Any other hotels near or on airports?

[Jay Honeck]

So we've got three years of creating/running an aviation-theme-suite hotel
under our belt now, things are going well, and it's time to start thinking
about adding another location.

Trouble is, I'm afraid that our current location may be almost unique.
Here's what we need in order to duplicate our success:

1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
"out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.

In our case, it's the University of Iowa that creates the alternative
business. (There simply aren't enough of us pilots to solely support a
hotel, sad to say.) In other locales, it might be a tourist attraction.

Any suggestions? We would prefer a warm-weather climate, to off-set our
Midwest location, and to prolong the flying season -- but we're open to
suggestions. (Ideally, it would be fun to have a southern hotel to run in
winter, and the Iowa location to run in summer! :-)

(Better yet, an Australian location to run from November - April, and our
Iowa location to run form May - October!)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jim Burns]

Ah... you wanted warmer... sorry... I was thinking of a specific Hilton at
OSH.
Jim

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:R1u2f.416802$x96.151712@attbi_s72...
> So we've got three years of creating/running an aviation-theme-suite hotel
> under our belt now, things are going well, and it's time to start thinking
> about adding another location.
>
> Trouble is, I'm afraid that our current location may be almost unique.
> Here's what we need in order to duplicate our success:
>
> 1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
> 2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
> "out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
> 3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.
>
> In our case, it's the University of Iowa that creates the alternative
> business. (There simply aren't enough of us pilots to solely support a
> hotel, sad to say.) In other locales, it might be a tourist attraction.
>
> Any suggestions? We would prefer a warm-weather climate, to off-set our
> Midwest location, and to prolong the flying season -- but we're open to
> suggestions. (Ideally, it would be fun to have a southern hotel to run
in
> winter, and the Iowa location to run in summer! :-)
>
> (Better yet, an Australian location to run from November - April, and our
> Iowa location to run form May - October!)
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>
>

[Stubby]

Jay Honeck wrote:
> So we've got three years of creating/running an aviation-theme-suite hotel
> under our belt now, things are going well, and it's time to start thinking
> about adding another location.
>
> Trouble is, I'm afraid that our current location may be almost unique.
> Here's what we need in order to duplicate our success:
>
> 1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
> 2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
> "out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
> 3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.
>
> In our case, it's the University of Iowa that creates the alternative
> business. (There simply aren't enough of us pilots to solely support a
> hotel, sad to say.) In other locales, it might be a tourist attraction.
>
> Any suggestions? We would prefer a warm-weather climate, to off-set our
> Midwest location, and to prolong the flying season -- but we're open to
> suggestions. (Ideally, it would be fun to have a southern hotel to run in
> winter, and the Iowa location to run in summer! :-)
>
> (Better yet, an Australian location to run from November - April, and our
> Iowa location to run form May - October!)

It's been years ago, but I once analyzed the US for a place similar to
your requirements. In then end, Wilmington, NC popped up. Near the
beach, UNC has a branch there, lots of movie stars have places there,
much military presence including a battleship on display, interesting
area (Cape Fear). BUT, plan for bad weather. And, I think we saw most
of the town in the day we were there. We found one restaurant that
looked good, but it was closed that day.

[Matt Barrow]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:R1u2f.416802$x96.151712@attbi_s72...
> So we've got three years of creating/running an aviation-theme-suite hotel
> under our belt now, things are going well, and it's time to start thinking
> about adding another location.
>
> Trouble is, I'm afraid that our current location may be almost unique.
> Here's what we need in order to duplicate our success:
>
> 1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
> 2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
> "out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
> 3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.
>
Centennial Airport (APA) in SE Denver has a couple hotels on the field,
including one in which you can taxi up to the hotel lobby door. Also, Falcon
Field (FFZ) in Mesa, AZ has a similar setup. Mesa, a Phoenix suburb, is the
home to Boeing Helicopters where they make the AH-64 Apache and MD
Helicopters where they make the MD-500/600 series and the 900 Explorer.

Montrose (MTJ) will have a on-field hotel finished shortly.

Matt

---------------------
Matthew W. Barrow
Site-Fill Homes, LLC.
Montrose, CO

[Flyingmonk]

How 'bout Thailand for warmth Jay? I'll go in on it w/ you for 20-30%
ownership. Hehehe...

Bryan "The Monk" Chaisone

[John T]

Not your warmer clime, but Morey-middleton (C29) just outside of
Middleton, might work, IF you can keep the rates low. There are number
of motels within a few miles, but most seem to be expensive, geared
toward the business traveler. There is lots of business park land right
across from the airport, so possibly one could build there.
Nearby is Madison (You know all this Jay), both a university town and
state capital.
There is a class C airport in Madison, but its usually busy. C29 is
untowered, and under the outer ring of the class C.

John

[cwby-flyer]

How does Louisiana sound? I know, I know - hurricanes, but HUM sits on
high ground in the area and doesn't usually flood (even during both of
the recent hurricanes). The airport is adjecent to Houma, which offers
a couple of local plantation musuems, nightlife and other venues to
enjoy the Cajun culture. Additionally, it sits about 60 miles from the
French Quarter and all the N.O. attractions. My wife is from the area
and the in-laws are still there and we visit regularly.

Its also much warmer than Iowa :-). The peak tourist season in the
area is from February thru May, which might work well with your current
schedule.

Mike
--
To most people, the sky is the limit. To those who love aviation, the
sky is home.

- anon.

[Dave S]

Well,

Just for examples of things that are out there.. Fredericksburg
Texas has a hotel on field. http://www.hangarhotel.com/ . The town is a
bed and breakfast haven, and the main drag is like a giant flea
market/antique show. No colleges. Admiral Nimitz Museum is there.

Galveston, Texas has a field that is capable of handing airliners,
has an ILS, has a waterpark being built on-site, has the Lone Star
Flight Museum, has Moody Gardens Hotel and Convention Center adjacent to
the field (but its not aviation themed). The city focuses on the "family
factor" with regards to spring break and has an alcohol ban on the
majority of beaches. There is a Mardi Gras celebration there that is a
distant second to what used to occur in New O. There are several
colleges in the vicinity, but none are in NCAA athletics.
Vulnerabilities include coastal location with the hurricane risk. Also,
50% of the surrounding area is water.
http://www.airnav.com/airport/KGLS

New Braunsfels, Texas is a VERY popular tourist area in Texas, with
no hotel on field. There are a few nearby. The field is a few miles from
town, but not in the boonies by any stretch. The draw of this town is a
historical spot called "Gruene" that is shops, antiques and some
wonderful riverfront dining. The REAL draw, however, is the summer
"toobing" industry. The Guadeluper rive meanders through 20 miles of
canyons and hills downstream of Canyon Lake. People come by the
thousands to ride the river. San Antonio is 30 miles south (large town).
San Marcos is 20 or so miles to the north, and is home to Texas State
University (formerly Southwest Texas State University). I go to New
Braunsfels annually to semi annually. The Southwest Regional Flyin was
held at New Braunsfels a few years ago, and now is being held at Hondo,
40-50 miles to the south. I would forsee good bookings on that weekend
by pilots (stay at the hotel, fly to the flyin - hotels are scarce in
Hondo). I would gather that you would have good bookings most summers of
the year by general public due to the toobing (innertubing/rafting). A
few miles off the interstate as well.

Just some things that I could come up with.
Dave



Jay Honeck wrote:
> So we've got three years of creating/running an aviation-theme-suite hotel
> under our belt now, things are going well, and it's time to start thinking
> about adding another location.
>
> Trouble is, I'm afraid that our current location may be almost unique.
> Here's what we need in order to duplicate our success:
>
> 1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
> 2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
> "out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
> 3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.
>
> In our case, it's the University of Iowa that creates the alternative
> business. (There simply aren't enough of us pilots to solely support a
> hotel, sad to say.) In other locales, it might be a tourist attraction.
>
> Any suggestions? We would prefer a warm-weather climate, to off-set our
> Midwest location, and to prolong the flying season -- but we're open to
> suggestions. (Ideally, it would be fun to have a southern hotel to run in
> winter, and the Iowa location to run in summer! :-)
>
> (Better yet, an Australian location to run from November - April, and our
> Iowa location to run form May - October!)

[Larry Dighera]

On Mon, 10 Oct 2005 13:30:25 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
> wrote in
<R1u2f.416802$x96.151712@attbi_s72>::

>1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
>2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
>"out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
>3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.

The Santa Barbara Airport is located adjacent to University of
California at Santa Barbara. There is a low-budget motel located on
the field: http://www.pilothousemotel.com/
http://www.us-rooms.com/usmem/15401.htm

[George Patterson]

Jay Honeck wrote:

> 1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
> 2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
> "out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
> 3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.

Sounds like you want to buy rather than build? There's a motel right next to
Page Field in Fort Myers, Florida. During the winter, nearby Sanibel Island
attracts a lot of vacation traffic. From the outside, the place doesn't have the
ambiance of yours -- more like a "motel 6", but you might be able to do
something about that.

More prosaic is TYS in Knoxville, TN. During the summer, the nearby Smokies
attracts visitors, and the University of Tennessee brings in the college crowd
during the rest of the year. The football situation is worse than Iowa, so you'd
probably be packed in season.

If I were looking to build or create something from a private home, I would
investigate Sevierville, TN. It's closer to the Park and to the tourist traps of
Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.

George Patterson
Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your neighbor.
It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him.

