Positive Perspective from Source of Land Title
Highlighting the Upside of the Economy in a Challenging Market
November 2008, Issue Five
Seven hotels retain U.S. 36 plans: A faltering economy hasn’t chased hotel developers away from the U.S. 36 corridor, where seven hotels are slated to open before energy giant ConocoPhillips launches a new training facility on the former StorageTek campus in 2012. (Denver Business Journal)
http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/10/06/story1.html
Home Prices: Now for the Good News: Denver listed in the top 7 of areas most likely to rebound. Denver’s overall outlook is sunnier than for most western cities because neither inventory nor prices spiraled out of control during the boom. (Yahoo Real Estate)
http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/home-prices-now-for-the-good-news.html;_ylc=X3oDMTF0NTRjZTFlBF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEX3MDOTc2MjA0NjUEc2VjA2ZwLXRvZGF5BHNsawNob21lLXByb2Nlcy1nb29kLW5ld3M-
ULI ranks Denver among top 10 real estate markets: The Urban Land Institute named metro Denver one of its top 10 real estate markets to watch next year, in its Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2009 report released Oct. 21. (Denver Business Journal)
http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/11/03/daily8.html?surround=lfn&brthrs=1
Halting the Mortgage Meltdown: Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America have separately announced plans to help ailing borrowers. On Tuesday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulator for Fannie and Freddie, announced its own sweeping plan. Collectively the hope to modify 1.3 Million loans.
http://www.forbes.com/wallstreet/2008/11/11/mortgages-fannie-freddie-biz-wall-cx_lm_1111citi.html
Supply of Unsold Homes Dives Again: The number of unsold homes on the Denver-area market continued to plummet in October, falling to an almost three-year low. There were 4,504 homes placed under contract, down only 3 percent from the 4,645 in October 2007 http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/nov/07/stock-of-unsold-homes-dives-again/?partner=RSS
"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them."
George Bernard Shaw
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Summit County Cares Press Release
Summit County Cares Fund: Community Fundraiser
The Summit County Community is coming together to help families in need during the holiday season.
Summit County, CO-A large scale community fundraiser, Summit County Cares, has been created to address basic needs assistance for the Summit County Community. Members from each of the Summit County media organizations including Krystal 93, NRC Broadcasting, RSN, SCTV, Comcast and Summit Daily News in conjunction with the Summit Foundation and local nonprofits have agreed to join forces in order to raise funds for the Summit County Cares Fund.
The Summit County Cares Campaign will run from November 17 to December 31 all throughout Summit County. The goal is to raise $125,000 for the community. Summit County Cares funds will provide basic needs assistance to residents in crises. This will give the community much needed aid for emergency food, rent assistance, utility assistance, healthcare and clothing. The goal for the fund can easily be accomplished with a $5 donation from every Summit County resident. Businesses with 100% donation participation will receive recognition throughout the campaign on air and on the web.
The need in Summit County is great and it grows every day. Many residents of the community work in low wage, service industry jobs that may not provide enough for the high cost of living. These jobs are crucial for the stability of the local economy yet they do not supply sufficient funds for many residents trying to support a family. Basic needs assistance can provide help for many in financial crisis and can prevent heat disconnection, or worse, homelessness.
Summit County is not immune to the difficult economic times affecting the nation and the rising energy costs hit our community even harder in the cold mountain winters. The local food banks have seen client numbers double, with nearly a third of those requesting assistance proving to be first time clients. Food banks are drying up and assistance funds are beginning to disappear, but it is possible to change the problem. With the help of the whole community, Summit County can raise enough money to ensure residents can stay in their homes, keep the heat on and put dinner on the table.
The need is enormous and our local media has come together for a common purpose, now Summit County residents must join the cause to show those in need that Summit County Cares. Donations can be sent to:
Summit County Cares
c/o The Summit Foundation
P.O. Box 4000
Breckenridge, Co 80424
Donations may also be made online starting November 19, 2008 at any of the following websites:
http://www.summitfoundation.org/ http://www.ksmtradio.com/
http://www.summitfirc.org/ http://www.summitdaily.com/ http://www.krystal93.com/ http://www.summitclinic.org/ http://www.summitadvocates.org/
www.rsn.com/summitcounty http://www.ksmvradio.com/
###
The Summit County Community is coming together to help families in need during the holiday season.
