For a resort to achieve sustainable success, engaging and immersing every guest without crippling the development and/or operations budgets is vital. The key is to use the most expensive space in the resort, which is most likely the indoor waterpark, in a more wide-ranging manner.

Smartly planned facilities of the future will be designed with the understanding that portions of the indoor waterpark can be inexpensively used outside normal operating hours. The cruise ship industry has successfully adopted the multiple-use practice. Cruise ship companies take facilities that are extremely expensive to build and find many uses for them, involving different audiences at different times throughout the day. So while wave and activity pools, endless rivers and water flowing through every conceivable form of fiberglass are a great backbone for the industry, it is everything else done in and around these attractions that clearly defines a resort and sets it apart from the rest.

Several facilities have capitalized on the near ’round the clock use of certain attractions such as the surf machine. Smart operators offer private lessons on this attraction when the facility is closed, or take part in competitions that are growing on a national level.

Other simple steps can be taken to ensure that various areas are being used to their fullest potential. For instance, children’s activity pools with zero-depth entries are the quietest areas in a facility prior to closing. Consider converting that area into a sporting area each evening, where adults and their children can share the experience of chipping golf balls into floating targets or shooting basketballs into floating hoops. Make a competition of it and multiple family members will be successfully engaged and immersed at the same time.

Or take the area just in front of the main multilevel play structure and host a different type of dance lesson each evening. One night, teach the hula; the next night, offer line dancing.

Besides the old-fashioned, tried-and-true active participation approach, the wave of the future will involve newly applied technologies. There are many interactive and “edutainment” programming possibilities using 2D, 3D and 4D technologies, such as simulated treasure hunts on sunken ships. Projects in development will include a high-definition, large-format screen behind a wave pool. During the day, the screen will show images of the greatest surf and waves from around the world. In the evening, the screen will show family-friendly motion pictures that can be enjoyed from a “dive-in” experience or on chaise lounges surrounding the pool.

Other projects under development will utilize the same theory that large theme parks follow, such as producing laser shows and fireworks late at night. In this case, the images would be projected on a water curtain within the facility. The same technology can create a day/night setting for all of the slides and attractions. The facility can offer “teen hours” later in the evening, with music and special lighting effects to attract a target audience proven to be the most difficult to engage and immerse. This would be a perfect late or overnight destination for private parties and rentals.

The challenge in achieving sustainable success is to understand that much more is required than an inviting theme, fiberglass and hotel beds. Developers and operators need to step back and look for ways to engage guests by designing new or by utilizing existing facilities in nontraditional ways. This would drive the bottom line by increasing the top line with surprised and exhilarated guests.