Friday, April 16, 2010

What’s on horizon for Sun Valley?

Resort general manager discusses his branding plans


By TREVON MILLIARD
Express Staff Writer

Sun Valley Resort doesn't need to build anything now, at least not anything tangible, according to General Manager Tim Silva.

Silva made a rare public appearance with Director of Resort Development Wally Huffman Wednesday night to speak in front of a few hundred people in the packed Limelight Room of the Sun Valley Inn.

Silva said Sun Valley has enjoyed some successes but is facing some challenges, too. In the way of structures, accommodations and technology, the resort is top of the line, he said.

"They've been on quite a binge here," Silva said of the company's clubhouse, gondola and music pavilion, all constructed in the past couple of years. "We've got tons of stuff."

Silva, general manager since last spring, said the ski mountains don't need anything else right now, either. Snowmaking and grooming are near the best in the country, the high-speed lifts have an up-hill capacity of 30,000 passengers per hour and there are six restaurants.

What the resort needs to focus on constructing is intangible: a precise brand that clearly and immediately tells people what defines Sun Valley.

"A brand is nothing more than a product with a personality," he said. "(That's) simple to say, hard to understand."

But, Silva asked the crowd, what is the personality of Sun Valley Resort?

"You're right," he said to the quiet audience. "I don't know either."

He said experts have been hired to help figure that out.

"Experts, you know. They wear ties and come from more than 50 miles away," he joked. "Are we an active retirement community?"

The numbers would point to that.

He said the average skier's age in the country is 35. On Bald Mountain, it's 53. And snowboarders, which are typically younger, make up only 9 percent of the resort's visitors.

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"Just points of fact," Silva said without ever directly stating that this resort is failing to attract the young crowd.

But, he said, successful efforts have been made this year to grab the attention of youths, such as Dollar Mountain's new terrain park.

He said that every aspect of the resort depends on knowing the brand, the personality.

"It makes all the difference in the world, getting that point of departure right," he said.

And everyone in the valley looks in the resort's direction to "get things right," he acknowledged, saying that the effects of the resort's choices "ripple" outward across the valley.

He said an overwhelming part of backing the brand, no matter what it may be, is providing a "hassle-free experience." The resort started an on-mountain survey this season at Baldy to gauge the satisfaction level of customers. He said 1,097 customers participated. The most important question asked was their willingness to recommend the resort to a friend, on a level of 1 to 10.

He said the resort only wants nines and 10s.

"(They're saying) there's something here that we can't get anywhere else," Silva said.

Those who wrote 7s and 8s like the resort, but they're not committed.

He said the resort set a goal of 70 percent for 9s and 10s. The final tally was 74 percent.

One part of the experience undoubtedly needs to be improved, though.

"Transportation, transportation, transportation," he said.

He said 33 percent of guests fly into Hailey's Friedman Memorial Airport, and 28 percent into Boise. And Friedman is a hassle, with customers often being diverted to Boise or Twin Falls and then renting a car or riding a bus here.

"It wouldn't take many flight diversions for my family to say a lot of places are about as nice and a whole lost easier to get to," he said.

In all, Silva said the resort has one of the best mountains in the country and facilities to match. The resort just needs to finger through its pockets and find the key for getting the word out about it all. This is where the brand comes in.

Trevon Milliard: tmilliard@mtexpress.com




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