Summit County, CO-A large scale community fundraiser, Summit County Cares, has been created to address basic needs assistance for the Summit County Community. Members from each of the Summit County media organizations including Krystal 93, NRC Broadcasting, RSN, SCTV, Comcast and Summit Daily News in conjunction with the Summit Foundation and local nonprofits have agreed to join forces in order to raise funds for the Summit County Cares Fund.
The Summit County Cares Campaign will run from November 17 to December 31 all throughout Summit County. The goal is to raise $125,000 for the community. Summit County Cares funds will provide basic needs assistance to residents in crises. This will give the community much needed aid for emergency food, rent assistance, utility assistance, healthcare and clothing. The goal for the fund can easily be accomplished with a $5 donation from every Summit County resident. Businesses with 100% donation participation will receive recognition throughout the campaign on air and on the web.
The need in Summit County is great and it grows every day. Many residents of the community work in low wage, service industry jobs that may not provide enough for the high cost of living. These jobs are crucial for the stability of the local economy yet they do not supply sufficient funds for many residents trying to support a family. Basic needs assistance can provide help for many in financial crisis and can prevent heat disconnection, or worse, homelessness.
Summit County is not immune to the difficult economic times affecting the nation and the rising energy costs hit our community even harder in the cold mountain winters. The local food banks have seen client numbers double, with nearly a third of those requesting assistance proving to be first time clients. Food banks are drying up and assistance funds are beginning to disappear, but it is possible to change the problem. With the help of the whole community, Summit County can raise enough money to ensure residents can stay in their homes, keep the heat on and put dinner on the table.
The need is enormous and our local media has come together for a common purpose, now Summit County residents must join the cause to show those in need that Summit County Cares. Donations can be sent to:
Summit County Cares
c/o The Summit Foundation
P.O. Box 4000
Breckenridge, Co 80424
Donations may also be made online starting November 19, 2008 at any of the following websites:
http://www.summitfoundation.org/ http://www.ksmtradio.com/
http://www.summitfirc.org/ http://www.summitdaily.com/ http://www.krystal93.com/ http://www.summitclinic.org/ http://www.summitadvocates.org/
www.rsn.com/summitcounty http://www.ksmvradio.com/
###
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Smart Money Article
Here is an article I came across in Smart Money. While a few months old, still interesting reading.
Published May 23, 2008 A A A
Consumer Action by Aleksandra Todorova (Author Archive)
Foreign Buyers Flocking to U.S. Housing Market
AMERICANS' LOVE AFFAIR with real estate may be cooling, but thanks to falling home prices and the weak dollar, attention is heating up from another group of suitors: foreign investors.
Foreign buyers have long looked to certain U.S. markets — say, high-end properties in cosmopolitan Manhattan or sexy South Beach Miami — as investment opportunities. These days, however, real estate professionals report increased international interest in a much larger range of properties — from $60,000 single-family homes in South Florida's inland neighborhoods to $1 million waterfront villas located just miles from the Canadian border in Washington State. Almost one in five, or 18%, realtors surveyed by the National Association of Realtors last year said they sold homes to international clients between April 2006 and April 2007. More recent data isn't yet available, but according to anecdotal evidence, those numbers continue to rise.
"There definitely is more interest in U.S. properties, no question about it," says Mark Partin, president of Toronto-based Trailridge Property Corp., which brokers deals between U.S. developers and Canadian investors interested in buying residential properties in "bulk."
For many foreign buyers, property in the U.S. is downright cheap. Canadians now get an 80% discount on what they would have paid for a piece of the U.S. just three years ago, when one Canadian dollar was worth just 80 U.S. cents and properties in some areas were 50% more expensive, Partin notes. (One Canadian dollar is now worth roughly $1 in U.S. currency.) For European buyers, whose currency carries 25% more buying power in the U.S. than it did just three years ago, today's depressed property prices are no less attractive.
While Americans are discouraged by images of neighborhoods blighted by "For Sale" signs and taped-off properties, foreign buyers are much more optimistic, especially about the long-term health of the U.S. market, says David Michonski, a certified international property specialist and CEO of Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy in New York. "The foreign buyer has an unbridled confidence in the U.S. market that is lacking in the domestic purchaser today," he notes. "They view this as the bargain of a lifetime and are terribly excited about it."
Kim Kirschner, chairwoman of the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches, recently returned from two international trade shows (one in Madrid, one in Paris) exhibiting second-home opportunities. She says interest in U.S. properties was decidedly higher than a few years ago when attendees were more interested in places that offered higher return on investment, such as Bulgaria. "Now they understand the U.S. market is more stable. We may have down cycles, but we go up back again," says Kirschner.
