The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Groups and town appeal carry the day
While Crested Buttians plan their costumes and shenanigans for the coming weekend—pond skimming, anyone? or Bump N Jump?—Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) is looking forward to carrying a spring break high into closing weekend, ending the season on a good note.
“We had a great spring break,” marketing coordinator Erica Reiter said. “The weather was awesome, guests seemed happy. We’re looking forward to getting our guest service scores from that time—that’s always when we get our best, most honest feedback.”
Excellent customer service is something CBMR celebrates. RRC Associates conducts customer surveys for ski resorts across the country, and so far this year, CMBR is coming in at 82 percent, three percentage points higher than last year.
“Last year we finished at 79 percent, and that was 25th in the country,” Reiter said. That success earned the resort the National Ski Area Association (NSAA) 2010 Best Overall Guest Service Program of the Year Award. But Reiter is careful to emphasize that this success rate is a reflection of Crested Butte as a whole, not just CBMR.
“When people do these surveys, they’re not just thinking about the resort but people in the community as well,” Reiter said. “Guests don’t separate the resort from what they experience in town. It’s about the overall vacation. How did I feel? How was I treated during my stay? This is a result of everyone in town, too.”
CMBR hopes the continued attention toward guest service will keep guests returning to the mountain. But in the meantime, they’re pretty pleased with this season’s results. Between March 4 and March 27, lodging was up 31 percent in room nights and total skier visits were up 13 percent over last year.
CBMR attributes solid spring break visits and the success of groups and events like the International Airline Ski Federation (IASF), the Matthew Shepard Gay Ski Week and FestEVOL for the bump. According to Reiter, CBMR is still waiting on numbers for Gay Ski Week, but the IASF brought over 500 people to Crested Butte. Overall, company officials are projecting that skier days for the entire 2010-11 season will be 8 percent to 12 percent higher than last year.
So bring on Flauschink. It’s time for a great closing weekend.
