Palm Island Resort Semester
Together with Palm Island Resort, Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) has developed a program that will allow Hospitality Management Majors to experience and learn important aspects of the hospitality industry at the Palm Island Resort in Florida.
Students will have the opportunity to follow three IPFW credit-bearing courses in the resort taught by specialized faculty as well as complete their full time credit requirement with IPFW online courses.
The courses offered on the resort will allow students to interact and participate in the resort activities in such a way that it enhances their learning experience. Accommodation and extra curricular activities are planned for the students who will live a few minutes away on the mainland in shared accommodation.
Hospitality Management Electives
- Sustainable Tourism Development (3 credits)
- Students will study the effects of tourism on the local social and ecological environment. They will gain understanding of ways to minimize the impact of tourism on the local environment while providing opportunities that directly benefit hosts and visitors as well as the environment. This course will also explore current trends in the travel market in terms of perceptions and needs of the contemporary traveler asking the question whether ecotourism is itself a trend or the reflection of a more profound change in values that impact consumer behavior in the tourism industry.
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Resort: Property, Rental, and Service Management (3 credits) - Linking practice to theory, this course will allow students to participate fully in the operation of a resort to become familiar with all its services and activities. Particular attention will be paid on understanding the different revenue streams and their role in offering a total resort experience to the different market segments that are being attracted to the island resort.
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- Destination and Resort Marketing (3 credits)
- Destinations are emerging as a fundamental concept in the study of tourism development. Resorts are, in most cases nested within destinations, their commercial destiny being therefore interdependent. This course will examine the challenges and opportunities associated with promoting resorts and destinations. Students will examine and compare strategies. They will also have opportunities to develop and apply some hands on marketing approaches.
Accommodations
Student accommodation is being organized by the university. Thanks to generous subsidies, the costs are reduced. Housing expenses are based on a five month stay, usually within 2- or 3-bedroom apartments. Accommodation rates the Spring 2012 semester are approximately $1,500 per student.
Contact Information
Consumer & Family Sciences
Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne
Neff Hall, Room 330
2101 E. Coliseum Blvd.
Fort Wayne IN 46805-1499
- Phone: 260-481-6562
- E-mail: andersos@ipfw.edu
- Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Palm Island Information
History
Palm Island is a resort property in southwest Florida, purchased by the current owner (Dean Beckstead) in 1979. Palm Island, accessible only by ferry from the mainland, is 1.5 miles long and totals approximately 160 acres. The island itself is part of a seven-mile stretch of land comprised of three islands (Knight, Don Pedro, and Palm) located across Charlotte Harbor from Sanibel and Captiva islands, mid-way between Sarasota ad Fort Myers on the Gulf Coast. The current owner, Dean Beckstead, began investing in Florida real estate, beginning with the purchase of Useppa Island with his brother in 1971. Palm Island was purchased in 1979 by the Becksteads with their first property deal closing in 1983, opening the resort. Since that time, the Palm Island Resort has developed into 250 home sites, with an additional 100 left to build (40 lots sold, and an additional 60 condominiums to be built to complete the island property). Homes on the island range from one-bedroom condominiums in multi-unit buildings in the $200K range, to single family homes that sell in the millions of dollars.
The Business
The Palm Island Resort generates its revenue from the following six primary business areas:
- Transportation: Operates barges from the mainland to the island, including associated parking areas.
- Property Sales: Sales and private development of home sites and condominiums on the island to private owners.
- Leasing Support: Approximately 90 of the 250 homes on the island’s resort property are available for short-term leases by vacationers. Palm Island provides a service to support the homeowners in marketing and administering the leases, as well as housekeeping services for during the lease time when the residents are not on the property.
- Retail/Restaurants: Palm Island operates and maintains two restaurants with associated bars (Rum Bay and Johnny Leverock’s), a general store, and a snack bar.
- Hospitality Services: The resort includes a fitness room, tennis courts, swimming pools, etc., on the island for the homeowners as well as the resort guests, who require full resort staffing in reservations, bell staff, and housekeeping.
- Marina: Palm Island also include a full-service marina for island residents as well as the public.
2101 E. Coliseum Blvd.
