Summit County’s Annual COO Breakfast
Tuesday, October 6th was the annual Chamber of Commerce breakfast with the Chief Operating Officers from Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Keystone and Loveland. The breakfast sold out in record time and proceeds went towards scholarships for local students. The talks began with a review of some statistic for the area and the ski industry as a whole. Overall we have seen a lot of growth in the last few years and now its just a matter of balancing the peaks and valleys in travel.
Consumer confidence was also a hot topic and with the volatility in the markets over the last few weeks. Confidence has started to flat line instead of grow. One of the neatest statistics was that the true epicenter of ski country, from a statistically perspective, is 4 miles north of frisco
From there each COO went into a discussion on the state of their resort, new offerings, and many other topics. A Basin highlighted its evolving plan for its base area including a concert stage and a new sit down bar and grill. Breckenridge discussed the parking situation and the upcoming ballot issue of adding a tax to day ticket purchases to help fund new infrastructure to resolve the issue. Copper Mountain discussed its green initiatives as well as the improved features on its Sherpa app, which is designed to rival the Vail resorts Epic Mix app. Keystone followed that with a discussion on how the Epic Mix will now have wait times for each of the lifts as well as how Keystone if positioning itself to be one of the most family friendly resorts in the area. Loveland talked about their new lift and how it will provide access to areas that were previously difficult to reach.
Overall, the feeling was positive for the upcoming season. The only controversial issue was work force housing which has become a hot topic in the last few months. With low wages and limited supply of housing, many locals are struggling to find accommodations for this upcoming season. It needs to become a collaborative effort between the towns and the employers to resolve this issue.
The issue that has been on everyone’s mind, El Nino, was barely touched on. While historically El Nino years have brought a lot of snow, there is no way to predict exactly what will happen this year so we will all keep our fingers crossed and pray for snow. (Do your snow dances!)
For your enjoyment, a little Chris Farley as El Nino:
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Anne Skinner
Mountain Real Estate
Keller Williams Top of the Rockies
