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OBAA 2019 Finalists: Industry Award: Tourism
October 30, 2019Since 1983, The Ontario Business Achievement Awards (OBAAs) has been the most recognized industry gala in the province with a single focus on celebrating business success. Throughout the evening, we will celebrate our spectacular Ontario business community, highlighting the incredible innovations and achievements of each one of our 2019 OBAA finalists. Join us on Thursday, November 14 as we reveal our winners at Beanfield Centre in Toronto!
Presenting: Industry Award: Tourism
The Ontario industry selected for the 2019 Industry Award is Tourism & Hospitality. This award recognizes a business’s hard work and accomplishments across the travel industry and an acknowledgement for outstanding customer satisfaction.
Finalist #1: Great Wolf Lodge
Industry: Water Park Resorts
When did your organization first open its doors? What motivated you to get into business?
Great Wolf Lodge, Niagara Falls opened its doors on April 14, 2006. Built by Ripley’s Entertainment, as part of the privately-owned Jim Pattison Group of Canada. The Niagara Falls Lodge is the only franchise property in the Great Wolf Resort family. The Jim Pattison Group has 25 divisions that includes a very broad spectrum of industries ranging from the entertainment industry, to food manufacturing, advertising and car sales. General Manager and Vice President, Keith Simmonds was hired to open the Lodge 14 years ago. He continues to thrive in his role as lead howler.
What factors helped contribute to the success of your organization?
Jim Pattison has always led with the same guiding principle as quoted, “Our company has been built on the fundamental principles of honesty, integrity and always putting our customer first…and treating people like we would like to be treated as a customer. This will never change.”
Keith Simmonds echoes Mr. Pattison’s words by noting that the Great Wolf Lodge Mission Statement is, “Creating
Family Traditions One Family at a Time”. Our Promise is: “We Make Time For Your Family”.
The senior team follows a strategic leadership model focused on continuous improvement that balances employee, guest and financial objectives as the path to achieve the Mission and Promise. Today, the most relevant business tools that can be immediately identified in operations are ‘The 4 Disciplines of Execution’ by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey and Jim Huling and ‘Lean Six Sigma’ designed processes.
Not every business has a talking tree, but Great Wolf Lodge does. Key to differentiating the Lodge from other tourism operations is that we are a rare four-season, weatherproof operation that appeals to multi-generational guests. Additionally, we market our product to corporate and association groups across Ontario by providing a unique, funfilled “Plan On It” philosophy. A job well done builds success. 34% of our guests are Loyal Wolf families (repeat guests), hundreds of whom have returned to the Lodge 30, 40 or over 50 times. Great Wolf Lodge has been recognized numerous times for best-inclass performance amongst our tourism peers, and across industries, by business chambers and by customer ranking organizations such as Trip Advisor and Hotels.com.
In 2018, Great Wolf Lodge, Niagara Falls, was recognized at the Brass Ring Awards by the International Association
of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) as the leader in employee engagement. This was a pinnacle award for
the Wolf Pack and reinforced the unique role of employee culture and the importance it plays in the success of the
organization. Director of Human Resources, Anne Marie Malleau comments, “The success of Great Wolf Lodge
depends on its Wolf Pack members. Wolf Culture is key to the Lodge’s guest experience. The Wolf Pack are not silent
and hidden – we howl, play, celebrate and engage with our guests. “Our people are our most important asset.” Jim Pattison
Wolf Pack members are selectively recruited both for their skills and their passion for hosting families. Mr. Simmonds
notes, “We want to recruit those personalities that are energized by engaging with guests, and then we encourage
them to take it up a notch in an inimitable way”. All 750 members of the Great Wolf Lodge Wolf Pack are fully
immersed in Wolf Culture during their Wolfology orientation. The expectations are laid out clearly with core value
acronyms like ‘RIACT’ – Respect, Integrity, Accountability, Competence and Teamwork. Role playing is used to
demonstrate the benchmark for basic engagement levels. It could be something simple like taking a knee when
speaking with a child or acknowledging a passing guest with eye contact, a head nod and a proper greeting.
What does being an OBAA finalist mean to you?
It is a tremendous honour to be recognized by the greater business community at the OBAA awards. The history, membership, board make up and leadership of your organization provides us with education, guidance and representation at levels we could never achieve on our own. In unique economic and political times being recognized for such an award is proof-positive that being a member of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce is a wolf-sized step in the right direction. Thank you.
How does your organization positively contribute to Ontario’s economy?
Great Wolf Lodge is one of the largest private employers in the Niagara region with 750 Wolf Pack members. The
Lodge offers a range of positions from entry level to director and skilled trades.
- Over 520 000 overnight lodging guests visit Great Wolf Lodge each year, making it the highest occupancy hotel in
the Niagara area. - The marketing spend is broad reaching with an appropriate ratio to revenue.
- $130 million initial construction cost with an 18 month building period encompassing trades from throughout Ontario.
- Over $25 million capital spend in subsequent years on maintenance renovations and expansion.
