4. The winter of 2008/09 made records, but not the kind one hopes for: record jumps in
unemployment, record-setting lows in consumer confidence and spending, and
dramatic shifts in the fundamentals of the worldwide banking system. Collectively, these
events have had a profound impact on travel and tourism …and the timing of all these
factors coincided directly with the start of the 2008/09 ski season.
5. Discretionary spending has been hit hard. Travel has been most impacted in business
and meeting/convention categories. Lifestyle leisure categories, like the ski industry
are the least affected due to consumer loyalty and passion. Snow proved to be a
positive influence in short-haul destinations – like Breckenridge - but less so for long-
haul destinations. Snow did not offset the effects of the economy.
6. TRAVEL STATS: US & COLORADO
• US Chamber of Commerce reported 10% decrease in overseas visitors in 1st half ‘09
• Fewer visitors also spent less money. Spending in the US dropped 15% in 1st half ’09
• Lodging sales in CO dropped from $900 million to below $600 million in 1st half ‘09
• In Quarter 1 ‘09, lodging sales in CO dropped 15.8%; occupancy rates dropped
12.4%; average room rate dropped 7.4%
• Total incoming Colorado airport traffic: down 6.1 percent from 2008
• Skier/boarder visits as reported by NSAA, the National Ski Area Association, are
down 5% from the 07-08 record of 60.5 million visits, and down only slightly from the
past 5-year average.
• Summit County sales tax revenues are down 18.6 percent ($695,000) for the first
seven months of 2009 compared to the previous year
7. SKI SEASON STATS: VAIL RESORTS
• Vail Resorts fiscal year income (2009) decreased $54 million, - 54.4%
• Skier visits declined 5.3% for 2008/2009 season. Aspen Skiing Co. executives say they
don't expect skier visits to rebound much from last season, when the numbers fell 7.6 %
• Lift ticket revenue declined 8.4% for season. Season pass visits increased 17%
• Destination guests (out of state) visitation declined (estimated) 15%
• Ancillary business revenue lines experienced greater declines than lift ticket revenue
variance due to lower destination guest visitation and lower average guest spend during
their stay. Ski school (-19.7%) Dining (-16.4%), Retail/rental (-12.7%)
Rob Katz, Chief Executive Officer: “The impact of the economic environment continued
into the fourth quarter for our Lodging segment, where our properties continued to
experience a much closer-in booking window and offered an increased level of
promotions and packaging discounts that reduced revenue per available room
(“RevPAR”). RevPAR at our owned hotels, on a same store basis, declined by 10.9% for
Fiscal 2009, which was a smaller decline than that experienced by the luxury and the
upper upscale segments of the lodging industry as a whole, which had estimated RevPAR
declines of approximately 21% and 15%, respectively.”
8. RESORTQUEST SKI SEASON STATS:
Occupancy and Rate
• The ski industry reported an average of 15% decrease in occupancy and 9%
decrease in average daily rate (citing Mtrip data)
• The Breckenridge Resort Chamber reported decreased in occupancy each month,
including -19% in December, and -11% in February. Average daily rate decreased as
much as 24% in December, and 22% in February.
• ResortQuest Breckenridge reported a 10% decrease in occupancy and 14% decrease
in average daily rate. We did take a greater hit on our ADR than other companies
– but our ADR is traditionally significantly higher, therefore we have a little
more room to maneuver.
Revenue
• The combined effects of lower occupancy and rate, compound to an approximate
25% decrease in overall revenues, an unparalleled single year decrease.
• ResortQuest Breckenridge reported a 22% decrease in revenue
9. LOOKING AHEAD :
Ski Industry Trends for Summer 2009:
• Overall, summer business (May – October) continues to show significant declines
from last summer to-date with no indication yet of an improving market or more
optimistic consumers.
Ski Industry Trends for Winter 2009/2010:
• For advance months, decreased rates continue to be the focus of marketers as an
incentive for consumers. MTRiP data indicate rate discounts ranging from -3.7% to -
17.5%, with the deeper discounts occurring during lower demand months as lodges
attempt to hold rate during the peak holiday period.
