What we've been working on since last November...

[Jay Honeck]

Four months in the making...the next four aviation themed rooms are...

The Constellation Room -- finished yesterday:
http://ameliaslanding.com/constellation_room.htm

The Floatplane Room -- finished yesterday:
http://ameliaslanding.com/floatplane_room.htm

The Piper Cub Room -- finished last month:
http://ameliaslanding.com/piper_cub_room.htm

The Barnstormers Room -- finished in February:
http://ameliaslanding.com/barnstormers_room.htm

These rooms have been gutted down to the subfloors and completely rebuilt, joining the five we did LAST off-season. We now have 23 aviation themed rooms for your lodging pleasure -- nine all-new, the rest newly redecorated.

Finished 'em just in time for Spring Break. After the hoopla is over, I'll rip into the Fly-In Movie Room, and kick that one out in the next month before the season really takes off!

 

[denverpilot]

Congrats. You survived!

 

[Jay Honeck]

Congrats. You survived!

Well, for two years, anyway.

The jury is still out on long-term survival. It's gonna take a lot of support from the aviation community to keep this dream on-track, but -- so far, so good!

 

[wabower]

Good luck! I read the FAA's fuel price prediction today, and am not optimistic about anything regarding light aircraft GA over the long term.

Well, for two years, anyway.

The jury is still out on long-term survival. It's gonna take a lot of support from the aviation community to keep this dream on-track, but -- so far, so good!

 

[denverpilot]

We won't be down enough to keep you in business singlehandedly, but Karen is "go" for a visit sometime Jay.

We'll see when we can do it...

Dog sitting the very elderly pooch is a problem for us right now. No desire to see her pass on, but when she does, the weekend aviation trips will surely increase.

She's 14, needs meds twice a day and is very "pattern oriented" now. Treats are at a certain time. Outdoor jaunts are at a certain time. Car rides. Everything. She's ready to do specific activities at specific times.

If we throw her off her schedule too much she stands and stares at things or paces incessantly for an hour or so. The brain's going.

About the only person who can really watch her easily is my dad. He knows her habits.

She also had a mild episode of forgetfulness with another longtime dog-sitter where she stood at the bottom of the basement stairs and whimper-growled because she couldn't figure out if the person at the top of the stairs was "friend or foe".

Dog-sitter just went to the living room and waited a bit and she peeked out of the top of the stairs and figured it out. But I worry the forgetfulness will get stronger and she'd get aggressive by accident.

 

[Jay Honeck]

Good luck! I read the FAA's fuel price prediction today, and am not optimistic about anything regarding light aircraft GA over the long term.

Our business is not built entirely around pilots. That would be a quick financial suicide, given how small our numbers are.

This weekend is a perfect example. There hasn't been a plane on the ramp for two days, thanks to the front that blew through Thursday night. Although this has hurt us, 95% of our guests drive in -- so we're not dead.

Still, we sincerely need more pilots to come down. I would hate to have gone to all this work only to appeal to the kiwis of the world.

 

[wabower]

With pilots representing less than 2% of the population, I wouldn't count on them/us for much support. The hotel at Fredericksburg seems to do pretty well with fly-ins and other events, but hard to know how that translates to other venues.

I'd guess the hill country has more universal appeal to the demographics of the current pilot population than does the coast, but don't know if that's true or by how much.

Our business is not built entirely around pilots. That would be a quick financial suicide, given how small our numbers are.

This weekend is a perfect example. There hasn't been a plane on the ramp for two days, thanks to the front that blew through Thursday night. Although this has hurt us, 95% of our guests drive in -- so we're not dead.

Still, we sincerely need more pilots to come down. I would hate to have gone to all this work only to appeal to the kiwis of the world.

 

[Jay Honeck]

With pilots representing less than 2% of the population, I wouldn't count on them/us for much support. The hotel at Fredericksburg seems to do pretty well with fly-ins and other events, but hard to know how that translates to other venues.

I'd guess the hill country has more universal appeal to the demographics of the current pilot population than does the coast, but don't know if that's true or by how much.

The coast is a very popular destination for pilots -- but, of course, it's all weather-dependent. No one comes to a beach community when it's 55 degrees and raining.

