OCR Text |
Show Park City is losing visitors, says local booking agent by Christopher Smart Park City is beginning to pay the price for not pleasing visitors, according to Mickey Smith of Advance Reservations. The comment com-ment was made during an impromptu impromp-tu speech at the Jan. 10 city council meeting. Smith, who operates one of the largest booking agencies in Park City, said Advance Reservations has seen the Texas skier market fall 55 percent compared with last season. He said bookings to the end of the season by California skiers are down 6 percent and New York visitors are off by 8 percent compared to last . year. California, Texas and New York are Park City's largest markets, Smith said. These groups are the first to. react to problems in Park City. Smith said his agency is heanng, , complaints about, Park, Cityrfrom tourists, and , travel , agents,, ?' We"; listen to that it's our business," he said of the negative input received recently. He added that until this season his agency heard nothing but compliments. "This is the first sign of trouble," Smith admonished the council. , Advance Reservations has begun listing by categories the types of complaints received. They include a lack of parking in Old Town, traffic conditions on Main Street, police attitudes, towing practices and the overall condition of Park City's roadways. Smith said the survey of complaints was not made in a scientific fashion. The agency will begin to take more specific information regarding the complaints, he added. Another issue that has come to light is the practice by many Park City property owners of not returning payment to prospective visitors following timely cancellations. cancella-tions. Smith explained that while the owners may make money on the policy on a short-term basis, it hurts ; the entire community in the long , .run.'"i"1,'''"sAv' ' hi addition, Smith maintains Park City property owners are charging rates that are too high. One reason rents are so high in Park City is because the fee for business licenses here is too high, he said. While Park City rents may be comparable to Colorado resort rents, Smith said property owners here may be pricing the town out of business. Park City condominiums are, on the average, nicer than those at Colorado resorts, he said. However, for the same price, resorts such as Aspen and Vail offer more amenities, like entertainment, than Park City, making them more attractive to visitors. Smith said this is the first season his business has had a down turn in eight years. Advanced Reservations has had significant increases annually, annual-ly, he said. While overall visitor tallies are equivalent to those of last year, more shops, businesses and condominiums exist now. Smith said business at Advance Reservations is an accurate repre- sentation of what is occurring in Park 'City as V -whole." He maintains" that unless the municipality and individual indivi-dual property owners take steps to rectify the current situation here, Park City may not continue to grow. |