I’ve written about a few semi-major resort marketing events and situations and I think it may be time to update the situation on each as a few bits of news have surfaced.

SUNSHINE VILLAGE
Original Post – Feb 24, 2011
Sunshine Village: When Social Media Goes Horribly Wrong
Update
Cue theme music to the documentary that I sure will be made soon about social media’s power to fuel revolutions. Sunshine Village continues to feel the effects of the social response to their firing/hiring situation that has generated so much controversy. This time, according to this post, TGR was issued a cease and desist order to remove all forum threads containing discussion on the matter because it was getting that big and that out of hand. Meanwhile, the Support Ski Patrol wronged by Sunshine Village Ski Resort Facebook page has passed 8,300 fans. The Sunshine Village Facebook page is back with 2,500 fans.

SQUAW VALLEY
Original Post – Mar 10, 2011
Is Bad Resort Publicity Ever Good Resort Marketing?
Update
Squaw took some flack for their decision to close Silverton midweek and their Facebook fans let them have it. Some even formed a sort of union called Squaw Passholders United (SPU). Their Facebook page has just under 400 fans now and is calling on Squaw to make some changes and return things to how they used to be. A great article by Melissa Siig at Moonshine Ink tells the story of how 25 of these guys got together and formally organized themselves. Whether they wield any power is yet to be seen: they think so while Squaw management isn’t convinced.

SUN VALLEY
Original Post – Feb 11, 2011
Sun Valley Alliance Strategic Marketing Plan
Update
Sun Valley wasn’t pleased with the way their part of the map was being visited by tourists and skiers alike so they’re taking some major marketing steps, and tax payer money, to turn that around. They recently updated the public on their progress, touting gains and revenues already generated by their efforts. Problem is, no one seems to know exactly what their efforts are and how they are measuring the results. The comments on that article are heated, but make some very good points. This is one I’ve been very interested by and will continue to follow to see if they can right the ship and boost their local economy along the way.

I guess the moral of the story today is if your resort name includes the word “Valley” or references the celestial sphere that lights our planet…you’ve probably got something to blog about.

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.