Arizona gay resort and spa closes

[swimmernsecretsea]

Christopher Curtis, PlanetOut Network
Wednesday, December 21, 2005 / 04:30 PM

One of the first health spas to target LGBT travelers has shut down after startup costs proved too costly. The Coyote Moon Health Resort and Spa In Tucson checked out its last guest over the weekend and closed its doors Monday.
It had opened in November 2004 and hosted more than 400 guests, winning the Greater Phoenix Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce "New Business of the Year" award.
"We wanted to create a place for healing and wellness for the gay and lesbian community," Keith Bradkowski, managing partner and general manager, told the Arizona Daily Star. "But the market wasn't out there."
Bradkowski said Coyote Moon was created in part to honor his late partner, Jeffrey Collman, a flight attendant killed on the first plane to crash into the World Trade Towers on Sept. 11, 2001.
"We envisioned this place together," Bradkowski said. "After his death, we wanted it to become a place for healing." He operated the resort with Joe Studer, a former general manager, along with other staff members.
Guests could stay at Coyote Moon for prices ranging from $219 to $498 a night. The resort offered a range of activities, including holistic health education, a yoga and Pilates studio, a pool and a whirlpool spa, tennis courts and horse stables.
Bradkowski blamed the starting costs of renovations and marketing as well as bad management decisions for the closing.
"We weren't keeping track of costs, and we exceeded our ability to pay for it all," Bradkowski said. Filing for bankruptcy is a possibility.
"I think the real problem for Coyote Moon was that they were going it alone in a competitive Western market," said David Paisley, the programs manager of Community Marketing, Inc., a company which focuses on LGBT travel.
Paisley noted that while five of the top 10 LGBT tourist locations are located in the western United States, Tucson was not on the list. Instead it was competing against cities like Las Vegas, San Francisco, West Hollywood, San Diego and Palm Springs.
"Palm Springs is a great example. You have the resorts plus the tourism board going after the LGBT traveler. Coyote Moon was going it alone in Tucson. They were not getting support from anybody else," Paisley said.
Ed Salvato, travel editor for PlanetOut Inc., visited the resort in January. "I could see the writing on the wall then," he said. "There were only two other guests there."
"It's a shame it closed. It really was fantastic place," he said.
Matt Harding, president of the Tucson GLBT Chamber of Commerce, told the Daily Star that he believes Tucson can compete against larger markets.
"We're striving to get the word out about Tucson," Harding said. "We might be in a red state, but Tucson is a place where gay travelers can feel safe and welcome."

Source link here: http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?2005/12/21/4

[NMMNG]

1. Too bad, it sounds like somewhere I would have liked to go

I love the Southwest.

[swimmernsecretsea]

2. I know. We've gotta have more things like this in the Red States

...but I wanted to go this coming year. I went to Tucson in November and it was really pleasant. I'd not been able to go on that visit because I was with friends. If they'd been able to hang on just a bit longer they might've attracted more customers as word got out.