Membership
What is the Community of Minnesota Resorts All About?
Our Mission:
The Community of Minnesota Resorts (CMR) exists to help family owned and operated resorts in Minnesota to continue as a viable segment of the Minnesota tourism industry.
Our Motto:
The Community of Minnesota Resorts’ motto is “Resorters Helping Resorters.” We believe that none of us alone is as smart as all of us together.
The Community of Minnesota Resorts is an industry association dedicated to the mission of helping family owned and operated resorts in Minnesota to continue as a viable segment of the Minnesota tourism industry. The association is entirely volunteer supported. We assist members in marketing and education and assure a voice at the MN state capitol. Every year we offer scholarships to member’s children or grandchildren, give an annual “Resorter of the Year Award”, and offer vendors an opportunity to connect with resorts through our Associate Member Program.
Join the CMR, or Renew Your Membership Today
There are multiple ways for you to Join, or Renew your membership.
Fill Out our Online Application.
Call 320-212-5107 or email us.
Or, print and fill out a CMR Membership Application.
MAIL TO: CMR – Community of Minnesota Resorts
PO Box 61
Dent, MN 56528
Attn: Membership Division
Are you a vendor who would like to be an Associate Member of the CMR? Just fill out our Associate Member Application and Mail to the above address.
Associate Membership Application
Retired Membership Application
Benefits of Being A Member of the CMR
Vendor Discounts
Special discounts are offered to CMR members (i.e. low rates on credit card processing, special wholesale pricing on log furniture, 10% off reservation software, 5% off lawn equipment, etc.)
Workshops and Conferences
Spring Workshop April 8th & 9th, 2019
Boy Lodge, 36539 Silver Peak Road, Crosslake, MN
Monday, April 8th included the following optional classes, and will also be at Boyd Lodge:
-A first aid/CPR instructor is lined up to teach a class from 2 PM to 6 PM the cost will be $110 per person which will include training and certification cards..
-We also have a person speaking on Monday in regards to Rez Stream training. We hope to do this in the morning for people who may want to attend both classes). We believe there is no charge for the Rez Stream training.
Tuesday, April 9th the cost will be $50 each for the first two attendees from a resort, and $30 for the third or more people attending from the same resort. Non member cost is $80 per person.
– Registration
– Introductions
– Scott Tanke to speak on insurance
– A speaker for landscaping.
– Cracker Barrel’s
– Resorters panel to speak on equipment change out such as boats, pontoons, motors and docks. We are also going to include when does it make most sense to change out bedding, furniture, appliances and fixtures. We have 3 resorters that agreed to share their opinions on these topics.
– Update from legislative committee with highlights from day on the hill.
– A short presentation on using the “Cloud” For storing information and why not to be afraid of it.
– Of course lunch with some time to share ideas and just have good conversation.
Fall Conference
Mark your calendars for November 3rd through the 5th for our 2019 Fall Conference! This year’s conference will be held near the Grand Rapids area! Stay tuned for more information as more details are finalized.
Annual Fall Resort Tour
Mark your calendar for September 10, 2019. This year we will be touring in the Cass Lake/Blackduck Area. We will be touring
Lost Acres Resort,
Cass Lake Lodge and
Joe’s Lodge (and maybe even one more!).
Come to see how they operate their successful resorts~ Gather new ideas, share stories from the season and learn from other resorters. Times and tour route will be sent out to CMR members closer to the tour date. Non-member resorts are welcome and encouraged to attend. Contact Jim Wherley, CMR Office Manager, at CMR@Minnesota-Resorts.com and he can email to you the times and tour route information when they are made available.
It is a great time to see old friends or make new friends and just spend a relaxing day away from your resort after a busy summer season.
School of Resorting
Classes are offered and change throughout the year. First Aid/CPR training and Rez Stream demo classes were held in April 2019. Members are notified via group chatline, FB group and monthly e-newsletters. “Get the most out of Instagram” class TBD mid-October.
Day On the Hill
This year’s CMR Day On The Hill was February 19th and 20th, 2019.
Our theme was centered around the loon, just like our resorts, a symbol of Minnesota and the up north vacation experience. Plus, it’s a key component of our upcoming branding campaign. Our leave behind loon gift was a big hit once again this year!
