MOON LAKE RESORT IS FOR SALE
Intro to Business For Sale
As "Mom and Pop" owners and on-site managers of Moon Lake Resort over thirteen operating seasons, we have reached the personal intersection where a life at Moon Lake and a life beyond Moon Lake meet.
In the following “online packet” pages, we outline our decision to put our business up for sale as well as attempt to spark initial interest in a unique business opportunity. Further details are available to serious and qualified buyers.
And, finally, while we are primarily interested in a clean and simple sale and transfer of the business, we are open to discussion of other investment options (that we have not envisioned, ourselves) that could, possibly, keep us involved in managing this business further into the bright future we have envisioned.
Please explore further…
UTAH BUSINESS FOR SALE
MOON LAKE RESORT
Nestled among aspens and pines on the largest lake in Utah’s High Uinta Wilderness
Moon Lake Resort offers full-facility rustic cabins, a general store, boat rentals,
lake and stream fishing, sand beach, hiking, biking and much, much more.
Operated under Special Use Permit of the Ashley National Forest
For General information, view: www.moonlakeresort.com
To contact us via e-mail: resortmail@moonlakeresort.com
Phone: (970)-731-9906 – October-May or (435)-454-3142 – May-October
Welcome to Moon Lake Resort
As an inquiring guest or a prospective buyer of the Resort, we would first direct you to view our domain Website: moonlakeresort.com.
Our Frequently Asked Questions section of this site contains answers to nearly every common question ever asked about the Resort. The wealth of accurately updated and candidly honest information contained here will give you a feel for the place before you ever step foot on our grounds.
If you decide to venture further, come visit and better yet, stay awhile! After viewing our website and personally discussing your plans with owners Bill and Julie Reardon, you will be thoroughly informed about Moon Lake. Your next step is to experience it.
Your first stay may most deeply determine your further desire to return to or perhaps, OWN Moon Lake Resort.
Far more first-time visitors become regular returnees than not. If Moon Lake is your kind of place, you will quickly, as our advertising states, “Discover why those who have come, never miss coming back.”
Moon Lake is not for everyone, but neither is Las Vegas or Paris.
However, if it touches you with enjoyment, fulfillment, inspiration and imagination—
Welcome to the family.
Over the past decade, we have grown an old-style family recreation business with a beloved past into an investment opportunity with an even brighter future.
Historic and current popularity, constant upward growth trends and exciting potential based on insightful planning secure this as a rare and unique opportunity for the next forward-thinking owners of Moon Lake Resort--perhaps, you.
Someone once likened ownership of Moon Lake Resort to ownership of an NFL team franchise. “There are very limited opportunities to ever own such a business,” they said, “and that makes the owners part of a very exclusive and unique club.”
While we do not imply the value of Moon Lake Resort to be on any equitable monetary par with an NFL franchise, the “unique” and “limited opportunity” of its ownership is somewhat comparable. In its nearly 80 years of operation, there have only been four significant “changings of the guard.”
So, if you can see where YOUR dreams might take Moon Lake Resort and where the Resort might take you -- Welcome to your future.
Contact us today. We can provide full disclosure documentation and records of this unique lifestyle operation and opportunity to seriously qualified buyers upon request.
Sincerely,
Bill and Julie Reardon
Owner/Operators-- Moon Lake Resort, Inc.
WHY ARE WE SELLING A DREAM COME TRUE ?
In the first moments of our first waking day at Moon Lake, we knew something was special about the place. A herd of elk emerged from the aspens in the group campground next to the resort and cautiously strode down to the lakeshore. I crouched down on the lake side of a sand dune as the herd made its way into the dunes. As I locked the appropriate lens into my camera, I looked up into the nostrils of a huge cow elk, looking directly down at me. With both of us equally surprised, she snorted visibly through those big black nostrils, reeled away from me and set the whole herd into a dead run back into the cover of the trees. I fired off a few hindquarter shots unworthy of National Geographic but the moment itself was pure magic.
Moments later, I heard the screech of an osprey and watched it circle around the lake until it found its mark, bank turned, reversed direction and plummeted into the water. Almost before the splash had settled, the wings were flapping to lift off and as the bird gained lift, I saw a fish flailing hopelessly in its clenched talons. I felt like I just landed on Animal Planet. I was as hooked on this place as that fish.