That profit potential is what convinced Londoner Grace Felix to start looking for a place near Fort Lauderdale, an area where she and her fiancée already spend about two weeks out of every three months. "Hotels cost an arm and a leg," she says. "It makes better sense to buy and it's a good investment."
Felix's realtor, Jacqueline Christophe-Hayot, receives similar inquiries from French, British and Canadian buyers on a weekly basis. And, she says, these buyers aren't the stereotypical Florida-bound retiree, but rather "the Miami beach crowd": 30-something professionals who plan to use the property for several weeks a year and rent it out the rest of the time. With prices down to 2002 levels and sellers willing to negotiate even lower, such arrangements make a great deal of financial sense, she says.
In Phoenix and Scottsdale, Ariz., Canadians who are years away from retirement buy property now rather than risk higher prices later, says Irene Hammond, a realtor in the area. Property values in Canada remain stable, allowing many potential buyers to refinance or take home equity loans that they can use to buy in the U.S. — often, with 100% cash down. "They've heard there's a fire sale going on down here," Hammond says, adding that some Canadian buyers come to her with unrealistic expectations, wanting to pay, say, $225,000 on a house listed for $300,000. (Such low-ball offers do not get accepted, she says.)
Interest is so high, that many of Hammond's fellow real estate brokers now include the Canadian dollar exchange rate on their web sites, or even host web sites specifically targeted at foreign buyers. In fact, real estate brokerages across the country are increasingly putting an international spin on their marketing efforts.
Jean Groesbeck, a realtor in Anacortes, Wash., located on an island about 70 miles north of Seattle and south of the Canadian border, just started advertising on LuxuryPortfolio.com, a high-end property web site that can be translated into multiple languages and features currency exchange rates. Earlier this month, SecondSpace.com, an online marketplace for vacation homes and retreats, launched three web sites (ResortScape.ca), ResortScape.co.uk and LandWatch.co.uk) targeted at Canadian and U.K. residents.
Despite all the hoopla, though, foreign buyers alone will hardly help the U.S. crawl out of the current housing mess, says Mike Inselmann, president of national housing consultancy Metrostudy. Unsold inventory in some areas is so abundant that it cannot be absorbed, even with increased interest from our neighbors north of the border or overseas. "I wouldn't say it's the elegant solution to the housing inventory problem, but I do think it'll play a minor role," he says. "Maybe bigger in some markets than others."
According to Michonski, foreigners can at least bring to the U.S. market what it's been lacking most in the past months: "They'll provide a psychological support of confidence," he says.
Published May 23, 2008 A A A
Consumer Action by Aleksandra Todorova (Author Archive)
Foreign Buyers Flocking to U.S. Housing Market
AMERICANS' LOVE AFFAIR with real estate may be cooling, but thanks to falling home prices and the weak dollar, attention is heating up from another group of suitors: foreign investors.
Foreign buyers have long looked to certain U.S. markets — say, high-end properties in cosmopolitan Manhattan or sexy South Beach Miami — as investment opportunities. These days, however, real estate professionals report increased international interest in a much larger range of properties — from $60,000 single-family homes in South Florida's inland neighborhoods to $1 million waterfront villas located just miles from the Canadian border in Washington State. Almost one in five, or 18%, realtors surveyed by the National Association of Realtors last year said they sold homes to international clients between April 2006 and April 2007. More recent data isn't yet available, but according to anecdotal evidence, those numbers continue to rise.
"There definitely is more interest in U.S. properties, no question about it," says Mark Partin, president of Toronto-based Trailridge Property Corp., which brokers deals between U.S. developers and Canadian investors interested in buying residential properties in "bulk."
For many foreign buyers, property in the U.S. is downright cheap. Canadians now get an 80% discount on what they would have paid for a piece of the U.S. just three years ago, when one Canadian dollar was worth just 80 U.S. cents and properties in some areas were 50% more expensive, Partin notes. (One Canadian dollar is now worth roughly $1 in U.S. currency.) For European buyers, whose currency carries 25% more buying power in the U.S. than it did just three years ago, today's depressed property prices are no less attractive.