Like the loon, resorts are an integral part of the Minnesota “up north” vacation tradition. To continue to remain a viable segment of the Minnesota tourism industry, resorts need legislation in place to protect their legacy and longevity. Day On The Hill allowed us to communicate to legislators how best to implement legislation that allows resorts to function in the best business environment possible so that the tradition of the “up north” Minnesota lake side vacation exists for generations to come.
We focused our efforts on a number of legislative issues impacting resorts across the state. Many of these pieces of legislation are currently in committee in the House or Senate. To see the legislation click on its file number:
SF 721 This appropriates an additional $5,768,000 in base funding to Explore Minnesota Tourism, and $1,000,000 for events funding throughout the state for 2020 and 2021.
HF 1579 This would make the materials and supplies we use for making improvements to existing structures at our resorts exempt from sales tax when purchased.
HF 2096 This would modify the existing 1c property tax classification for resorts to adjust the tiers that we are taxed upon, clarify that parcels that make up a resort can be owned by various ownership entities if they meet all other parts of the definition, and modify the restriction that we can rent our seasonal cabins more than 250 days for workforce housing.
SF 1805 We approached the Department of Labor and Industry with a proposed industry exception to allow 16 and 17 year olds at our resorts to operate lawn mowers (walk behind and riding) as well as weed whips. This bill goes a step further and proposes that all industries would be allowed to hire 16 & 17 year olds to operate lawn equipment.
We also lobbied to keep the legislation in place that prevents schools from starting prior to Labor Day. There are a number of pieces of legislation being proposed that would allow schools to start before Labor Day, and as resorts we are against losing that prime week of our season.
Finally, we got a fantastic opportunity to discuss some of the issues facing resorts with Governor Walz. We appreciate the time the governor took to visit with us, share some of his vision, and hear those items important to us as resorters. We want to take this opportunity to thank those who participated in Day On The Hill this year, and encourage all resorts from across the state to join us next year!
Resorter of the Year
Resorter Of The Year Nomination Packet
2018 — Karen and Tim Senger, Cedar Point Resort, Marcell, MN
Our Resorter of the Year (ROY) winners for 2018, Karen and Tim Senger, have completed their 17th year of resort ownership! Before purchasing the resort, Karen worked in Eagan for an insurance company, and Tim worked as an electrician. They spent a lot of time at her parents’ resort and during that time they began to dream of owning their own resort. After looking at a number of resorts, they purchased Karen’s parents’ resort in 2002. They really felt that resort was the one for them. When they moved to the resort, their two daughters were in Kindergarten and 2nd grade. Today, both girls are independent young women finishing college and starting their own lives.
When they purchased the resort, there were nine rental cabins and 12 campsites. It also had a pool and a full-service restaurant in their lodge serving breakfast and bar food. Over the years, they made many improvements including building themselves a new home attached to the lodge, almost doubling the number of bedrooms on the property, and turning the old owner’s home into a rental. They took legal steps to pull the entire resort back under their sole ownership from a cooperative-type ownership model which added another cabin to their rental pool. In recent years, they added two lake homes to the resort property. Today, they have over 30 acres of land and 3,000 feet of shoreline. Over the years, they’ve also added many amenities such as a beach, water toys, and resort activities. Their plans are to perfect what they are currently doing!
Over the years they’ve had to stay on top of the many changes in the industry specifically with the trend toward shorter stays and last-minute bookings. They believe that the addition of online availability has been beneficial in adding to their last-minute bookings, even though they held out for a long time before putting their openings on their website. They also believe their journey from making the resort primarily a fishing resort to a family-oriented resort has helped.
For years, it was just their immediate family doing all the work. They also wish they would have started the resort activities sooner.
Both of these resorters are long-time supporters of the CMR. They have been members for all of their 17 years, have been on the CMR Board for eight years, and Karen served two years as President. Tim is the trail coordinator for their local snowmobile club, and Karen sits on their local lodging tax committee. Karen has also been involved for the last few years with the rewrite of the State of Minnesota’s Lodging Code, and is currently sitting on a task force to create a Vacation Rentals by Owners (VRBO) Ordinance for their county.
Over all, this year’s winners of the ROY Award exemplify CMR’s motto of “Resorters Helping Resorters”, and have supported the CMR and fellow resorters in a million ways. We are proud to have Tim and Karen represent the CMR as the 2018 Resorters of the Year!
For more information about Karen and Tim or previous ROY Award Winners, click on View Resorter of the Year Award Recipients link below.
Contact Information
38268 Cedar Point Road, Marcell, MN 56657
https://www.cedarptresort.com/