Then came the people. In our first season, we met numerous guests who spoke of long, devoted histories and family memories of as many as sixty years of visits to what most felt was their very own, personal, private paradise—Moon Lake. As newcomers, hearing some of these wonderful stories, we felt very lucky to have discovered this place so many had cherished for so long.
Then came the work. Quite frankly, in 1994, Moon Lake Resort was in pretty rough shape. Our thirteen seasons of management infused with large doses of daily TLC have been devoted to bringing the Resort to its current updated and well-maintained state.
In 2002, the US Forest Service granted us a 20-year term Special Use Permit to operate Moon Lake Resort, based on our management achievements and submission of our 20-year Master Plan for improvement and development of the Resort.
Now comes the future. We have mapped an exciting direction for the Resort in our US Forest Service-approved Twenty-Year Master Plan. We have no doubt that realization of these plans will generate income far beyond what the Resort returns in its present form. However, we know this development will take greater financial resources and ambition than we, ourselves, wish to further provide. We feel it is time to pass the torch.
Personally, we have reached the intersection where a life at Moon Lake and a life beyond Moon Lake meet. To a great extent, we have lived our dream at Moon Lake. We have become our own bosses in a literal “Mom and Pop” business, and raised a son in a family-centered lifestyle and environment that we all cherish and enjoy. We have extended our family to include guests that will continue to be lifelong personal friends.
We have preserved a wonderfully timeless place to be further enjoyed by the many who have come for generations as well as the many who have only recently begun their own traditions of annual return. We have also built a firm business foundation for both those old and new traditions to continue for generations to come.
Perhaps it is time for you to take Moon Lake Resort to the bright future it deserves.
Sincerely,
Bill Reardon
And on behalf of Julie and Jeff Reardon,
Owners/Operators of Moon Lake Resort
The Moon Lake Resort Business Opportunity
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Even the greatest works of art evoke the greatest range of appreciation and perceived value. The value we place on the sale of this business is based on a deep appreciation and understanding of both its tangible and intangible assets. We know what the Resort has been, what it currently is and what it can be in the future. For more than a decade, we have presided over its direction, development and transition from past to present while diligently laying the foundation for its future. The 20-Year Special Use Permit issued in 2002 affirms the US Forest Service’s belief in its future, as well. Following are some of the tangible assets Moon Lake Resort has to offer:
• 15 Cabins + Lodge/General Store. Improved and renovated infrastructure and buildings Certified In Compliance with applicable Building, Health and Safety Codes
• A well-established business securely operated under Special Use Permit of the Ashley National Forest in the same exclusive location for over seventy years.
•Ten years of business records showing consistent upward growth and profitability.
• A US Forest Service approved Twenty-Year Master Plan, green-lighting ambitious and comprehensive plans for full growth and development of the Resort’s profitability.
• Engineered design drawings for NEW cabins currently in process of final approval by the Forest Service and Duchesne County Building Department.
• Fully developed and highly effective Website domain: moonlakeresort.com.
• Copyrighted logo and business identity--“Out of This World But Still in Utah.”
• A lodging business operating at nearly 100 % occupancy levels in peak rental period with high-volume turn-away business (More demand than supply).
• Consistent annual growth achieved with little more than word-of-mouth advertising.
• Client list of over 2,500 names with high percentage regularly, if not annually, returning.
• Potential for expansion to year-round operation.
• Easy access to ever-expanding markets of Salt Lake Metro/Wasatch Front and Uintah Basin population centers.
• Moon Lake Resort, Inc. is currently organized and registered as an “S” Corporation in Good Standing.
• Numerous physical assets, such as vehicles, boats, motors, a skid steer, trailers, tools, parts, etc. (Complete list available to prospective buyers)
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE SALE OF MOON LAKE RESORT
Q: WHAT ROLE DOES THE US FOREST SERVICE PLAY IN THE OPERATION
OF MOON LAKE RESORT?
A: Moon Lake Resort is operated under Special Use Permit of the Ashley National Forest in northeastern Utah. This Term Permit is subject to and administered under regulations and directives set forth in the Forest Service Manual, Chapters 2300 and 2700, the Forest Service Handbook, Chapter 2700 and other Regional Forest Service Directives. The FSM and FSH can be viewed online at http://www.fs.fed.us/im/directives/.
NOTE: The rules, regulations and policy contained in these lengthy volumes of documents can be confusing and often, seemingly contradictory. However, these directives provide the guidelines for all your dealings with the Forest Service. Your permit administrator can be your best friend in interpreting policy and guiding you in whatever processes may be required to realize your plans and dreams.