- The continuous reinvestment in Great Wolf Lodge, Niagara Falls has been steady. Plans for the future are to
continue to grow the business to keep the product fresh while also reaching for new markets. July 2019 marked the
opening of the Timber Wolf Cottages, 15 luxury vacation homes. This $6.4 million project is a proud new addition to
the variety of long-term lodging options. Stay tuned for our next addition – coming soon! - As a proud local business supporter we work with a large number of regional businesses with a Win Win philosophy.
- The Food and Beverage team take great effort to source and serve the best of Ontario culinary and beverages. The
Lodge is a proud member of ‘Feast On’. Only VQA Ontario wines are served. - The community outreach program has consistently donated in excess of $250 000 annually through a wide-variety
of Pack led initiatives.
What can we expect to see from your organization in the years to come?
The Wolf Pack are poised to continue to excel in all aspects of business operations. Expansions, additions, renovations and all avenues for growth are up for consideration. The leadership team know maintaining customer satisfaction also requires long-term planning attention to be directed to the key focus areas; employee engagement, industry innovation, financial stewardship, leadership, community out-reach and filling our role as an employer and economic driver in the Niagara region and the larger tourism industry. Involvement in local and provincial associations and chambers are vital to our understanding of the broader business community. Equally important is being able to contribute where and when possible.
Great Wolf Lodge will continue to strive to be a leader for community out-reach. Keith Simmonds notes, “Many nonprofit organizations came to us early on in our operation and highlighted the natural connection that so many make between a family-oriented business and the greater community. It is a privilege to participate and contribute”. The Passionate Wolves program includes several teams and is divided among areas like; sponsorships, cash and in-kind donations, volunteerism, community partnerships and fundraising. Project Green Wolf is an example of programming that champions green initiatives for both the Wolf Pack members and visiting guests.
Great Wolf Lodge, Niagara Falls has held true to a commitment to keep the property ‘Proudly Like New’. Battling the effects of wear, tear and thousands of excited kids is not an easy task when you consider the guest demographic of active families who visit the Lodge. A steady program of deficiency reports, scheduled audits, random audits and follow-up accountability charting keeps the Lodge on track. This also means keeping pace with the technological innovations in software. An astounding, nine separate systems were added or enhanced in the recent fiscal year. This includes two systems that have artificial intelligence components.
Connect with Great Wolf Lodge on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
“Great Wolf Lodge, Niagara Falls is committed in Creating Family Traditions, One Family at a Time. To make this happen, the leadership team follows a quoted axiom, ‘Take care of your employees and they’ll take care of your customers’.”
Keith Simmonds, General Manager and Vice President, Great Wolf Lodge
Finalist #2: Jackson-Triggs
Industry: Wine Industry
When did your organization first open its doors? What motivated you to get into business?
During the summer of 2001 one of Canada’s most successful wine companies, Jackson-Triggs Vintners, sent a bold signal to both the Canadian and international wine markets by opening one of the most technologically advanced wineries yet seen in this country, designed exclusively for the production of ultra-premium VQA wines from the Niagara Peninsula. It was a shared and unrelenting passion that brought colleagues and friends Don Triggs and Allan Jackson together to form Jackson-Triggs. From the first vintage, these wines fully expressed the potential of Canada’s burgeoning wine-growing regions from east to west.
When factors helped contribute to the success of your organization?
Through a series of strategic acquisitions and mergers in the ensuing years, Vincor Canada took centre stage as the largest wine producer in the country, with Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate as a regional trailblazer in VQA production. Our founders’ uncompromising commitment was to become a statement of extraordinary business acumen and passion, setting the bar for international excellence. Establishing world-class vineyard management and viticulture techniques is the foundation of our long-term vision of further developing the Canadian wine industry. Jackson-Triggs wines have been consistently applauded with medals and awards from wine competitions around the world.
How does your organization positively contribute to Ontario’s economy?
As one of Canada’s most successful wineries, we’ve enjoyed an enviable reputation for producing many of the country’s best vintage dated, varietal wines. In addition, the Estate winery is well known for our open-air amphitheatre where live muscial performances are held every summer, and numerous other wine & culinary experiences led by the Niagara Estates culinary team. With rigorous hospitality and winemaking programs, we welcome over 300,000 visitors annually, bringing growth and innovation to the community, along with presenting new and exciting employment opportunities each year.
What is a fun interesting or unique fact about your company?
We truly believe and stand by empowering our entire team to provide the best experience for our guests and customers, whether it be for our concert series, the wines we produce, or simply a tasting! Our undeviating mission is to always over-deliver on expectations.
Connect with Jackson-Triggs on Facebook and Instagram.
“Jackson-Triggs’ unites contemporary winemaking technologies with authentic design, inspired by the Niagara region. We strive to be a good community ambassador and a tourism leader, driven to ensure long term sustainable growth that involves our people and community.”
Maria Melo-Boone, Vice President, Marketing Domestic, Arterra Wines Canada Inc.