While Americans are discouraged by images of neighborhoods blighted by "For Sale" signs and taped-off properties, foreign buyers are much more optimistic, especially about the long-term health of the U.S. market, says David Michonski, a certified international property specialist and CEO of Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy in New York. "The foreign buyer has an unbridled confidence in the U.S. market that is lacking in the domestic purchaser today," he notes. "They view this as the bargain of a lifetime and are terribly excited about it."
Kim Kirschner, chairwoman of the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches, recently returned from two international trade shows (one in Madrid, one in Paris) exhibiting second-home opportunities. She says interest in U.S. properties was decidedly higher than a few years ago when attendees were more interested in places that offered higher return on investment, such as Bulgaria. "Now they understand the U.S. market is more stable. We may have down cycles, but we go up back again," says Kirschner.
That profit potential is what convinced Londoner Grace Felix to start looking for a place near Fort Lauderdale, an area where she and her fiancée already spend about two weeks out of every three months. "Hotels cost an arm and a leg," she says. "It makes better sense to buy and it's a good investment."
Felix's realtor, Jacqueline Christophe-Hayot, receives similar inquiries from French, British and Canadian buyers on a weekly basis. And, she says, these buyers aren't the stereotypical Florida-bound retiree, but rather "the Miami beach crowd": 30-something professionals who plan to use the property for several weeks a year and rent it out the rest of the time. With prices down to 2002 levels and sellers willing to negotiate even lower, such arrangements make a great deal of financial sense, she says.
In Phoenix and Scottsdale, Ariz., Canadians who are years away from retirement buy property now rather than risk higher prices later, says Irene Hammond, a realtor in the area. Property values in Canada remain stable, allowing many potential buyers to refinance or take home equity loans that they can use to buy in the U.S. — often, with 100% cash down. "They've heard there's a fire sale going on down here," Hammond says, adding that some Canadian buyers come to her with unrealistic expectations, wanting to pay, say, $225,000 on a house listed for $300,000. (Such low-ball offers do not get accepted, she says.)
Interest is so high, that many of Hammond's fellow real estate brokers now include the Canadian dollar exchange rate on their web sites, or even host web sites specifically targeted at foreign buyers. In fact, real estate brokerages across the country are increasingly putting an international spin on their marketing efforts.
Jean Groesbeck, a realtor in Anacortes, Wash., located on an island about 70 miles north of Seattle and south of the Canadian border, just started advertising on LuxuryPortfolio.com, a high-end property web site that can be translated into multiple languages and features currency exchange rates. Earlier this month, SecondSpace.com, an online marketplace for vacation homes and retreats, launched three web sites (ResortScape.ca), ResortScape.co.uk and LandWatch.co.uk) targeted at Canadian and U.K. residents.
Despite all the hoopla, though, foreign buyers alone will hardly help the U.S. crawl out of the current housing mess, says Mike Inselmann, president of national housing consultancy Metrostudy. Unsold inventory in some areas is so abundant that it cannot be absorbed, even with increased interest from our neighbors north of the border or overseas. "I wouldn't say it's the elegant solution to the housing inventory problem, but I do think it'll play a minor role," he says. "Maybe bigger in some markets than others."
According to Michonski, foreigners can at least bring to the U.S. market what it's been lacking most in the past months: "They'll provide a psychological support of confidence," he says.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Wonderful Deal!
As we look forward to an amazing ski season this winter, it is only fitting that we look back on the record setting ski-in/ski-out development of Crystal Peak Lodge. This premier Peak 7 Location was the first of its kind in nearly 25 years and has been a huge success. All the new owners of Crystal Peak Lodge are getting their residences ready for the upcoming winter rental season and are extremely pleased with their mountain homes.
Vail Resorts Development Company has retained two residences in the building and they are offering them at 2006 developer prices. Residence 7008 is a 1 Bedroom, 2 bath priced at $805,000 and 8404 is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath priced at $1,195,000. Below are virtual tour links to both properties:
Residence 7008
http://www.interactiveproperties.com/idxshowcase58020
Residence 7404
http://www.interactiveproperties.com/idxshowcase58019
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Fly Fishing
A fellow broker has been asked to help get our local Trout Unlimited chapter up and rockin’ again with some good events, good enviro work, etc. To kick things off we are presenting the epic fly fishing film, Drift, written by Tom Bie, editor of the Drake Magazine (also was editor of Powder Mag and worked with Warren Miller). Tom will be on hand, Fishpond is handing out Piopods to the first 75 attendees and tickets are cheap--only ten bucks, even includes a beer! The event is Tuesday, November 18th, at the Silverthorne Pavilion, doors open at 6pm. All proceeds will go to the Colorado Water Trust.