[Bruce Riggs]

Jay Honeck wrote:
> >
> 1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
> 2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
> "out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
> 3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.
>
There used to be an on-field motel at Fort Worth Meacham (KFTW) - I
think it was the Sandpiper Inn - it was sort of a joint FBO/motel, very
'70's decor - it is just north of downtown Fort Worth and the
Stockyards, Billy Bob's etc. I'm not sure if it is still open - AirNav
lists a Sandpiper Aviation at FTW (817-625-5531), but no motel.

Bruce

[Jay Honeck]

> How 'bout Thailand for warmth Jay? I'll go in on it w/ you for 20-30%
> ownership. Hehehe...

Sounds good to me! Of course, you'll be the only one who can answer
the phone...

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> Ah... you wanted warmer... sorry... I was thinking of a specific Hilton at
> OSH.

Heh. I can't think of any greater financial disaster than that Hilton.
We stayed there last winter, and quite literally had the place
entirely to ourselves.

I suspect the only reason it survives is because fellow pilot Baron
Hilton wants it to.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> Not your warmer clime, but Morey-middleton (C29) just outside of
> Middleton, might work, IF you can keep the rates low. There are number
> of motels within a few miles, but most seem to be expensive, geared
> toward the business traveler. There is lots of business park land right
> across from the airport, so possibly one could build there.
> Nearby is Madison (You know all this Jay), both a university town and
> state capital.
> There is a class C airport in Madison, but its usually busy. C29 is
> untowered, and under the outer ring of the class C.

Interesting. Madison is a virtual clone of Iowa City, but on a larger
scale.

Pretty danged cold, though. After 40 Wisconsin winters, I'm loathe to
subject myself to that again!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jim Burns]

> I suspect the only reason it survives is because fellow pilot Baron
> Hilton wants it to.

I suspect that you very well may be correct.

Jim

[[email protected]]

Jay!

Warm, we don't need no stenking warm...
Steamboat Springs, Colorado (SBS) Winter sports, summer sports,
hot springs, oh, yes, and they have winter and SKIING!

Marfa, Texas... and take up soaring in earnest. :-)

Breckenridge, Colorado has an airport (closed for years to the
public), but undergoing development review.

Carlsbad, NM Great place, needs an influx of new
blood with a "service the customer" attitude.

"Gaston's" Airport, Arkansas, resturant, motel, fly fishing on the
White River.

Martha's Vineyard, the beach airport, "Whoosies", resturant on the
field, motels and condos nearby.

Fort Collins Downtown Airport (3V5), Colorado.
New Belgium Brewery within 1 mile. :-)
O'Dell's Brewery within 1 mile. :-)
Walking distance to several resturants, Kiva Inn motel is for sale (up
scale), seems to be busy every time I to by.
Widow is very interested in selling the Motel and possibly
airport shares.
Colorado State University.
I'm here. :-)

Jay Honeck > wrote:
> So we've got three years of creating/running an aviation-theme-suite hotel
> under our belt now, things are going well, and it's time to start thinking
> about adding another location.

> Trouble is, I'm afraid that our current location may be almost unique.
> Here's what we need in order to duplicate our success:

> 1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
> 2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
> "out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
> 3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.

> In our case, it's the University of Iowa that creates the alternative
> business. (There simply aren't enough of us pilots to solely support a
> hotel, sad to say.) In other locales, it might be a tourist attraction.

> Any suggestions? We would prefer a warm-weather climate, to off-set our
> Midwest location, and to prolong the flying season -- but we're open to
> suggestions. (Ideally, it would be fun to have a southern hotel to run in
> winter, and the Iowa location to run in summer! :-)

> (Better yet, an Australian location to run from November - April, and our
> Iowa location to run form May - October!)


Best regards,

Jer/ "Flight instruction and mountain flying are my vocation!" Eberhard

--
Jer/ (Slash) Eberhard, Mountain Flying Aviation, LTD, Ft Collins, CO
CELL 970 231-6325 EMAIL jer'at'frii.com WEB http://users.frii.com/jer/
C-206 N9513G, CFII Airplane&Glider, FAA-DEN Aviation Safety Counselor
CAP-CO Mission&Aircraft CheckPilot, BM218 HAM N0FZD, 234 Young Eagles!

[Montblack]

("Jim Burns" wrote)
>> I suspect the only reason it survives is because fellow pilot Baron
>> Hilton wants it to.
>
> I suspect that you very well may be correct.


He is not correct.

I rode (and spoke) with one of the investors of the OSH Hilton - in his golf
cart. I was walking back to the N40, from getting ice, and kind of just
walked out in front of his cart while he was tooling around on the service
road - hey, I got the ride. <g>

This was the guy I was with, on one side of Atlas, while Jay and Mary were
pushing Steve and Jack out of their camping spot, a few planes down, on the
other side of Atlas. Final Saturday.

Me ..."Where's The Allisons this morning?"
Jay ...Pointing to them on the grass taxiway - "Um, there."

Anyway, he was a nice fellow - a little freewheeling, funny too. He said his
investment in The OSH Hilton is doing just fine. He said, contrary to what
people think, it's making $$$. The (very profitable) catering is one thing
that tips the balance.


Montblack

[Montblack]

("Dave S" wrote)
> Just for examples of things that are out there.. Fredericksburg Texas
> has a hotel on field. http://www.hangarhotel.com/ . The town is a bed and
> breakfast haven, and the main drag is like a giant flea market/antique
> show. No colleges. Admiral Nimitz Museum is there.


That Hangar Hotel is so cool!!!

Their web page is mostly well done, but needed info/links are off the screen
to my right. These should be where I can see them without scrolling - on the
left.

Get to the Gallery/Slideshow/Gal 3/Autoplay - good pics.

An easy to find (live) mapquest link would be nice too - where is it in
Texas? Fredericksburg? Gillespie County?

The Hangar Hotel looks like a GREAT place to visit.


Montblack

[John Clonts]

Hello Jay,

I think Easterwood Field at College Station fills your bill.
http://www.airnav.com/airport/CLL. Home of Texas A&M
http://www.tamu.edu, enrollment 40,000+.

--
Cheers,
John Clonts
Temple, Texas
N7NZ

[NW_PILOT]

With all the renovation he dose maybe he should build!

Steven Rhine
CP-ASEL-IA
CFI, ATP Student

Tell Me I Cant Do It And I Will Becuse, The Ultimate In Revenge In Success!

"George Patterson" > wrote in message
news:8Cx2f.3460$Iq3.276@trndny01...
> Jay Honeck wrote:
>
> > 1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
> > 2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
> > "out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
> > 3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.
>
> Sounds like you want to buy rather than build? There's a motel right next
to
> Page Field in Fort Myers, Florida. During the winter, nearby Sanibel
Island
> attracts a lot of vacation traffic. From the outside, the place doesn't
have the
> ambiance of yours -- more like a "motel 6", but you might be able to do
> something about that.
>
> More prosaic is TYS in Knoxville, TN. During the summer, the nearby
Smokies
> attracts visitors, and the University of Tennessee brings in the college
crowd
> during the rest of the year. The football situation is worse than Iowa, so
you'd
> probably be packed in season.
>
> If I were looking to build or create something from a private home, I
would
> investigate Sevierville, TN. It's closer to the Park and to the tourist
traps of
> Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.
>
> George Patterson
> Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your
neighbor.
> It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him.

[Jay Honeck]

> Anyway, he was a nice fellow - a little freewheeling, funny too. He said his
> investment in The OSH Hilton is doing just fine. He said, contrary to what
> people think, it's making $$$. The (very profitable) catering is one thing
> that tips the balance.

Hey, I remember that guy...

Although you may be right (catering is incredibly profitable, when done
right), I've never met anyone who would admit to making a terrible
investment -- especially when he was standing in front of said
investment property!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> I think Easterwood Field at College Station fills your bill.
> http://www.airnav.com/airport/CLL. Home of Texas A&M
> http://www.tamu.edu, enrollment 40,000+.

Wow - that field is like an "Iowa City clone"...right down to the
triangular runway layout!

Thanks, John.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Doug]

Don't know if any of them are for sale, but Lincoln NE and Lawrence KA
are two towns that fit your description. Both quality college towns.
Both have hotels nearby. Check www.airnav.com. My home field, Boulder
CO (1V5) might be able to support a nearby hotel, I don't really know.
Boulder is hell to try and build anything in due to growth
restrictions. Longmont (2V2), would probably be a better candidate, but
you would have to build. KFNL, which is close to I-25 between Loveland
and Ft Collins might support a new hotel. Nothing there now. Colorado
Front Range is growing by leaps and bounds in case you did not know.

If I were you I would look at college towns in areas adjacent to your
location. But I am sure you are doing just that. As for something
actually for sale, I don't know of any, but I am sure there is a
nationwide hotel/motel real estate list somewhere. Try
http://www.unitedcountry.com/ucforms/uconline/uconline/SearchNS/Search_Other_Criteria_Biz.asp?SID=18369920

unless you have a better one. There is a "well kept motel" in Spirit
Lake for sale for $225k.

Good luck and congrats on your success. I enjoyed my stay, by the way.

