A report by the state auditor shows the Honey Creek Resort lost just over $884,000 in the first 10 months of operations from September of 2008 until June 30th of 2009. Honey Creek is the state’s first so-called “destination park, ” and was built with a lodge, convention center, aquatic center and 18-hole golf course near Rathbun Lake for $58-million.
Andy Nielsen of the auditor’s office says the resort lost money in all three aspects — lodging, restaurant and the golf resort. Nielsen says, “It took awhile to start getting some occupancy, that’s probably one of the reasons that the results weren’t as good as they probably would have liked to have seen.”
Nielsen says it’s not surprising to see the facility get off to a slow start. “That’s not uncommon when you have a start up business, the first year you’re getting everything outfitted and getting everything ready for operations,” Nielsen says. He says it takes awhile to get the word out and to get people to start booking their vacations there.
The audit report shows Honey Creek brought in just over one-million-292-thousand dollars from the restaurant, with expenses of one-million-346-thousand. The lodging brought in one-million-344-thousand dollars in revenue, while expenses were $473,538. The golf course brought in $294,941 in revenue,with golf course expenses at 459-thousand-996 dollars.
A copy of the audit report is available on the auditor’s website here. f