For my entire life, the number of hotel rooms in the town of Francis has been exactly zero. If you were visiting Francis, the odds are you’re visiting family and have a camper parked in the pasture.  Suddenly, there are now not one, but two hotel proposals before the town Planning Commission. The Best Western was announced a few months ago. It’s kind of in the ‘burbs. The new hotel proposal is right in the urban core of downtown Francis. By downtown, I mean by the four-way stop where highways 32 and 35 meet. As to the rest of downtown Francis, you can’t currently buy a cup of coffee, loaf of bread, or quart of milk anywhere.I assumed that these proposals were a result of some tear in the matrix, the kind of hole in reality that led to the multi-million dollar Blue Sky Lodge in Wanship. The 72-room Best Western isn’t that kind of hotel, nor is it that kind of location. The new proposal, for 67 rooms, has not announced a brand operator yet. I’m assuming it is not a Ritz Carlton. But there we are. Suddenly experienced developers who know the market and the area are thinking that there is a demand for 139 hotel rooms in Francis. I wracked my brain trying to figure out what had changed. There is no new attraction in the area. People aren’t flocking to the valley to get a look at the big rock that looks like a live turkey if the sun is just right. That’s been there forever, and can’t be the draw.The other day I was driving in to ski, and it hit me. I was passed by a fleet of very expensive cars with out-of-state plates. They could have come from Wolf Creek Ranches, Victory Ranch, or Tuhaye, and were packed with what looked like multiple generations of families.  For all this time, we’ve been building mansions as hard and fast as we can, and talking about affordable housing without much to show. We’ve completely overlooked another critical housing need in our community.There is no “entourage housing.” People packing their 20,000-square foot, fourth vacation homes with children, grandchildren and cousins don’t do that without support. You need rooms for the private chef, wine steward, your ski instructor from Aspen who you wanted to hire even if visiting Park City, a battalion of nannies for 24-hour child care, a driver or two so you aren’t troubled with finding parking, and if you are really a 1-percenter, a security detail and the flight crew on your private jet.  Those folks have no place to stay, and there really isn’t room in the house for all of the help. So entourage housing is the answer, and Francis is more convenient and cheaper, too.  The Yarrow is $405 for the Christmas week. The Holiday Inn Express at Kimball is $275, and their Heber location $173. The Best Western in Heber is $179. Move farther away from the resorts, like Francis, and you might get a block of staff rooms for under $100 each.Entourage housing is the only possible explanation. I’m not sure I would invest in either project, but I’ve been wrong about that this stuff for a long time. A Four Seasons at Keetley wasn’t on my list, either.So here we are at Christmas. The skiing is what it is, and the resorts are making the best of it, thanks to a lot of hard-working employees. There’s no way around it — we need snow and aren’t going to get it for a while.  But the town will fill up, and visitors will have a good time anyway because they are spending time with people who matter to them. That’s the most important part of any vacation. Having perfect ski conditions would be a bonus, though for people skiing with young kids, sunny days are easier.My family will be celebrating Christmas in the loft of the old dairy barn again this year.  It’s cold, and kind of dirty; it’s a real barn. It’s just the immediate family, 45 or 50 spread over four generations, plus 14 dogs. One branch from out of town has cancelled because of the travel time and needing to work.  The pre-party, when some of us decorate the barn, went smoothly. Putting the lights on a Christmas tree by committee is not easy, and I get out of the way of that. The tree itself is not a prime specimen this year. I was cutting down some dead trees in my yard before they fell on the garage, and in the process, broke off the top two thirds of a healthy pine tree. It’s been stuck in a bucket of water since October and managed to stay green.A suggestion to simplify the menu — there is no kitchen in the barn — was shot down, so tradition prevailed over reason, and properly so. It’s a solemn and dignified event with a contest to see who can spit a kidney bean the farthest, opening of recycled gag gifts, and ending with the Hokey Pokey. A very traditional Christmas.  I hope your celebration, however you do it, is just as nice. Merry Christmas, and thanks for letting me take a bit of your time each week.Tom Clyde practiced law in Park City for many years. He lives on a working ranch in Woodland and has been writing this column since 1986.The post More Dogs on Main: Entourage housing and merry Christmas appeared first on Park Record.