Doug
Husky N63CT

[Jim Burns]

Anything near JEFFCO? KBJC Broomfield, CO?? only a few miles from Black
Hawk and the casinos.
Jim

> wrote in message ...
> Jay!
>
> Warm, we don't need no stenking warm...
> Steamboat Springs, Colorado (SBS) Winter sports, summer sports,
> hot springs, oh, yes, and they have winter and SKIING!
>
> Marfa, Texas... and take up soaring in earnest. :-)
>
> Breckenridge, Colorado has an airport (closed for years to the
> public), but undergoing development review.
>
> Carlsbad, NM Great place, needs an influx of new
> blood with a "service the customer" attitude.
>
> "Gaston's" Airport, Arkansas, resturant, motel, fly fishing on the
> White River.
>
> Martha's Vineyard, the beach airport, "Whoosies", resturant on the
> field, motels and condos nearby.
>
> Fort Collins Downtown Airport (3V5), Colorado.
> New Belgium Brewery within 1 mile. :-)
> O'Dell's Brewery within 1 mile. :-)
> Walking distance to several resturants, Kiva Inn motel is for sale (up
> scale), seems to be busy every time I to by.
> Widow is very interested in selling the Motel and possibly
> airport shares.
> Colorado State University.
> I'm here. :-)
>
> Jay Honeck > wrote:
> > So we've got three years of creating/running an aviation-theme-suite
hotel
> > under our belt now, things are going well, and it's time to start
thinking
> > about adding another location.
>
> > Trouble is, I'm afraid that our current location may be almost unique.
> > Here's what we need in order to duplicate our success:
>
> > 1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
> > 2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
> > "out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
> > 3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.
>
> > In our case, it's the University of Iowa that creates the alternative
> > business. (There simply aren't enough of us pilots to solely support a
> > hotel, sad to say.) In other locales, it might be a tourist
attraction.
>
> > Any suggestions? We would prefer a warm-weather climate, to off-set our
> > Midwest location, and to prolong the flying season -- but we're open to
> > suggestions. (Ideally, it would be fun to have a southern hotel to run
in
> > winter, and the Iowa location to run in summer! :-)
>
> > (Better yet, an Australian location to run from November - April, and
our
> > Iowa location to run form May - October!)
>
>
> Best regards,
>
> Jer/ "Flight instruction and mountain flying are my vocation!" Eberhard
>
> --
> Jer/ (Slash) Eberhard, Mountain Flying Aviation, LTD, Ft Collins, CO
> CELL 970 231-6325 EMAIL jer'at'frii.com WEB http://users.frii.com/jer/
> C-206 N9513G, CFII Airplane&Glider, FAA-DEN Aviation Safety Counselor
> CAP-CO Mission&Aircraft CheckPilot, BM218 HAM N0FZD, 234 Young Eagles!

[Bruce Riggs]

Jay Honeck wrote:
>>I think Easterwood Field at College Station fills your bill.
>>http://www.airnav.com/airport/CLL. Home of Texas A&M
>>http://www.tamu.edu, enrollment 40,000+.
>
>
> Wow - that field is like an "Iowa City clone"...right down to the
> triangular runway layout!
>
> Thanks, John.
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>

The Easterwood ramp certainly fills up on football weekends, as do the
hotels in Bryan and College Station - many people lodge in nearby towns
(including Brenham, home of Blue Bell Ice Cream!) - I beleive the
airport is managed by Texas A&M, if not owned by them.

The Brayton Fire Training Field adjoins the airport (120 acres of
buildings, towers, tanks, industrial plant structures and a ship used
for firefighter training), and the George Bush Presidential Library and
Museum is just across the road!

[Jim Burns]

Here ya go Jay:

Athens, GA
Ranked #2 college town in the US by SI in 2003
http://www.airnav.com/reserve/hotel?tnid=47F5&near=KAHN

http://www.foundryparkinn.com/home.htm

"Foundry Park Inn and Spa" already has the "Park Inn" part of the name for
you.
Classic Center & Performing Arts Theatre 2 Blocks
-Double-barreled Cannon Landmark 2 Blocks
-University Of Georgia 6 Blocks
-Morton Theatre 6 Blocks
-Sanford Stadium (Home Of Georgia Bulldogs) 0.5 Miles / 1 Kilometer
-Georgia Museum Of Art 1 Mile / 2 Kilometers
-Stegeman Coliseum 1 Mile / 2 Kilometers
-Memorial Park 2 Miles / 3 Kilometers
-State Botanical Garden Of Georgia 3 Miles / 5 Kilometers
4 miles from the airport

Looks like it's worth a visit this winter!

Jim



"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:R1u2f.416802$x96.151712@attbi_s72...
> So we've got three years of creating/running an aviation-theme-suite hotel
> under our belt now, things are going well, and it's time to start thinking
> about adding another location.
>
> Trouble is, I'm afraid that our current location may be almost unique.
> Here's what we need in order to duplicate our success:
>
> 1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
> 2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
> "out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
> 3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.
>
> In our case, it's the University of Iowa that creates the alternative
> business. (There simply aren't enough of us pilots to solely support a
> hotel, sad to say.) In other locales, it might be a tourist attraction.
>
> Any suggestions? We would prefer a warm-weather climate, to off-set our
> Midwest location, and to prolong the flying season -- but we're open to
> suggestions. (Ideally, it would be fun to have a southern hotel to run
in
> winter, and the Iowa location to run in summer! :-)
>
> (Better yet, an Australian location to run from November - April, and our
> Iowa location to run form May - October!)
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>
>

[A Lieberman]

On Mon, 10 Oct 2005 13:30:25 GMT, Jay Honeck wrote:

> So we've got three years of creating/running an aviation-theme-suite hotel
> under our belt now, things are going well, and it's time to start thinking
> about adding another location.
>
> Trouble is, I'm afraid that our current location may be almost unique.
> Here's what we need in order to duplicate our success:
>
> 1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
> 2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
> "out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
> 3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.

Jay,

How about KMBO? Southern charm airport with build to suit lots for sale on
the northwest end of the airport.

Taxi ways are to be built for businesses that build on the lots per for
sale signs.

What more can you you ask for *smile*. Taxi right up to your room.

Allen

[Morgans]

"Montblack" > wrote

> Anyway, he was a nice fellow - a little freewheeling, funny too. He said
his
> investment in The OSH Hilton is doing just fine. He said, contrary to what
> people think, it's making $$$. The (very profitable) catering is one thing
> that tips the balance.

I would think that all of the other convention type things that take place
on the OSH grounds during the year, also help.
--
Jim in NC

[john smith]

> If I were looking to build or create something from a private home, I would
> investigate Sevierville, TN. It's closer to the Park and to the tourist traps
> of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.

Is that where the Tennessee aviation museum is?

[john smith]

Jim Weir knows where there is a mountaintop airfield for sale in Wyoming.
Doesn't it already have a swimming pool?

[Dave S]

Montblack wrote:

>
> An easy to find (live) mapquest link would be nice too - where is it in
> Texas? Fredericksburg? Gillespie County?
>
> The Hangar Hotel looks like a GREAT place to visit.
>
>
> Montblack

Yes.. Fredricksburg.. less than an hours DRIVE from Kerrville, home of
the Mooney factory.. West of Austin, Northwest of San Antonio, and close
to Luckenbach.

If you go to the avweb page, you will have a link you can click on for
maps on the airport info main page, upper right corner, next to the
small map graphic.

Dave

[[email protected]]

That place is (IMHO) a prime candidate for a radical upgrade - kind of
run down, but in
a really prime location (walking distance to the beach and University).
Other than the
occasional rainstorm, Santa Barbara has generally good weather in the
winter - lots
of sunny days, temps in the 50s and 60s. Check on the Airport Master
Plan, though -
they may have something else in mind for the space.

David Johnson

[Larry Dighera]

On 10 Oct 2005 17:32:12 -0700, wrote in
. com>::

>That place is (IMHO) a prime candidate for a radical upgrade - kind of
>run down, but in a really prime location (walking distance to the beach
> and University).

It sounds like just what Mr. Honeck asked for, but it's probably too
far away from the corn belt to be seriously considered.

>Other than the occasional rainstorm, Santa Barbara has generally good
>weather in the winter - lots of sunny days, temps in the 50s and 60s.

Being located on the on the beach, it does get its share of fog, but
It's hard to find any place in the country with a better climate.

>Check on the Airport Master Plan, though - they may have something
>else in mind for the space.
>
>David Johnson

Good point. There is some Master Plan information here:
http://www.flysba.com/?pageID=54 but I wasn't able to find anything by
searching for 'motel' nor 'hotel'. Some more information here:
http://gis.ca.gov/catalog/BrowseRecord.epl?id=3425

[Marc CYBW]

Calgary!

Cold, but it's a dry cold.

There is a B&B on a very large lot at CYBW (Calgary, Springbank), the
closest gateway to Banff, Lake Louise and the Canadian Rockies.

Springbank, a towered, very active GA oriented airport on the west of
Calgary, is being upgraded as we speak. Longer, wider runways.

The FBO across the street does a terrific business.

