Chambers working together to enhance guest experiences

Gunnison County supports valley-wide improvements

The Gunnison Board of County Commissioners, acting as the Local Marketing District (LMD), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Tuesday, March 17, committing to provide $25,000 in funds to the Gunnison Country Chamber of Commerce and another $25,000 to the Crested Butte/Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce. The chambers are working together on a program to enhance guest experiences throughout the valley, rather than segmenting each town’s efforts from north to south.

The approved funds must be used to meet operational costs at the chambers; for example, remodeling the Town Visitor’s Center (Four-way Stop) in Crested Butte to enhance guest experiences and syncing all computers and tablets in the Mt. Crested Butte Transit Center on the same program to improve efficiency and ease of use. Gunnison’s chamber also plans to put a hospitality training program in place for local businesses, and that chamber’s education council has been investigating the best means by which to make the program effective to ensure that guests to the valley have a good experience.
In addition, the money will help keep a part-time staff member on-site at the Gunnison Visitor Center, which would enable executive director Tammy Scott to get out of the building more often and perform the chamber side of her position—like meeting on-site with businesses and providing hospitality education, support and counseling. According to the memorandum, “Gunnison County is supportive of the objectives of the Gunnison Chamber of Commerce in terms of assisting those in need of services,” and the LMD continues to prove it by supporting valley-wide marketing efforts.