Corp! magazine Honors Bavarian Inn Lodge Chief Operating Officer

April 23, 2015 - PRLog -- Jim Engel, chief operating officerof the Bavarian Inn Lodge, (http://www.bavarianinn.com/stay/) has been chosen by Corp! magazine as a Most Valuable Professional (MVP). The MVP award recognizes those professionals who are making business happen in Michigan – hitting home runs for their companies and their communities.

Engel is being honored for his leadership at a resort known for its old-world charm by using 21^st century sales and marketing techniques. Engel leads the Bavarian Inn Lodge’s social media strategy. His vision includes dominating the world’s largest online travel site, TripAdvisor^®, and attracting visitors to the Inn’s Facebook page, blog, and Yelp, Google Places, Foursquare, Twitter and loyalty club. The “Likes” and “Follows” on Bavarian Inn’s Facebook and Twitter currently exceed 53,000.

Engel has been with the Bavarian Inn for 36 years – starting in the dish department of the Bavarian Inn Restaurant in 1977 while still in high school. He received a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Michigan in 1984 and upon graduation, was asked by Judy Zehnder Keller to join her on the ground floor of developing and building the Bavarian Inn Lodge.

Engel has been with the Lodge ever since, through its many expansions – the latest a $3 million renovation featuring two four-story waterslides. The seven-acre facility now offers 360 guestrooms, conference facilities, two restaurants, indoor mini-golf, four pools and two waterslides. The Lodge has a staff of more than 330, who are ultimately overseen by Jim as the Chief Operating Officer.

Engel was honored by Corp! Magazine at an awards celebration today at the VisTaTech Center in Livonia. Jim Engel will be featured in the May/June 2015 Corp! print edition and in the April 30,  2015 Everything Business digital e-publication.

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About the Bavarian Inn Lodge (http://www.bavarianinn.com/): The Bavarian Inn Lodge, nestled along the Cass River in one of Michigan’s top tourist destinations – Frankenmuth – is one of the state’s largest Indoor Water Park Hotels! The Lodge has 360 European-themed guest rooms, including whirlpool and family suites, an adult-only pool and whirlpool, two gift shops, two lounges and two restaurants – all under one roof. The expansive 35,000 square foot Family Fun Center houses two dramatic waterslides, three pools and two whirlpools, 150 video and redemption games, a two-story children’s play village and Willy’s Kingdom indoor mini-golf course. Guests can also enjoy live, year-round, nightly entertainment and test their own musical skills during weekend family karaoke shows. In 29 years of business, the Bavarian Inn Lodge has been an important destination for travelers, evidenced by the 1.25 million room-nights that have been booked there since its opening, along with its top rating on TripAdvisor ^®.

About Corp! magazine:The mission of Corp! magazine, founded in 1998, is to inform, intrigue and entertain business owners and top level executives by providing business features, news and profiles with a Michigan emphasis.

Bavarian Inn Lodge press room: http://logos-communications.com/bavarianinnlodge

Media contact: Sue Voyles, 734-667-2005      sue@logos-communications.com (mailto:sue@logos-communications.com)