Marc

> wrote in message ...
> Jay!
>
> Warm, we don't need no stenking warm...
> Steamboat Springs, Colorado (SBS) Winter sports, summer sports,
> hot springs, oh, yes, and they have winter and SKIING!
>
> Marfa, Texas... and take up soaring in earnest. :-)
>
> Breckenridge, Colorado has an airport (closed for years to the
> public), but undergoing development review.
>
> Carlsbad, NM Great place, needs an influx of new
> blood with a "service the customer" attitude.
>
> "Gaston's" Airport, Arkansas, resturant, motel, fly fishing on the
> White River.
>
> Martha's Vineyard, the beach airport, "Whoosies", resturant on the
> field, motels and condos nearby.
>
> Fort Collins Downtown Airport (3V5), Colorado.
> New Belgium Brewery within 1 mile. :-)
> O'Dell's Brewery within 1 mile. :-)
> Walking distance to several resturants, Kiva Inn motel is for sale (up
> scale), seems to be busy every time I to by.
> Widow is very interested in selling the Motel and possibly
> airport shares.
> Colorado State University.
> I'm here. :-)
>
> Jay Honeck > wrote:
>> So we've got three years of creating/running an aviation-theme-suite
>> hotel
>> under our belt now, things are going well, and it's time to start
>> thinking
>> about adding another location.
>
>> Trouble is, I'm afraid that our current location may be almost unique.
>> Here's what we need in order to duplicate our success:
>
>> 1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
>> 2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
>> "out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
>> 3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.
>
>> In our case, it's the University of Iowa that creates the alternative
>> business. (There simply aren't enough of us pilots to solely support a
>> hotel, sad to say.) In other locales, it might be a tourist attraction.
>
>> Any suggestions? We would prefer a warm-weather climate, to off-set our
>> Midwest location, and to prolong the flying season -- but we're open to
>> suggestions. (Ideally, it would be fun to have a southern hotel to run
>> in
>> winter, and the Iowa location to run in summer! :-)
>
>> (Better yet, an Australian location to run from November - April, and our
>> Iowa location to run form May - October!)
>
>
> Best regards,
>
> Jer/ "Flight instruction and mountain flying are my vocation!" Eberhard
>
> --
> Jer/ (Slash) Eberhard, Mountain Flying Aviation, LTD, Ft Collins, CO
> CELL 970 231-6325 EMAIL jer'at'frii.com WEB http://users.frii.com/jer/
> C-206 N9513G, CFII Airplane&Glider, FAA-DEN Aviation Safety Counselor
> CAP-CO Mission&Aircraft CheckPilot, BM218 HAM N0FZD, 234 Young Eagles!

[N93332]

"Bruce Riggs" > wrote in message
...
> The Brayton Fire Training Field adjoins the airport (120 acres of
> buildings, towers, tanks, industrial plant structures and a ship used for
> firefighter training), and the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum
> is just across the road!

Sure, offer Jay a place to set up a Republican/aviation hotel and he'll
leave Iowa City forever...
;-)

-Greg B.
born in Iowa City

[George Patterson]

john smith wrote:
>>If I were looking to build or create something from a private home, I would
>>investigate Sevierville, TN. It's closer to the Park and to the tourist traps
>>of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.
>
> Is that where the Tennessee aviation museum is?

Yep.

George Patterson
Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your neighbor.
It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him.

[W P Dixon]

HEE HEE,
Those orange clad 'teers are not so happy after GEORGIA came to town. I
had to chose between flying or go to the game. Flying won this time. Needed
the practice. I watched my dawgs on TV , and made sure I yelled GO DAWGS
SIC'EM RUFF RUFF RUFF every time we kicked off,..I am sure my neighbors hate
me ;)

Patrick
student SP
aircraft structural mech

>> More prosaic is TYS in Knoxville, TN. During the summer, the nearby
> Smokies
>> attracts visitors, and the University of Tennessee brings in the college
> crowd
>> during the rest of the year. The football situation is worse than Iowa,
>> so
> you'd
>> probably be packed in season.
>>
>>
>> George Patterson
>> Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your
> neighbor.
>> It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him.
>
>

[W P Dixon]

And not to mention Athens is a nice town! I have requested being buried
beside UGA when I die at Sanford Stadium,..so far the University "ain't"
going for it ! ;)

Patrick
student SP
aircraft structural mech

"Jim Burns" > wrote in message
...
> Here ya go Jay:
>
> Athens, GA
> Ranked #2 college town in the US by SI in 2003
> http://www.airnav.com/reserve/hotel?tnid=47F5&near=KAHN
>
> http://www.foundryparkinn.com/home.htm
>
> "Foundry Park Inn and Spa" already has the "Park Inn" part of the name for
> you.
> Classic Center & Performing Arts Theatre 2 Blocks
> -Double-barreled Cannon Landmark 2 Blocks
> -University Of Georgia 6 Blocks
> -Morton Theatre 6 Blocks
> -Sanford Stadium (Home Of Georgia Bulldogs) 0.5 Miles / 1 Kilometer
> -Georgia Museum Of Art 1 Mile / 2 Kilometers
> -Stegeman Coliseum 1 Mile / 2 Kilometers
> -Memorial Park 2 Miles / 3 Kilometers
> -State Botanical Garden Of Georgia 3 Miles / 5 Kilometers
> 4 miles from the airport
>
> Looks like it's worth a visit this winter!
>
> Jim
>
>
>
> "Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
> news:R1u2f.416802$x96.151712@attbi_s72...
>> So we've got three years of creating/running an aviation-theme-suite
>> hotel
>> under our belt now, things are going well, and it's time to start
>> thinking
>> about adding another location.
>>
>> Trouble is, I'm afraid that our current location may be almost unique.
>> Here's what we need in order to duplicate our success:
>>
>> 1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
>> 2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
>> "out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
>> 3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.
>>
>> In our case, it's the University of Iowa that creates the alternative
>> business. (There simply aren't enough of us pilots to solely support a
>> hotel, sad to say.) In other locales, it might be a tourist attraction.
>>
>> Any suggestions? We would prefer a warm-weather climate, to off-set our
>> Midwest location, and to prolong the flying season -- but we're open to
>> suggestions. (Ideally, it would be fun to have a southern hotel to run
> in
>> winter, and the Iowa location to run in summer! :-)
>>
>> (Better yet, an Australian location to run from November - April, and our
>> Iowa location to run form May - October!)
>> --
>> Jay Honeck
>> Iowa City, IA
>> Pathfinder N56993
>> www.AlexisParkInn.com
>> "Your Aviation Destination"
>>
>>
>
>

[W P Dixon]

Yes it is , I think a big drawback about the tourists of the area is they
mostly seem to drive through the smokies. Park your car and take the little
fake trolley in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg or you may spend your entire
vacation sitting in traffic. The guys around here fly over to the museum for
lunch and see the place quit often.

Patrick
student SP
aircraft structural mech

"john smith" > wrote in message
...
>> If I were looking to build or create something from a private home, I
>> would
>> investigate Sevierville, TN. It's closer to the Park and to the tourist
>> traps
>> of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.
>
> Is that where the Tennessee aviation museum is?

[George Patterson]

W P Dixon wrote:

> Those orange clad 'teers are not so happy after GEORGIA came to town.

Well, I hear that the Vols made enough errors in the first two games to create
an entire one hour blooper video (Sam Venable column in the K-town paper).

Fine with me. If you actually believe in academics at UT, there are lots of
reasons to hate the athletic department.

George Patterson
Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your neighbor.
It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him.

[George Patterson]

W P Dixon wrote:
> And not to mention Athens is a nice town! I have requested being buried
> beside UGA when I die at Sanford Stadium,

You intend to die at the stadium?

George Patterson
Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your neighbor.
It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him.

[W P Dixon]

Nope , goodness knows where I will die, I just want to be buried beside all
the UGA's. All the mascot dawgs (Uga) are buried at the end of the football
field. Wife says she doesn't care!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Patrick
student SP
aircraft structural mech



"George Patterson" > wrote in message
news:VxF2f.4682$RG1.406@trndny08...
>W P Dixon wrote:
>> And not to mention Athens is a nice town! I have requested being buried
>> beside UGA when I die at Sanford Stadium,
>
> You intend to die at the stadium?
>
> George Patterson
> Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your
> neighbor.
> It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him.

[Marty]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:R1u2f.416802$x96.151712@attbi_s72...
> So we've got three years of creating/running an aviation-theme-suite hotel
> under our belt now, things are going well, and it's time to start thinking
> about adding another location.
>
> Trouble is, I'm afraid that our current location may be almost unique.
> Here's what we need in order to duplicate our success:
>
> 1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
> 2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
> "out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
> 3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.
>
> In our case, it's the University of Iowa that creates the alternative
> business. (There simply aren't enough of us pilots to solely support a
> hotel, sad to say.) In other locales, it might be a tourist attraction.
>
> Any suggestions? We would prefer a warm-weather climate, to off-set our
> Midwest location, and to prolong the flying season -- but we're open to
> suggestions. (Ideally, it would be fun to have a southern hotel to run
> in winter, and the Iowa location to run in summer! :-)
>
> (Better yet, an Australian location to run from November - April, and our
> Iowa location to run form May - October!)
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>

Well Jay, this is north east of you, not warm in the winter nor is it near a
large city but attractions abound. It is already themed.
The runway is now closed but last I saw, it was still there. So is the twin
(check out the panoramic) on static display.
I am really only posting it cause it is sooo cool. ;-)

http://www.fantasuite.com/Location.asp?LocationID=2

Marty

[tony roberts]

Here in Kelowna we have the Airport Lakeside Hotel.

It isn't near the airport.
It isn't on the lakeside.
Go figure!

Australian location for your winter?
That would be Bundaberg, or the Whitsundays. Both of which have a need.

