From The Telluride Daily Planet: New Direction For Telluride Conference Center

New direction for Telluride Conference Center

Telski wants more exclusive, new events

By Collin McRann
Staff Reporter

Published: Tuesday, December 18, 2012 8:36 PM CST

Now that Telluride Ski & Golf is in charge of the Telluride Conference Center, the company has a few changes in store for the facility.

Telski has been managing the Conference Center, which is located in Mountain Village, since this fall when it took the reins from Cadence Hospitality. Cadence had been managing the center, which is owned by the Town of Mountain Village, since 2009. With the transition over to Telski, a new five-year management agreement has been signed, and according to the company, some new ideas are in the works to get more bookings at the center.

In October, when the Mountain Village Town Council gave its approval for the transition to take place, there was some concern that Telski might not be the best entity to manage the facility. But now, the company believes it can help the center boost the number of events and people it brings to the area.

“[Telski owner] Chuck Horning feels that, long-term, we know that the conference center is an amenity to bringing groups and conferences here,” said Telski Director of Sales and Marketing Ken Stone. “But it certainly runs at a deficit, and the ski area was willing to look long-term at that deficit and say, ‘What does it mean to the community to operate this?’ The business that it brings here benefits other business in the area, including the ski area, but also lodging, food service and retail.”

Part of the company’s plan to get more activity at the center involves the Telluride Tourism Board. Stone said the TTB wants to get different aspects of the community involved with the center, including lodging. But a main point of change has been to make the center more easily accessible with fewer hurdles to jump through when events are booked.

Stone said some of the main challenges facing the center involve the area’s remoteness. However, Telski is hoping to utilize the TTB’s marketing expertise to help increase the center’s exposure and get the word out across a wider audience.   

“We think one of the opportunities we have is to work with the community and even with second homeowners that want to start, hold or bring their events here on a permanent basis,” Stone said. “Having events that originate here in Telluride that have a reason to be here year after year, we support those and make it easy to work with all the entities to make them happen.”

Though this summer the town council decided it would not consider making any upgrades or expansions to the center, Telski plans to look into some improvements. Stone said the company is talking with sales teams to see what infrastructure or technological improvements could be made that would be most beneficial.

A major component at the center in the future that could be upgraded is its videoconference equipment. Stone said the equipment is in demand and in the past has been used heavily, especially by smaller groups or businesses.

It might be early, but Telski is anticipating some new groups and events at the center. 

The Governor’s Tourism Conference is planned for the end of next October at the conference center. The three-day conference will include a number of speakers and groups from around the state — which Telski and the TTB anticipate will be a good showcase of not only the center, but the area as well. Last year the governor’s conference was held in Steamboat Springs.

“We’re excited to work with the community and the town to make this a successful part of the equation,” Stone said.

Gold Season effort brings more tourism to area

From the Telluride Daily Planet:

Marketing, extended gondola and warm weather attributed

By Collin McRann
Staff Reporter

Published: Thursday, December 13, 2012 6:06 AM CST

Sales tax revenues and other figures are pointing to increased visitation this fall thanks to the extension of the gondola and a new marketing push.

This fall, along with a gold season marketing push, the gondola ran until Oct. 28, which was all part of an effort to maximize tourism during the fall shoulder season. It now appears that at least part of that goal was accomplished because, according to the Telluride Tourism Board, lodging occupancy levels were up around 17 percent in October over last year in Telluride and Mountain Village.

The occupancy data for October seems to continue a trend from summer months because from May through October, the average occupancy rates were up around 16 percent.

“I think it’s a number of things — there is a bigger story here,” said Michael Martelon, president of the Tourism Board. “There is the momentum from the summer that carried through because we were up in September as well. The marketing absolutely had an effect on it as well as the warm weather.”

Last summer, the towns of Telluride and Mountain Village and the Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association all agreed to pay around $55,000 in equal portions to keep the gondola running longer and finance the fall marketing effort.

At the time, it was unknown if a longer gondola season would bring people to the area because the gondola typically shuts down before Oct. 22. Aside from occupancy, the effort is being judged by sales taxes collected by the towns.

October is typically a lower time of the year in terms of sales taxes. But this year in Mountain Village, October’s numbers were up from $65,260 in 2011 to $68,855 this year. September’s figures were also up from $158,593 in 2011 to $168,296 this year.

In Telluride, October sales tax revenues increased, as the town recorded around a 6 percent jump over 2011. The town collected $220,218 in sales tax revenues in October, up from $206, 672 in 2011.

Telluride Mayor Stu Fraser said it’s early to draw many conclusions, but from what he has seen, things are positive.

“The goal was to get better coverage during the shoulder season, and I think it was effective,” said Fraser. “There has been no decision on if we’ll do it or not next year, but I will look at it in a positive light.”

Martelon said he thinks some of gold season’s momentum might have carried over to the winter season.

