Explore Hopi interviewed our own Ron Scheuerman, General Manager, Hopi Travel Plaza. We stopped in at the Travel Plaza located at the “Eastern Gateway to Hopi,” took some pictures and found out a little about the history, discussed what’s new and got some ideas for possible plans being considered for the future. We also met Nellie Coronado, the Hopi restaurant manager.

Ron Scheuerman, General Manager, Hopi Travel Plaza

Hopi Travel Plaza Restaurant

Hopi Travel Plaza

Can you give us just a little basic background on this facility and your involvement here?

Ron: “It has been Hopi-owned since 2002. The facility itself has been here since 1978. I’ve been with the Corporation [Hopi Tribe Economic Development Corporation, HTEDC] since February 2013.”

What are some of the main parts of this business and opportunities here at Hopi Travel Plaza – and are there other things that stand out for you?

“Our market is travelers and the local community. We continue to evaluate other services that will appeal to these consumers.” Ron explained they do get truck drivers, but that is not the majority, the heart or the main focus of the Hopi Travel Plaza’s business.

The Travel Plaza is really a mini mall with multiple shops and food services as well as a fuel station. “We like to think given all that we have to offer, we are worth the drive.”

“When one visits the Plaza they will find a travel gift shop, a knife shop, a sit-down restaurant as well as fast food (Burger King) and a salon. Under the expert direction of our Hopi manager, Nellie Coronado, the restaurant has new menus and a new paint scheme. New menu items are Hopi hot beef and a Native taco as well as a native dessert. The banquet room has been recently remodeled and now can accommodate 30 comfortably.”

The Hopi Travel Plaza also has all services found in a traditional travel center including a large convenience store and truck repair. Hopi Travel Plaza also has a Conoco gas station and sells gas, diesel and propane. There is a full-service diesel shop with full time mechanics on duty 24/7. With a propane tank recently added, the Plaza now has the ability to fill up RV tanks.

The management sees the Hopi Travel Plaza and Holbrook to be a destination place. Holbrook has native dances every night. They feel that there may be opportunities to bring some of those dances to the Travel Plaza as well as other events. This could create the ability to offer other services such as a RV Park. Ron stated “We are thinking about putting in an RV park. We still need to do the market study but there may be a market void that the Travel Plaza can fill. With the Petrified Forest nearby the two RV parks in Holbrook fill up fast. The question is, can the area support a third?”

One opportunity Ron is exploring with a Hopi theme is a walk-through Hopi Museum including a Hopi Visitor Center as an added attraction to the Holbrook area and amenity at the Travel Plaza. “We are also looking at possibly bringing a Hopi artist on site, and we are also looking into actively selling Explore Hopi packages. That will bring the Hopi cultural and educational experience to those stopping by.” Per Ron, “My thought with Explore Hopi is you can start here, buy the package while spending some time at Petrified Forest, go to the Hopi Cultural Center then finish at Days Inn Kokopelli in Sedona. “This way you get to experience Hopi as well as many other Arizona attractions all in one vacation.”

The Plaza is focused not only on the future but improvements in the present. Ron stated that the restrooms are slated to be remodeled hopefully by the first of the year and they have added new services over the last six months such as DVD rentals, fresh fruit cups and hot pizza made to order. “With nearly 700 visitors a day to the Hopi Travel Plaza we are focused on offering them the best in convenience, plus shopping and an eating experience. This will separate us form the competition and help us grow our business.”

You are exploring other things to promote and themes to help market this Hopi Travel Plaza?
“We have talked about a lot of things already. With all the added services and shops, we now have to develop a branding strategy to draw people in.” One of the things under consideration is a Route 66 theme. I’ve met with Meteor Crater, Petrified Forest National Monument, the Holbrook and Winslow Chambers of Commerce and we’ve talked about different things. We know that in Australia and Germany the Route 66 theme is huge – folks fly into Chicago or to the western end in California they rent a Harley and they drive the route. The numbers of travelers on motorcycles that come through Holbrook average about 14,000 per year. We all agree the western side of Route 66 has a great marketing strategy because of Grand Canyon. But we have a lot to offer: Petrified Forest, Canyon de Chelly, Explore Hopi, of course, and Meteor Crater.”

The Hopi Travel Plaza has a huge atrium. Per Ron “My thought is the possibility of a visitor center where people can come and get information for all of these activities you can do in Eastern and Northern Arizona. We want to say: stop in here and get all your information, to get travel ideas for Arizona.”

What are things you really like about this job, what gets you excited about being here?

“It’s a great challenge. It’s exciting for me and our team: the opportunity to take something that was struggling and lacked direction and make it into the shining star of the HTEDC portfolio through offering world class service to our customers… I take much more pleasure to step back and look and say: We built that.”