Letter From Scott Beck, Salt Lake's Connect Pass, & More
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Summer is Off to a Hot Start!
I write this on a gorgeous early June morning with not a cloud in the sky. The foothills are green and the mountains still capped with snow. Our community just hosted the always-awesome annual Pride Festival, something we’ve been doing and supporting since 1974, warmly welcoming more than 35,000 people.
Speaking of warm welcomes, we’re gearing up for yet another busy convention season, including our first summer without our longtime Outdoor Retailer friends. Not to worry, however, as our sales team and hospitality community has worked hard to replace that business; our community may not be swarmed with the plaid shirts and ultra-active OR attendees but the Salt Palace and our partner meeting properties will indeed be bustling this summer with attendees experiencing all that we have to offer.
I’m excited to announce the long-anticipated launch of our vastly-improved website, www.visitsaltlake.com. I encourage you to take a look at your convenience – I’m sure you’ll agree it’s a much cleaner and more user-friendly site. As with any website launch, there will be issues to work through but I assure you we will work hard to ensure the best possible experience for our meeting and convention attendees, leisure travelers, locals and members alike.
Enjoy the summer, and thank you in advance for all you and your team does in welcoming our visitors over the next few busy and fun-filled months.
Scott Beck
President & CEO
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Upcoming Conventions: The Financial Forecast
 Visit Salt Lake has developed occupancy forecasting models by using STR Analytics daily hotel data. STR Analytics produces a ‘Daily Trend Report’ (DTR). The DTR is a report of hotels’ daily percentage occupancy, average daily rate, and resulting RevPAR. Visit Salt Lake has purchased a subscription to DTR for Salt Lake in two sets. One for total Salt Lake County (approx. 18,000 rooms), and the other for the Salt Lake County Convention District (“SLCD,” approx. 6,400 rooms). By simple interpolation, we derive the data set for Salt Lake hotels that are located outside the SLCD (approx. 11,600 rooms).
VSL has DTR information from January 1, 2012, to the present. Hotels in the SLCD are located in the downtown area, and 98% of their hotel reservation systems are directly linked to STR Analytics. This enables STR to produce its DTR with a high degree of accuracy and provides reliable insight into the effects of events in Salt Lake. Approximately 80% of the hotels inside Salt Lake County but outside of the SLCD link their reservation systems to STR Analytics. The other hotels participate in surveys conducted by STR.
The graph above shows hotel occupancy forecasts for August 2018. Occupancy forecasts are estimated by the number of convention attendees, day-of-week, seasonality, and location.
There are two graphs for each forecasted month:
- Hotel occupancy inside the SLCD
- Hotel occupancy outside the SLCD
The graphs also show historic year-over-year occupancy rates, convention dates, and claimed convention attendance.
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Katie Van Riper Appointed Ski City Marketing Brand Manager
VSL recently announced the appointment of Katie Van Riper as its Ski City Brand Marketing Manager, a new position responsible for managing the marketing and promotional aspects of the organization’s winter brand, Ski City. Van Riper’s efforts will be targeted at the ski market, both domestically and internationally. She will also work to develop higher recognition locally for the Ski City brand, with the ultimate goal of driving greater visitation to Salt Lake and all its destination partners, including Salt Lake’s four world-class resorts of Alta, Brighton, Snowbird and Solitude.
Prior to assuming this newly-created position, Van Riper spent nearly two years as VSL’s Social Media & Communications Manager. Her varied background includes marketing and communication roles with Mountain Hub, Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, Boyne Resorts, and an industry relations position with the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association.
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The Salt Lake Connect Pass
"Mooommmmmm, I'm boooored." It's a phrase that need never be heard in Salt Lake City again thanks to the Connect Pass, a ticket to 16 of the city's best family-friendly attractions.
You can purchase the Connect Pass for a day, a few days, or spring for a full year of access. So it works wonderfully for visitors passing through as well as for families who live right here in the city and need an excuse to check out more museums, parks, rides, and exhibits.
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Tip of the Month - Maximize Your Listing
With the recent exciting news about the launching of our new web site, we know you’ll have some questions and want more information on all the new content on VisitSaltLake.com.
To review the new site, we will be hosting two special “New Web Site” Trainings to address any questions you may have. It is also important to be familiar with all the resources available to you as a Visit Salt Lake member, as well as realize the power you hold within the Member Portal to take charge of your membership. So at these trainings, we will also be reviewing ways you can leverage your membership to your business’ advantage.
Please RSVP in advance to the first of our new web site trainings scheduled for June 19th. You can view the future schedule of trainings as well as all Visit Salt Lake hosted events HERE. Invitations for all trainings and events are sent directly to your email, so if you do not already receive these invitations please contact Miranda Maisto.
Never hesitate to reach out to your membership team. We are here to help!
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Featured Member Highlight Ticaboo Lodge
 As the days warm up and we head into June, thoughts are turning to vacations. And, Utah is at the top of that vacation list for many visitors as well as locals. Many members provide access to the breathtaking scenery, adventure opportunities, and relaxation found in our state. A new member in 2018, Ticaboo Lodge, is just one of these members. Located in the North Lake Powell area, Ticaboo has an interesting marketing approach: promoting adventure experiences without the crowds. They have the regular vacation offerings: water sports, hiking, canyon adventures, but they also boast of a place without crowds and tour buses, a place where “you can hear everything or nothing at all.” With no crowds and no lines, this sounds like this could be an unspoiled destination to check out this summer.
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Meet Our New Members!
Upcoming Member Events:
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You are subscribed to Visit Salt Lake's Destination News as: kdalby@visitsaltlake.com
This newsletter is an important part of our communications with the Salt Lake County community and Visit Salt Lake's members. The Member News section is part of the benefit of membership.
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