Reptile & Amphibian Forums

in the field in SE Arizona. What if you could stay at a place that was within, say, 1hour or less of all the sky islands and then some. It would be at 3400' in elevation and smack in the middle of Saguaros and Paloverdes with a view of the Santa Rita Mtns. to the south. Less than 30 minutes from the airport and downtown Tucson. A B&B for field people you might say, or a basecamp for explorers in the area. Would you stay the night if it was reasonable and offered more than the average campground or pullout in the backcountry?

I have a casual interest in the hospitality industry you might say!

Cheers
Lat

That was a fun game - I was enjoying the idea of spending a week anywhere wild!! Let me know when you're open.

Jake

I think the answer to your question is yes but not from herpers.
I think birders would be your prime revenue generators.
Herpers are frugal by nature and love to camp out and be in the thick of it so I don't see herpers as your target customer.

Herpers and their less than willing to camp girlfriends may have a place there but still not something to start your business on.

There are B&B's , ranches and joints at many of the sky island hot zones and birders and vacationers seem to be the bulk of the business.

I enjoy camping out and all the smells,dirt and grime that go along with it. Campfires, campside food etc....

Gas prices have also sent the cost of herping through the roof
and that will also push herpers to camp out more and spend 70 -80
a night in a B&B

I'll be heading to Costa rica for 10 days and we will camp to keep costs down. After nightriding...........how long would you really be at a hotel or B&B until you left in the morning??

Plus......my plans usually involve multiple locations where a homebase would be lees than a perfect plan. We would have to come back there each night instead of camping along the way.

There are many hotels right in tucson so you would have to have very competitive prices to lure out of town herpers.
hope this helps. Kenny Sharrocks

I think Kenny hit it right on the head however, you might be able to "create" your own market by providing a herper-friendly place. If you could operate as a hub for people to swap stories, show off finds, and just hang out, I think you might be able to steal a little bit of the sector of herpers who would normally just rough it.

That said, most of the herpers I know have no problem just picking a soft patch of leaves, tossing down a bag and crashing for the few hours until it comes time to field hunt.

JJ

I see where the comments are comming from, but I think you should look into the "herp-friendly" side a little more. There are a lot of people out there who would love to see a reptile or two, but aren't going to dedicate their life to trying to find them. It could even have a heper's version of a dude ranch kind of feel. You could have a few collected herps on the property for display, you could have some gear that people could try out.

Your market is clearly not a research scientist who is happy sleeping in the dirt, but that doesn't mean there is not a market for your idea.

I have a group of friends who are photographers that would pay pretty good money if they could set up shop and photograph some reptiles with a guide!

good luck,

Jake

so that I would be right where I want to be when I woke up in the morning. Or, I would stay at motel 6 in Sierra Vista so I could have a shower when I woke up, and then go to where I wanted to be. Or, I would stay in a cabin in my favorite canyon in the mountains if I had someone to split the price with me. I hate cactus.

LOL, I hear ya but I do love the cacti, thats what makes the Sonoran what it is. Watch out for them coyotes!

Cheers
B

What's "The Sonoran"? You mean there's something in AZ
besides mountains? Hmmmm....I'll have to look into that sometime.

Brian Hubbs
Tempe, AZ

Including the mountains too!LOL
Have you heard of K. Chang???