Membership Criteria

Your resort must be owned and operated by families with a commitment to meet and exceed the expectation of our guests.

Membership in the Distinctive Lodges group is by invitation only. Invitations require a unanimous vote of the present members and the criteria is based on length of ownership, quality of the operation, leadership in the industry and a commitment to excellence --- excellence to guests, to staff and to the environment.

Currently the owners average nearly 40 years of operation (up to 77 years in one family) and all the founding members have been presidents of either Minnesota or National Tourism Associations. To continue their quest for excellence, all members attend a three day annual retreat to do complete business reviews and to discuss successes, disappointments, changing trends, and how to exceed guest expectations. This group considers their mission a work in progress, as they continually seek ways to provide vacations of excellence to their guests.