HTH

--

Tony Roberts
PP-ASEL
VFR OTT
Night
Cessna 172H C-GICE



In article <R1u2f.416802$x96.151712@attbi_s72>,
"Jay Honeck" > wrote:

> So we've got three years of creating/running an aviation-theme-suite hotel
> under our belt now, things are going well, and it's time to start thinking
> about adding another location.
>
> Trouble is, I'm afraid that our current location may be almost unique.
> Here's what we need in order to duplicate our success:
>
> 1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
> 2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
> "out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
> 3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.
>
> In our case, it's the University of Iowa that creates the alternative
> business. (There simply aren't enough of us pilots to solely support a
> hotel, sad to say.) In other locales, it might be a tourist attraction.
>
> Any suggestions? We would prefer a warm-weather climate, to off-set our
> Midwest location, and to prolong the flying season -- but we're open to
> suggestions. (Ideally, it would be fun to have a southern hotel to run in
> winter, and the Iowa location to run in summer! :-)
>
> (Better yet, an Australian location to run from November - April, and our
> Iowa location to run form May - October!)

[alexy]

"Marty" > wrote:


>Well Jay, this is north east of you, not warm in the winter nor is it near a
>large city but attractions abound. It is already themed.
>The runway is now closed but last I saw, it was still there. So is the twin

^^^^
>(check out the panoramic) on static display.
>I am really only posting it cause it is sooo cool. ;-)
>
>http://www.fantasuite.com/Location.asp?LocationID=2

Is that one of them thar newfangled twins with both engines on the
left wing? <g>
--
Alex -- Replace "nospam" with "mail" to reply by email. Checked infrequently.

[Montblack]

("N93332" spake)
> Sure, offer Jay a place to set up a Republican/aviation hotel and he'll
> leave Iowa City forever...


Is the Leviticus Suite available this weekend?


Montblack

[Jay Beckman]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:R1u2f.416802$x96.151712@attbi_s72...
> So we've got three years of creating/running an aviation-theme-suite hotel
> under our belt now, things are going well, and it's time to start thinking
> about adding another location.

Jay (Central)

Have you seen this property before?

http://www.skyranchlodge.com/

About a 1/4 mile walk from the terminal/FBO/restaurant.

Jay (West)

[Jay Honeck]

>> The Hangar Hotel looks like a GREAT place to visit.
>
> Yes.. Fredricksburg.. less than an hours DRIVE from Kerrville, home of the
> Mooney factory.. West of Austin, Northwest of San Antonio, and close to
> Luckenbach.

Any feel on how they're doing? I've not been able to get a grasp on what
their main source of guests/income is, outside of fly-ins.

Are they close enough to the city to be able to attract non-flying guests?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> That place is (IMHO) a prime candidate for a radical upgrade - kind of
> run down, but in
> a really prime location (walking distance to the beach and University).
> Other than the
> occasional rainstorm, Santa Barbara has generally good weather in the
> winter - lots
> of sunny days, temps in the 50s and 60s. Check on the Airport Master
> Plan, though -
> they may have something else in mind for the space.

I have a friend who purchased a newspaper distribution business in the Santa
Barbara area. On paper, it looked like a dream -- perfect weather, all the
time, great location and life-style -- but it rapidly turned into a
nightmare for him when he couldn't find any workers.

Santa Barbara has priced themselves out of existence, as far as workers go.
Everyone is wealthy, and wants lots of menial labor done for them
(housekeepers, for example) -- but there is simply no affordable housing
available for these folks. So, they don't live there.

My friend went out of business inside of 6 months. He simply couldn't find
anyone to deliver the papers.

Not to rule the place out on this basis -- I love Southern California -- but
without housekeepers and desk staff, you can't run a hotel.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> Fine with me. If you actually believe in academics at UT, there are lots
> of reasons to hate the athletic department.

That's true at any big-sports college.

The highest-paid (by far) public employee in the state of Iowa is....Kirk
Ferentz, the U of Iowa football coach. It's sad.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> Cold, but it's a dry cold.

Now there's a phrase I've never heard before....

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> Sure, offer Jay a place to set up a Republican/aviation hotel and he'll
> leave Iowa City forever...
> ;-)

Nah. What would I have to bitch about?

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> Good luck and congrats on your success. I enjoyed my stay, by the way.

Thanks, Doug. You still have the singular honor of being the only
float-plane to have visited us here in Iowa!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> Nope , goodness knows where I will die, I just want to be buried beside
> all the UGA's. All the mascot dawgs (Uga) are buried at the end of the
> football field. Wife says she doesn't care!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Whew. And I thought *I* was a hard-core football fan...

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> Here ya go Jay:
>
> Athens, GA
> Ranked #2 college town in the US by SI in 2003

Looks great, Jim -- but it's four miles from the airport!

I'd have to build a LONG taxiway...

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> http://www.fantasuite.com/Location.asp?LocationID=2

Wow -- the Don Q Inn is still there?

When I was a kid, over in Racine, WI, the Don Q was THE place to stay in
Wisconsin!

That would be fun...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> http://www.skyranchlodge.com/

Wow, what a beautiful area of the country. Thanks for the tip.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Larry Dighera]

On Tue, 11 Oct 2005 11:29:35 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
> wrote in
<zmN2f.424105$_o.293402@attbi_s71>::

>I have a friend who purchased a newspaper distribution business in the Santa
>Barbara area. On paper, it looked like a dream -- perfect weather, all the
>time, great location and life-style -- but it rapidly turned into a
>nightmare for him when he couldn't find any workers.

He must not have looked very hard. College students are always eager
to earn a buck in entry level positions, and there is always a cadre
of day laborers on Garden Street willing to do menial tasks.

>Santa Barbara has priced themselves out of existence, as far as workers go.

I haven't found that to be the case. Reliable help is about $10/hour.

>Everyone is wealthy, and wants lots of menial labor done for them
>(housekeepers, for example) -- but there is simply no affordable housing
>available for these folks. So, they don't live there.

Many housekeeping staff commute daily from nearby Ventura. You're not
suggesting that those myriad Montecito and Hope Ranch mansions are un
staffed, are you?

>My friend went out of business inside of 6 months. He simply couldn't find
>anyone to deliver the papers.

What was the name of the newspaper?

>Not to rule the place out on this basis -- I love Southern California -- but
>without housekeepers and desk staff, you can't run a hotel.

It's just too far left of Iowa for your taste.

[Jay Honeck]

> He must not have looked very hard. College students are always eager
> to earn a buck in entry level positions

Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

Our company distributed newspapers in Iowa City (and many other towns) from
1997 to 2002. When we opened, I, too, foolishly believed that college
students would provide a ready and reliable source of workers. After all,
there are 35,000 of them, right?

In those five years, I had one (that's ONE) college student delivering a
motor route. He lasted precisely three days.

College kids want nothing to do with working at 3 AM.

>>Santa Barbara has priced themselves out of existence, as far as workers
>>go.
> I haven't found that to be the case. Reliable help is about $10/hour.

If you must pay $10 per hour to get a newspaper delivered, and it's gonna
cost a LOT more than 50 cents per copy. I paid my drivers $.17 per copy
daily, $.35 Sunday. From that had to come their gas, etc. The newspaper
model works in areas with affordable housing and a ready supply of eager,
entry level workers.

> Many housekeeping staff commute daily from nearby Ventura. You're not
> suggesting that those myriad Montecito and Hope Ranch mansions are un
> staffed, are you?

I think in a hotel, the situation would be better than for newspapers,
that's for sure.

>>My friend went out of business inside of 6 months. He simply couldn't
>>find
>>anyone to deliver the papers.
>
> What was the name of the newspaper?

It was the local daily paper. I don't recall the name.

>>Not to rule the place out on this basis -- I love Southern California --
>>but
>>without housekeepers and desk staff, you can't run a hotel.
>
> It's just too far left of Iowa for your taste.

NO AREA is to the left of Iowa City. (After all, we are *still* the only
city in America to have ever elected a card-carrying member of the Communist
Party to our city council. And we're still the Lesbian Capital of the
World, according to "Gay Times" -- or whatever that big gay magazine is
called. And the last Republican elected to office in Johnson County
occurred prior to 1958... It's "Conservative Hell" here, I tell ya! :-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jim Burns]

> NO AREA is to the left of Iowa City. (After all, we are *still* the only
> city in America to have ever elected a card-carrying member of the
Communist
> Party to our city council. And we're still the Lesbian Capital of the
> World, according to "Gay Times" -- or whatever that big gay magazine is
> called. And the last Republican elected to office in Johnson County
> occurred prior to 1958... It's "Conservative Hell" here, I tell ya! :-)

HA!!!! Iowa City is where people from Madison go for Conservative Retreats!
Jim

[Larry Dighera]

On Tue, 11 Oct 2005 13:15:37 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
> wrote in
<ZVO2f.236594$084.28179@attbi_s22>::

>> Many housekeeping staff commute daily from nearby Ventura. You're not
>> suggesting that those myriad Montecito and Hope Ranch mansions are un
>> staffed, are you?
>
>I think in a hotel, the situation would be better than for newspapers,
>that's for sure.

There's little question that there are an adequate number of domestic
workers to staff a hotel; after all, the Pilot House Motel is already
currently staffed.

The city has plans to expand the airport terminal, so they must
predict an increase in traffic. Santa Barbara draws allot of tourists
year round, and it's a favorite getaway for Los Angelinos. The
Channel Islands National Park is just off shore. The Danish tourist
town of Solvang is just inland, and the area has become a major wine
producing region that draws wine tasting oenophiles far and wide.
There's a new casino in nearby Santa Ynez. Even the western Monarch
butterfly population over winter along the Santa Barbara coast. A
million winged flyers can't be wrong. :-)

But seriously, the Pilot House Motel really needs someone to renovate
and bring it up to its potential. Every motel/hotel in town is
totally booked during the summer, and the cheapest room you can find
anytime (with the exception of the sleazy Motel-6 at $80/night) is
over $100/night. There's lots of factual information about Santa
Barbara here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Barbara%2C_California

Don't let your children find out you're considering Santa Barbara;
they'll make the decision for you.