• Rate declines are showing modest improvements in occupancy for the coming six
months (-19.5% from 2008/09 versus -24% last month).
• RevPAR on the books remains battered and is down dramatically (-31%) as of 08/31
10. LOOKING AHEAD :
Ski Industry Trends:
• Last August, consumers were unaffected by the financial crisis and were shopping
and spending in historically normal patterns.
• This year, shopping and spending patterns have changed, most significantly on
discretionary purchases such as leisure travel and the mountain resort industry.
• Add the fact that the 07-08 season was a record for most mountain resorts and the
comparison becomes even greater.
• Consumers fear big spending, but still want to restore their spirits. The likely result
based upon that assumption: A repeat of last winter's trend of shorter distances,
shorter lead times, and more budget-conscious decisions.
A socially embedded frugality is the norm now. People are scrutinizing every
purchase and spending money on things they need, not things they want. It's an
entirely different landscape than we were in 12 months ago," David Perry, senior vice
president of the Aspen Skiing Co., told The Industry Report. Take it a step further:
Pam Murphy, senior VP at Mammoth Mountain in the California High Sierra, says
people are paying "maniacal attention" to their expenses.
12. Consumers are driving the bus. They are hunting, searching, negotiating and outright
demanding deals. After they have called Central Res, 5 wholesalers, looked on Expedia,
Travelocity, Orbitz and vrbo.com, they finally book. And then, they continue to research
deals. Guests are calling back frequently to try and negotiate their rate even deeper.
Like the years after Sept. 11, the next few years will also be interesting as we strive
to re-educate these discount-hungry guests, again. Consumers have learned to expect
deals… and may very well wait for them.
13. Our partners at LeisureLink who distribute our
inventory to availability to Travelocity and Orbitz
reported this past winter:
• Consumer activity was up, but bookings are down. Look-to-book ratios
have risen dramatically. It takes 2.5 times more looks to generate a booking
as it did in August.
• The trend is even more pronounced for ski lodging. It now takes 4 times
the number of consumer queries to produce a booking than it did in August
last year.
• Across all their travel channels, one-third of all bookings are at a
promotional rate. In ski areas, the figure is 65%!
14. • Most industry chatter is replete with anecdotal reports of
cancelled business trips, meeting planners who are re-booking
groups to more cosmetically “acceptable” venues in order to avoid
the glare of the press, and postponed vacations.
• Yet the incidence of travel in America remains robust. The most recent
travelhorizons™ survey (Feb ‘09) revealed that almost two thirds (63%) of U.S.
adults are planning to take at least one overnight trip primarily for leisure
purposes during the next 6 months (versus 60% in January 2008).
• Intentions to travel increase with household income (fully 8 out of 10
households with an annual income over $75,000 are planning at least one
overnight trip for leisure purposes during the next 6 months).
• And one out of 6 adults (16%) is planning to take at least one overnight trip
primarily for business purposes during the next 6 months.
15. The problem does not appear to be a decline in the percentage
of adults who are traveling for either business or pleasure. Rather,
the real culprit is revealed in the replies given by respondents
to a question about how, if at all, they are planning to change
their travel behavior in the months ahead:
• The most frequently anticipated “changes” in future travel behavior appear to
be motivated by a desire to reduce the cost of travel.
• The market force that appears to be exerting downward pressure on demand is
the conscious effort on the part of travelers to reduce the number of nights they
plan to spend away from home, regardless of the purpose of their trip (business
or leisure). Fully half of all travelers who state they are likely to modify their
future travel behavior plan to do so by staying fewer nights.
17. Over the past few years, marketing strategy has undergone remarkable changes. I wanted
to take this opportunity to help everyone understand the new marketing environment, and
to provide you some insight about how ResortQuest is embracing new technologies.
Outbound Mass Marketing is when we push messages out to whomever might be listening
or reading or watching. And you hope that something about your message catches the ear
or eye of enough of those people to turn into sales.
Outbound Marketing includes TV & Radio Ads, Cold Calling, Newspaper Ads, Banner Ads on
websites and Direct Mailings, such as postcards, brochures etc.