He said there were more winter bookings made this October than last October. The increased early bookings could increase winter’s overall bookings, but time will tell.

“I think [the gold season marketing] served a dual purpose,” Martelon said. “For some people, it was ‘let’s go to Telluride in the fall’ which I think turned into ‘you know what, we need to book our ski vacation now.’ I’m hoping that that momentum carried us through the winter — and I’m hoping the jet steam shifts so that we get dumped on.”

For more information on this or Telluride area real estate, please contact Telluride Real Estate Corp. at 970-728-3111, info@telluriderealestatecorp.com or visit www.telluriderealestatecorp.com.

Real Estate Sales In Telluride Are Rockin’ And TREC Is Leading The Charge

Area Wide Sales Up 23% So Far in 2012; TREC’s Sales Up 87%

You have no doubt been hearing from your local broker that real estate sales in the Telluride area are well ahead of last year’s pace. Through October 2012 in fact, sales in San Miguel County are up over 23% versus the same period last year. Clearly the recovery that we have been watching slowly take shape is now gaining real momentum. But allow us here at Christie’s/TREC to toot our own horn for a moment. Over the same time period of this January through October, our sales are up 87% versus last year. Our dominant market share and sales momentum also show no signs of abating as we close out 2012. We have a record amount of property (in terms of dollar volume) under contract for closing as of this writing. We are mindful of "irrational exuberance," but the facts speak for themselves. Here’s to a continued, sustainable recovery going forward.  -The TREC Team

From The Denver Post: Colorado Resort Summer Spending Increasing Faster Than Winter Spending

Summer spending growing faster than winter in Colorado resort towns

POSTED:   12/02/2012 12:01:00 AM MST
UPDATED:   12/02/2012 10:24:33 AM MST

By Jason Blevins
The Denver Post

Summer business in resort towns is growing at a faster rate than winter, revealing both a recovering economy and a shift in resort tourism.

While Colorado's high country will always rely heavily on skiers, mountain towns are seeing more summer vacationers in a trend that promises swifter growth than downhill skiing — especially if weak snowfall continues in the high country.

"This is a very big deal for us," said Michael Martelon, chief of the Telluride Tourism Board, which last summer achieved a longtime goal with summer spending in the box canyon eclipsing winter for the first time ever. Telluride's taxable sales activity set monthly records in July, August and September.

Martelon said the towns of Telluride, Mountain Village and Montrose worked together to boost regional tourism, expanding Telluride's festivals and reaching out to visitors who tend to visit the area regularly.

"I call it microtargeting," he said. "We are talking to people who we know love Telluride, and getting them to come more often is getting us to a place where we are actually able to grow our base."

Telluride joins Winter Park, Aspen, Vail, Steamboat Springs, Breckenridge and Crested Butte in posting strong summers this year, with most of those communities surpassing the pre-recession glory days of 2007. In all seven resort communities, spending from June through September is growing much faster than winter spending.

Whilelast winter's weak snowfall could have pinched spending as fewer vacationers gatheredfor ski holidays, ski-town winter spending increased in six of the seven resort communities even though visitation plummeted 10 percent, the steepest drop in decades.

Still, summer revenues grew faster.

Ford Frick, the managing director of Denver-based BBC Research and Consulting, thinks the warm, snowless weather of last winter likely helped summer business as flatlanders and urbanites fled the heat by flocking to the high country.

"I think weather was a big influence," Frick said.

While summer is growing, it's still a fraction of winter business in the big resort communities such as Breckenridge, Aspen and Vail. But winter business seems to be inching more than surging and has yet to climb back to pre-recession levels.

There are a number of trends slowing winter's recovery and spurring summer, Frick said. Aging baby boomers and second-home owners are finding summer in the high country more amenable, and growing numbers of Front Rangers pursuing close-to-home vacations — or economically driven "staycations" — are visiting the mountains for brief bursts in the summer.

"It's a combination of small factors behind this" summer growth, Frick said. "Summer is growing more rapidly, but I think there's a ways to go until summer fills the gap on winter."

Most resort communities have seen summer spending climb past high marks set in 2007. (Winter Park and Steamboat Springs have yet to reach 2007 levels.) Winter spending, though, is lagging, with only Vail surpassing the 2007-08 season. All seven resort communities together are pacing about 7 percent behind the 2007-08 winter season, while summer spending is 3 percent ahead of the once-record 2007 levels.

Resorts have been focusing on their warm-weather seasons for several years, and those marketing programs are finding footing.Federal legislation from last year encourages the Forest Service to work with resort companieson federal land to develop summer amenities and stir local economies. Vail Resorts, for example,last summer proposed a comprehensive interactive projectthat would install alpine slides, ropes courses and zip lines alongside educational programs on Vail Mountain.

Read more:Summer spending growing faster than winter in Colorado resort towns - The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_22102925/summer-spending-growing-faster-than-winter-colorado-resort#ixzz2E2GwRxPn
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