[Stubby]

Larry Dighera wrote:
> On Mon, 10 Oct 2005 13:30:25 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
> > wrote in
> <R1u2f.416802$x96.151712@attbi_s72>::
>
>
>>1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
>>2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
>>"out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
>>3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.
>
>
> The Santa Barbara Airport is located adjacent to University of
> California at Santa Barbara. There is a low-budget motel located on
> the field: http://www.pilothousemotel.com/
> http://www.us-rooms.com/usmem/15401.htm

It's been 25 years since I visited Santa Barbara. Two thing impressed
me there: the "plane pools" taking off at 7AM to get lawyers and doctors
to their LA offices and the tarballs on the beach. UCSB placed gallon
cans of solvent and paper towels at each building entrance for cleaning
it off feet and shoes.

[John T]

Ugh. My wife and I toured that fantasasuite hotel a few years ago. The
place smells of chlorine and just seems to reek of "worn out", "faded"
or whatever word would fit. They used to have a KC-97 out front. They
landed that sucker on the airport, and locked the brakes to stay on the
runway!

There is one in west bend, WI that is newer. Same theme rooms, but
cleaner and nicer.

John

[[email protected]]

Jay Honeck > wrote:

"Chico Hot Springs"... north of Yellowstone National Park.
It "used to be" that you would buzz the hotel, and two folks in
pickup trucks would come out and block the road (road was marked
like a runway :-), and you would land and then taxi up to
your room. 4-star resturant, hot springs, descent hotel,
and cabin/room outbuildings.

I never did hear the story about why they closed the airport.

Best regards,

Jer/ "Flight instruction and mountain flying are my vocation!" Eberhard

--
Jer/ (Slash) Eberhard, Mountain Flying Aviation, LTD, Ft Collins, CO
CELL 970 231-6325 EMAIL jer'at'frii.com WEB http://users.frii.com/jer/
C-206 N9513G, CFII Airplane&Glider, FAA-DEN Aviation Safety Counselor
CAP-CO Mission&Aircraft CheckPilot, BM218 HAM N0FZD, 234 Young Eagles!

[Chris G.]

Jay,

Come to Oregon (or-a-gun...not GONE! ;) I'd love it! <grin>

Seriously though, if Oregon is not too far out, you might want to
consider this area. Salem (KSLE) has a nice towered field that has 2
runways and the city is trying very hard to get commercial service in
here. There is nothing on field for lodging, but there is some nearby,
but our republican, business-friendly mayor and city council would be
happy to help, I am sure. Nearby businesses (within walking distance,
or on field):

Hertz Car Sales,
Budget rent-a-van
PDX-SLE Shuttle bus,
The Flight Deck restaurant

Within 1 mile of the airport, you have a Costco, Lowe's Home Depot,
Wal-Mart, K-Mart, US Post Office, Several new car dealerships, Freeway
access, Dairy Queen, Jack in the Box, several gas stations, and a local,
hole in the wall type of burger joint.

SLE is about 2 miles from the State Capitol Bldg, Willamette University
(prestigious<sp?> law school), Corban University (Christian college),
Brand-new Salem Convention Center (opened March 2005), Downtown shopping
area, Historic Mission Mill, & more.

By air, SLE is about 30-45 mins from most locations on the Oregon Coast
and only about 2-3 hours from the farthest point in the state (by air)
in SE Oregon. Decent skiing in the mountains about 2 hrs by car, 1 hr
south (by car) from Portland, Oregon. Lots of historical stuff in the
area. Local theater company that does pretty good. Univ of Oregon and
Oregon State Univ both within about 1-1/5 hrs by car and under an hour
by plane.

Want more info? Email me! Put chris@ in front of my domain name
(listed in the closing)

Chris G.
http://www.k7sle.com


Jay Honeck wrote:
> So we've got three years of creating/running an aviation-theme-suite hotel
> under our belt now, things are going well, and it's time to start thinking
> about adding another location.
>
> Trouble is, I'm afraid that our current location may be almost unique.
> Here's what we need in order to duplicate our success:
>
> 1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
> 2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
> "out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
> 3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.
>
> In our case, it's the University of Iowa that creates the alternative
> business. (There simply aren't enough of us pilots to solely support a
> hotel, sad to say.) In other locales, it might be a tourist attraction.
>
> Any suggestions? We would prefer a warm-weather climate, to off-set our
> Midwest location, and to prolong the flying season -- but we're open to
> suggestions. (Ideally, it would be fun to have a southern hotel to run in
> winter, and the Iowa location to run in summer! :-)
>
> (Better yet, an Australian location to run from November - April, and our
> Iowa location to run form May - October!)

[Jay Honeck]

> Don't let your children find out you're considering Santa Barbara;
> they'll make the decision for you.

Presuming you are in the area, I've got a question that's been bugging
me.

My friend (who couldn't find enough help in Santa Barbara) told us that
he was able to recruit some help by "trolling the beach" -- walking
down the beach, and recruiting homeless people!

He said that there were literally dozens of people actually *living* on
the beach, because (a) the weather is beautiful, and (b) for political
reasons Santa Barbara is unwilling to do anything about transients.

True?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Carl Orton]

> Are they close enough to the city to be able to attract non-flying guests?

Pretty much. My boss and his wife spent their anniversary there after
driving to Fredricksburg. When I've mentioned it in non-aviation circles,
I'm surprised at the number of folks who have heard of it. Of course,
Fredricksburg is a pretty big getaway destination for the DFW crowd.

Carl

[Morgans]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:%sN2f.424134$_o.269682@attbi_s71...
> > Good luck and congrats on your success. I enjoyed my stay, by the way.
>
> Thanks, Doug. You still have the singular honor of being the only
> float-plane to have visited us here in Iowa!

Wow! It must have rained A LOT there, lately!
--
Jim in NC

[Rich Lemert]

>
> College kids want nothing to do with working at 3 AM.
>

It interferes with their bed time.

[john smith]

In article s.net>,
"Chris G." <nospam@noemail> wrote:

> Jay,
>
> Come to Oregon (or-a-gun...not GONE! ;) I'd love it! <grin>
>
> Seriously though, if Oregon is not too far out, you might want to
> consider this area. Salem (KSLE) has a nice towered field that has 2
> runways and the city is trying very hard to get commercial service in
> here. There is nothing on field for lodging, but there is some nearby,
> but our republican, business-friendly mayor and city council would be
> happy to help, I am sure. Nearby businesses (within walking distance,
> or on field):

Oooh! Salem is 30 minutes (?) south of Portland.
If you go there, you will not return to Iowa.
Mountains to the east of you, ocean to the west of you.
Okay, the occassional forest fire messes things up.
The climate is good, the activities are outstanding and the politics are
a little wonkie.

[George Patterson]

Jay Honeck wrote:

> Not to rule the place out on this basis -- I love Southern California -- but
> without housekeepers and desk staff, you can't run a hotel.

Well, you could do like the western NC tomato farmers did in the 60s and provide
transportation for your workers. They would make the rounds of the workers'
homes at dark-30 and pick them up.

George Patterson
Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your neighbor.
It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him.

[Newps]

wrote:
> Jay Honeck > wrote:
>
> "Chico Hot Springs"... north of Yellowstone National Park.
> It "used to be" that you would buzz the hotel, and two folks in
> pickup trucks would come out and block the road (road was marked
> like a runway :-), and you would land and then taxi up to
> your room. 4-star resturant, hot springs, descent hotel,
> and cabin/room outbuildings.
>
> I never did hear the story about why they closed the airport.

Because some moron flatlander came in in his underpowered cherokee ****
box on a 90 degree day with a 20 knot direct crosswind and tried to go
around, crashed and killed himself. His estate sued. The hotel won but
decided to stop the landings.

[George Patterson]

Jay Honeck wrote:

> That's true at any big-sports college.

Perhaps it won't stay that way. I heard an interview with some bigwig at
Vanderbilt University. UT considered that school a walkover in the dark ages
when I attended. A year or two back, they got rid of their athletic department
(and I may have the wrong term there, but it's the autonomous group that used to
run the sports programs, not the group that teaches the phys-ed courses). This
year they are #1 (so far) in the SEC, and they're saving some ridiculous amount
of money.

George Patterson
Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your neighbor.
It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him.

[W P Dixon]

Actually,
Vandy lost to LSU but do have a 4-2 record and for Vandy that is
outstanding! Saturday night Vandy will be 4-3 ..Georgia comes to Nashville
;) I will be highly depressed if Georgia does not leave Nashville 6-0 with
an absolute dominance of the SEC east. But I will hand it to Vandy ..they
always play tough against Georgia.
But as of today the SEC East standings are GEORGIA(3-0,5-0),
FLORIDA(3-1,5-1), VANDY (2-1,4-2), TENNESSEE(2-2,3-2),SOUTH
CAROLINA(1-3,3-3), and KENTUCKY(0-2,1-4)
But yes George, Vandy is better this year than they have been in a very
long time. I won't be surprised at all if there is a nice little SEC battle
in Nashville Saturday night...Dang I wonder if I could get some cheap
tickets to that one? ;) Oh and Vandy's other lose, Middle TN upset them
17-15 in Nashville. MTSU played a great game!

