Hunting accommodation hypothetical......

[Rich M]

I'm sure she's already got the trout fishing thing figured out. That's a good chunk of the income.

She wants to expand some and use the hunters as an additional source of income. Trying to increase the annual profits during what I'd assume is a slow time normally.

Can the ranch produce any game? Then she could allow a guide to work out of the place with her providing the accommodations and food.

Otherwise I like the idea of working with nearby outfitters - only the ones with the best/established reputations.

Gotta look at the number of permits and the size of the area show the limits of the possible revenue pool and it is small. How many hunters will be within an hour of the place? That's your potential revenue pool.

Lastly - she could allow fishing but make it fly only and catch & release only. No sense giving the fish away - will mess with the fish management, maybe 1 for dinner while staying there.

 

[wilydawg]

For something like that, you’re well into the $200 a night range per person. Food costs for those types of meals served by someone with catering experience will run about $20 a person. If you intend to profit off of serving food, you’d need to charge $30-$40 a Head just for the meal. You also have to consider laundry service, housekeeping, plumbing (imagine what 18Texans due to your shitter), water bill for 36 showers a day etc. you’re also offering the convenience and luxury of a “ranch” setting with a communal room, a mud room, being able to leave your gear in your vehicle and meals catted to a hunting schedule. If you’re on a $50 a night budget, you’re camping. Period. A hunter rating in a hotel will likely be spending $120-$200 a night anyway, plus eating out two meals a day at $20 a pop. The described ranch offers a “total hunting experience” and while $250 a night might be pricey for an “average joe”, what’s to say they aren’t spending $5000, $7,500 or $10,000 for their hunting trip anyway, in which case, $1000-$1500 for ranch accommodations vs. $750 for a Motel Six and Denny’s that probably requires more driving and more hassle.

I hope some of you guys never plan to go into business for your selves. This is a boutique business serving a specialty client for a very short season. A private room in a hostel these days tends to run north of $70 a night with drab bunkhouses running $35-$40 a night with no services, towel fees etc. if she actually intends to make some money off this venture and expects to make more than minimum wage for taking care of a bunch of fat dudes who over eat, over shit and tell the same stories over and over again, $200 a night minimum and that likely doesn’t include meals or extra accommodations. For $40 a night, well let you pitch a tent and shit in a compost toilet.

Hahaha!!! I agree with you - and thanks for that post Poser - I literally just about spit coffee all over my monitor!!!

 

[robtattoo]

Typical bedroom.....

 

[robtattoo]

Communal lounge, living room.
The entrance hall also serves as a mud room, there is a dining hall & a separate laundry.

Sorry, these are the only photos I have of the place from a couple of years ago!

The trout river runs directly in front of the main cabin (moose are common here too) & it's a 15 minute drive up into the Wyoming range & Bridger National Forest.
She's thinking of allowing hunting on the ranch itself, but that's not set in stone. I know I've killed 5 antelope on the property & elk are often seen during winter, but I've never hunted them in this particular unit, so I can't really comment on that.
It IS in one of the Predator areas though & 3 wolves have been killed in the last 2 years (I think) LOTS of coyote hunting & birds too!

 

[jmez]

Holiday Inn Express is $120-$140 bucks a night. That gets to a clean bed and nothing else. I think $300-$350 would be more in line.

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[robtattoo]

Here's a better look at the lounge & I found one of the kitchen area. Meals would be provided, but this is available for use too.

 

[rob86jeep]

Not yet, no. She's literally just taken over the place in the last 6 months. She was ranch manager before that for 4 years & her Dad was manager for over 20 years before that. I know this year's out so she's kinda looking at next year. I'll be staying up there for a week or two this October/November, so I'll bump this thread up with some good pictures of the accommodations & facilities.

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If she was the ranch manager for 4 years and her dad was for the 20 years prior, don't you think she would already know a lot more about what's doable/profitable then all of us random people.

 

[robtattoo]

If she was the ranch manager for 4 years and her dad was for the 20 years prior, don't you think she would already know a lot more about what's doable/profitable then all of us random people.

As it's been run in the past, yes. Previously it was a syndicate owned, membership funded, fishing retreat for the few owners & their guests. Each owner bought acreage & paid an annual membership subscription, based on acreage. That allowed them a certain number of days per year, determined by the acreage they owned & dues paid (it's all a little complicated & I'm probably explaining it all wrong)
They also leased water rights to the State, ran cattle & horses & cut hay.
The livestock will be staying, as will the water leaseing (lessing?) but the primary leisure use is going to be completely new & untested.
It was never really run as a 'business' as such. It was more a self sustaining private retreat for Texas m/billionaires.

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[rob86jeep]

As it's been run in the past, yes. Previously it was a syndicate owned, membership funded, fishing retreat for the few owners & their guests. Each owner bought acreage & paid an annual membership subscription, based on acreage. That allowed them a certain number of days per year, determined by the acreage they owned & dues paid (it's all a little complicated & I'm probably explaining it all wrong)
They also leased water rights to the State, ran cattle & horses & cut hay.
The livestock will be staying, as will the water leaseing (lessing?) but the primary leisure use is going to be completely new & untested.
It was never really run as a 'business' as such. It was more a self sustaining private retreat for Texas m/billionaires.

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Ah, kind of like a hunting lease with a shared cabin common in the east. I

 

[Mosby]

This is probably going to seem utterly random, but I have a serious question for a friend.

I have a really good friend who owns a ranch in western Wyoming. Just outside of Pinedale in elk unit 92, antelope unit 88. It's right slap between the Wyoming range & the Wind Rivers. It's been a private fishing/leisure ranch, primarily, for 20+ years. It has pasture, cattle & hay.

The main thing it has, is two bunkhouses, 18 individual rooms total & had always catered to incredibly wealthy fly fishermen. Consequently, the accommodation is NOT lacking......there is a huge communal lounge, WiFi, cable tv etc.

The new owner is looking for ideas.
She'd like to know:
A: Would people be interested in using it as a plush hunting base?
Her idea is to provide accommodation, laundry, home cooked meals (she is a genuinely talented chef, used to catering for billionaires...) 2 days free fishing on a Blue Ribbon trout stream (Cutts, Browns & Rainbow, stocked at 18"minimum. I can absolutely attest to the quality of the fishing!) & possibly corralling of guest's horses/stock (that would be extra)

&

B: What would the consensus be in a realistic price people would be willing to pay? I suggested she structure her pricing as 3 & 5 night stays, simply because that seems common in the hunting world.
What would be a reasonable nightly rate for livestock?

She asked me purely because I'm the only person she knows from 'back east' that hunts the west as a tourist. My experience has been either camping, or staying with friends & I have LITERALLY no idea what to suggest. I figured that y'all more localler locals would have a far better idea than me!

I know of an old crappy ranch in Colorado that gets close to $1000 per person, per week for a filthy bunkhouse, no meals and guys go back.

With fishing and cooked meals and those type of accommodations I would think she could get at least $300-$500 per person, per day. There are a lot of older hunters that will pay. A big question is related to access. Can they access the NF from the ranch or do they have to drive? If hunters can get private NF access from the ranch, that would be important and worth more money. If she can arrange for horses and some young guys to be available to go get the meat, that is something else she could make some additional money on.
I would also have arrangements with a taxidermist and meat processing/shipping.

If she is looking for a husband let me know.

 

[robtattoo]

Ah, kind of like a hunting lease with a shared cabin common in the east. I

In a super simplified nutshell, yeah!

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