Even if you are not a fisher you will enjoy the film, micro brew, and heck, what else are you going to do on a Tuesday night? Bring your fishin’ clients…….they will thank you. Please forward invitation to any and all! Thanks for you support.
Even if you are not a fisher you will enjoy the film, micro brew, and heck, what else are you going to do on a Tuesday night? Bring your fishin’ clients…….they will thank you. Please forward invitation to any and all! Thanks for you support.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Colorado ski pass
Colorado Pass deadlines extended.
OPENING WEEKEND EXCITEMENT AND SNOW IN THE FORECAST PROMPTS VAIL RESORTS TO OFFER ONE FINAL CHANCE FOR COLORADO AND SUMMIT PASS SALES THIS WEEK
· Vail Resorts offers an additional week for Colorado and Summit Pass sales at fall prices through Nov. 16
· This is the last week for Epic Season Pass sales, through Nov. 15
· Breckenridge and Keystone opened this weekend for the ski season. Vail opens Nov. 21 followed by Beaver Creek on Nov. 26.
BROOMFIELD, Colo.— Nov. 10, 2008 — With the start of the ski season at Breckenridge and Keystone this weekend, as well as snow in the forecast today, Vail Resorts is giving Colorado skiers and snowboarders an additional opportunity to purchase the state’s most popular season passes – The Colorado and Summit Passes. The Colorado and Summit Passes will stay on sale at fall prices through Sunday, Nov. 16 at select Front Range locations.*
“We’ve been getting phone calls and e-mails from panicked Colorado skiers and snowboarders who didn’t buy their Colorado or Summit Pass before our deadline,” said Heidi Kercher-Pratt, vice president of corporate marketing for Vail Resorts. “With the new snow and the kickoff of the ski season at Breckenridge and Keystone this weekend, Colorado skiers and snowboarders are excited and eager to take their first turns of the season. So we’re giving our loyal guests one more week to buy our state’s most popular season passes (The Colorado and Summit Passes).”
According to Kercher-Pratt, Coloradoans love to ski. “Now more than ever we need to feel that exhilaration of being back on skis … that sense of awe when we stand at the summit of a mountain … the rush of adrenaline when we make that first turn of the season. We don’t want anyone to miss out on these opportunities with their friends and family this winter. That’s why we’re giving Coloradoans another week to buy their Colorado or Summit Pass.”
Summit and Colorado Passes Back on Sale through Nov. 16
Sunday, Nov. 16 is the last day to purchase Colorado’s most popular ski passes – $419 for The Summit Pass™ and $459 for The Colorado Pass™ - at the fall prices.
The Summit Pass™ gives skiers and snowboarders unlimited, unrestricted access to Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin for $419 for adults, $319 for teens (ages 13-18) and $209 for children (ages 5-12). The Colorado Pass™ offers unlimited, unrestricted skiing at Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin all season with an additional 10 days* at Vail and Beaver Creek for $459 for adults, $339 for teens (ages 13-18) and $219 for children (ages 5-12).
Visit www.coloradopass.com for more information.
* The Colorado Pass is restricted from use at Vail and Beaver Creek: Nov. 28-29, 2008; Dec. 27-31, 2008; and Feb. 14-15, 2009.
Epic Season Pass on Sale through Nov. 15
Time is ticking. This is the last week to purchase an Epic Season Pass - Saturday, Nov. 15 is the deadline to buy Vail Resorts’ Epic Season Pass™ - $579 for adults and $279 for children. The unlimited, ski-as-much-as-you-want, unrestricted Epic Season Pass™ with no black-out dates features more than 18,000 acres of skiing at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly and Arapahoe Basin for the entire 2008-2009 season and is considered one of the best on-mountain deals in the industry this season. Visit www.epicpass.com for more information or to purchase your Epic Season Pass.
Pass Renewals and Pass Sales Locations
Pass renewals for Summit and Colorado passes are available online at www.coloradopass.com. Renewals or new passes may be purchased at the following locations through Nov. 16:
Front Range: Boulder Ski Deals (Boulder), Colorado Ski and Golf (Aurora, Arvada, Colorado Springs and Littleton), REI (Denver Flagship, Fort Collins, Lakewood, Englewood, Boulder and Colorado Springs), Breeze Ski Rentals in Lakewood and Dumont, as well as Flatiron Crossing Mall, Park Meadows Shopping Center, The Shops at Northfield in Stapleton and The Orchard Town Center.
