Heidel House is ‘very happy’ with first summer back

Despite a few hiccups, the revamped Heidel House Hotel & Conference Center has had a fairly successful summer as it reopened following an $11 million renovation and being closed for about two years.

To celebrate the reopening of the iconic lakefront hotel, it hosted a grand opening celebration last week Wednesday. The 115-room hotel is managed by Lighthouse Hospitality Group, which owns the majority stake in the Heidel House.

Less than a week after the grand opening party, Lighthouse President Don Klain gave a presentation to the Green Lake Common Council regarding the historic hotel’s return.

Klain noted Monday that things are going well at the Heidel House after a “rocky start” from a construction standpoint due to shortages of labor and materials.

Construction was going “really well” until Memorial Day, when the project faced a few hiccups, Klain said. There are a few finishing touches that need to be completed, but material delays have prevented them from being done.

For the most part, the hotel is complete, while Oakwood Restaurant and Waves Pub & Grill are operating and “going gangbusters,” Klain noted.

However, Waves is only open for bar service due to a lack of staffing. Klain said Oakwood can send food downstairs to Waves.

“That isn’t a big deal,” he said. “Waves is only open on the weekends, but it’s doing very well.”

During 300 Fest, Klain noted the Heidel House partnered with the 300 Club to house the musicians.

From a financial standpoint, Klain said the hotel surpassed its July revenue goals, hit its goals in August and is on pace to meet its target for September.

“It’s looking pretty good going forward,” he said. “We’re already starting to book rooms for 2022. From the hotel side, we’re doing very, very well.”

Klain said the biggest challenge facing Heidel House is a lack of labor. He said the hotel has a core group of staff “working very hard,” but it could use more.

Heidel House was expecting to hire 15 students from Russia and Ukraine via a cultural exchange visa program that was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Klain noted.

As a result, the hotel was down 15 employees from the beginning and has had to play catch up.

Additionally, Heidel House is working to overcome supply shortages of commercial toilet paper, shampoo, cologne, pillows and electronics.

“I ordered a commercial washer and dryer for the guests in March and the delivery date is set for November,” Klain said as an example.

Despite the challenges, he was positive about how the first few months have gone and was optimistic about the future of Green Lake’s iconic resort.

“We’re very happy, in general, with how it’s going,” Klain said. “We’re working everyday to improve.”

Source: Riponpress.com