Patrick
student SP
aircraft structural mech

"George Patterson" > wrote in message
news:8%_2f.2552$Uj2.1589@trndny03...
> Jay Honeck wrote:
>
>> That's true at any big-sports college.
>
> Perhaps it won't stay that way. I heard an interview with some bigwig at
> Vanderbilt University. UT considered that school a walkover in the dark
> ages when I attended. A year or two back, they got rid of their athletic
> department (and I may have the wrong term there, but it's the autonomous
> group that used to run the sports programs, not the group that teaches the
> phys-ed courses). This year they are #1 (so far) in the SEC, and they're
> saving some ridiculous amount of money.
>
> George Patterson
> Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your
> neighbor.
> It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him.

[W P Dixon]

Jay,
Knowing that alot of counties will help with taxes and such..some even
buy and give land to companies to bring jobs into an area...why not pick a
place you'd like to have a Hotel at an airport. See what kind of biz deal
can be worked. I am sure you know your biz a heck of alot more than
myself,....but maybe a new hotel with all the local gov breaks may be more
cost wise than buying an older hotel that needs work..and may not get the
local gov goodies! I can only imagine the mortgage payment on a hotel....but
it should make a nice tax break;)

Patrick
student SPL
aircraft structural mech

[Jay Honeck]

> There is one in west bend, WI that is newer. Same theme rooms, but cleaner
> and nicer.

Get out! I consider West Bend to be my "original" home town. My family
originally settled there after coming over from Germany back in the 1840s.
I lived there from 1960 - 67, and visited family often through the early
1990s.

Where is this hotel?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> Knowing that alot of counties will help with taxes and such..some even
> buy and give land to companies to bring jobs into an area...why not pick a
> place you'd like to have a Hotel at an airport. See what kind of biz deal
> can be worked. I am sure you know your biz a heck of alot more than
> myself,....but maybe a new hotel with all the local gov breaks may be more
> cost wise than buying an older hotel that needs work..and may not get the
> local gov goodies! I can only imagine the mortgage payment on a
> hotel....but it should make a nice tax break;)

Great ideas, but buying a tired older hotel is always going to be cheaper
than building new. The trick is to find one that needs freshening up, not
demolition.

And anything we would do would be way too small for any government to be
interested in funding -- heck, our entire staff is just 5 people (plus Mary
and me). Not a big help to anyone's unemployment rolls.

I don't think we can provide the kind of service we do if we were build a
hotel much bigger. I think we could MAYBE handle 45 suites, total, at the
outside, and still do the delivered-to-the-suite breakfast thing. Beyond
that, we'd start slipping into "Holiday/Ramada/Super 8" status -- which
would kill us.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Larry Dighera]

On 11 Oct 2005 13:38:22 -0700, "Jay Honeck" > wrote
in . com>::

>
>My friend (who couldn't find enough help in Santa Barbara) told us that
>he was able to recruit some help by "trolling the beach" -- walking
>down the beach, and recruiting homeless people!
>
>He said that there were literally dozens of people actually *living* on
>the beach, because (a) the weather is beautiful, and (b) for political
>reasons Santa Barbara is unwilling to do anything about transients.
>
>True?


What year was that?

[W P Dixon]

Hmmm,
Well I would think since most places charge a tax on staying in hotels,
maybe the lack of job creation would be offset by the tax revenue of the
"beloved" ;) hotel tax . Adds to a counties tax base so the local government
has more money to waste.....you know how they like that! ;)
Take TRI here at my home, the nearest hotel from the airport is a couple
of miles away at the I-81 interchange. Nothing is there at the airport! We
do have commercial traffic, but no we ain't O'Hare by a long shot! ;) The
airport is doing pretty well at getting more routes from TRI , and would
like to expand further. What better selling point could the airport
authority make for getting more routes to fly here than having available
services for travelers,...not to mention their flight crews.
If you can offer them or some other place like it the chance for a
win/win situation you might be very amazed at how much "help" you can get. I
hate paying taxes, but I would rather see a small biz-man use the benefits
from it than some big company like WalMart or Proctor and Gamble that needs
"help" expanding like I need another hole in my head . ;)
And since you won't be there all the time you actually may have to hire
more staff...even in Iowa ;)

Patrick
student SP
aircraft structural mech

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:hB83f.431164$_o.164763@attbi_s71...
>
> Great ideas, but buying a tired older hotel is always going to be cheaper
> than building new. The trick is to find one that needs freshening up,
> not demolition.
>
> And anything we would do would be way too small for any government to be
> interested in funding -- heck, our entire staff is just 5 people (plus
> Mary and me). Not a big help to anyone's unemployment rolls.
>
> I don't think we can provide the kind of service we do if we were build a
> hotel much bigger. I think we could MAYBE handle 45 suites, total, at
> the outside, and still do the delivered-to-the-suite breakfast thing.
> Beyond that, we'd start slipping into "Holiday/Ramada/Super 8" status --
> which would kill us.
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>

[Casey Wilson]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:fs83f.427476$x96.9589@attbi_s72...

Jay,

Sorry I'm coming into this thread without many of the preceding posts
available. Has anybody mentioned the hotel on the airport at KSGU, St.
George, Utah?

Casey

[Dave S]

The town is a BIG antique tourist trap. That and "Bed and Breakfast"
type places. Its also less than an hour drive away from the LBJ ranch. I
would actually have to say I haven't heard much of anything in the way
of fly-ins there. I'm guessing its mostly vacationers staying there.

I have to admit, I've not been to fredricksburg since this place opened.
I used to have family there, before they relocated.

Dave

Jay Honeck wrote:
>>>The Hangar Hotel looks like a GREAT place to visit.
>>
>>Yes.. Fredricksburg.. less than an hours DRIVE from Kerrville, home of the
>>Mooney factory.. West of Austin, Northwest of San Antonio, and close to
>>Luckenbach.
>
>
> Any feel on how they're doing? I've not been able to get a grasp on what
> their main source of guests/income is, outside of fly-ins.
>
> Are they close enough to the city to be able to attract non-flying guests?

[Dave S]

The aggies have a BOOMING flyin every time there is a home game at Kyle
Field. By that, I mean they close a runway and park planes on it, since
the ramp is not enough. What I am NOT sure of is wether there is
property ON field or close to it for a hotel.

However, in addition to the home games, one other BIG draw is the
Brayton Fire Field, located to the south of the runways. The Texas
Engineering Extension service of TAMU operates one of the most renowned
firefighting schools in the US. In addition to training municipal
professional firefighters, they host industrial firefighters from
"local" petrochemical industry down in Houston, Texas City and elsewhere
during weekend and weeklong fire schools. TEEX also hosts training
weekend and weeklong fire schools for the region's volunteer
firefighters. As a former volunteer, I can vouch for that being the
"oshkosh" for my colleagues when I volunteered.

The firefighters arent a bunch of pilots, but they DO use a lot of hotel
rooms, and tend to rent blocks of them.

Dave


Jay Honeck wrote:

>>I think Easterwood Field at College Station fills your bill.
>>http://www.airnav.com/airport/CLL. Home of Texas A&M
>>http://www.tamu.edu, enrollment 40,000+.
>
>
> Wow - that field is like an "Iowa City clone"...right down to the
> triangular runway layout!
>
> Thanks, John.
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>

[JJS]

Snip
However, in addition to the home games, one other BIG draw is the
Brayton Fire Field, located to the south of the runways. The Texas
Engineering Extension service of TAMU operates one of the most renowned
firefighting schools in the US. In addition to training municipal
professional firefighters, they host industrial firefighters from
"local" petrochemical industry down in Houston, Texas City and elsewhere
during weekend and weeklong fire schools. TEEX also hosts training
weekend and weeklong fire schools for the region's volunteer
firefighters. As a former volunteer, I can vouch for that being the
"oshkosh" for my colleagues when I volunteered.

The firefighters arent a bunch of pilots, but they DO use a lot of hotel
rooms, and tend to rent blocks of them.

Dave

Small world! I was just down there at the end of August for HAZMAT training. I did the Industrial firefighting
course back in the late 90's. Those evolutions were awesome! I've never come away from training of any sort with
such a sense of accomplishment. Only downside was our instructor made it clear that we were now graduates of an
extension of T A&M and could no longer tell aggie jokes. BTW, as a volunteer firefighter you rank right up there
with my other heroes.

Joe Schneider
8437R




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[Jay Honeck]

>>He said that there were literally dozens of people actually *living* on
>>the beach, because (a) the weather is beautiful, and (b) for political
>>reasons Santa Barbara is unwilling to do anything about transients.
>>
>>True?
>
> What year was that?

Fall/Winter of 2004.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jay Honeck]

> Sorry I'm coming into this thread without many of the preceding posts
> available. Has anybody mentioned the hotel on the airport at KSGU, St.
> George, Utah?

Not to my knowledge. What can you tell me about it?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Larry Dighera]

On Thu, 13 Oct 2005 15:55:59 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
> wrote in
<jsv3f.431577$x96.386132@attbi_s72>::

>>>He said that there were literally dozens of people actually *living* on
>>>the beach, because (a) the weather is beautiful, and (b) for political
>>>reasons Santa Barbara is unwilling to do anything about transients.
>>>
>>>True?
>>
>> What year was that?
>
>Fall/Winter of 2004.

I thought it might have been after California Governor Ronnie RayGun
emptied the state mental hospitals and doubled the state militia. Up
until that time there were no homeless apparent in California.

I have never seen anyone living on the beach in the Santa Barbara area
during the many years I have visited there.

