X Bar Ranch Nature Retreat

Open space that allows people to get away from other people has value to both sides of the bargain. A room with a view that many people don’t see every day is a value that ranchers can share.

Their Place, Guests’ Pace

Article by LORIE A. WOODWARD Photos courtesy of X BAR RANCH NATURE RETREAT

Editor’s Note—This is the third in a series of articles exploring alternative income and educational opportunities for TWA members.

In the fall of 1996, the Meador family added hospitality to the traditional income-generating mix of livestock and hunting on the X Bar Ranch near Eldorado.

“It was dry. Times were tough. As a family, we all realized we needed to diversify if we could, so we were looking around for something else to do,” said Stan Meador, who runs the family’s recreation division, which also includes season leases for whitetails and turkey hunts in the spring.

After living and working in Europe, Stan saw Texas and the ranch, which was founded in 1915, in a new light. In 1989-90 and then again in 1994, he called Holland, one of the world’s most densely populated countries, home. While its population was about the same as Texas’ at that time, the land mass is 13 times smaller than the Lone Star State.

“As a West Texan, I’d always taken elbow room for granted,” Stan said. “After seeing my European friends’ lives and their reaction to our ranch, I understood that open space that allows people to get away from other people has value.”

This realization coincided with the first wave of Texas’ nowongoing population boom, which led the family to a second realization. In a fast-growing state where at least 94% of the land is privately held, demand for open space and outdoor recreation could eventually outstrip Texas’ supply of state and federal parks.

“There seemed to be an opportunity for families who were willing to open their gates,” said Stan, whose off-the-ranch professional experience is in marketing and management. “Hospitality seemed a logical choice for us, so we just jumped in and did it.”

In hindsight, Stan recognizes the family and the operation would have benefited from thinking through an organizational structure before they began. As it played out, the family operated informally for almost a decade. Stan oversaw recreation while his brother Chris grew into a role of managing the ranch’s agricultural pursuits.

“Everything was just hodge podge,” Stan said. “It drove me crazy because I like to operate in compartments and know where money is coming from and where it’s going.”

Plus, as the oldest of the fifth generation in the ranching family, Stan wanted to create a culture where his sister

and cousins, who would eventually become co-owners alongside Chris and him, felt they had an equal seat at the table in determining the ranch’s future. All ideas for other ventures were welcome and the siblings’ and cousins’ participation encouraged.

Working together years earlier, the family established X Bar Ranch Ltd., a limited family partnership that owns the ranch’s assets. Both the recreation and agriculture divisions are set up in separate LLCs and pay lease to the partnership. While this structure has greatly improved efficiency and transparency, it still requires give and take. Capital expenditures are something that the family continues to wrestle with and handle on a caseby-case basis.

For instance, it would benefit the recreation division to expand the walkways and patios around the dwellings, but the expenditure doesn’t make a lot of sense for the limited partnership’s bottom line. From Stan’s perspective, investing in a capital improvement that won’t eventually yield a personal dividend does not always make financial sense either. Except for new lodging facilities, the evaluation and ultimate decision for each capital expenditure is based on the impact of that given capital expense to the business in the short- to medium-term and its enhancement of the tourism experience.

“With a family property, it is not a build it up and flip it sort of proposition,” Stan said. “When it comes to capital improvements, I invest judiciously because there is only so much I will get back from it. At 51 years old, I’m not sure that I would’ve done anything differently, but I do wish that I had been more cognizant of this reality early on.”

IN THE BEGINNING

Start-up funds were tight, so instead of investing in large capital projects, the Meadors worked with what they had. Initially, the ranch had four houses they planned on using for the new enterprise. Profits were plowed back into improvements.

Over time, the number of lodging options and amenities grew. Today, the X Bar boasts two guest houses, nine cabins, the Live Oak Lodge with a full kitchen, living area and meeting room, two RV campgrounds with a total of 12 sites, a swimming pool and hiking trails.

From the outset, the aesthetic reflected the X Bar’s legacy as a working ranch. The vibe is “clean, comfortable and a bit rustic.” The X Bar never targeted people searching for a luxurious, fullservice get away.

Luxurious accommodations, elaborate amenities and fullservice experiences means more hands are necessary. More personnel not only increases the overhead, but potentially increases the operational headaches.

For instance, rural communities may not have the skilled workforce necessary to deliver white glove service that luxury consumers expect. To illustrate his point, Stan shared the experience of a luxury ranch retreat located just outside a nearby town. Facing staffing shortages, the owners built a large dormitory to house personnel that they were forced to recruit from outside the region.

