From May 22 through August 7, 2026, we flew 11 Friday-night shows of 100 drones at JW Marriott Desert Ridge in north Phoenix, for the resort's Aqua Nights series. Eleven shows, one summer, one property.
That is the longest-running engagement we have, and it taught us more about resort programming than any single booking could.
A residency is a different product from a show
A one-off show is an event. A recurring series is programming: something that goes on the property's calendar, gets marketed as a reason to come on a Friday rather than a Saturday, and has to still feel worth watching in week eight.
Which means the designs cannot be a single show repeated eleven times. The series opened on Memorial Day weekend with a show built around the holiday, and the designs varied across the run. Guests who came back saw something different; guests who came once saw a complete show.
What it demands operationally
The same property, ten times, is not ten times easier than ten different properties, but it is not the same problem either. The site assessment work front-loads: we conduct a full property walk before a resort show, positioning the launch area relative to pool decks, guest corridors, and the sightlines guests will actually have. Do that once properly and the rest of the run inherits it.
What does not front-load is coordination. Every show still works to its own airspace-notice milestone, 72+ hours before. Every show still gets weather monitoring before it flies, against hard limits that the pilot's site-specific discretion never overrides. Every show still has crew on site six to eight hours before, including a 60 to 90 minute pre-flight.
The commercial shape of it
A series is quoted as a program rather than as a stack of single dates, and the structure of the run is worked out with the property in the first conversations.
For properties that want capacity without committing to a fixed calendar, there is also SkyBank: commit capacity upfront to unlock volume pricing, then allocate it flexibly across the year. One drone credit is one drone deployed in one show. A property holding 1,500 credits might spend 500 on a signature event, 300 on a holiday celebration, and 700 across community and special events. SkyBank and partnership programs are separate purchasing options and cannot be combined.
Whether it is right for your property
The honest test is whether you want an event or an anchor. If you need one unforgettable night (an anniversary, a grand opening, a New Year's Eve), book a show. If you want a reason for guests to choose a particular night of the week all season, that is a series, and it prices and plans differently.
Either way, there is no fixed booking minimum: each date is assessed for feasibility. If you are considering a run rather than a single date, say so in the first conversation. It changes the design approach as much as the rate.