[Jay Honeck]

>>>>He said that there were literally dozens of people actually *living* on
>>>>the beach, because (a) the weather is beautiful, and (b) for political
>>>>reasons Santa Barbara is unwilling to do anything about transients.
>>>>
>>>>True?
>>>
>>> What year was that?
>>
>>Fall/Winter of 2004.
>
> I thought it might have been after California Governor Ronnie RayGun
> emptied the state mental hospitals and doubled the state militia. Up
> until that time there were no homeless apparent in California.
>
> I have never seen anyone living on the beach in the Santa Barbara area
> during the many years I have visited there.

Thanks. I suppose it's possible for you *both* to be right -- I doubt you
cruised the beach at 2 AM, for example! That would have been prime time
for him.

It makes sense to me that Santa Barbara's beach would be a haven for the
homeless. The perfect climate combined with a relaxed political attitude
would certainly make it attractive.

Of course, telling the "homeless" apart from the "normal" beach bums might
be difficult... Heck, half the guys flying the bench at our airport every
weekend look homeless...

;-)

(By the way, emptying the mental hospitals in the name of "fairness"
happened nationwide, not just in Reagan's California. It's a national
shame we all must bear to this day.)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Casey Wilson]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:Rsv3f.431583$x96.307050@attbi_s72...
>> Sorry I'm coming into this thread without many of the preceding posts
>> available. Has anybody mentioned the hotel on the airport at KSGU, St.
>> George, Utah?
>
> Not to my knowledge. What can you tell me about it?
> --


Lemme see, now... The airport is about five minutes from the business
district of St. George and seven minutes from the ever-expanding housing.
Three minutes from the brand new hospital. And, oh yeah, about 500 feet
above them.

Airport drive intersects with Bluff Street which might be a clue. Half to
two-thirds of the single runway sits in the wind shadow of an even higher
bluff. If you kiss the numbers on the approach to R-16, Atlas won't give you
the same thrill as you get when you take off. That's when the headwind
becomes a 90 degree right crosswind. With all that said, the winds have
never been more than ten knots the half-dozen times I've flown in there.

The hotel is nothing special, I think AAA gave a One-star rating. I occupies
some land next to the touch-down on R-16 on the east side. Plenty of
parking. The view over the city is great. I've never stayed there since my
daughter lives just up the road. Rental cars are available from brands H, A,
E, B, and others.

The population rate is increasing -- the business base is expanding faster
than housing availablity. Some of the population growth is attributed to
reasonable cost of living and affordable housing. It is less than an hour
flight from Lost Wages. Forty-minutes drive from Zion Canyon and a little
more from the Nat'l Park. Tourism includes an outdoor ampitheater

Direct Aviation is a bunch of friendly folks. I'm checked out in their -172
and Cherokee fleet. There really isn't an FBO as such. Fuel is self service.
United Express has a commuter terminal. Dago Red used to be stationed there.
Lots of acreage devoted to hangars. Major aircraft maintenance is available.

If you'd like, I'll email you details on ownership and contact. That'll
take a couple days. I'll have to put my son-in-law on it to get the
information.

Go Fly!

Casey

[C. Massey]

"Dave S" > wrote in message
nk.net...
> Well,
>
> Just for examples of things that are out there.. Fredericksburg Texas
> has a hotel on field. http://www.hangarhotel.com/ . The town is a bed and
> breakfast haven, and the main drag is like a giant flea market/antique
> show. No colleges. Admiral Nimitz Museum is there.
>
> Galveston, Texas has a field that is capable of handing airliners, has
> an ILS, has a waterpark being built on-site, has the Lone Star Flight
> Museum, has Moody Gardens Hotel and Convention Center adjacent to the
> field (but its not aviation themed). The city focuses on the "family
> factor" with regards to spring break and has an alcohol ban on the
> majority of beaches. There is a Mardi Gras celebration there that is a
> distant second to what used to occur in New O. There are several colleges
> in the vicinity, but none are in NCAA athletics. Vulnerabilities include
> coastal location with the hurricane risk. Also, 50% of the surrounding
> area is water.
> http://www.airnav.com/airport/KGLS
>
> New Braunsfels, Texas is a VERY popular tourist area in Texas, with no
> hotel on field. There are a few nearby. The field is a few miles from
> town, but not in the boonies by any stretch. The draw of this town is a
> historical spot called "Gruene" that is shops, antiques and some wonderful
> riverfront dining. The REAL draw, however, is the summer "toobing"
> industry. The Guadeluper rive meanders through 20 miles of canyons and
> hills downstream of Canyon Lake. People come by the thousands to ride the
> river. San Antonio is 30 miles south (large town). San Marcos is 20 or so
> miles to the north, and is home to Texas State University (formerly
> Southwest Texas State University). I go to New Braunsfels annually to semi
> annually. The Southwest Regional Flyin was held at New Braunsfels a few
> years ago, and now is being held at Hondo, 40-50 miles to the south. I
> would forsee good bookings on that weekend by pilots (stay at the hotel,
> fly to the flyin - hotels are scarce in Hondo). I would gather that you
> would have good bookings most summers of the year by general public due to
> the toobing (innertubing/rafting). A few miles off the interstate as well.
>
> Just some things that I could come up with.
> Dave
>


How about the Sandpiper Inn at KTFW? I found this page,
http://www.scogginblue.com/B/tx/fortworth/80sai showing that it is/was for
sale. Never stayed there, so I have no idea of what it's like.

[Darrel Toepfer]

Jay Honeck wrote:

> So we've got three years of creating/running an aviation-theme-suite hotel
> under our belt now, things are going well, and it's time to start thinking
> about adding another location.
>
> Trouble is, I'm afraid that our current location may be almost unique.
> Here's what we need in order to duplicate our success:
>
> 1. A small-to-medium hotel on, or adjacent to, an airport.
> 2. The airport must be very close to the city that it serves. No
> "out-in-the-boonies" airports, please.
> 3. The city must have another attraction that creates hotel business.
>
> In our case, it's the University of Iowa that creates the alternative
> business. (There simply aren't enough of us pilots to solely support a
> hotel, sad to say.) In other locales, it might be a tourist attraction.

KIER has a college and high school campus very near, multiple runways
and is untowered. http://www.lsmsa.edu and http://www.nsula.edu
The town is very famous and has been featured in several movies. They
recently built alot of condo's for the campus, but rent housing is still
very tight. Several hotels around, most newer ones are along I-49. There
is an older Holiday Inn off the end of Runway 17.
http://www.airnav.com/airport/KIER

> Any suggestions? We would prefer a warm-weather climate, to off-set our
> Midwest location, and to prolong the flying season -- but we're open to
> suggestions. (Ideally, it would be fun to have a southern hotel to run in
> winter, and the Iowa location to run in summer! :-)
>
> (Better yet, an Australian location to run from November - April, and our
> Iowa location to run form May - October!)

KLFT (towered) / 3R7 (untowered) have serveral near the airports. You
can taxi up to one at 3R7. 2L0 (untowered) is really nice, runway 18
leads you out over the lake, KLFT is bordered by a river...

http://www.airnav.com/airport/KLFT (3 runways, 1 parallel)
http://www.airnav.com/airport/3R7 (3 runways, 1 is a grass strip)
http://www.airnav.com/airport/2L0 (1 runway, plus seaplane base, very
active EAA group) http://www.eaa614.org

[Montblack]

("C. Massey" wrote)
> How about the Sandpiper Inn at KTFW? I found this page,
> http://www.scogginblue.com/B/tx/fortworth/80sai


Sandpiper Airport Inn for Sale
Fort Worth, Texas (KTFW)

Price:$2,000,000 all cash at closing
Reduced to $1,600,000
Number of Units: 80
Room Revenue: The property has been closed since 2001.
The owner represents historical revenues in the $500,000 to $600,000 range
prior to closing.


Buy it for $1.5M
Condo out 75 (of 80) rooms into 25 units. (3 rooms per condo)
Sell each "Airport-Condo" for $160,000 = $4M

25 units x $60K(!!!) conversion costs = $1.5M more dollars.

In your pocket = $1M net. More if you can keep down the condo conversion
costs, the initial price, get more per condo, etc, etc.

You're left with an airport B&B, or just 5 rooms for whatever, a restaurant,
3.5 acres of leased land, plus you still have 1,200 square feet for your
digs or rent it out for office space.

The lease is $1,600 month = $65 per condo owner.

There, that was easy enough. Out for my 3 mile walk now. 52F.


Montblack

[john smith]

> The lease is $1,600 month = $65 per condo owner.

Except we do not know the terms and conditions of the lease agreement...

[RST Engineering]

OK, dream big. The east/south side of Oshkosh airport is a lot of farmland.
Build your OWN "EAA friendly" hotel unit by unit and see what happens.

Jim

[john smith]

In article >,
"RST Engineering" > wrote:

> OK, dream big. The east/south side of Oshkosh airport is a lot of farmland.
> Build your OWN "EAA friendly" hotel unit by unit and see what happens.

EAA will tell the City of Oshkosh that Wittman Airport needs the land
for future expansion to accommodate AirVenture.
Said land will be taken by means of eminant domain.

[Jay Honeck]

> OK, dream big. The east/south side of Oshkosh airport is a lot of
> farmland. Build your OWN "EAA friendly" hotel unit by unit and see what
> happens.

Trouble is, the OTHER 51 weeks per year, the hotel has to survive.

Can't live on one week of biz per year. Not unless you charge, well, what
he Hilton charges!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"