Resort pass sales: Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone (check for times and exact locations)
For more information about the Summit or Colorado passes or sales locations and time, call 888-215-3867 or visit www.coloradopass.com. Visit www.epicpass.com to purchase your Epic Season Pass™ or for more information about this new season pass.
OPENING WEEKEND EXCITEMENT AND SNOW IN THE FORECAST PROMPTS VAIL RESORTS TO OFFER ONE FINAL CHANCE FOR COLORADO AND SUMMIT PASS SALES THIS WEEK
· Vail Resorts offers an additional week for Colorado and Summit Pass sales at fall prices through Nov. 16
· This is the last week for Epic Season Pass sales, through Nov. 15
· Breckenridge and Keystone opened this weekend for the ski season. Vail opens Nov. 21 followed by Beaver Creek on Nov. 26.
BROOMFIELD, Colo.— Nov. 10, 2008 — With the start of the ski season at Breckenridge and Keystone this weekend, as well as snow in the forecast today, Vail Resorts is giving Colorado skiers and snowboarders an additional opportunity to purchase the state’s most popular season passes – The Colorado and Summit Passes. The Colorado and Summit Passes will stay on sale at fall prices through Sunday, Nov. 16 at select Front Range locations.*
“We’ve been getting phone calls and e-mails from panicked Colorado skiers and snowboarders who didn’t buy their Colorado or Summit Pass before our deadline,” said Heidi Kercher-Pratt, vice president of corporate marketing for Vail Resorts. “With the new snow and the kickoff of the ski season at Breckenridge and Keystone this weekend, Colorado skiers and snowboarders are excited and eager to take their first turns of the season. So we’re giving our loyal guests one more week to buy our state’s most popular season passes (The Colorado and Summit Passes).”
According to Kercher-Pratt, Coloradoans love to ski. “Now more than ever we need to feel that exhilaration of being back on skis … that sense of awe when we stand at the summit of a mountain … the rush of adrenaline when we make that first turn of the season. We don’t want anyone to miss out on these opportunities with their friends and family this winter. That’s why we’re giving Coloradoans another week to buy their Colorado or Summit Pass.”
Summit and Colorado Passes Back on Sale through Nov. 16
Sunday, Nov. 16 is the last day to purchase Colorado’s most popular ski passes – $419 for The Summit Pass™ and $459 for The Colorado Pass™ - at the fall prices.
The Summit Pass™ gives skiers and snowboarders unlimited, unrestricted access to Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin for $419 for adults, $319 for teens (ages 13-18) and $209 for children (ages 5-12). The Colorado Pass™ offers unlimited, unrestricted skiing at Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin all season with an additional 10 days* at Vail and Beaver Creek for $459 for adults, $339 for teens (ages 13-18) and $219 for children (ages 5-12).
Visit www.coloradopass.com for more information.
* The Colorado Pass is restricted from use at Vail and Beaver Creek: Nov. 28-29, 2008; Dec. 27-31, 2008; and Feb. 14-15, 2009.
Epic Season Pass on Sale through Nov. 15
Time is ticking. This is the last week to purchase an Epic Season Pass - Saturday, Nov. 15 is the deadline to buy Vail Resorts’ Epic Season Pass™ - $579 for adults and $279 for children. The unlimited, ski-as-much-as-you-want, unrestricted Epic Season Pass™ with no black-out dates features more than 18,000 acres of skiing at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly and Arapahoe Basin for the entire 2008-2009 season and is considered one of the best on-mountain deals in the industry this season. Visit www.epicpass.com for more information or to purchase your Epic Season Pass.
Pass Renewals and Pass Sales Locations
Pass renewals for Summit and Colorado passes are available online at www.coloradopass.com. Renewals or new passes may be purchased at the following locations through Nov. 16:
Front Range: Boulder Ski Deals (Boulder), Colorado Ski and Golf (Aurora, Arvada, Colorado Springs and Littleton), REI (Denver Flagship, Fort Collins, Lakewood, Englewood, Boulder and Colorado Springs), Breeze Ski Rentals in Lakewood and Dumont, as well as Flatiron Crossing Mall, Park Meadows Shopping Center, The Shops at Northfield in Stapleton and The Orchard Town Center.
