Focus on service helps Steamboat Springs get through tough economic times 

Steamboat introduces “Spurs on Service” and the timing couldn’t be better  

You can’t run and you can’t hide, but you can prepare. The year we face on a national level is uncertain,  but Steamboat Springs is optimistic. The tourism industry is not immune from economic turbulence or the  fact that people are suffering financial woes not faced in decades. But as they say, timing is everything. 

 Steamboat Springs is known internationally for its genuine Western hospitality and when times get tough our resilience is as strong as an old cowboy’s chaps. Spurs on Service, the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association’s revamped hospitality program proves that the best thing you can do in tough economic times is focus on what you do best. Steamboat’s advantage is its famous friendliness and 

reminders, education and awareness about this message never hurt. Spurs on Service is an effort to get back to the basics.  

Working with local businesses to enable them to empower their staff, Spurs on Service gets employees to think about why they live in Steamboat Springs, how winter and summer visitors contribute to the lifestyle we enjoy and embrace the fact that one person really can make a difference. From face-to-face workshops on Steamboat-style service training to secret shopper evaluations, this program is about going 

the extra mile. 

 “In this community, we hang our hats on our special brand of friendliness and the service we provide speaks volumes about our values and professionalism,” notes Sandy Evans-Hall, Executive Vice President of the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association. “Now is the time to turn up the volume on basic courtesies and hone in on what make us special.” 

 Guests want to know that their hard earned money is being spent in a friendly place that values and appreciates their business. “We understand that our guests have taken the time out of their busy and hectic life to spend their vacation and their money with us,” added Hall. To that degree these efforts couldn’t come at a better time. 

 “Genuine Western hospitality isn’t just our brand; it is something that we live up to every day,” says Lynna Broyles, Marketing Director of the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association. “We continue to treat our visitors as if they were guests in our own home, not strangers passing through town.”  

 Great customer service heightens brand loyalty, improves the experience and encourages us to stay true to our gracious, welcoming roots. We need to live up to the reputation that this town has established. It’s about pride and ownership. 

 Call it The Power of One, the Mayberry Effect or even just good old-fashioned manners. By simply saying hello, smiling, holding a door open and even just talking to someone on a chairlift, a town’s efforts go a long way in making a positive difference in someone’s vacation and memory of Steamboasuccess is 90 percent preparation, then with Spurs on Service this community will be ready.