It’s no secret short-term rentals allow Colorado residents to earn extra income by sharing their home with travelers. What most people don’t know is the economic benefits of short-term rentals reach beyond homeowners and directly benefit local workers and communities across the state. As a black woman working in Colorado’s tourism industry, I also know first hand how short-term rentals have helped empower diverse communities with economic opportunities. In 2019, I moved to Steamboat Springs and got a job as a Front Desk Manager at a resort. While I loved my job, there were no opportunities to grow within the company without being required to relocate. In 2021, I joined the team at Moving Mountains, a luxury short-term vacation rental property management company, as a Guest Services Specialist. The company operates locally in four popular ski markets: Steamboat Springs, Breckenridge, Vail, and Beaver Creek, Colorado. That winter, I assisted with planning ski vacations for over 250 reservations. This included organizing lift tickets, Snowsport lessons, airport transportation, grocery delivery and pre- stocking, and private chef dinners for our guests, including families, to ensure their experience in Colorado was unlike any other. After six months in the Guest Services Specialist role, and thanks to my prior management experience, I was promoted to Guest Services Manager. Short-term rentals are popular accommodation options for
families and groups when traveling to Colorado and our local teams go above and beyond to offer unique experiences and provide full- service local vacation planning. Once a Moving Mountains lodging reservation is confirmed, the Guest Services team is in place for pre- arrival communication and vacation planning experiences for all markets. What distinguishes us from other property management companies in the tourism and short-term rental industry is providing our guests with best-in-class service prior to and during their stay. Instead of leaving it to the guests to do research on what to do while staying in one of our mountain towns, our full- service Guest Services team is there to help them choose the best local vendors to use during their stay. Short-term rentals create economic opportunity for local Colorado workers of all backgrounds and small businesses, not just homeowners. We take pride in being able to support our communities by hiring local workers and using local businesses as vendors. Most of Moving Mountains’ employees are full-time residents, and the entire Guest Services team is based in Colorado, like me, living in or near the mountain towns our guests visit, so our guests can trust that we provide accurate local information. In Steamboat, our internal housekeeping department is composed of a diverse team of employees, and in Vail, Beaver Creek, and Breckenridge, we outsource the housekeeping department to a locally owned
cleaning company made up of local workers. We proudly employ 82 year- round employees and 43 seasonal employees. Additionally, the vendor partners we recommend are locally owned and operated, and we have partnerships with many small businesses in our mountain towns, including airport transportation companies, local chefs,
28 The Acumen
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