Resort pass sales: Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone (check for times and exact locations)
For more information about the Summit or Colorado passes or sales locations and time, call 888-215-3867 or visit www.coloradopass.com. Visit www.epicpass.com to purchase your Epic Season Pass™ or for more information about this new season pass.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Keystone Ski Resort to open soon
N e w s R e l e a s e
Media Contacts:
Kate Lessman Coble, 970.496.4107, klessman@vailresorts.com
Katie Adamson, 970.496.4065, kadamson@vailresorts.com
KEYSTONE RESORT OPENS NOVEMBER 7th WITH THE NEW RIVER RUN GONDOLA
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Celebrates Gondola Opening
KEYSTONE, Colo. – October 30, 2008 – Keystone Resort is opening on November 7, 2008 with the new, state-of-the-art River Run Gondola. The new eight-passenger gondola replaces the previous six-passenger River Run Gondola. A key component of the new gondola includes the move of the bottom terminal into Keystone’s River Run Village which significantly enhances the guest experience by making access to the gondola easier. Also, a new mid-station is now located halfway up Dercum Mountain with loading and unloading in both directions, giving skiers and snowboarders an option to access Keystone’s upper trails from mid-mountain and to download at the end of their ski day.
MEDIA ADVISORY/PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
WHAT: Opening day at Keystone Resort and ribbon cutting ceremony for new River Run Gondola
WHEN: Gondola Ribbon Cutting will take place at 8:30 a.m., and the mountain opens for skiing at 9 a.m.
WHERE: Keystone Resort, River Run Village, the new gondola terminal.
PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: New gondola ribbon cutting celebration with Keystone executives, community leaders and the gondola construction team.
Current B.Roll Available:
Keystone Resort has HD and SD digital video of gondola construction and snowmaking on the FTP server.
Credit: Keystone Ski Resort, Colo.
http://videotransfer.vailresorts.com/keystone
(copy and paste in browser)
Username = snowPassword = blizzard
Photo Attached: New River Run Gondola at Keystone Resort.
Additional b-roll and photos will be available on Nov. 7.
For more information, please visit http://www.keystoneresort.com/.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Let it snow
Interesting article from the Summit Daily 10/30/08
Great white hope: Last year’s record numbers reflect the power of powder
BY TANYA CANINOspecial to the daily
Consumers are sitting on the sidelines, and discretionary spending is down — neither is good news for mountain resorts eyeing the 2008-09 ski season. However, there is one variable that could change everything: snow.“Snow trumps all evils,” Ralf Garrison said this week in the Mountain Travel Symposium’s 2008-09 travel-outlook session.Despite the gloomy economic indicators, if there was a choice between a good economy or snow, choose snow, said Garrison, principal of the Mountain Travel Research Project, which provided data for the symposium.Last ski season, the National Ski Areas Association reported a record 60.5 million skier and boarder visits despite a weak economy.“Snow is the key that unlocks the paradoxes,” Garrison said, adding that it is not just the cold, white stuff on the ground which attracts skiers, but the “snow mentality.”“Snow is more than weather; it is a state of mind,” he said. “As people decide what to do with their time and money, they are going to do what they are passionate about.”The key for ski and mountain destinations trying to survive a possible a flat year is to change skiers’ perceptions, convincing them that they need a vacation.Arthur Cassidy, a social psychologist, said there is an idea that, when you’re not feeling good about life, you need to take care of yourself. Then, vacations become “doctor’s orders,” Garrison explained.Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, in a recent full-page newspaper ad, caught this mentality with copy that says “... freedom and wind outlast hard times, and the rumble of an engine drowns out all the spin on the evening news ... So screw it, let’s ride.”After an initial drop, sales have leveled out because Harley-Davidson found the way to get to the heart and passion of their market, Garrison said.Harley-Davidson played on the notion that motorcycles are not discretionary — a good tactic, because as spending drops, discretionary spending gets hit the worst.“We fall prey to that at least as long as we fail to challenge that a ski or mountain vacation is discretionary. We might organize ourselves as a want or even a need,” Garrison said to mountain travel-industry leaders during the seminar.
