country bar."
The events he could see, the bar was another
story. "I don't know if I want locals out here drinking and tearing
up the place," he said firmly. "They could disturb our
guests."
Her face fell a little, but she relented.
"Yeah, you're probably right there...not such a good idea. But the
event pavilion would be a fantastic idea wouldn't it? People pay
big bucks for places big enough to host receptions. It wouldn't
cost that much to add that feature either, just a covered outdoor
pavilion and an event coordinator, you could hire caterers as
needed on contract. Oh --and you could have socials for your
guests at night, beer and maybe line dancing and two-step
lessons."
"How big a pavilion are you talking here? I'm
stretched pretty thin right now trying to implement your other
ideas," he told her honestly.
"200 feet by 300 feet should be big enough for
large events," she replied.
"That's the size of a football field!" he
yelled and his heart shot to his throat.
"That would hold probably three hundred
people, so at twenty-five to thirty dollars a head, that could mean
nine-thousand dollars an event, plus," Gigi calculated and smiled
smugly. "If you stay booked, which I think you will because it will
be the only outdoor facility that size in the area, multiply that
times fifty-two weekends a year and you'll make half a million
dollars a year just from that income stream.
Joel groaned because he saw the sense in her
words. And half a mil a year would definitely go a long way to
making the ranch pay for itself. It would at least pay the salaries
of his employees. He could probably even get Trish, his Guest
Coordinator to double as his Event Coordinator. She was perky and
bubbly, a fresh-out-of-college go getter his sister had
recommended. At least Shauna hadn't sent him one of her artsy
friends. No blue hair for Trish, she was a business major, with a
minor in communications.
"I'll talk to my contractor and get an
estimate to build it...you put together a proposal on all of your
ideas we've talked about in the last week. I'm gonna have to find
another investor to make them happen. With your help, my brother
and I will pitch it to my father and see if he'll bite first. If
not, we'll go somewhere else."
Her dark eyes lit up and she smiled from ear
to ear. She would, she wasn't paying for any of her
'ideas'.
"Get me the proposal, and I'll let you know in
a week..." Joel needed to talk to Chase, and they needed to talk to
his father.
Penny, his cook, walked into his office and
Joel looked up from the paper on his desk. "Everything okay?" he
asked.
"Thought I'd let you know Dylan and Sheedy
just called and said the limo is on the way from the airport, and
your guests should be here in forty minutes or so."
Joel glanced at his watch and cursed. "Thanks,
Penny," he said and gathered up the papers to stack them at the
corner of his desk. "I've got to cut this short, Gigi. Get me that
proposal, okay?" he said and stood.
His first guests were coming. It was showtime,
and he would be in the hot seat. This was a 'soft opening' for the
ranch, to see if they had all their ducks in a row. Only four
guests, and friends at that, would be staying at the R & R for
a week, but it would tell the tale of what they needed to improve
on before the Spring rush. He'd continue to take a limited number
of bookings through February, then he knew all hell would break
loose, so he'd better be prepared. Fixing things in the throes of a
rush of guests would be a nightmare.
Joel was determined the ranch would be fully
functional come March first.
Right now, he needed to circle the wagons so
to speak, and get his crew together to make sure the were ready.
Joel buzzed Trish and asked her to put a call out on the two-way
radio that everyone needed to meet him by the main barn in ten
minutes.
Terri reached up to stack the last roll of
gauze dressing on the shelf of the cabinet. She had almost finished
putting away the supplies Joel had
The events he could see, the bar was another
story. "I don't know if I want locals out here drinking and tearing
up the place," he said firmly. "They could disturb our
guests."
Her face fell a little, but she relented.
"Yeah, you're probably right there...not such a good idea. But the
event pavilion would be a fantastic idea wouldn't it? People pay
big bucks for places big enough to host receptions. It wouldn't
cost that much to add that feature either, just a covered outdoor
pavilion and an event coordinator, you could hire caterers as
needed on contract. Oh --and you could have socials for your
guests at night, beer and maybe line dancing and two-step
lessons."
"How big a pavilion are you talking here? I'm
stretched pretty thin right now trying to implement your other
ideas," he told her honestly.
"200 feet by 300 feet should be big enough for
large events," she replied.
"That's the size of a football field!" he
yelled and his heart shot to his throat.
"That would hold probably three hundred
people, so at twenty-five to thirty dollars a head, that could mean
nine-thousand dollars an event, plus," Gigi calculated and smiled
smugly. "If you stay booked, which I think you will because it will
be the only outdoor facility that size in the area, multiply that
times fifty-two weekends a year and you'll make half a million
dollars a year just from that income stream.
Joel groaned because he saw the sense in her
words. And half a mil a year would definitely go a long way to
making the ranch pay for itself. It would at least pay the salaries
of his employees. He could probably even get Trish, his Guest
Coordinator to double as his Event Coordinator. She was perky and
bubbly, a fresh-out-of-college go getter his sister had
recommended. At least Shauna hadn't sent him one of her artsy
friends. No blue hair for Trish, she was a business major, with a
minor in communications.
"I'll talk to my contractor and get an
estimate to build it...you put together a proposal on all of your
ideas we've talked about in the last week. I'm gonna have to find
another investor to make them happen. With your help, my brother
and I will pitch it to my father and see if he'll bite first. If
not, we'll go somewhere else."
Her dark eyes lit up and she smiled from ear
to ear. She would, she wasn't paying for any of her
'ideas'.
"Get me the proposal, and I'll let you know in
a week..." Joel needed to talk to Chase, and they needed to talk to
his father.
Penny, his cook, walked into his office and
Joel looked up from the paper on his desk. "Everything okay?" he
asked.
"Thought I'd let you know Dylan and Sheedy
just called and said the limo is on the way from the airport, and
your guests should be here in forty minutes or so."
Joel glanced at his watch and cursed. "Thanks,
Penny," he said and gathered up the papers to stack them at the
corner of his desk. "I've got to cut this short, Gigi. Get me that
proposal, okay?" he said and stood.
His first guests were coming. It was showtime,
and he would be in the hot seat. This was a 'soft opening' for the
ranch, to see if they had all their ducks in a row. Only four
guests, and friends at that, would be staying at the R & R for
a week, but it would tell the tale of what they needed to improve
on before the Spring rush. He'd continue to take a limited number
of bookings through February, then he knew all hell would break
loose, so he'd better be prepared. Fixing things in the throes of a
rush of guests would be a nightmare.
Joel was determined the ranch would be fully
functional come March first.
Right now, he needed to circle the wagons so
to speak, and get his crew together to make sure the were ready.
Joel buzzed Trish and asked her to put a call out on the two-way
radio that everyone needed to meet him by the main barn in ten
minutes.
Terri reached up to stack the last roll of
gauze dressing on the shelf of the cabinet. She had almost finished
putting away the supplies Joel had
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