Combo Deals -- Do they work?

"Mike W." wrote in message
...
How about aircraft care items that are more basic. Oil change, or get your
plane detailed and waxed while you relax? Little stuff, like tire
pressure,
clean the glass, etc. That way it's way more likely to be ready when you
are
ready to go.

Or plugs cleaned and gapped by Jay...

;-)

Or plugs cleaned and gapped by Jay...

;-)


NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooo....

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

Don't forget to anneal those copper rings, Jay.


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:4LDZe.162735$084.137109@attbi_s22...
Or plugs cleaned and gapped by Jay...

;-)


NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooo....

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

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:zexZe.366651$_o.277188@attbi_s71...
[...]
I've talked to a couple of CFIs, and my favorite shop, and they're
interested in trying it -- but I don't want to waste their money if the
consensus here is that it's a dumb idea...

Combo deals generally: I look closely to see whether I'm really getting a
discount. Many are just marketing schemes to consolidate advertising costs.
So make sure there's something significant in it for the consumer, on the
order of 10-20% off.

As far as the annual thing goes: no, I wouldn't have an unknown shop do my
inspection. As a general rule of thumb, I would limit your combo deals to
things that are valuable only at the immediate moment, rather than having a
potentially on-going effect on the customer's life. An annual inspection in
particular creates the potential for long-term headaches for the customer;
even if you ensure yourself that the shop is reliable, the customer has no
way to know this for sure. Responses to that kind of offer would probably
be limited, IMHO.

Rather than offering an annual inspection, maybe offer something like a free
airplane wash, or an oil change, or something like that.

I don't think you're crazy for considering combo deals, but make sure you
think carefully from the point of view of the customer. Just because YOU
know the deal is a good one, that doesn't mean the customer can be
convinced.

Pete

I don't think you're crazy for considering combo deals, but make sure you
think carefully from the point of view of the customer. Just because YOU
know the deal is a good one, that doesn't mean the customer can be
convinced.

Yeah, that's always the catch. I've come up with some of the best
deals in the world (in newspapers and at the inn) that flopped
horribly. Although it's often a case of not being able to find the
best advertising venue for the deal.

Another problem we've got is that summers -- the best flying time --
are already full up. Now, would I rather have a hotel full of pilots
rather than a hotel full of weddings? You bet! But everything you do
with pilots is weather-dependent, and how can I make it
"non-cancellable"?

For example, let's say we do an "Aerobatics Weekend" at the inn --
something that would be VERY cool to do. Let's say we get a marvelous
response, and we're sold out. Therefore, no one else can book a night
at the hotel...

....and then it's crap weather for the weekend. No one can fly,
including the aerobatics instructor. Then what? Do I simply write
off any income for the weekend? Or do I charge everyone anyway? Who
would want to pay *that*?

We want to be pilot-friendly, but we can't lose an entire summer
weekend because of weather. Our inn is simply too small to put all of
our eggs in a potentially leaky basket like that.

SO, can we do this kind of thing in the "off-season" when it wouldn't
matter so much? Things are slowing down now, except for Big Ten
football weekends. The weather is still pretty good around here
through the first of November, and then we could build in
"leaf-peeping" flights, too, I suppose? Then, if everyone had to
cancel due to weather, I would only be out "potential" money rather
than "real" money, since we probably wouldn't be sold out anyway.

Just thinking out loud here... What to do, what to do...?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
For example, let's say we do an "Aerobatics Weekend" at the inn --
something that would be VERY cool to do. Let's say we get a marvelous
response, and we're sold out. Therefore, no one else can book a night
at the hotel...

...and then it's crap weather for the weekend. No one can fly,
including the aerobatics instructor. Then what? Do I simply write
off any income for the weekend? Or do I charge everyone anyway? Who
would want to pay *that*?

Just thinking out loud here... What to do, what to do...?

