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Happy Holidays!

All of us at Visit Salt Lake want to thank all of you, our Members and Partners, for staying in the nice column of Santa’s “naughty or nice” list. And yes, it looks like Santa is bringing us another great ski season. Apparently we’ve all been very good! So far, he has let up to 70” of snow fall out of his bag to blanket our resorts, and rumor has it there’s plenty more on the way, so keep up your goodness!

The ski and snowboard industry is a big deal for Salt Lake and Utah’s economy. Last year, we set records for skiers and snowboarders coming to ski and ride the Cottonwoods from all over the globe. On average, out-of-state skiers and snowboarders spend $252 in Salt Lake County per day. That kind of spending supports jobs and reduces our individual tax burdens (which then leaves us more money to buy new gear – right?).

Many of the visitors who came to ski and ride with us last year had never been here before; they had learned to ski or ride closer to home. So while it’s truly best to be the destination with “The Greatest Snow on Earth” and regularly getting more than our fair share, it’s actually good for everyone when it snows everywhere.

In Ski City, our visitors have great choices. They can stay tucked away at our fabulous resorts—Alta, Brighton, Snowbird or Solitude—or they can après ski in the Salt Lake Valley, taking in some of our urban amenities such as splendid performances at the Hale Center Theater, unique shopping at City Creek, the lights at Temple Square or at Hogle Zoo, a show at the majestic Eccles Theater, Ballet West or maybe a Jazz game, and then on to fine dining found throughout Salt Lake.

And, of course, taking advantage of the bounty we have in attractions, fine dining, shopping and nightlife all around is certainly not restricted to visitors. After all, you’ve been good, so get out there and treat yourself!

Cliff Doner
Interim President/CEO

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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. 19,700 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. 13,300 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 February 2020. 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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Valter of Valter's Osteria - Salt of the Earth

Valter’s Osteria is a Salt Lake mainstay—many would argue that it's the best restaurant in the city—and likewise, Valter Nassi is a true example of Salt of the Earth. With a restaurateur resume that spans from Italy to Switzerland to England to Kenya to our city of Salt (he calls it “my city”), Valter has seen and tasted the world, but calls Salt Lake City home.

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Salt Lake Welcomes Unity Sports Fest

If you’re impatiently waiting for pride week to hit the streets of Salt Lake again, wait no more. Something just as magical has been bestowed upon our great city­–the first ever Salt Lake Unity Fest. At this four-day extravaganza you’ll celebrate the uniting of our LGBTQ+ community and allies through sports, music, and nightly events. There will be medals for winning teams, trivia for the not-so-coordinated folks out there, dancing, music, drinking, and all the rainbows you could ever hope to see.

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Experience the Lights at Temple Square

Without question, the most oooh and ahhh-worthy Christmas lights in Salt Lake are those at Temple Square, the city’s most visited attraction. The first lighting ceremony was held in 1965, and it’s been an annual tradition ever since, with approximately one million LED lights now twinkling to life each season, all across the historic 35-acre square. Here’s what you need to know to make the most of your visit to Temple Square during the Christmas season.

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Tip of the Month: Amenities & Meeting Space

We can’t stress enough the importance updating and managing your amenities & meeting space through the Member Portal.

It's useful for travelers or convention attendees to have access to accurate information, and your meeting facility details display on the meetings section of our website where convention planners actively search for venue inspiration. So if you are a hotel with a boardroom, a unique venue, or even a family restaurant that can offer private buyouts, we need your information.

To access these amenity fields, login to the Member Portal, click Profile, then the sub tab Accounts. Once there you will select the name of the account you need to review and finally click “Manage Amenities” or “Manage Meeting Space” on the left navigation bar.

If you’re not sure if your business has meeting space or what a category is, don’t hesitate to reach out to Miranda Maisto or attend one of our monthly training sessions where we can answer all your questions.

Invitations are sent by email about two weeks prior to each event. There are plenty between those listed so be sure to check visitsaltlake.com/rsvp often.

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Featured Member: Alta Chalets

Alta Chalets has been offering an extensive selection of Alta and Snowbird lodging options since 1995. With a mission of providing vacation management services to both property owners and vacationers in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Alta Chalets offers everything from private homes and cabins to ski condos and chalets.

While it’s true that Alta and Snowbird are consistently ranked among the top ski resorts in North America, don’t forget that they are also incredible year-round vacation destinations that offer mountain biking, hiking and summer tram and lift rides up the mountain with jaw-dropping alpine views.

Regardless of the time of year, the staff at Alta Chalets know how to create special vacation experiences for their guests. The team provides local recommendations to guests and have an intimate knowledge of the many dining options offered in Little Cottonwood Canyon, as well as shopping, hiking trails and where to spa after a day on the mountain. They even offer trip planning, private chef services and grocery delivery.

Little Cottonwood Canyon is an amazing year-round playground and the accommodations, amenities, and friendly folks at Alta Chalets will keep you coming back year after year.

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Meet Our New Members!

• Cleone Peterson Eccles Alumni House
• La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Salt Lake City Airport
• Seabird (Gateway)
• Sapa Sushi Bar & Asian Grill

Upcoming Member Events:

• Grow With Google Seminar
• Visit Salt Lake Member Training
• 4th Qtr. Board of Directors & Membership Meeting

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Upcoming Events

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