Stewart Campbell, a former resident of Ketchum, is manager of Amangani, a high-end resort in Jackson, Wyo.
By Stuart Campbell
I recently returned to the United States after nearly five years away and as usual checked in over in Ketchum to see what was going on. I was very excited to learn about the new Warm Springs Ranch Resort. I have to say it is coming none too soon. If there is one thing Ketchum needs right now it is luxury accommodations. Now that I am back in the United States and managing Amangani in Jackson I have been exposed to a lot of what is missing in my favorite community, Sun Valley. Here at Amangani we are not only a small luxury resort but we also have 15 beautiful Aman homes attached to the project. They range in size from about 4,000 square feet up to 14,000 square feet and reflect the hotel architecture, which gives our entire development a contiguous feel.
The main difference between what we do here in Jackson, and by we I mean Amangani, the Four Seasons, Terra and coming soon Little Nell of Aspen, and what happens in Sun Valley, is that we provide full resort services rather than just a bed. More than solely a place to sleep we provide our guests with an experience that is linked closely with many other businesses in the valley. We virtually support two fly-fishing outfitter operations, river-rafting operations, a ski valet service and much more. Our guests spend hundreds of thousands of dollars annually through Amangani to book with outside vendors. A typical hotel in Ketchum does not provide the concierge services and information that we do so there is a lot of missed opportunity for local service providers.
I have also learned what a large "price-insensitive" market there is out there. Our room rates range from $675 per night up to $1,300, with our homes fetching from $3,500 to $6,000 per night. This coming April our rates go up even higher. We never get push-back on our prices, our guests have more money than time and the only thing they care about is convenience and service. Our No. 1 market is New York, followed by California, Florida and Texas. Whenever anyone asks me how the economic recession has affected our business I can tell them that the first quarter of 2008 has been the best first quarter Amangani has had in its 10 years of operation. Our guests have not slowed down their spending; in fact the opposite is true.
It has been a long time coming but I hope the new Warm Springs Ranch Resort project and the other projects I have been hearing about in Sun Valley get off the ground successfully. If I could make a living doing what I do in Ketchum, managing luxury resort properties, I would move back. I truly think Ketchum is one of the most wonderful places in the West and would love to see some progress made.
With the competition in the Rockies among places like Vail, Aspen, Park City, Jackson and Bozeman, to name just a few, if Ketchum does not start to provide some better accommodations for high-end clientele I am afraid it will die. Merchants will go out of business. Property values will decline. The city of Ketchum will lose revenues, and city government services will deteriorate. I certainly hope that is not the case as I still own a home and a condominium there. My attachment to the Wood River Valley runs deep and I do plan to return one day, even if it is just to retire. All the best.
