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- Thread starter knobrega
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1flatlander2
Member
he sounds a little high matainance hot tubs fireplaces hd tv
Most of the above sounds good but also a willingness to help out a fellow snowmobiler. Be nice, courteous, and give good recommendations on where to go and what to see while riding, more than likely I am not from that area. Treat us like you want us to be there. Know where to go for maintenance and who specifically to contact.
No use asking for same old same old you can get anywhere. Build it with the good stuff & they will come otherwise just a typical motel & Northwest WI not my stomping ground so I would need a reason to go there to ride & somewhat longer ride for my flatland buds. Seems like better trails & snow condiions Norhern WI & Westrn UP but always good to ride new trails too.
allpolaris
Member
Don't get so caught up in workin' the bizness that ya can't take a day off and show some of your patrons your area. Allow time to get out and ride and visit your neighbors and stay personally in tune with the trail system. Beeelers have a sense of knowing the business owners who put thier time in ON the trails and the ones who "let somebody else do it" Wish ya the best of luck!!
polarisrider1
New member
Take a road trip over to krupps and take notes. I understand it is a motel and not cabins such as krupps but take notes. Then if you want to be the "Best of the Best" road trip to www.nlmotel.com and they will show you what to do to make that new business of yours really work. I have stayed at hundreds of places and these two got their program together. Sad to say Northern lights is no longer open during the winter due to the lack of snowmobilers in the area but they will be a vast source of information. Plus plan on very long days and smile the whole time no matter what.
polarisrider1
New member
To sum it up, we want it all, we want it now and we want it for a very good price. Need to know more about the place to name it. Not sure what amenities you already have, is there a pool, hot tub, sauna, good tv's, good beds, restaurant/bar, lots of parking, in room microwave/fridge, must be on trail or very easy access to trails, etc. Are you on a lake, who will you market to in the summer? tell us more!
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LoveMyDobe
Active member
Did you buy the Lumberman in Iron River?
mjkaliszak
New member
I just about lost it with the " 4 man hot tub " .......
I think good trail access and a heated barn or garage with lighting to aid in the R & R of down customer sleds.
Also there is alot to be said if the weather turns to a melt down or rain and letting the guests leave with a refund for the period of stay that is jepoardized. This gets to be a sticky issue , when many ( all ) of my traveling budds & families go somewhere and the weather turns. I have had to debate property owners on trail conditions, rain ect... and our group leaving. We travel a long way with $$$ high priced machines, and sometimes have to leave due to weather. Most people don't want to spend the money for lost days. I will always return to a place if they let us leave with a refund, if we have to debate the issue, we do not return.
May sound unreasonable to a business owner but we spend alot of money in whatever community we visit. There is alot of cash spent on items other than the lodging that some people don't consider like $$$ at other business, sled rental, gas, food, oil, .... gas, oil, gas, oil, gas,oil,gas,oil .....
1 more thing, if something breaks in the room, cabin, whatever and the guests are compromised let say of " hot water " get someone in to fix it right away.... not in a couple of days. I know getting service in parts of the UP gets tricky but just speaking from past experiences. Of course I may not be the common customer, we will actually confess if we ( my kids ) damage something and try to make it right with the owners.
I think the business may be a tough one to survive in, season is limited, people are stressed for cash, taxes ect...
Best of wishes on your venture !
I think good trail access and a heated barn or garage with lighting to aid in the R & R of down customer sleds.
Also there is alot to be said if the weather turns to a melt down or rain and letting the guests leave with a refund for the period of stay that is jepoardized. This gets to be a sticky issue , when many ( all ) of my traveling budds & families go somewhere and the weather turns. I have had to debate property owners on trail conditions, rain ect... and our group leaving. We travel a long way with $$$ high priced machines, and sometimes have to leave due to weather. Most people don't want to spend the money for lost days. I will always return to a place if they let us leave with a refund, if we have to debate the issue, we do not return.
May sound unreasonable to a business owner but we spend alot of money in whatever community we visit. There is alot of cash spent on items other than the lodging that some people don't consider like $$$ at other business, sled rental, gas, food, oil, .... gas, oil, gas, oil, gas,oil,gas,oil .....
1 more thing, if something breaks in the room, cabin, whatever and the guests are compromised let say of " hot water " get someone in to fix it right away.... not in a couple of days. I know getting service in parts of the UP gets tricky but just speaking from past experiences. Of course I may not be the common customer, we will actually confess if we ( my kids ) damage something and try to make it right with the owners.
I think the business may be a tough one to survive in, season is limited, people are stressed for cash, taxes ect...
Best of wishes on your venture !
I don't think the guy doing this knows how to 1/2 *** it.
It will be sweet when finished I am sure there will be no snowmobile grand opening till next season,but poss a ATV season grand opening this summer.
you only get 1 chance at a grand opening and he will want it done right when that time comes.
I second and third the notion of jamming as many beds as possible in to the rooms. Guys do not want to sleep together and even if there were just three beds in a room, a group of six guys can save some money by renting just two rooms instead of three. A tv, toilet, and a shower is all I really need.