Q: HOW LONG IS THE RESORT PERMITTED FOR?
A: Moon Lake Resort, Inc., with Bill and Julie Reardon as designated agents of the Corporation, was granted a 20-year Term Special Use Permit in 2002, expiring and subject to renewal in 2022. This is the longest term permit available for an operation of our current size and investment level.
Q: IS THE PERMIT SELLABLE OR TRANSFERRABLE?
A: Technically, NO. However, no need to worry. Forest Service Regulations provide for continued operation of the Resort upon sale of the business assets and improvements. The following info will help you start the process of becoming a New Permit Holder:
On the Internet, go to http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/permits/
Click the link for “Special Use Forms”
Click the FAQ link on the line “Holder Initiated Revocation and Request Form, FS 2700-3a
Form FS 2700-3a would initiate the Forest Service process of authorizing you as the new permittee.
Contact the USFS and schedule a meeting and discussion of the process.
Q: IS THE SALE OF THE BUSINESS CONTINGENT UPON FOREST SERVICE
APPROVAL OF YOU AS THE NEW OWNERS?
A: Yes. The new Permit Application process (described above) is the means to that end
and the current owners would assist and cooperate in that process.
Q: WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE SALE OF THIS BUSINESS?
A: A list of transferable assets is included in our introductory “For Sale Packet”.
Physical assets include all the cabins, store and lodge, equipment, vehicles, some tools and miscellaneous supplies and furnishings. A complete and detailed list will be constructed and agreed on at time of sale. Other assets include business records, client list, website domain, as well as other elements that make this a turn-key business opportunity.
Q: IS LAND INCLUDED IN THE SALE OF THIS BUSINESS?
A: NO. Our permit authorizes us to occupy for special use, 4.7 acres of public land on the Ashley National Forest, within an even larger fenced area. We believe that authorization for use of larger than the current 4.7 acres is possible, but that needs to be discussed with the Forest Service. In essence, you are a tenant on, not an owner of public land.
Q: IS THE FOREST SERVICE IN FAVOR OF GREATER DEVELOPMENT OF
THE RESORT?
A: YES. Our 20-Year Master Plan, submitted in 2001 with our application for a new long-term permit, formed the basis for granting us the longest Term Permit available to an operation of our size and type. A maximum term of 30 years may possibly be available to owners investing more than $1 million into facility improvements. The fabled “99-year lease” that some people mention in conversations regarding the Forest Service is, in fact, a myth with no connection to Recreation permits of this type.
New construction and expansion of services outlined in this Plan have already met with Forest Service approval. Specific construction details will require specific Building approvals and processes, just as any new construction would. We believe the Master Plan (included in the sale) is a comprehensive and insightful foundation on which any new owner may begin to realize their own dreams. But, that’s not to say you couldn’t create your very own, as well.
Q: IS THE FOREST SERVICE IN FAVOR OF THE RESORT AS A YEAR-ROUND
OPERATION?
A: YES, we believe so. The stated general policy of the Forest Service is to advocate for and encourage year-round recreation use.
Q: CAN THE FOREST SERVICE LIMIT OR RESTRICT THE WAY THE RESORT
OPERATES?
A: YES. Your permit spells out what the Resort is permitted to offer to the public. Any variation from what is stated in the Permit will require discussion, approval and amendment with and by the Forest Service. Basically, any new construction or expansion of major services require Forest Service pre-approval, ranging from simple discussions and agreements to very detailed administrative processes.
Q: COULD THE RESORT BE OPERATED ON A TIME-SHARE BASIS?
A: Perhaps, maybe, sort of. There are bases for discussion with the Forest Service that address some sort of “Time-share” and “Condominium” type use. Our understanding is that investment incentive programs such as these are allowable to a certain degree as long as they are available to the general public and not exclusive in any way. Membership or participation in such a program would not convey any individual rights of ownership or permit holder status in the eyes of the Forest Service. We have not pursued any such plans, ourselves, and discussions would need to take place with the Forest Service for approval.
Q: WOULD SELLERS ASSIST BUYERS IN THE TRANSITION TO NEW
OWNERSHIP?
A: YES. While we are primarily interested in a clean and simple sale and transfer of the business, we would devote our best efforts to smoothing the transition to new ownership, up to and including negotiation of a management contract with new owners for an agreed term.
THE END (or the beginning?)