2020 ANNUAL REPORT VISION To create an environment for Aspen to thrive. MISSION Attract visitors to the resort, foster a dynamic Aspen experience, and provide valuable member benefits to support a sustainable local economy. VALUE PROPOSITION As a valued community asset, ACRA drives economic influence on local businesses. We help navigate daily challenges and connect businesses to opportunities, resources, and each other. The shared goal to strengthen Aspen’s business climate and expand opportunities within the region links ACRA’s members together. We are a committed ally and champion of your success. CORE VALUES We are a welcoming organization that values and embodies the Aspen spirit We cultivate transparent, open, and honest communications We nurture and sustain long-term relationships We honor the interconnectivity of the entire community We facilitate balanced collaborative conversations We adapt to dynamic changes in our ecosystem We invite engagement through passion and fun We celebrate the wonder of Aspen LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT & CEO 2020 proved to be a year full of challenge and change for our community, our industry, and our country, one in which Defying Ordinary took on new meaning, and a new importance. For ACRA, it meant relying on the power in our connections and our alliances, seeking out and leveraging the talents of those around us, and demonstrating the courage to guide and lead. It was about embracing adversity and then defining new paths to economic recovery and sustainability. I am extremely proud of the valuable role ACRA played in our collective response to the pandemic, revealing the extraordinary compassion and commitment of the ACRA board, our staff, and of course our members. Our success was due to a strong and consistent strategic focus on our vision, mission, and values, and an unwavering commitment to setting and reaching the highest standards. Over the course of the year, ACRA facilitated balanced collaborative conversations by acting as a convener of important community stakeholders. We worked closely with city and county governments and the business sector to ensure a proactive approach to our common goals of getting back to business. We secured community marketing funding and received a State of Colorado GAP grant, ensuring we continue to be fiscally responsible. This year we crafted a new five-year Strategic Plan for 2020 – 2025, a framework for board governance and organizational management that defines the goals, objectives, and strategies in executing our long-term vision. We updated our value proposition to ensure we are appropriately preserving and strengthening our value to members, visitors, and the community. We also completed a brand audit to establish a complimentary Chamber brand for Defy Ordinary, helping unite all our communication platforms with clear cohesive messaging. As president of the Destination Marketing Association of the West, a national membership organization of more than 150 destination marketing organizations, I am working to connect industry leaders with new ideas and best practices that elevate our organization and our profession. As always, ACRA’s goal is to strengthen Aspen’s business and nonprofit communities, and we are a committed ally and champion of your success. Together, we have created a way of doing business in Aspen that will never settle for mediocrity. I look forward to continuing the journey of helping our community find new opportunities to Defy Ordinary! Debbie Braun President & CEO 2020 ANNUAL REPORT | ASPEN CHAMBER RESORT ASSOCIATION | 3 BOARD OF DIRECTORS CRISTAL LOGAN, CHAIR JEANETTE DARNAUER Non-Profit Service Aspen Institute Darnauer Group LLC CHARLIE BANTIS, TREASURER NINA EISENSTAT Finance Service First Western Trust Aspen Marketing & Communications JEFF BAY, ASSISTANT TREASURER ANDREW ERNEMANN Lodging Real Estate HayMax Hotels Aspen Snowmass Sotheby's International Realty JOHN RIGNEY, SECRETARY ALAN FLETCHER ASC Representative AMFS Representative Aspen Skiing Company Aspen Music Festival and School DAVE RESSLER, ASSISTANT SECRETARY HEATHER KEMP AVH Representative Retail Aspen Valley Hospital Sashae Floral DONNIE LEE, CHAIR EMERITUS CARI KUHLMAN The Gant At-Large Vectra Bank DEBBIE BRAUN, PRESIDENT & CEO Aspen Chamber Resort Association LISA LEMAY Retail ROSE ABELLO Aspen T-Shirt Company Ex-Officio Snowmass Tourism MARIA MORROW Professional DAVID BAUGH Oates, Knezevich, Gardenswartz, Kelly & Morrow, P.C. Ex-Officio Aspen School District HEATHER STEENGE-HART Lodging ALINIO AZEVEDO St. Regis Aspen ASC Representative The Little Nell RILEY TIPPET Service SAM BARNEY Ski Butlers At-Large Hansen Construction, Inc. BILL TOMCICH At-Large PATTI CLAPPER Fly Aspen Snowmass County Representative Pitkin County TORRE City of Aspen Representative City of Aspen LETTER FROM THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD The year 2020 started off with music in the clubs, snow on the slopes, shoppers in the stores, and sun in the skies. All was good as we looked forward to welcoming families and visitors from around the world into town for Spring Break. Nothing