General Sessions
The theme for 2024’s forum was Beyond the Summit.
CHECK OUT THE 2024 FORUM PROGRAM BELOW.
Wednesday, April 17
8:30am - 10:15am GENERAL sESSION
WELCOME TO MTS
Catherine Brask, Director of Marketing and Content, MTS
Welcome to Palisades Tahoe
Tom Feiten, SVP of Business Development, Palisades Tahoe
Fireside Chat with Alterra Mountain Company CEO, Jared Smith
Smith joined Alterra in 2021 as President, ending a 15-year tenure at Live Nation Entertainment where he served as President and Global Chairman of Ticketmaster. In 2022 he was named CEO. His predecessor, Rusty Gregory, was quoted saying Smith has the “drive required to turn our ambitious vision for the future into action”. In this interview you’ll hear about Alterra’s vision for the future and the plans in place to bring that vision to fruition.
Jason Blevins, Co-Founder/Reporter, The Colorado Sun
Jared Smith, CEO, Alterra Mountain Company
The Season in Review: Key Metrics and Measures
The teams at Inntopia, Phocuswright, and STR have been sifting through the data all season to discover what’s trending in travel. Hear from each company about the state of their specific sector—global travel, lodging, and mountain travel. Then, we’ll sit down with OntheSnow and bring it all together to get a better understanding of the big picture and what it means for the journey ahead.
Pete Comeau, Managing Director, Phocuswright
Chad Dyer, Owner and Global Managing Director, Mountain News, publishers of OnTheSnow & Skiinfo
Tom Foley, SVP, Business Intelligence, Inntopia
Chris Klauda, CHIA, Senior Director, Product Analytics & Insights – STR
10:15am - 10:35am Break
10:35am - 12:30pm General Session
CX: The Customer Experience
A vacation is hopefully filled with many moments of joy and minimal moments of frustration. Organizations focused on CX design their products, processes and procedures to put the customer first, managing their journey and serving their needs. This session will discuss how to analyze and improve CX to minimize points of frustration and orchestrate more moments of joy, turning travelers into repeat customers.
Vanessa Eller, Regional Manager, North America West, Booking.com
Justin Heckman, CTA, National Director of Sales Strategy – USA, Club Med
Dan Sherman, CMO, Ski.com
Colleen Weiss, CEO/President, East West Hospitality
GenAI for the Ski Industry: 5 Mistakes to Avoid
Ross Borden, CEO of leading global travel and outdoor publisher Matador Network and creator of GuideGeek AI, will break down learnings from building the #1 AI in travel and what mistakes can be avoided from DMOs, resorts and consumer brands launching an AI strategy in 2024.
Ross Borden, CEO, Matador Network
Charting Strategic Success: Harnessing Data to Conquer New Peaks
Plans are useless if you create them once and execute them accordingly. True strategic planning happens as a continuous effort. Destination leaders who use real-time intelligence to optimize their plans are the visionaries seeing beyond the summit. Discover how Lake Tahoe and Visit Durango apply data-led decision-making to conquer new peaks and create a successful tourism economy.
Nicole Brownell, Chief Experience Officer, Zartico
Stuart Maas, Senior Director of Marketing & Business Development, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority
John Ragozzino, Marketing and Sales Director, Visit Durango
MTS Summit Award, sponsored by United
Corporations—big and small—have a responsibility to their customers, local communities, and society at large to make a difference in the world we live in. The Summit Award celebrates action by recognizing organizations, programs, projects and individuals that go beyond rhetoric and truly make an impact. MTS and United will announce the 2024 Summit Award and the recipient will share details on how they’ve changed the way they do business to benefit the greater good.
Brian Roth, Director - Regional Sales, United
12:30pm - 2:00pm Lunch on own
2:00pm - 4:45pm Workshops
Thursday, April 18
8:30am - 11:00am General Session
Destination Stewardship: As Told by Lake Tahoe
The recently released Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Plan was two years in the making. The plan—a shared vision to address critical challenges and improve the Tahoe experience for all—was devised through a comprehensive, collaborative approach. It was shaped by extensive public engagement, research tools and approaches, and a thorough analysis of how Tahoe’s famed tourism and outdoor recreation experience impacts the region. This session will discuss the plan’s creation, key components and path to execution.
Tony Karwowski, President & CEO, North Tahoe Community Alliance
Devin Middlebrook, Government Affairs Manager, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
The Accessible Mountain Vacation
Roughly 1.3 billion people in the world have a disability of some sort—80% of which are invisible. This population regularly struggles with travel. What if our mountain destinations—and the resorts, accommodations and activities within them—were more accessible? This session will explore how we can work together to make mountain destinations safe and enjoyable for families with autistic children, wheelchair users, the deaf community and everyone in between.
Marina Gardiner, Guest Services Director, Achieve Tahoe
Tara Hetz, Author, Lake Tahoe Destination Stewardship Plan and Grant Framework Manager, North Tahoe Community Alliance
Dr. Ian Bolliger, Principal Quantitative Engineer, Reask
Andy Chapman, President/CEO, Travel North Tahoe Nevada
OnTheSnow’s Visitors’ Choice Awards
OnTheSnow.com’s Visitors’ Choice Awards are an annual list of favorite ski resorts as ranked by user ratings and feedback from the platform’s nine million unique North American visitors. The winner for the ’23-’24 season will be announced live at MTS.
Closing Keynote: The business of Sustainability
Amie is more than just a professional skier; she's a dynamic force as a producer and host who has turned her passion for skiing and adventure into a thriving career. And her passion doesn’t stop there. Amie is passionate about protecting our planet. This is made evident by her lobbying efforts that she carries out as member of the Protect Our Winters (POW) Athlete Alliance. In this session, Amie; Dr. Ian Bolliger, a climate scientist; and Darcie Renn, Vice President of Sustainability for Alterra Mountain Company, will sit down and discuss the business of sustainability.
Amie Engerbretson, Speaker/Athlete
Darcie Renn, Vice President, Sustainability, Alterra Mountain Company