1st Edition

Fundamentals of Leisure Business Success A Manager's Guide to Achieving Success in the Leisure and Recreation Industry

By William Winston, Jonathan T Scott Copyright 1998

    Easy to read and conducive to discussion, Fundamentals of Leisure Business Success: A Manager’s Guide to Achieving Success in the Leisure and Recreation Industry takes a practical, upbeat look at the world’s largest industry--leisure and recreation--and gives you practical tips and surefire strategies for making your own profit or nonprofit leisure business a blue ribbon success. Its condensed format, interesting case studies, and helpful examples will show you how you can transform any sluggish, out-of-shape recreation business into an efficient, iron-willed, profit-producing marathoner!

    In Fundamentals of Leisure Business Success, you’ll sidestep the theoretical, overly academic jargon that often bogs down books dealing with leisure and recreation and discover many revolutionary, practical ways that these theories translate into the everyday realities of market share, employee management, and all-out business survival. You’ll have the benefit of 20 years of actual experience in the leisure and recreation field at your disposal so you can master the importance of contemporary business and management techniques. Specifically, your capacity to steer your leisure business will grow from:

    • an introduction to the current size and scope of the leisure/recreation industry
    • a quick tutorial on why business concepts are so important in leisure/recreation
    • inspiring and educational case studies and actual examples
    • survival tips on how to make worthwhile changes in your organization
    • sources of additional leisure business information

      It might be true, as the old adage says, that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. But in our day and age, as Fundamentals of Leisure Business Success shows you, we live in a world where play is (ital) work--which can mean profit for you. Academics in recreation education and students and professionals in this expanding industry can break free from the pack and let the priceless, practical guidelines you’ll find in this volume help you discover how you can make play work for you.

    Contents Preface
    • Part I: Introduction
    • Leisure: The World’s Largest Industry
    • Leisure as Business
    • The Case Study Introduction
    • Part II: Theories and Applications
    • Introduction
    • Building the Commitment to Change
    • Strategy
    • Structure
    • Systems
    • Staff
    • Style
    • Shared Values
    • Skills
    • Change in Retrospect
    • Results
    • Case Study Conclusions
    • Recreation Services Today
    • Part III: Components
    • Introduction
    • Understanding Good Customer (or Guest) Service
    • Difficult Customers
    • Getting the Most from Employees
    • Teamwork and Delegation
    • Volunteers
    • Finance and Accountants
    • The Importance of Marketing
    • Pricing and How to Make It Work Best for You
    • Ethics and Quality
    • Planning Projects, Events, and Activities
    • Part IV: Paths and Directions
    • Where to Go for Further Information
    • Conclusion
    • Bibliography
    • Index

    Biography

    William Winston