Just a thought... Instead of planning for weekend deals, what about a
week-long deal? You wouldn't have to worry as much about the weather being
crappy the entire week. There may be enough things to do in the area if
the weather isn't the best such as the National Czech museum, Amana
Colonies, riverboat casinos, Kirk's birthplace, Hoover's museum, etc... I'm
sure there are a lot of other points of interest in that area, not sure if
there's a week's worth. Schedule the flying activities (aerobatics, Wings,
BFR's, etc.) early in the week and if the weather isn't good those days,
push them back and do other activities.

Who knows, if there is enough to do for a week around IC, both flying and
non-flying activities, it could become Oshkosh II! ;-)

Just thinking out loud here... What to do, what to do...?

Limit your exposure to disaster by combining the outdoor flying event with
indoor events, off sight trips/tours or romantic dinners. Most pilots will
understand that the weather is out of your control, by providing alternative
activities or services, you can limit the number of complaints by those who
insist that they only came because of the flying activity.

Jim

I'm paying close attention to all of this thread's posts in case I am
able to actually fly out or pass through the Inn there in the next
couple of years. I went to the Jay's website and was not able to really
find a lot of information about the area. I'm NOT a sports fan, (yes,
I'm weird that way) so I like to look for other interesting things that
can show me the unique "character" of the region. For example, Baker
City, Oregon, (KBKE) has the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, an
unrelated Oregon Trail Museum, historic downtown district, skiing, the
Sumpter Valley RR, and there is probably more that I (who am not from
the area) know about.

Jay, one good thing you can do to help your Inn is to add more
information about the local area and link to various activities. How
about throwing in a page about the local history? Those kind of things
might catch people's attention as much as a "deal" or, it might be the
deciding factor in City A vs City B during route planning.

Good luck! I'll be watching!

(PS add more hot tubs!

Chris G.
Salem, Oregon
PP-ASEL

Jay Honeck wrote:
I don't think you're crazy for considering combo deals, but make sure you
think carefully from the point of view of the customer. Just because YOU
know the deal is a good one, that doesn't mean the customer can be
convinced.


Yeah, that's always the catch. I've come up with some of the best
deals in the world (in newspapers and at the inn) that flopped
horribly. Although it's often a case of not being able to find the
best advertising venue for the deal.

Another problem we've got is that summers -- the best flying time --
are already full up. Now, would I rather have a hotel full of pilots
rather than a hotel full of weddings? You bet! But everything you do
with pilots is weather-dependent, and how can I make it
"non-cancellable"?

For example, let's say we do an "Aerobatics Weekend" at the inn --
something that would be VERY cool to do. Let's say we get a marvelous
response, and we're sold out. Therefore, no one else can book a night
at the hotel...

...and then it's crap weather for the weekend. No one can fly,
including the aerobatics instructor. Then what? Do I simply write
off any income for the weekend? Or do I charge everyone anyway? Who
would want to pay *that*?

We want to be pilot-friendly, but we can't lose an entire summer
weekend because of weather. Our inn is simply too small to put all of
our eggs in a potentially leaky basket like that.

SO, can we do this kind of thing in the "off-season" when it wouldn't
matter so much? Things are slowing down now, except for Big Ten
football weekends. The weather is still pretty good around here
through the first of November, and then we could build in
"leaf-peeping" flights, too, I suppose? Then, if everyone had to
cancel due to weather, I would only be out "potential" money rather
than "real" money, since we probably wouldn't be sold out anyway.

Just thinking out loud here... What to do, what to do...?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay, one good thing you can do to help your Inn is to add more
information about the local area and link to various activities.

How's this, from our website:

http://www.alexisparkinn.com/links1.htm

Or are you looking for other stuff?

(PS add more hot tubs!

Good God, man, I've already got 15 hot tub suites! How many can one
guy use????

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

Good God, man, I've already got 15 hot tub suites! How many can one
guy use????

:-)
--
Jay Honeck

Imagine them all filled with beautiful women and then ask yourself that
question again! )
Jim