Fishing resorts rarely have much in common with agriculture, but farmers could learn a lesson from the Queen Charlotte Lodge.
Paul Clough bought the lodge in 1999 after a successful career as head of Impark, the giant parking lot operator.
“I had nearly 40 years in business and a pretty good sense of how one should be run,” Clough says.
“And I knew, from a guest perspective, what makes a good fishing lodge. So I thought this would be a fairly easy exercise. Well lo and behold, it wasn’t at all what I expected.”
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With rates for a three-day stay starting at $3,695 (plus tax) and 100 percent occupancy, the lodge pulls in millions in revenue. However, as in farming, not much of it sticks around.
It takes more than 85 employees to service the lodge’s 100-plus guests and everything, from the boats and fishing gear to the meals, housekeeping and manicured grounds, has to be perfect. Aircraft charters, power, water and sewage treatment cost a small fortune.
If something breaks you can’t pop down to Home Depot and get what you need, says Clough, noting it is 800 kilometres by air to Vancouver.
“You either have to fly it in or, if you have time, barge it in.”
And this is where Clough has insights that farmers could profit from.
“Logistics is huge in this business, and there are so many different aspects to it, it’s almost mind-boggling,” he says.
Initially, the operation lost money. “There’s no question that I paid the dumb tax.”
Remember, this fellow ran a company with more than a thousand parking lots and thousands of employees across North America.
Clough puts a huge effort into planning and training his staff, but he also decided that avoiding the “dumb tax” would take more than procedure manuals and checklists.
“I knew there was a better way,” he says.
“And communication is key to that. So we bring suppliers and contractors up to the resort at our expense so they can see what we go through and the kind of quality product we’re providing to our guests. That way, they really understand what our expectations are.”
There’s a similar routine for staff. As part of their extensive training, they get the full guest treatment, learning what it’s like in the hotel and on the fishing boat.
These initiatives cost Clough nearly $100,000. “Yes, it’s a lot of money but I think it’s worth it,” he says.
The benefits can’t be put in a ledger, but they affect the bottom line. The payoff might come from a supplier who warns that something is missing from an order, a contractor who offers a cheaper option or a fishing guide who hears a guest complaining and alerts lodge staff.
This isn’t to suggest farmers should send their employees or fertilizer dealer on an all-expense-paid fishing trip to the Queen Charlottes, but they could do something on a smaller scale – maybe a fall supper on the farm for suppliers and their families or a tour of the greenhouse, orchards or vegetable fields with a chance to take home fresh produce they have picked themselves.
Treat people right and they’ll go that extra mile. More importantly, Paul Clough says, giving them an insider’s view helps them know which direction you’re heading.
Glenn Cheater is editor of the Canadian Farm Manager, the newsletter of the Canadian Farm Business Management Council. The newsletter as well as archived columns from this series can be found at www.farmcentre.com.