What goes over big is if the owner helps out grooming the trails and can give accurate and honest reports of the conditions. Snowmobilers are loyal people and if you are honest with us, we will spread the good word, however, if we are "mislead" about the conditions in order to maintain occupancy, it will work the other way.
Best of luck with your new business. Thanks for thinking of us.
What goes over big is if the owner helps out grooming the trails and can give accurate and honest reports of the conditions. Snowmobilers are loyal people and if you are honest with us, we will spread the good word, however, if we are "mislead" about the conditions in order to maintain occupancy, it will work the other way.
Best of luck with your new business. Thanks for thinking of us.
skiroule
Well-known member
What's wrong with using your member name for the place? "Knobrega" - Don't know what it means but I think its kind of a cool name for a business.
Forty five years ago I would have said I would definitely need a one man, three woman hot tub (in my dreams). This is not to say I still don't enjoy a hot tub under more realistic expectations but if you put four of me in a hot tub, you'd have to add the water afterward.
The motel setting has a set of operating parameters that make it harder to stand out from the crowd. As many have mentioned, location near the good snow provides an advantage but ride-out/ride-in availability is really almost a necessity. Loading and unloading every day is a big time waster.
Maximizing the bed count is a really good point that has been brought up more than once. A lot of times you and your riding group are not that well acquainted. Also, given the room size limitations, most of the things that can be achieved in a motel room are practical things that others have mentioned.
The thing that I would notice if I were looking at motel options is the availability of a comfortable place to kick back in the evening (i.e., bar and grill). We're known to have a few in the room post-ride but then it's nice to get out the room, go have micro-brew tapper and a burger (or steak), stretch out a little and enjoy a big fireplace. It doesn't have to be a full-blown lodge but it should feel like a place that people want to spend time (and money).
Oh, and one more thing - free bathroom spray in the rooms - enough said..
Forty five years ago I would have said I would definitely need a one man, three woman hot tub (in my dreams). This is not to say I still don't enjoy a hot tub under more realistic expectations but if you put four of me in a hot tub, you'd have to add the water afterward.
The motel setting has a set of operating parameters that make it harder to stand out from the crowd. As many have mentioned, location near the good snow provides an advantage but ride-out/ride-in availability is really almost a necessity. Loading and unloading every day is a big time waster.
Maximizing the bed count is a really good point that has been brought up more than once. A lot of times you and your riding group are not that well acquainted. Also, given the room size limitations, most of the things that can be achieved in a motel room are practical things that others have mentioned.
The thing that I would notice if I were looking at motel options is the availability of a comfortable place to kick back in the evening (i.e., bar and grill). We're known to have a few in the room post-ride but then it's nice to get out the room, go have micro-brew tapper and a burger (or steak), stretch out a little and enjoy a big fireplace. It doesn't have to be a full-blown lodge but it should feel like a place that people want to spend time (and money).
Oh, and one more thing - free bathroom spray in the rooms - enough said..
mjkaliszak
New member
I forgot the most important one....
MAKE sure the bathrooms have vent fans.... nothing more annoying than sharing that smell in the entire camp. I would imagine it would be worse than " ezra's stanky foot " smell .... LOL ( Just kidding ezra, i remember a post from 2 years ago about it )
MAKE sure the bathrooms have vent fans.... nothing more annoying than sharing that smell in the entire camp. I would imagine it would be worse than " ezra's stanky foot " smell .... LOL ( Just kidding ezra, i remember a post from 2 years ago about it )
cooksend
Active member
If you have been around the site for a time you can take note from When Hiawatha Al was giving trail reports. They were the best reports online with pics of area trails. He also spent lots of time riding with guests. Like a free guide! It kept his occupancy above all others in the area!
Since it appears that the motel already exists, with-out spending a bundle to replace or add a boat load of amenities, I would think maybe a little fresh paint in the rooms, new carpet, some "roll-a-way" beds and cleanliness (at least for the women). One chance with my wife, if it's not clean, we're not coming back, ever! There could be advantages to that though...
No, We will announce a grand opening soon! But, as much as I love the U.P. we had to stay closer to home!
Thanks Ezra!
yeah the boot dryers and someone wanted them in the room on this post nothing worse than 5 guys boots blowing foot sweet throughout the room it just hangs there like a bad velvet painting.
and what was wrong with naming it after his dog or the 3s company bar witch ever it was I thought he was going to call it the slumbering beagle the regal beagle the laze beagle sleepy beagle or something like that. god now I cant remember and it is going to drive me crazy all morning o.c.d. coming at ya
Hmm.... not sure why you want our input if ready for grand opening & sounds like the deed is already done? Now you have to build a reputation like Krupps or Hiawatha Al & that is just plain hard work on your behalf. Just being a typical ma & pa motel won't hack it to be next big snomo place to stay. Whatever...... good luck you are going to need in NW WI.
Lots of great tips (sounds like you should skip the boot driers!).
All of the businesses of this type that I have seen succeed are those that become friends with their customers. That creates return business and referrals and a full house when others are sitting there wondering what they are doing wrong.
Good luck!
-John
All of the businesses of this type that I have seen succeed are those that become friends with their customers. That creates return business and referrals and a full house when others are sitting there wondering what they are doing wrong.
Good luck!
-John