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Dear GullWing Owner,
Greetings from Fort Myers Beach.
Although season is winding down,
our most recent forecasts show a busy summer ahead. We
have two projects for the condo association that we
hope to complete within the next couple of months, while
at the same completing our current refurbishment project
and planning for the next one.
The association’s addendum to our
Hurricane Charley claim is moving along. In addition
to the document inspection that was completed back in
February, we have also completed an examination under
oath (EUO) with the legal counsel that is representing
the insurance company in the claim. The insurance
company has sent a group of engineers out to examine
every window in the building. That inspection took
three full days to complete last month. They are now
requesting additional dates for specialists to look at
the windows. This second set of inspections is
scheduled to be completed the week of May 18th.
The association is on schedule for
the changeover from Comcast television service to Direct
TV. Over the next couple of months, our maintenance
staff will be responsible for running some new wiring
from the mechanical room that is going to house the
equipment on the third floor up to roof where the
satellite dishes will be mounted.
Another change is the addition of a
garbage compactor. The compactor will allow us to
reduce our current pickups from three times per week to
only once per week which will save us a considerable
amount in our monthly trash collection charges. Overall
the reduced waste removal expense will pay for the
purchase of the compactor and new dumpsters in a 20
month period. In addition to the financial savings, the
resort will only have dumpsters sitting in the parking
lot one day each week instead of three which will help
with the overall appearance of the property.
April was a good month for the
resort operations. Occupancy was down slightly compared
to the prior year, but due to an extended season, our
average daily rate (ADR) was up by almost $28.00.
Altogether this allowed total revenue for the month to
exceed last year by about 4%.
Our booking pace has really picked
up for the summer months. We have even seen an increase
in group requests. While the reservation pace has
picked up, we are still finding it very hard to capture
reservations at the same average rate as in prior
years. Overall the summer months are currently showing
a 24% drop in ADR. We are hoping to increase our
current ADR by raising the rates over some of the higher
demand periods. Overall, total room nights rented is
pacing fairly even with last year.
In the last newsletter I mentioned
the new email marketing program SunStream was beginning
to use to market the properties more to our repeat
guests. Part of this program includes monthly
newsletters that feature a contest or current
promotions, and the introduction of any new items like
the recently added webcams. We would like to include
owners on the email list so you can see the efforts of
our marketing team first hand. I have already provided
the marketing department with several of your email
addresses. If you do not start to receive the
newsletters on a monthly basis and wish to do so, please
contact me and provide me with your current email
address.
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The initial part of our
refurbishment plan is progressing nicely. Our first
major delivery of appliances has been received and
installed. So far 12 units have received the new
microwaves and refrigerators. Installations will
continue on a weekly basis until all units are
completed. We are still in the process of collecting
estimates on the carpet replacement and obtaining
samples of the new carpeting as well. We hope to have
all estimates and samples collected by the end of the
month to review with the committee in June.
 Although
our season has wound down, we still have plenty of
projects to keep us busy over the next couple of
months. I think the current refurbishment project that
is under way and the one scheduled for this fall will
certainly help improve the overall appearance of the
units, while the other condo association projects will
help reduce our overall costs. As always, if I can help
with anything, please feel free to contact me directly
by email at
CurtB@SunStream.com, or by phone at (239) 765-4300.
Sincerely,
Curt Brenner
General Manager |
