Jay Honeck
Touchdown! Greaser!
As some of you know, my wife and I own and operate America's only aviation themed, all-suites hotel. We're now getting into a new venture: Motorhome rentals. No one in our county (Johnson County, Iowa) rents RVs, so I think there is a market for it here -- but I'd like to connect it to our aviation theme somehow.
We plan to treat the RV like a 31st hotel suite, except that it's on wheels. An RV obviously has the advantage of mobility over our aviation themed hotel suites. With that in mind, I'm trying to figure out different ways to connect RV rentals with our pilot customers.
Here are just a few ideas we're tossing around:
1. Pre-position the RV at a nearby lake, and drop our fly-in guest off at the RV?
2. Pre-position the RV at the Amana Colony's idyllic grass landing strip, and meet the pilot there to help them get acclimated to the motorhome? (Amana is Iowa's biggest tourist attraction, and it's all within walking distance of the grass strip.)
3. Meet the fly-in pilot at our Iowa City airport, and simply rent the RV to the pilot for a trip of his/her choice. There are several fabulous Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds constructed on large lakes within 25 miles of Iowa City.
Now for some questions:
1. Is fly-in RV camping something that you, as a pilot, would consider doing?
2. What sort of price point would you need to see on the RV to make this doable?
3. Any other ideas on how we can marry the two?
Thanks, guys!
We plan to treat the RV like a 31st hotel suite, except that it's on wheels. An RV obviously has the advantage of mobility over our aviation themed hotel suites. With that in mind, I'm trying to figure out different ways to connect RV rentals with our pilot customers.
Here are just a few ideas we're tossing around:
1. Pre-position the RV at a nearby lake, and drop our fly-in guest off at the RV?
2. Pre-position the RV at the Amana Colony's idyllic grass landing strip, and meet the pilot there to help them get acclimated to the motorhome? (Amana is Iowa's biggest tourist attraction, and it's all within walking distance of the grass strip.)
3. Meet the fly-in pilot at our Iowa City airport, and simply rent the RV to the pilot for a trip of his/her choice. There are several fabulous Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds constructed on large lakes within 25 miles of Iowa City.
Now for some questions:
1. Is fly-in RV camping something that you, as a pilot, would consider doing?
2. What sort of price point would you need to see on the RV to make this doable?
3. Any other ideas on how we can marry the two?
Thanks, guys!