Economic factors The sub-prime mortgage problem that began the economy’s woes has led to an all-time low in consumer confidence, Garrison said. The Consumer Confidence Index, released on Tuesday, is 60.8 percent lower than in October 2007, dropping a record 23.4 points since last quarter.“Consumers are extremely pessimistic ... and this news does not bode well for retailers who are already bracing for what is shaping up to be a very challenging holiday season,” the Consumer Confidence Conference Board said.Consumer spending makes up seventy percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.“In the last eight months, we’ve begun the death spiral (in spending),” Garrison said.The Mountain Travel Research Project shows that through Sept. 30, bookings were down 11.1 percent for the travel period of November through March. Last year, they slumped 2.7 percent in those same months. However, bookings in October and November stand as the best indicators, Garrison said. In good news, occupancy in high seasons when children are out of school continue to come in stronger than other times of the year. Additionally, some skiers will look for cheaper resorts farther away, even during lower season, to get the best bargain.Dirk Beal, director of sales and central reservations for Deer Valley, said higher-end lodging properties are lowering prices. While price inflation can be good for consumers, Beal adds that simply filling units hurts higher-end demographic resorts.“We’re almost getting to a fire-sale mentality in our lodging industry,” he said.In this type of economic climate, value and loyalty are two key factors for resorts.“Consumers must spend to support the economy, and our carrot is the ski vacation,” Garrison said. “...What we don’t know is what the winter holds.”
Great white hope: Last year’s record numbers reflect the power of powder
BY TANYA CANINOspecial to the daily
Consumers are sitting on the sidelines, and discretionary spending is down — neither is good news for mountain resorts eyeing the 2008-09 ski season. However, there is one variable that could change everything: snow.“Snow trumps all evils,” Ralf Garrison said this week in the Mountain Travel Symposium’s 2008-09 travel-outlook session.Despite the gloomy economic indicators, if there was a choice between a good economy or snow, choose snow, said Garrison, principal of the Mountain Travel Research Project, which provided data for the symposium.Last ski season, the National Ski Areas Association reported a record 60.5 million skier and boarder visits despite a weak economy.“Snow is the key that unlocks the paradoxes,” Garrison said, adding that it is not just the cold, white stuff on the ground which attracts skiers, but the “snow mentality.”“Snow is more than weather; it is a state of mind,” he said. “As people decide what to do with their time and money, they are going to do what they are passionate about.”The key for ski and mountain destinations trying to survive a possible a flat year is to change skiers’ perceptions, convincing them that they need a vacation.Arthur Cassidy, a social psychologist, said there is an idea that, when you’re not feeling good about life, you need to take care of yourself. Then, vacations become “doctor’s orders,” Garrison explained.Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, in a recent full-page newspaper ad, caught this mentality with copy that says “... freedom and wind outlast hard times, and the rumble of an engine drowns out all the spin on the evening news ... So screw it, let’s ride.”After an initial drop, sales have leveled out because Harley-Davidson found the way to get to the heart and passion of their market, Garrison said.Harley-Davidson played on the notion that motorcycles are not discretionary — a good tactic, because as spending drops, discretionary spending gets hit the worst.“We fall prey to that at least as long as we fail to challenge that a ski or mountain vacation is discretionary. We might organize ourselves as a want or even a need,” Garrison said to mountain travel-industry leaders during the seminar.
Economic factors The sub-prime mortgage problem that began the economy’s woes has led to an all-time low in consumer confidence, Garrison said. The Consumer Confidence Index, released on Tuesday, is 60.8 percent lower than in October 2007, dropping a record 23.4 points since last quarter.“Consumers are extremely pessimistic ... and this news does not bode well for retailers who are already bracing for what is shaping up to be a very challenging holiday season,” the Consumer Confidence Conference Board said.Consumer spending makes up seventy percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.“In the last eight months, we’ve begun the death spiral (in spending),” Garrison said.The Mountain Travel Research Project shows that through Sept. 30, bookings were down 11.1 percent for the travel period of November through March. Last year, they slumped 2.7 percent in those same months. However, bookings in October and November stand as the best indicators, Garrison said. In good news, occupancy in high seasons when children are out of school continue to come in stronger than other times of the year. Additionally, some skiers will look for cheaper resorts farther away, even during lower season, to get the best bargain.Dirk Beal, director of sales and central reservations for Deer Valley, said higher-end lodging properties are lowering prices. While price inflation can be good for consumers, Beal adds that simply filling units hurts higher-end demographic resorts.“We’re almost getting to a fire-sale mentality in our lodging industry,” he said.In this type of economic climate, value and loyalty are two key factors for resorts.“Consumers must spend to support the economy, and our carrot is the ski vacation,” Garrison said. “...What we don’t know is what the winter holds.”
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