One of the things that often astounds folks from the city is how bright and expansive the night sky is out in the country.

Even though the X Bar Nature Retreat allows guests to take their stay at their own pace, those guests expect a level of comfort as part of their stay.

You could call it purposeful sitting as guests enjoy the broad expanses of Texas from the porch. Or it could be sitting with no purpose at all, other than enjoying the view. Either way, one of the things the X Bar Nature Retreat offers guests are plenty of views.

“In the hospitality business, you can do anything you want. Today there is no cookie-cutter way to do it that is right or wrong,” Stan said. “The key is communicating what you have, ensuring that the experience you’re offering is what your potential guests want, setting the right expectations for the guests you attract— and then delivering on your promises.”

Like most families embarking on a new business, the Meadors didn’t have an unlimited marketing budget. First, they identified their selling points: 7,100 acres of native habitat featuring the changing elevation that characterizes the Edwards Plateau, dark night skies, and a location about halfway between Austin/ San Antonio and Big Bend National Park. Initially, Stan set his sights on developing two niche markets—mountain bikers who would appreciate the terrain and astronomers who would savor the skies.

Big Bend was an established but farflung destination for both groups. The X Bar Ranch offered similar pursuits but was a three-hour drive instead of six,

First impressions are important when hosting people on your ranch. From the front gate to the front door, those impressions set the stage for people to have an enjoyable stay.

so people could indulge their passions more frequently.

In the early years, the Meador family installed about 20 miles of bike trails and hosted mountain bike races to help get the word out. Stan also cultivated a relationship with amateur astronomers that resulted in the Eldorado Star Party. In October, the weeklong Star Party, which brings 100 to 150 astronomers to the X Bar, will celebrate its 20th anniversary. The X Bar hosted its last mountain bike race in 2009.

“When we started out, the business was hands-on with a lot of guest contact,” Stan said. “As our lives changed, so did our operation.”

HERE AND NOW

In the ensuing years, Stan had gotten married, started a family and taken demanding, full-time jobs outside of the ranch. He didn’t have the time he once did to dedicate to guest services, and hiring additional staff wasn’t a viable option. Instead of shuttering the division, the family repositioned the guest ranch as the X Bar Ranch Nature Retreat and adopted the tagline, “Our Place, Your Pace.”

“Now we open the ranch as a gathering place, not an entertainment destination,” Stan said. “Our promise to guests is that we’ll get you oriented, help you figure out what you can do—and then you can go do it. These days we don’t do any handholding or spoon feeding.”

Clientele includes couples and families, both immediate and extended, as well as small groups. Most stays are two or three nights, but during COVID they stretched longer. About once a month, a group “rents the ranch” for occasions ranging from artist workshops and scrapbooking retreats to family reunions; the groups are responsible for their own programming, including meals.

The X Bar provides linens, cooking equipment and ice. The guests supply their own food. After the guests leave, family and employees clean and prepare for the next guests. In the aftermath of a recent sold-out weekend, a team of six people spent a day resetting the property.

“The questions you have to ask yourself about adding another enterprise are: How I am going to layer this in with the other ranch operations and my other responsibilities? And if I can’t handle it myself, how will it be taken care of? Where is it coming out of the time budget?” he said.

For now, the “Our Place, Your Pace” model is the best option for Stan and the rest of the Meador family.

“It all gets back to how you define your own success,” Stan said. “I’m realistic. I can’t give this business more time or more resources, so I can’t expect it to generate big money or grow exponentially.”

Currently, his goals are continuing to slowly grow the division without harming it or another of the ranch’s enterprises, managing the workload to avoid burning out the family, especially his parents who assist, and making enough money to pay his lease agreement with the family limited partnership, the contract staff such as housecleaners, and himself a bit. He also wants the recreation division to actively contribute to the ranch’s sustainability and longevity.

It is working. Each year, the business hosts more people. During COVID, people sought out the respite of nature, and so far the increased interest remains.

Recently, Stan encountered a young couple who were leaving the ranch after a long weekend. Although their car sported Minnesota license plates, they had recently moved to Austin for their careers. When he asked about their stay, they replied, “Oh we’ll be back…and we’re bringing our friends.”

People gathering with their family and friends to enjoy the X Bar and reconnect with nature makes all the effort worthwhile.

“Frankly, I love hosting people,” Stan said. “Our family feels a sense of obligation to help people connect or reconnect with nature and the majesty of it all. If we can expose them to our natural resources and tell agriculture’s story in a way that captures their imagination, then we’ve given them something important—and we’ve gotten something special in return.”