Half-price lodging at a lodge in Nisswa Minnesota?  Is this for real?

Yes!  We want to offer people a great deal and help them create some great memories, all while they help us build a great lodge.

So why try to start a resort now?

Small family resorts are disappearing. At their peak in the late 1950’s, Minnesota resorts numbered around 4000, today that number is closer to 780.  The cold hard reality is that property values far out-paced summer rental earnings.  it was just a matter of time before resort owners divided up  their land and sold it rather than renting cottages on it.  

I (John) grew up on a small family resort in central Minnesota. Both my parents were raised on small family resorts.  Growing up on a resort is hard to describe, and it’s also hard to get out of the system: The variety of people, the work, the friendships, life on the lake.  The business itself is not very enriching, but compensation comes in other ways, like the relationships with customers who came to the lake year after year.  I believe the small family resort is worth saving!

So why Nisswa, Minnesota?

We had been living elsewhere for many years, but moved back to the Nisswa Minnesota area where I (John) grew up to help take care of my aging parents.  When an old defunct resort came on the market, it seemed like not only a chance to rescue a resort from the fate of so many others, but also give people memory-making vacations at a great price.

So… a lodge?

When we purchased what was at one time  Kasper’s Lake Side Resort there were already three cottages on it and we considered for some time rebuilding those and adding more, however, the city would not allow us to add any additional cottages and it was not viable as a resort with just three .  With a lodge we can have five to seven lodge rooms  and we can be open year round. Plus, we can offer the same kind of amenities as a resort such as water front, docks, boats, fishing, swimming etc.

What more can you tell us about the lodge?

The future Nisswa Lake Lodge is located in the heart of the Brainerd Lakes area. Situated on Nisswa Lake, walking distance from the quaint town of Nisswa, with lake access to the entire Gull Lake chain.

There also is ready access to biking, snowmobile and cross-country ski trails.Within the lodge we hope to have all the classic icons of an “up north” lodge:  the large fireplace and gathering area, knotty pine walls, lake views, and five to seven guest rooms to accommodate both small groups or family units. Two units will feature kitchenettes, but we will also have a large kitchen for general use.

Sounds nice, but knowing the income of resorts, how can you pay for it?

You’re right. It’s one thing for a family resort to be profitable enough to make ends meet and have a little left over, it’s completely another if the resort is buried under a huge mortgage.  That  would not be feasible.  That is why it seemed like the best possible option would be to use Crowd Funding.  

In our case, we are asking people to invest in room nights in advance.  Say for example that someone is already planning on staying in the Nisswa area and decides to invest in three nights of lodging at the lodge at $99/night, half the cost of a normal room night. Once the lodge is complete, they can use those three nights for whomever and whenever they like (provided there is availability.)

Is there a risk?

 With crowd funding, people invest or in a sense, “pledge” with their credit card, but, if at the end of the fund raising period, if the funds necessary to complete the project are not raised, their funds are refunded.

In this case, not only will people be launching the lodge and saving a small family resort, but they will be getting vacation days at a great price.

How many investments do you need?

We need roughly 5,000 one night investments at $99/per night.  On the face of it, it sounds a bit daunting, but if people pledge for more than one night that number goes down quickly.

How do we know we have purchased a night?

If you pledge to purchase one of the perks (perks = room nights) that will be recorded electronically through Indiegogo.  If we meet our goal and sell enough room nights to build the lodge, we (Nisswa Lake Lodge) will send you a certificate indicating the number of perks you have purchased and we will look forward to you seeing you at the lodge.

What kind of progress have you made so far?

• We purchased the property of course.

• We tore down the house and moved off two cottages to make room for the lodge.

• We’ve invested over $20,000 in architectural plans for the lodge.