how about a creepy gothic hotel in the Richardson?

[Trolls_r_us]

you know how, on the travel channel (or similar channels) there is often some weird destination like an ice hotel, haunted places, naked restaurants, "eat off the floor places, ect??

Why not make the Richardson complex, a former psych ward, into a gothic-themed "haunted hotel"??

IT WOULD WORK

There is a large number of people who seek these types of places out, and the Richardson has some inherent creepiness to it already, being a former psych center and all.....

Get a little publicity (easy enough to do with so many cable shows about these places) get a good marketing plan up, and you could fill the thing easily

Plus, tie it into the other venues in the area. Albright/Knox, Delaware Park (and the free shakespeare plays), Elmwood village, Forest Lawn, the theatre district, and you could have one heck of a package to offer....

Maybe even have a dedicated hotel shuttle running a curcuit to take guests to these places. It wouldn't cost that much to do, and it would be a nice touch. Pay a guy $10 an hour to drive the route, and make it so the shuttle could run almost round the clock, depending on the hours each site is open, of course.

Have advertisements on the website describing the history of the Richardson complex, and then have colorful ads descrbing all the other cultural amenities Buffalo offers, and mention that a FREE shuttle could take you to them.

You could even offer an airport pickup option for $25 (way cheaper than a cab, make a small profit each time, and one more thing to entice people). This could be a FREE pickup if they rent a more expensive deluxe suite.

Have the entire hotel itself gothic themed, to match the architecture. Employees would dress in old-fashioned garb. Rooms would be decorated in 1800's style. An old fashioned bar and grill would be in place near the lobby. All the modern "perks" would be there, just tweaked so that they fit the theme. There could even be a special channel on the hotel tv system that broadcast classic horros films 24 hrs a day.

Buffalo already has alot of neat stuff to check out, but a lot of out of towners don;t know about it. With this unique hotel experience, tied in with all the other events and amenities the city can offer, it would be a darn good sell, IMO.

As I said, people seek these things out for the experience and the adventure. If you can show them all the OTHER things they would have easy access to as well, it would be a BLOCKBUSTER

What do you guys think? Am I...... CRAZY?

lol, sorry.... Had to throw that in

[Trolls_r_us]

tie it in with:

Shea's
Irish classical
Studio Arena

Albright Knox
Music Hall
Delaware Park and Shakespeare festival
Forest Lawn

Buffalo Zoo

Downtown City Center area (link it with the metro rail, maybe proivde a free metro rail pass as well).

Elmwood village shopping and restaurants

maybe take a special run 3-4 time a day to the Botanical Gardens and South Park

ADVERTISE THE OBSERVATION DECK at City Hall, which is FREE and open during City Hall hrs

That would be a heck of a weekend...

and it wouldn't cost much, comparatively

Unique, fun, something for everyone.

[Linda_D]

Not crazy at all, Trolls, even if we're talking about the city's former nuthouse! It's time more people in Buffalo thought "out of the box" instead of "retail" or "non-profit". There's only so much small time retail that can survive in the Walmart era.

Personally, I think that the Richardson complex might make some really interesting upscale condos and townhouses, but maybe putting housing in the annexes and the Gothic hotel in the towers is a better fit. This would, after all, be a classy hotel.

How about a "Supernatural Festival" the week before Halloween with some of the movie houses holding classic horror flick film festival, tours and ghost stories from Forest Lawn and other places/homes in Buffalo (there are many such urban legends), etc?

[Trolls_r_us]

that would be so cool!

the secret with palces like hotels is to create something unique, and then make sure people KNOW about it

I really think this would work....

Now I just need a huge pile of $$$$

[atotaltotalfan2001]

Originally posted by Trolls_r_us
that would be so cool!

the secret with palces like hotels is to create something unique, and then make sure people KNOW about it

I really think this would work....

Now I just need a huge pile of $$$$

I love your idea! Really, I do. Isn't there some kind of start-up funding you could get? This is the kind of thing Buffalo should do everything it can to encourage!!!!!!

[300miles]

Great Idea Troll!

To build on that they could also book it for those Murder Mystery vacations where the people staying at the hotel are part of a staged "Murder" they need to solve. Kindof like living in a Clue boardgame or an Agatha Christie novel.

More Guarenteed Tourists!

[biker]

They all sound like great ideas.

I've got one that could draw in a lot of local traffic.

Promote it as a weekend getaway for anniversaries.

Maybe it's just me, but to stay married over twenty years, "it sure helps if you're a little ....."

[atotaltotalfan2001]

Originally posted by biker
They all sound like great ideas.

I've got one that could draw in a lot of local traffic.

Promote it as a weekend getaway for anniversaries.

Maybe it's just me, but to stay married over twenty years, "it sure helps if you're a little ....."

....a little what?????

[biker]

OK, OK maybe this isn't such a hot idea.

Started running it by the missus, who thought my slogan might be "I'm crazy about you."

Haven't told her the real theme, yet.

[atotaltotalfan2001]

Originally posted by biker
OK, OK maybe this isn't such a hot idea.

Started running it by the missus, who thought my slogan might be "I'm crazy about you."

Haven't told her the real theme, yet.

I like it. The question is: Once you check in, do you ever check out?

[WNYresident]

And the return on investment in how many decades?

[atotaltotalfan2001]

Originally posted by WNYresident
And the return on investment in how many decades?

Spoil sport!

For all we know, it could be an untapped market!

[biker]

Originally posted by atotaltotalfan2001
I like it. The question is: Once you check in, do you ever check out?

Great. Another theme.

Hedonistic, Hotel California weekends.

[therising]

I like the idea.

Tie in some type of interactive theatre - a spooky whodunit that plays out over the weekend!

[WNYresident]

How many little theatre groups are there in the area that have small offices? Bunch them all togeather in that building.

Let them take a loan out in the name of the group and fix the place up. Seeing they are so committed to the idea let them sign thier homes over as colateral. You'll see where I'm going with this.

Let them sell tickets and rent rooms to generate money to pay for the renovation costs and the cost of running the place. Let the group that will benefit from it pay for it.

If it would help all the hotels and touristy people then let them sign for the loan too and cover the cost. Don't force people to pay for something they will not benefit from.

For as much crap that money was wasted on that was for the good of the community, you'd think by now we'd be rolling in a good economy.