Originally Posted by
ecam
Everything after that is wishful thinking.
Seems to me that they are building a team almost exclusively of former MGM executives. One must ask why they left MGM, and whether they understand that Vegas always sells itself. The swamps of Charlotte County do not.
They seem to assume most who go to PGD are staying at a high end resort. My understanding of PGD is that a large majority of passengers are snowbirds in the winter, and that it's pretty quiet in the summer months. I assume the snowbirds already own places to stay there and don't need a luxury resort. They also aren't addressing survey bias: those who bother to fill out surveys usually fit the demographic that is being targeted by the survey, and therefore the survey is self fulfilling. So if a majority that they surveyed showed high income and interest in high end resorts, it's probably because the snowbirds (retired Boomers on a fixed income) didn't bother to fill out surveys.
The resorts they are comparing themselves to are in places like Sanibel, Marco, Longboat Key, Naples. All of these places are in close proximity to sandy beaches on the gulf. Sunseeker will be a solid 45 minutes from any public gulf beaches. I think they underestimate or even ignore the draw that the gulf has for the competing resorts. Those escaping winter want to be near the ocean.
If I were an investor, I wouldn't even consider this risky and poorly thought out venture. But hey, I'm just a pilot, what do I know.
At least they claim the airline is alive and well, and will still be a business focus on just one page of this 76 page report (page 13)...
All very valid points. This is a ridiculously stupid and risky endeavor. I don’t understand why when companies are able to do one (maybe 2 things) really really well that makes money, is successful etc, they try and do something else thinking “it’s bound to work” 🤷🏻*♂️
I was on a flight of ours last week and a passenger was asking me about Sunseeker. I played along, but I had to bite my tounge. This particular gentlemen and his wife, already had a small winter place. I do not see him selling his place and dropping $600k+ for some small ass 1 bedroom. If they studied the demographics you would know that people that are willing to spend that kind of money are already in Sarasota and Ft Myers. It isn’t PGD.
I’ll run down a few bullet points of what I’ve been told is happening. Tell me if this is something that is moving in a positive direction.
1. Supposed site has inconsistent sandy soil that is NOT conducive to build on. Reputable FL contractors have rejected doing this job. What does that tell you? (The Pax even mentioned the soil as well) Sounds like it’s common knowledge?
We are allegedly finding contractors from outside of FL (with no experience down there) bidding for this job.
2. This wasn’t supposed to require much (if any) financing. They were to have sold the units before construction and had this cash flowed.
Of course now we are financing and it sounds like some of our aircraft are listed as collateral. Think about what may happen if this goes south.
3. You nailed it with all the ex MGM people. I’ve flown with someone who has a friend who is also an MGM exec. This particular person didn’t think alll that well of JR.
So yeah things are off to a terrific start! Keep up the good work and try not destroying your airline in the process. Thanks