Spotlight: Maintaining a Vision
with the Perry Mansion

By Brynne Adamson

"It took over a century, but your room is ready!"

Perry Mansion owner Bill Ivey not only renovated his hotel, but he preserved the entire ghost town of Terlingua, Texas because he had a vision he wanted to fulfill. Ivey shares what he learned through his renovation process and what kind of vision people need to start their own hotel.

I spoke with Ivey via telephone.

About the hotel:

The Perry Mansion was once a place of residence for miners working at the Chisos Mining Company. However, once the millions of dollars-worth of mercury were hauled out of Terlingua, the place became desolate. Railroads were going to be built over the town, which is where Ivey stepped in. He didn't want to see such a historical place destroyed.

So Ivey bought the Perry Mansion in the 1980s, along with the Big Bend Holiday Hotel, Rio Grande Rock House, Casitas and the rest of the ghost town of Terlingua. After years of renovations and the upkeep of his properties, Ivey opened the Perry Mansion to the public.

The Perry Mansion has seven units, each with their own private bath (which was an accomplishment because the original mansion didn't have electricity or plumbing). The mansion sits on a hill with an incredible view of the ghost town, especially at sunrise or sunset. The mansion also has a star deck for looking at the darkest skies in the United States.

Many guests wonder what the difference between the Perry Mansion and the Big Bend Holiday Hotel is. While both are similar, they each have their own spirits, which is why they're decorated differently. The Big Bend Holiday Hotel was originally built like a tourist court, while the Perry Mansion was built as a mansion. Additionally, the mansion has a better view of the ghost town.

When you buy an entire town, "failure" isn't in your vocabulary.

How did you come to acquire the ghost town?

I grew up in the area, which is very remote and sparsely populated, so keeping up with local gossip is easy. When I found out the ghost town was for sale and being turned into tracks, there was something in me that couldn't let it go. This area has one of the largest mercury mining areas in the world; it's a very important part of our history.

When the ghost town came up for sale, I didn't have any money, but I had some friends in Houston. They were business associates, and we were gonna form a partnership and buy it together. I could tell they were going to be the money folks, and I was going to be the guy on the ground doing the work. So, the sale wasn't working out the way I wanted it to.

I was starting to get reluctant about my decision, and the man who was selling the property told me I needed to make up my mind because there was another buyer.

I confided in my father who has bought land in Big Bend, Texas for forever. My father, who never really thought I could make good decisions, started out by saying, "Have you lost your mind?" And I was expecting that, but what I didn't expect was what he said after, "What the hell is wrong with you? I've been trying to buy that place."

My father and I had been bidding against each other. We called the gentleman, who was a character, and we told him we both want to buy that place. He just died laughing, and he said, "I was wondering when you were going to figure it out."

We went and drove around the ghost town and talked. My father and the man who was selling the property talked about everything except for the ghost town. When we got back, my dad pulled out a pencil, and the two of them wrote a contract on the hood of my dad's car. Then they drove the car to Alpine, Texas for an attorney, and, in a few days, my daddy and I owned a ghost town.

How did you know your investment would pay off?

That's something you feel and something you gamble. Everybody thought I had lost my mind when I was buying the ghost town. In some ways, I had. A purchase like that takes vision; it takes willingness and sacrifice to work hard for a long time to achieve your goal.

I'm literally 250 miles from the nearest Walmart. That's the nearest store you'd run to for something. When it comes to construction and specialized renovation, you can't just run down to Lowes and grab what you need. Construction out here takes a lot of coordination, materials and planning.

I was lucky with the Perry Mansion as opposed to renovating the rest of the ghost town because I had Amazon Prime. You can get Jacuzzi tubs through Amazon Prime. We're such a remote area, they've got to be losing money.

What renovation tips do you have for other hotel owners?

1. Don't rent the place until it's finished

Many times I'd be renovating a room, and our busy season would start. I needed the revenue, so I'd renovate it to where I can rent it and open it up. But if you ever do that, you can't go back.

2. Look at your environment and your clientele

I've seen this happen over and over in that someone will build an accommodation, whether it be a cabin or multi unit accommodation, in the most pristine, beautiful place without windows.

We're in a unique location. I cater to folks who come for the Big Bend National Park or the Big Bend Ranch State Park, so they're not going to sit in a room on a tv. They want to sit out and look at the sunset. People don't realize there's a world out there that guests want to see and they're in awe of. If you have dark skies where you can see the stars, don't put overhead lighting in the parking lot.

This sounds simple, but it takes a little effort and money to do it.

3. Have a vision and realistic expectations

You have to have a vision, and you have to have the willingness to make that vision become a reality. You never never think you're going to fail no matter what, and that's the key. Failure is not in your vocabulary. Absolutely there will be all kinds of problems and things that you think are insurmountable, but "where there's a will, there's a way" as the saying goes.

You've got to be realistic, too. That's where people break down. You can't just think life will fall into place. Renovating takes a lot of planning, hard work, stress and a few bottles of wine.

How do you reach out to customers?

People plan way in advance to stay in Terlingua. When they closed down the national park because of COVID-19, our business was devastated. You're not going to get someone else to fill that room if something like that happens. We're not a drive-by hotel, so you have to spend lots of money on advertising, even though you don't know if it'll work or not.

I also work with the Brewster County Tourism Council that does marketing for all the hoteliers in the county. I try to stay on top of that because their marketing dollars are a lot stronger than mine.

Do guests like the break that having no TV or on-site telephones bring while staying at your hotel?

Most guests say, "Oh? So there's no TV? I guess that'll be okay." Usually, if I get to talk to them after their stay, they say having no TV was wonderful. Guests get to sit down and talk while playing board games and card games. Or they get to watch the stars. They get to do things that couples and families normally don't do because they're sitting in front of a TV.

We do have the very best WiFi in all of our units, though. People depend on WiFi for their jobs and communications. We also have outlets, so they can charge their phones or other electronics.

Being without a TV makes you money because you're productive instead of watching a screen.

How has ResNexus created value for your business?

I looked at and used a lot of different booking software companies and had some frustrations with the last one we had. I did a lot of research. The way I found ResNexus was when I randomly went online to places that were similar to Big Bend and saw that 80% of the sites I really liked had booking software from ResNexus.

I'm a pretty average traveller, so I wanted something that made making a reservation easy with pictures and a user-friendly format.

ResNexus is also stationed in America. That was really important because with the last company we worked with, we were calling support every day. After five, those calls were routed outside of the United States, so we had some communication issues. If the previous company's support was busy, they wouldn't pick up the phone.

Xpert Tip

Text

Pull Quote

Key Findings

Units: Seven
ResNexus Products used: Professional Package
Joined ResNexus in 2019

The following statistics were recorded Nov. 25, 2020:

Average increase of Revenue per Available Room (RevPar) for Jan. to Nov. since using ResNexus: 59.48%
Average increase of Occupancy from Jan. to Nov. since using ResNexus: 19.8%

Ivey's most popular room is the Rio Grande Rock House, seen below, which was occupied 71% of nights from Nov. 25, 2019 to Nov. 25, 2020.

Share Your Story >

Spotlight: Maintaining a Vision with the Perry Mansion