With the current difficulties regarding developer relations and
deterioration of the building, it's easy to look at the crises we
now face—and no further. If all goes reasonably well, then we will
solve the developer problems at least substantially before the
term of the board members about to be elected runs out.
Suppose the problems of parking, security, front desk, and
amenities are solved and an effective arrangement is negotiated
with the developer. What do we want, after that? It's not too soon
to start swapping our opinions.
Almost without saying is that right now, we don't have scenic
easements for our room views. We should insist on and formally
claim them at first opportunity.
What do we want the facility to be? A pleasant place to spend
time at the beach, and a good rent revenue source with as little
nuisance with operational and legal details as possible. That's
obvious. But what is our preferred customer base? How should the
facility be run so as to maximize revenue? What changes can we
hope for that we personally would like?
We need answers to these questions, otherwise the facility will
default to what is easiest for board members to achieve or what
they themselves want.
A luxury hotel will be built next door. We can either complement
it as a mid-price facility or compete against it as another luxury
facility. The restaurant has limited kitchen space, making
elaborate restaurant menus unrealistic. That alone seems to rule
out a luxury hotel. Additionally, if our new neighbor holds
conventions then we can try to coordinate with its reservation
system so that if there is an overflow or its rooms are too
expensive then we can take in convention members as tenants.
With rooms that have kitchen alcoves, we are ill equipped for
luxury anyway. The very rich value an attitude of "Don't worry,
we'll take care of it" in car parking, food preparation, laundry,
and other things. Offer the autonomy of a kitchen, and we are
accidentally forcing a decision onto our tenants: you can manage
your own food, or you can go to the restaurant. Part of the luxury
lifestyle is that everything is taken care of by support staff and
the need to and even the ability to make decisions is rescinded,
subconsciously delighting its participants. I call that concept antiversatility
and to the extent that we occupy our units personally I think we
don't want to cripple ourselves by renovating our rooms to be
luxurious and devoid of nitty-gritty function.
We also don't want a low-price facility: low rent revenue, high
risk of vandalism, and numerous encounters with law enforcement.
Mid-range it is.
Demographics: Whom do we market to?
As an oldster, I bought a room (later its neighbor) as surety
against homelessness if I decompensate enough to require
assistance. In a functioning hotel, there are prepared food,
chambermaid service, and laundry available. I already own two
wheelchairs and various canes and walkers.
As more and more people age out of independent living, my
strategy is certain to become popular. Old-folks homes are
available at great rental expense, and they use marketing agents
to recruit their tenants. Move into one, and you are at the mercy
of its management, which can allow its services to deteriorate. Of
course the hotel management can deteriorate too, as we know
vividly. But we can fight back, and we are doing so. And as infirm
oldsters, we can call in food from delivery services, hire our own
janitors, and arrange for laundry with various outside businesses,
avoiding being held at the mercy of an old-folks-home shyster
management.
We need to allow for the influx of oldsters.
What about younger adults? And children?
There is no reason to contrive to attract only one demographic
group. Sociologist Christopher Alexander notes that a society is
healthiest when people of all ages readily interact. He's right:
look at what happens when young adult men socialize with only each
other (crude jokes, put-downs of women), adult women socialize
with only each other (infighting occurs and there is a known case
of an all-female business falling apart: look here).
Children imprisoned in what we call schools learn sex education
not only from what is formally taught, but also from same-age
peers; they do not learn it from trusted older children or
from adults.
As children encounter adults, they can acquire wisdom and learn
various things. Younger adults can learn from older adults.
Meanwhile, adults can enjoy the attitudes and behavior of
children, and old people can admire the activities of the younger.
Another finding of Chiristopher Alexander is that a waiting area,
such as at a railroad station, the demeanor is easiest on everyone
if some people are awaiting something definite, such as a train,
and some people are just hanging out without any external
deadline. I think we can expand that rationale to the facility,
for some people will be time-limited by a finite reservation and
some people will live on site and will not be rushed.
Let's keep the facility catered to people of all ages.
Outdoor pools have been open during daylight only. My
understanding where I live is that the pool at this building is
usable by day and not by night because its lighting is not up to
local night-time standards. My inference is that there is no state
law banning swimming-pool use at night.The pools here, if used at
night, will need dim red lighting during turtle-mating season; but
in general they can perhaps be opened at night. Evening pool
parties, or the right to hold them, may be valuable to us and our
tenants. Conversely, installing and maintaining the lighting will
cost money.