18. Technology is making these techniques less effective and more expensive. Caller ID
blocks cold calls, TiVo makes T.V. advertising less effective, spam filters block mass
emails and tools like RSS are making print and display advertising less effective. It's still
possible to get a message out via these channels, but it costs more. Consumers are
exposed to over 3000 ads a day and we are finding every possible method to block the
ones we’re not interested in!
If you go to www.youtube.com and search for ‘Pyromarketing’ there’s a great video by
author Greg Stielstra which explains how ‘Mass Marketing’ used to work and why it no
longer works.
19. Today, we are increasingly engaging in what we call Inbound Marketing. Instead of
interrupting people with television ads, Inbound marketers create videos that potential
customers want to see. Instead of buying display ads in print publications, we create own
blog that people subscribe to and look forward to reading. Instead of cold calling, we
create useful content and tools on our website so that people click-through, or call-in,
looking for even more information. We’re using inbound marketing to attract highly
qualified customers to our business.
20. Components of Social Media Marketing
Social Media Marketing is basically the old fashioned idea of networking, but using
wonderful new technologies to be able to do this on a much larger, more efficient, and
more targeted scale. Social Media Marketing is about participating in conversations,
developing meaningful relationships, becoming a resource for consumers, and an expert
in our field. The rationale is that winning greater quantities of brand advocates will result
in a greater individual customer spend, better retention & more word-of-mouth
acquisition.
21. These all tie together with our Search Engine Optimization strategies (SEO) which involves
creating new content on our website, managing the structure and code of our website,
and getting links to our website. The goal is to get the search engines to rank our website
high and, in turn, drive qualified customers to our website from which point they can
then book online or book by phone.
22. The Internet is clearly the weapon of choice for consumers to research travel.
Our outbound marketing strategies are more targeted, more cost effective, and
produce a higher ROI than the print/tv/radio/direct mail campaigns of the past.
Plus, Search Engine Optimization and Social Media marketing are an investment in
our future success, rather than a one-time ad with a used-by-date.
23. The ResortQuest Advantage: Now just about anyone can try inbound marketing
– so what separates ResortQuest from the rest? Firstly, we couple our
marketing expertise with partnerships and contracts with the large tour
operators, with travel agents, websites, Breckenridge Central Reservations and
so on. This maximizes the exposure and branding of your vacation rental.
24. We also have access to technology that allows us to more efficiently distribute
rates and availability of your vacation rentals through more channels than ever
before. One person – or even a team of people – could not achieve this reach.
And, we also have access to extremely sophisticated technology that tracks and
analyzes the success of these channels and the demographics of our customer –
so that we can get the best bang for our buck!
25. In addition to inbound marketing and PPC
advertizing, ResortQuest has partnered
with the Google to distribute our marketing
campaigns (as banner ads) to an
unprecedented number of highly targeted ,
high-quality news pages, topic-specific
sites, and blogs. Our click-through and
conversion rate on these ads has blown
other banner ad campaigns away!
The Google Content Network is the largest
online advertising network in the world.
The Google Content Network applies
contextual targeting, to automatically
target our our ads to the most relevant
sites and page placements based on
a given page's content and keywords. We
have applied behavioral and geo-targeting
to ensure our ads show up wherever our
customers are spending their time online.
26. Additional targeting controls :
Demographic Bidding
On some sites in our network, we can
control how frequently certain age and
gender groups see our ad by simply
adjusting the spending level for the ad.
Language/Geo-Targeting
Pick where in the world our ad will
appear by region, country, postal code,
or language.
Ad Scheduling
Control what time of day our ads appear so
we reach potential customers exactly when
they're online.
Site and Category Exclusion
Tools to prevent our ads from appearing on
specific sites, categories, and pages.
28. DIRECT MAIL SAMPLES ‘09/10 SEASON
This summer/fall, the team at ResortQuest Breckenridge & Keystone has been proactively
marketing winter, incentivizing guests with several promotions including: ‘the longer you
stay the more you save’ discounts; return guest rewards letters which give past guests 5% of
their past stay towards their next stay (in addition to the Best available deal); value-add
promotions for Thanksgiving dinner, ski rentals, and a few new exciting promotions to come!
