The-Acumen_April2024

snowmobile tour operators, and dogsledding guides to name a few. When our team connects our guests with local partners, it helps ensure tourism dollars go directly into the pockets of our local residents and workers. What’s more, all of our vendors go above and beyond for our guests. For example, one of the families I was assisting had a local private airport transfer from the Yampa Valley Regional Airport to Steamboat and accidently left their duffle bag at the airport. The driver was already driving back to the airport, so instead of them having the guest figure it out themselves, the driver grabbed the duffle bag when they returned to the airport and delivered it to the guest. This example speaks to one of our core values: “It’s the little things that mean so much.” It may seem small, but these simple things are what make a guest loyal to the company and local communities. Our local partners help us create unique experiences that in turn keep our guests loyal to them. For example, I was recently assisting a family that has stayed with us many times and was having difficulty securing a reservation for their 17-person party at a local Italian restaurant. Using my resources, I contacted a chef who is one of our local partners that owned a portable pizza oven from a past business venture. Together, we were able to create an interactive pizza party for the family at their short-term rental, allowing the kids to make their own personal pizza with the chef. This was a hit with the family who said the experience turned out better than they could have imagined. Not only does this example speak to the fact that we provide our guests with amazing experiences, but it also underscores how the short-term rental industry drives income and loyal customers to our local small businesses. We also offer vacation planning to homeowners so even if they are staying at their home and bringing family with them, we are there to help. Additionally, part of our business is commission based, which means we are incentivized to support our partners as much as possible. The families that stay with us consistently spend thousands of dollars that goes back into our community. We are incredibly proud to support our local economies and help empower the local communities we serve by ensuring they see the

benefits of tourism spending.

While short-term rentals significantly benefit communities across Colorado, there have been recent attempts in the state legislature to strictly regulate and ultimately reduce the number of short-term rentals. These proposals put 8,100 local jobs and $1.3 billion dollars in state revenue at risk while making it significantly more expensive to travel in Colorado. Moving Mountains is passionate about preserving the benefits of short-term rentals for Colorado residents and is a founding member of the Colorado Lodging and Resort Alliance where our Director of Business Development is an active board member. We actively engage and communicate with our homeowners, other local property managers, local commerce associations, and the local vendors that support and directly benefit from the short-term rental industry about new policies that threaten our ecosystem. As a result, we have a broad coalition of organizations and businesses that support fair, balanced regulations at the local level that allow our industry to continue to thrive. Short-term rentals support the diverse communities in our mountain towns and provide workers like myself with economic opportunity to live and raise families here. We are proud to be a part of the short-term rental industry that provides so many economic benefits for Colorado residents and communities that rely on tourism, and encourage our state and local lawmakers to continue expanding economic opportunities for Coloradans.

29 The Acumen

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