Innisfree Hotels is well known in the Southeastern United States for our management and ownership of some of the best properties along the Gulf Coast. Now, our success at developing and operating award-winning hotels and resorts in destination markets has earned the attention of accommodations owners throughout the country.
Upon opening in February 2011, the Holiday Inn Resort Pensacola Beach earned Innisfree Hotels and founder Julian MacQueen the InterContinental Hotels Group Developer of the Year award, as well as three subsequent IHG awards for Quality Excellence. The Holiday Inn Resort Fort Walton Beach, which opened in May 2014, has already received the IHG Design Excellence Award and achieved 100% market penetration within its first 30 days.
These facts and more, according to Innisfree Regional Director of Operations Jason Nicholson, led to a conversation with the owners of West Bay Beach Holiday Inn Resort in Traverse City, Michigan – who ultimately presented Innisfree Hotels with the opportunity to manage the resort beginning in November 2014.
With acquisitions like this one, Innisfree is establishing itself as a leader in hotel management. West Bay Beach, a Holiday Inn Resort, was previously managed by Interstate Hotels – the largest hotel management company in the nation.
To earn this contract was a major coup for Innisfree, says company president Mike Nixon.
“The owners ultimately found our culture and ideals to be more aligned with theirs,” Nixon says. “And because we are a smaller ship,” he notes, “we can turn on a dime.”
This was important to West Bay owners, who wanted a more efficient, digitally engaged, faster-reacting business model that could translate growing revenues and increasingly positive guest satisfaction into higher earnings, Nicholson says.
Having just completed a multi-million dollar renovation, West Bay Beach Resort is the first Holiday Inn Resort in the Midwest.
“We are the only full-service resort on West Grand Traverse Bay and are located within walking distance to downtown Traverse City, Michigan,” says Kelly Jo Bowman, Director of Sale & Marketing for West Bay Beach. “West Bay Beach Resort offers a wide variety of amenities such as complimentary shuttle service to the local area, including Cherry Capital International Airport, concierge service, both indoor and outdoor pools and more.”
The resort has 179 newly renovated guest rooms and more than 6,000 square feet of flexible meeting space. Its beautiful dining venues offer panoramic views of West Bay, outdoor patio seating, an entertainment lounge with specialty cocktails, Michigan microbrews on tap and an extensive local wine menu. The experienced sales and catering teams expertly manage events and meetings of all sizes.
Innisfree Hotels took over operations for West Bay Beach on November 19, 2014, and immediately went to work identifying opportunities to move more revenue to the bottom line while improving the property’s digital marketing and engagement efforts – with the help of our in-house marketing agency.