CASE STUDY: Resort Leadership Breakdown & Revenue Decline

A seasonal, independent resort was experiencing a significant revenue decline—room revenue pacing more than $1M behind the prior year—alongside a disengaged staff that had lost confidence in leadership.

As the season progressed, ownership recognized that meaningful change was required.

BRN Solutions was engaged to assess root causes, stabilize performance, and implement a recovery plan focused on improving revenue while rebuilding organizational trust.

ANALYSIS: Leadership, Operations & Commercial Strategy

• Leadership – The General Manager lacked prior hospitality experience and, along with the Resort Manager, was unable to effectively lead the operation. A strong leadership bench had not been developed, leaving key disciplines without experienced oversight. 
• Human Resources – No dedicated HR leadership existed, resulting in staffing shortages, turnover, and operational strain across all levels. 
• Revenue Management – There was no structured revenue management function. Pricing lacked discipline, with no demand-based strategy. 
• Marketing – The incumbent agency had become complacent and ineffective. Efforts lacked creativity and were not aligned with commercial objectives. 
• Sales – No proactive group sales strategy existed. Midweek demand was underdeveloped, while weekend demand was mismanaged—wedding patterns constrained the resort’s ability to maximize occupancy and total revenue. 

IMPLEMENTATION: Resortwide Changes

• Replaced the General Manager with an experienced hospitality leader and began rebuilding the leadership team. The Resort Manager role was eliminated, reducing overhead and simplifying the structure. 
• Hired a seasoned Human Resources leader to stabilize staffing, improve culture, and support long-term team development. 
• Outsourced Revenue Management to an experienced hospitality firm, immediately introducing structure, pricing discipline, and strategy. 
• Transitioned to new Marketing and PR partners, bringing fresh creative direction, stronger commercial alignment, and expanded market reach. 
• Added a National Account Manager to drive midweek group business and reestablish visibility with regional meeting planners—building a base of demand to support ADR growth. 
• Redesigned the wedding strategy, shifting events to Fridays and Sundays—unlocking four high-occupancy nights per weekend and restoring availability for transient demand. 
• Mentored and developed the Director of Sales & Marketing, creating alignment across Sales, Marketing, and Revenue Management to ensure cohesive execution across all commercial efforts. 

RESULTS: 5-Month Impact & Forward Projections

Within five months:

• Room revenue pace improved by $350K vs. prior year 
• Representing a $1.4M positive swing in performance 

Forward outlook:

• +14% ADR increase projected 
• +5% Occupancy growth forecasted 
• +$965K year-over-year Revenue increase projected 

SUMMARY

A focused reset of leadership—combined with disciplined commercial strategy and cross-functional alignment—stabilized performance quickly and positioned the resort for sustained growth.

About the author

Rick Blackburn, founder of brn solutions, assists stagnant or underperforming assets by developing and implementing growth strategies for sustained commercial results. Widely known as an adept sales professional, Rick helps hotels, resorts, and destination marketing organizations (DMOs) determine exactly how and where to stimulate revenue and influence optimal performance. Simply put, his true differentiator is his ability to quickly identify the precise areas of opportunity for long-term success, and to implement the exact solutions to drive results for the business. The outcome? Growth. Via full emersion into the operation, he can provide a clear and actionable plan on how to direct resources, modify weak areas, and set priorities to yield strong ROIs immediately. Rick is an active member of Cayuga Hospitality Consultants.