29. SUMMARY
ResortQuest’s Marketing Focus: The Top 5:
1. The Website
Content: Photos, video, descriptions, maps, local event/activity/restaurant
resource. It’s ongoing. The more… the merrier!
2. Internet Presence
Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Pay per Click
Advertizing (adwords and Google Banner ads), Link building, Referring
Websites, Video
3. Direct Mail (Email and Off-line)
Managing the two effectively
4. Local Market Partnerships and Community Participation
It’s a Team Effort! Events sponsorship and participation, Community group
and committee participation.
5. Yield Management and Effective Selling
Best utilizing above channels of marketing, as well as effective
communication and partnership with wholesalers and travel agents
31. RESULTS OF SEO EFFORTS
WINTER 07/08 v WINTER 08/09
ResortQuestBreckenridge.com
is the strongest lodging website
in Breckenridge, even out-
ranking the Breckenridge
Chamber website, GoBreck.com.
This site is also used to route
business to
ResortQuestKeystone.com.
Total Visitors:
• We have increased unique visitors
by 45% (over 60,000
new visitors)
• We have increased total visitors by
65% (This means that the unique
visitors are returning time and time
again)
32. RESULTS OF SEO EFFORTS
WINTER 07/08 v WINTER 08/09
Search Engine Referrals:
• We increased all visitors from search engines by 60%.
• We increased visitors to search engines via Natural Search by 172%
• Pay-per-click (PPC) visitors increased by 14% (that shows that we did not increase
visits to the website purely by increasing PPC spend!)
• Natural Search visitors previously made up 53% of total Search Engine Referrals and
6% of total visitors. In 08/09, Natural Search visitors made up 65% of total Search
Engine Referrals and 12% of total visitors.
• Our natural search terms are driving more traffic than paid websites, like
Colorado.com and AllSummit.com – which we deem as successful marketing avenues.
It’s great to increase visitors but what does this mean for Revenue?
• We increased bookings made via our website by 76%, and Revenue from these
bookings increased by 36%
• We also increased bookings that come to us by phone via all websites by 47%, and
Revenue from these bookings increased by 32%
34. QUESTPERKS!
This exclusive benefit is available to homeowners who are participating in a
short-term rental program. This also includes their immediate family
(children, parents, brothers and sisters).
The features and guidelines are:
• Owners and their immediate family members will enjoy substantial
discounts at other ResortQuest Partners properties
• The rate for this discounted stay will vary by location.
It will be based on the amount of total net income the owner of this
property would have received from
a standard rental for the same dates
• Should your owner have their property utilized for
a QuestPerk’s discounted stay, they will receive the same rental revenue
they would have received under the terms of your rental contract. There will
be no management fee
• A maximum of one reservation at the QuestPerks discounted rate is
permitted per destination, with
a maximum of one unit per stay. Additional units or
longer stays are available on a “best available rate”
basis (minimum discount of 10%)
• Black-out weeks apply, and vary per destination
35. OWNERNET
Homeowners who participate in ResortQuest
Breckenridge’s vacation rental program are able to
access a password protected area of
www.ResortQuestBreckenridge.com &
www.ResortQuestKeystone.com, known as
OwnerNet. In OwnerNet, homeowners are able to
view statements, see future bookings, view a 12-
month availability calendar, download monthly
statements and more.
36. COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION WEBSITES
ResortQuest Breckenridge provides an option for a dedicated Community Association Website for the
associations we manage, such as www.MainStreetStationHOA.com, www.BlueSkyBreckenridgeHOA.com, and
www.RiverMountainLodgeHOA.com. These homeowner association websites have been specifically created to
bring convenience, accessibility to information and operational efficiency to homeowners associations. These
websites provide you with more convenience and a wealth of online services and opportunities to share ideas
and information; get news and announcements; access an online resource center for important association
documents and forms; and much more when you join your online Community Association Website.
