Space tourism has yet to formally launch but Virgin Galactic is now in full force preparing Spaceport America and its surroundings in New Mexico.
The Hotel de Las Cruces is the chosen local hotel to accommodate the elite passengers who are willing to pay $200,000. The New Mexico hotel is preferred to accommodate the passengers while the World Class Gourmet of Las Cruces will cater for the space travelers during training. Virgin Galactic has partnered with the two and they are expected to hire more local employees soon.
Earlier, it was said that Branson would be building his own brand of luxury hotel but nothing has been developed yet. Hotel de Las Cruces is not a Five Diamond hotel so it might be an issue to the elite space passengers or celebrities. They are the ones who could afford the flights and they might look for luxury hotels other than the one in New Mexico.
Even the hotels in the nearby towns don't have five-star hotels. The New Mexico hotel, however, is bent on upgrading its accommodations and services so it would level up to three or four diamonds, an improvement from the current AAA rating.
The Spaceport America is a $209 million state that will launch the flights to space. The project has long been delayed for numerous reasons. Virgin Galactic owner said flights would be available by 2010 but four years later, the program isn't operational yet.
Owner Richard Branson is hoping to finally launch the first flight before 2014 ends but his PR agency is saying it will still depend on readiness and safety of the flight.
"By partnering with Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces and World Class Gourmet, we further our vision of investing in the local New Mexico community while we define the Virgin Galactic astronaut experience," George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic said.
Virgin Galactic only wants the best for the astronauts and the passengers who could afford.
"Future astronauts will come from around the world to New Mexico, so it's important that they experience the outstanding local offerings and character as part of their experience," Whitesides further added.
