Just checking in...how's everyone been?

"Jay Honeck" wrote:

So I've been contacted by half a dozen folks, telling me that my
absence was the topic of a rather lively thread here -- so I thought
I'd pop in for a peek at my old stomping ground. How's everyone been?

Hi Jay. Good to hear from you. I'm still lurking here, but not getting much out of it anymore. I browsed
around on POA a few times, but do most of my aviation reading on the CPA forums now. I hope to get
back to Oshkosh next summer, so keep in touch.

Mike

Hi Jay. Good to hear from you. I'm still lurking here, but not getting
much out of it anymore. I browsed
around on POA a few times, but do most of my aviation reading on the CPA
forums now. I hope to get
back to Oshkosh next summer, so keep in touch.

Sounds good.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there will still be an "Oshkosh" next
year -- as well as our hotel. If business keeps declining (okay, crashing)
at the rate its been going down since September, we'll all be selling apples
on street corners by next July...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
Ercoupe N94856
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in
news:FcIVk.390364$TT4.278604@attbi_s22:

Hi Jay. Good to hear from you. I'm still lurking here, but not
getting much out of it anymore. I browsed
around on POA a few times, but do most of my aviation reading on the
CPA forums now. I hope to get
back to Oshkosh next summer, so keep in touch.

Sounds good.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there will still be an "Oshkosh"
next year -- as well as our hotel. If business keeps declining (okay,
crashing) at the rate its been going down since September, we'll all
be selling apples on street corners by next July...


I won't


Bertie

On Sat, 22 Nov 2008 00:17:41 +0000, Jay Honeck wrote:

If business keeps declining (okay,
crashing) at the rate its been going down since September, we'll all be
selling apples on street corners by next July...

For what it's worth, I read an interesting editorial recently. It
pointed out that business climates like this cause established companies
to pull back...which leaves opportunities for "risk takers". It further
explained that both Oracle and Microsoft had formed during similar times.

As a business owner, this may be food for your thought. I know that it
is for me.

Unfortunately, at least for me, this is translating to less time flying.

- Andrew

Andrew Gideon wrote:

For what it's worth, I read an interesting editorial recently. It
pointed out that business climates like this cause established companies
to pull back...which leaves opportunities for "risk takers". It further
explained that both Oracle and Microsoft had formed during similar times.

Not to mention that outsourcing opportunities often increase when larger
businesses pull back.

Everything I manage in the course of my job at a biggie is actually
completed hands-on by contractors. I used to worry about outsourcing.
Now, I realize that I've developed a whole new salable skill set of
managing outsourced work.

For what it's worth, I read an interesting editorial recently. It
pointed out that business climates like this cause established companies
to pull back...which leaves opportunities for "risk takers". It further
explained that both Oracle and Microsoft had formed during similar times.

Not to mention that outsourcing opportunities often increase when larger
businesses pull back.

All of these things make perfect sense -- but don't translate well into the
hotel biz.

Right now we're seeing the perfect storm in our biz. First, personal flying
is down to the point of being almost immeasurable. In fact, if our fly-in
business went away tomorrow, I'm not sure how we'd even measure the loss --
sad to say. This is the single most disheartening part of the downturn,
since we never set out to be innkeepers in the traditional sense. Rather,
we created this place to be the ultimate pilot hang-out, and finished it --
apparently just in time to see the demise of personal flying in America. Of
course, we can't blame that entirely on this particular downturn, as GA has
been declining precipitously since at least 2005, and has dropped 50% or
more in the last 12 months.

Combine this with businesses cutting back or eliminating their travel
budgets since September, and we've lost two important parts of our business.
All we're left with is the weekend "getaway with your honey in a hot tub"
business, which -- while significant -- is insufficient to support a hotel
in the long run.

As with all downturns, it's a temporary thing -- everything is cyclical --
but it still sucks, especially since we were having a record year until
October hit like a big, wet blanket, making the change appear all the more
stark.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
Ercoupe N94856
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On Nov 20, 6:53*pm, "Jay Honeck" wrote:
So I've been contacted by half a dozen folks, telling me that my absence was
the topic of a rather lively thread here -- so I thought I'd pop in for a
peek at my old stomping ground. *How's everyone been?

Well Im just fine Jay and thanks for asking. Germany is cool. Its too
bad americans cant drink like Germans do. I spend a bit of time over
there and between Octoberfest and the Wine Festival in my parents
hometown I have seen alot of drinking over there but no drunk and
disorderly conduct. If you ever get the chance do some flying in
Germany , the scenery is spectacular and the local pilots have always
treated me like royalty. Too bad about the slowdown in travel, hope it
turns around soon. Mebee you and Bertie just need to sitdown at
Oshfest and chug some brew and hammer things out. Its funny that I
only come around this list once every 3 months or so and I usually
come across one of your posts. Best holiday wishes,
F. Baum