The hotel in Fredericksburg has always been something of a mystery to me. It's a gorgeous property, and very popular on weekends, but they've done some things that limit its appeal. Examples: Having only single-bed units means that families can't go there. (We learned that the hard way, ending up with our kids sleeping on the floor.) Closing the restaurant and bar three days a week means fly-in guests must rent a car to go into town to eat, which is not nearby. The aviation decor is the same in every room, giving it a Cracker Barrel feel. They had Hostess honey-buns for their continental breakfast -- 'nuff said.

Not that we're perfect (yet), but you can bank on every piece of aviation memorabilia in every room being real, unique, and obtained by Mary and me. (There aren't two of the same pieces in the hotel.) You can bank on our delivered breakfast containing fresh, high quality bakery. And we provide courtesy cars for our fly-in guests to use.

And, personally I think the seafood in Port A is better...

 

[AdamZ]

Looks like you put a lot of work into this venture Jay! I know you will do well with it.

 

[wabower]

No question about the seafood, and I wish you well. I too am a bit intrigued with the success of the Fredburg property, and enjoyed the 180 Convention there. It's definitely not designed as a place for kids, but the current pilot populations seems to be a few years (like about 30) older than the kid-rearing folks. The proximity to some major markets may have something to do with their success and ongoing occupancy rates.

The coast is a very popular destination for pilots -- but, of course, it's all weather-dependent. No one comes to a beach community when it's 55 degrees and raining.

The hotel in Fredericksburg has always been something of a mystery to me. It's a gorgeous property, and very popular on weekends, but they've done some things that limit its appeal. Examples: Having only single-bed units means that families can't go there. (We learned that the hard way, ending up with our kids sleeping on the floor.) Closing the restaurant and bar three days a week means fly-in guests must rent a car to go into town to eat, which is not nearby. The aviation decor is the same in every room, giving it a Cracker Barrel feel. They had Hostess honey-buns for their continental breakfast -- 'nuff said.

Not that we're perfect (yet), but you can bank on every piece of aviation memorabilia in every room being real, unique, and obtained by Mary and me. (There aren't two of the same pieces in the hotel.) You can bank on our delivered breakfast containing fresh, high quality bakery. And we provide courtesy cars for our fly-in guests to use.

And, personally I think the seafood in Port A is better...

 

[Tracey]

Looks nice! Job well done!

 

[Skip Miller]

Dog sitting the very elderly pooch is a problem for us right now. No desire to see her pass on, but when she does, the weekend aviation trips will surely increase.

She's 14, needs meds twice a day and is very "pattern oriented" now. Treats are at a certain time. Outdoor jaunts are at a certain time. Car rides. Everything. She's ready to do specific activities at specific times.

If we throw her off her schedule too much she stands and stares at things or paces incessantly for an hour or so. The brain's going.

About the only person who can really watch her easily is my dad. He knows her habits.

She also had a mild episode of forgetfulness with another longtime dog-sitter where she stood at the bottom of the basement stairs and whimper-growled because she couldn't figure out if the person at the top of the stairs was "friend or foe".

Wow. I just returned from visiting my 90 year old Mother who is in an Assisted Living home. I was struck by how similar my mother is to your description of your elderly dog. Although she hasn't growled at me yet, her mind is slipping noticeably now....

-Skip

 

[Jay Honeck]

No question about the seafood, and I wish you well. I too am a bit intrigued with the success of the Fredburg property, and enjoyed the 180 Convention there. It's definitely not designed as a place for kids, but the current pilot populations seems to be a few years (like about 30) older than the kid-rearing folks. The proximity to some major markets may have something to do with their success and ongoing occupancy rates.

Actually, their occupancy rates are part of the mystery. When we were there, they were near-zero. In fact, we were the only guests in the hotel for three days, except for one helicopter crew of two (who were flying one of those enormous SkyCranes. Very cool aircraft!) on fire-fighting duty.

This was during the tourist season, so I'm not sure how they survive that. I know we could not. Heck, our occupancy rates run better than 50% even in the off-season -- and we haven't made a nickel since we opened almost two years ago. Of course, we're rebuilding the place from the inside out, which is enormously expensive.