restaurant that adding duplicate facilities sometimes dilutes
our service and the quality of service and can increase our overhead
expenses without a corresponding increase in revenue. I would like
any Lodge renovation to not increase overhead without a greater
increase in revenue. The ideal would be if we could increase revenue
and decrease expenses, from my view the Ranch often overestimates
future revenues and underestimates future expenses. There may be
features that can be added at little or no expense that increase foot
traffic which, in turn, will increase dining, for example. I know,
for example, when I used to go to the front desk to get a newspaper I
would often look at the bulletin board and buy a cup of coffee or
maybe breakfast. Ironically, now that the bulletin board and front
desk are gone, I rarely go to the Lodge, which in turn, leads me to
shop less often by the Lodge pool. If the Espresso stand and Sport
Shop were in the Lodge maybe more folks would stop by. And, it
wouldn't hurt if the Espresso stand was open in the winter (or on the
BBR map http://www.blackbutteranch.com/images/mapbig.pdf). So,
included in my suggested first steps would be a a breakdown of who
uses what and when and which facilities work best when located near
others. For example, golfers often like a beer after playing, but
only the Big Meadow offers this. Some people like coffee with their
newspaper, or when they check e-mail, others may want to have a drink
where the view is nice, something offered at Big Meadow, but less so
at the Lodge, where the view may be even better. Finally, I'd
recommend any task force view plans for newer and competing resorts to
see what activities were planned and how the activities were paired
(Espresso and pool, bar and golf, for example). Oftentimes a bar can
double as an Espresso location in the morning thus taking advantage of
space and efficiencies.

Dave

On Jul 23, 3:49 pm, Katie Williams <kwilli...@blackbutteranch.com>
wrote:

[Katie Williams]

Greetings Nighthawk - Thank you for your comments regarding a "wedding
pavillion" and or ways to attract more wedding business. We also feel
this is a revenue stream that can be improved. Management's focus is
what can we do to generate revenue for the Ranch utilizing as many of
our existing assets as possible. I hope you will continue to
contribute your ideas and opinions. Thanks! Katie

[Katie Williams]

Greetings Dave - Thanks for your comments. The Business Model Review
Task Force report also suggested that the board and management of the
Ranch explore new ways of generating revenue by utilizing existing
assets. I can tell you that statement has truly been taken to heart.
That assignment has been at the forefront of the Lodge Area Task
Force's analysis. Rest assured the task force is committed to
reviewing each and every contribution to this discussion group. Keep
those ideas and suggestions coming! Katie

> BBR maphttp://www.blackbutteranch.com/images/mapbig.pdf).  So,

[Scott Huntsman]

KW - thanks for responding... you are saying the right things

SH

-----Original Message-----
From: lodge-area...@googlegroups.com
[mailto:lodge-area...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Katie Williams
Sent: Monday, August 24, 2009 2:22 PM
To: Lodge Area Task Force Discussion Board
Cc: shun...@blackbutteranch.com; baker...@live.com
Subject: Re: Lodge Area Activity Visioning