Grand Traverse Resort honored with statewide award

A Grand Traverse Resort exec was recognized for his sales and marketing skills recently at a statewide awards banquet.

Each year, hotels and hotel employees across Michigan are honored for their achievements in the industry at the "Stars of the Industry" awards given by the Michigan Lodging and Tourism Association.

Steve Timmer, of the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa, is the director of marketing , and took home the award of 2011 Sales and Marketing Star of the Year. He's been at Grand Traverse Resort & Spa for three years.

Timmer was cited for his "Michigan's Premiere Resort Experience" campaign, his successful re-branding of the resort, his development of Barefoot: The Lifestyle Magazine of Grand Traverse Resort & Spa, and his creation and management of the resort's Facebook page.

"It is quite an honor to receive this award from the MLTA and I'm truly excited about where the resort is headed," Timmer says. "In recent years, we've broadened our marketing not only within Michigan but also across the country. We've been able to accomplish so much because of the amazing staff we have at the resort and because of some very strong partnerships with other Michigan companies."

Grand Traverse Resort & Spa is located in Acme on Grand Traverse Bay on 900 acres of property that features 54 holes of golf, a full-service spa, 600 rooms, suites and condominiums, and more than 80,000 square feet of meeting, event and outdoor venue spaces.

Other northwest Michigan hoteliers also were honored. Steve Kershner of the Shanty Creek Resort in Bellaire earned the 2011 Seasonal Star of the Year for his work as the director of snowsports there, including the "Ski Free with Santa" program, the Honor Roll Options program, and his activity in community and industry organizations. Kershner is the president of the Michigan Snowsports Industries Associations, and the treasurer for the Antrim Ski Academy.

The Crystal Mountain Resort & Spa in Thompsonville was another winner at the awards, receiving the 2011 Good Earth Keeping Star of the Year. As the first resort in Michigan to invest in wind energy, Crystal Mountain has maintained a responsible-steward approach to conservation and environmentalism in its business.

The latest expansion, worth $10 million, included the first spa that was Silver LEED certified in the Midwest, and just the ninth such spa in the U.S. Crystal Mountain also was given the Sierra Club's White Pine Award in 2008, and was named one of Michigan's Green Leaders by the Detroit Free Press in 2010.

Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Steve Timmer, Grand Traverse Resort & Spa