38. About ResortQuest
• Largest Marketer of Managed Vacation Rentals in the
United States
• Professionally manages over 7,500 Vacation Rentals
in 30 premier beach and ski locations
• Handles over 150,000 reservations per year
• Manages over 100 community associations
• Produces over 1 billion dollars in Real Estate
Revenue annually
• Employs over 1000 individuals
39. About ResortQuest
ResortQuest Vacation Rentals & Real Estate Locations
Ski Destinations
Colorado Utah Idaho
Aspen Park City Sun Valley
Breckenridge Deer Valley
Keystone Canyons
Snowmass
Steamboat
Beach Destinations
Alabama Florida South Carolina
Fort Morgan Beaches of South Walton Charleston Islands
Gulf Shores Destin Isle of Palms
Orange Beach Fort Walton Beach Wild Dunes
Navarre Beach Kiawah Island
Delaware Panama City Beach Seabrook Island
Delaware Beaches Perdido Key Myrtle Beach
Hilton Head
40. Power of Partnership
• Strategic Partnerships with:
– Interhome - European Leader in Holiday Home Rentals
– Endless Vacation Rentals - Direct to Consumer U.S.
division of the RCI and Wyndham Hotels and Resorts
• Additional 35 Partners with locations in the U.S.,
Canada, Mexico, The Carribean and Costa Rica
• ResortQuest and its Partners Manage over 100,000
Vacation Rentals in 140 destinations world-wide
41. Recent Growth Accomplishments
• ResortQuest Hilton Head acquires the management of Harbour
Town Resort
• ResortQuest Delaware acquires their largest competitor,
SeaCoast Realty, and expands into Ocean City, Maryland.
• ResortQuest Charleston acquires Dunes Property
Management.
• ResortQuest NWFL opens new Real Estate offices in Destin
Pointe and Niceville and adds new properties in Panama City,
Destin and Okaloosa island to their already extensive portfolio.
• ResortQuest Myrtle Beach and Gulf Shores offices are opened
and become ResortQuest’s newest locations for both Property
Management and Real Estate.
• ResortQuest expands offices and inventory in Park City,
Steamboat and Breckenridge, including a new Park City Ski
Rental business.
• ResortQuest establishes its Partnership Network providing the
largest on-line inventory of professionally managed Vacation
Home Rentals world-wide.
42. ResortQuest.com
• Launched one of the most comprehensive websites in
the Vacation Rental Industry servicing both Real
Estate Sales and Vacation Rentals.
• Interactive site provides real-time, property specific,
on line bookings
• Rated as one of Google’s top clients in the Travel
Industry, ResortQuest invests over $ 2,000,000
annually in Pay-Per-Click advertising.
• ResortQuest.com voted one of the top five
vacation rental websites by Frommer’s Travel
and Leisure and Budget Travel Magazine
• ResortQuest.com’s website traffic averages over
6,000,000 Unique Visitors per year.
43. ResortQuest Association Management
ResortQuest Professionally Manages over 100 Homeowner Associations
Representing 12,000 units and $ 51,000,000 in Annual Assessments
• Financial Management
– Maintain the books and records of the Association
– Prepare monthly financial statements
– Establish and administer the Association bank accounts
– Administer all receivables and payables
– Prepare and recommend annual budget for Board/Owner Approval
– Ensure an annual financial report and audit if required
– Ensure the preparation/submission of annual tax returns
– Assist the Board in ensuring all insurance policies required
by statutes and all condominium documents are obtained
and maintained
– Pursue liens/foreclosures for late assessments via the
Association Attorney
44. ResortQuest Association Management
cont’d
• Facility Management
– Obtain bids/proposals on behalf of the Association
– Hire, supervise and direct maintenance staff
– Oversee contracts for common areas (landscape,
snow removal, etc)
– Advise Board on security issues/solutions
– Supervise and monitor security staff
• Records Management
– Ensure that annual Condominium and Corporate fees
are paid
– Coordinate Board of Directors meetings, notices, agenda
and minutes
– Ensure that all Licenses and Certifications are current
– Coordinate annual and special meetings of the Homeowners Association
– Assist Board in obtaining and maintaining insurance policies
– Assist in adjustment of insurance claims
45. ResortQuest’s Commitment
ResortQuest continues to be
the leader in the Vacation
Rental Industry in North
America, setting the standard
in excellence and future
creative growth.