beats spring skiing except possibly winter skiing! However, our idyllic mountain, ski-town life was plunged into crisis almost overnight, when the dangers of the novel coronavirus caused a full shutdown in mid-March of our Aspen Snowmass resort and community. As we worked to catch our breath and find our footing, the ACRA staff was already springing into motion with a full-scale plan to help. There was soon a deluge of information coming out about the public health crisis and the ACRA team digested the information and shared it out to the community at-large, including the visitors in town and those planning to travel. The ACRA staff quickly convened business sector leaders to collaborate on solutions. As the ACRA team surrounded this new-found reality and crisis, their mantra continued to be: How can we help? They became the connective tissue the business community needed in order to have one voice, and to support each other by brainstorming solutions. As spring turned to summer, the ACRA team continued to answer the call. They became front-line ambassadors to welcome visitors, share safety information and protective masks, and way-finding information when major roads were closed due to wildfires. The year 2020 has given the entire world the challenge of a lifetime. We have all been tasked with finding new ways to navigate the challenges we face. But there are indeed silver linings. The rulebook has been forever changed, and we are writing our future anew. We have new residents, new businesses, and our enterprises have been pressure-tested. Now, as we face the future together, let’s shine a light on the can-do spirit of those living in our valley today. The heroes. Those who risk their lives for others. Those who work tirelessly to keep the wheels of progress in motion. Cristal Logan Chair, Board of Directors, Aspen Chamber Resort Association Vice President, Aspen Community Programs & Engagement, Aspen Institute 2020 ANNUAL REPORT | ASPEN CHAMBER RESORT ASSOCIATION | 5 VISITOR EXPERIENCE Visitor Services are the face of the organization and on the frontlines of guest interaction and education. Our team strives to deliver a visitor experience that defies ordinary. Our front-line staff has done an outstanding job throughout the year. From January to March, it was business as usual with holiday travelers excited to be here for the typical Aspen winter vacation. Visitor Services operated four visitor centers at the North Mill Street office, the Wheeler Opera House, the Guest Pavilion, and the Aspen Airport to assist Aspen’s visitors and residents with information. All in-town visitors centers shuttered on March 15th. The airport remained open throughout quarantine to service the limited flights that were coming in and departing during that time. The 590 N. Mill Street office reopened June 1st and the Pavilion reopened on July 1st. Due to both COVID-19 and the historical preservation of the Wheeler Opera House our operation remains closed within the Wheeler Opera House lobby. IN-TOWN VISITOR CENTERS The new year started out very well with great snow conditions and very happy skiers. Our in-town Pavilion staff saw above average numbers of visitors. The Wheeler Opera House information desk was also busy with guests in for performances and seeking additional information about dining and other activities. As usual, at the North Mill St. office, we helped skiers with information on parking and where to find the Galena shuttle to Aspen Mountain. We were beginning to see spring break families arrive and it appeared to be a successful winter season. Staff has done the best we can with the current limitations making sure all guests are educated on any restrictions that are in place and providing updates on any changes that may occur. We recognize the importance of answering questions with a positive tone and have focused on that. We try to express our gratitude that despite COVID-19, we appreciate their willingness to travel to our area. AIRPORT VISITORS CENTER Pre – COVID-19: Winter season was robust with 28 to 37 daily flights arriving with guests eager to enjoy our winter activities. Passenger flow and traffic significantly improved throughout the airport with the addition of the security team managing the front drive pick-up and drop-off, our staff’s close communication with hotel shuttle drivers and airline representatives, enlarged secured boarding area and increased parking. Since COVID-19, our staff greets arriving passengers and answers many phone calls with a welcoming positive attitude, providing the latest COVID-19 information/restrictions/recommendations available and complimentary masks. 6 | ASPEN CHAMBER RESORT ASSOCIATION | 2020 ANNUAL REPORT DEFY ORDINARY GIFT CARDS CORBEAUX X ACRA BUFFS WOODY CREEK HAND SANITIZER Gift Cards were distributed to lodging We partnered with local base layer We provided 75 gallons of Woody Creek partners to provide to their guests as a company, Corbeaux, to provide 2,000 Distillers hand sanitizer to businesses as way to offer value while maintaining rate branded face coverings to our hotels, to they reopened at the end of May and integrity.