Hoteliers know that there are certain unwritten boundaries that we must follow to appropriately address our guests. Departing from the fact that respect is always present, here are some of my personal boundaries:
Never call a guest before 9:00 am or after 8:00 pm,
Address a guest by Mr. and Mrs. Plus their last name,
Exercise the Motto: “The answer is yes, now what is the question,”
Let the guest enjoy at their leisure, and let them contact you if they need you,
I only shake a hand if a hand is extended (to respect people’s private space).
All of these rules are wonderful, and give me a clear (and safe) path to manage a cordial relationship.
The “problem” presents when we have those amazing guests who clearly cannot only be guests. They are kind with us and so generous when it comes to compliment, reward, forgive, that it is difficult to address them as a “guest” because all you want to do is hug them and say: “Thank you for appreciating our jobs”. Sometimes there is so much focus on the guest who is not completely satisfied, that we forget to recognize those who are the complete opposite and give true meaning to the joy of serving others.
I am not quite sure when a guest becomes a friend to me. It’s not after “x” amount of stays at our property, or after an interaction. I guess it is when both, them and I are able to establish a meaningful connection, and we both allow ourselves to be vulnerable and open to another human being.
When a guest becomes a friend, I long for their return. I’m a hugger (and I introduce myself as such) so it is nice to see them with their open arms to receive a warm embrace. We laugh together, we share personal stories or crazy tails about our families, and we even share tears if the situation requires it.
Today it can be perceived as is unprofessional to send handwritten thank you note, a missing you notes, or say to a guest: “Oh, we love you!” I completely disagree. I love all the guests that over the years have become my friends. I celebrate them, and I cherish their return to Vail. I know this sounds like a cliché, but I so hope you come to stay with us as a guest, and leave as our friend…. The world needs more friends.
Magda King
Antlers GM
Picture below shows some of our many, many friends….
Spring of 1972 is when the Antlers Condos broke ground. At this time of the year, 50 years ago, the building was being constructed. In December 1972, the certificate of occupancy was issued. And, then the first condos sold in January of 1973.
Since the day the HOA was formed, the owners have looked ahead to how they can improve the building. And, now five decades later we continue to look ahead to how we can continue to improve the experience for all of our stake holders: owners, staff, guests and the people and organizations that make up our community.
An ad for the first Antlers Condos.
We have much to celebrate and look forward to sharing it with you over the next few months.
Please take time to hop over to our new 50th anniversary website and share in the celebration. We’d love for you to tell us your story. How did you come to be a part of our family? Have you celebrated special occasions with us? Or, made great memories at the Antlers?
Grand opening of the Antlers pool in 1977.
Not only will you have our utmost appreciation for sharing that story. But we are also running a 50th anniversary content. At the end of each month through April 2023 we’ll be randomly awarding a $50 Antlers Visa gift card to one lucky storyteller from that month. All entrants will also be entered in the grand prize drawing April 30, 2023, for the chance to celebrate our 50 years in style with a luxurious 3-night Antlers getaway!
Join the Antlers for Highway Clean Up on April 30, 2022 and get a free night on us!
Whew, what a season! And, it isn’t over yet. But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t time to start preparing for summer. As the season winds down, we start the work to get our property, and also the Vail community ready for summer. This includes a morning of cleaning the highway near our property.
Guest volunteers join Antlers at Vail staff in annual spring highway cleanup set for April 30, 2022 – with a free night’s stay at the Antlers as a thank you.
While we’ve been cleaning up our own adopted stretch of I-70 since 1988, we also join the Community Pride Highway Cleanup arranged through the Eagle River Watershed Council. The past few years we’ve had a handful of guests join us and had a ton of fun, so we’re bringing it back again this year.
Join the Antlers green team again this spring, following the end of ski season and as the spring melt gets underway, to help clear the trash and debris that emerges after a long winter of being buried in layers of snow. This is our community’s way of sprucing up the valley for residents and visitors alike!
We’d like to once again invite you, our guests, to join us for a morning of service and fun. You come help us pick up trash on the highway for a few hours Saturday morning (April 30) and we’ll give you a free night* on either Friday or Saturday night. That’s it … no other catch. If you want to stay an additional night, you could even book one with our 50th anniversary 50% off deal. But if you just stay one night … it’s a freebie! It’s our way of thanking you for staying with us, and for helping us keep our world a little cleaner place.
If you are a skier, join us Saturday morning for highway clean up, stay the night and then hit the slopes on Sunday for closing day on Vail Mountain!
The Antlers – which has incorporated numerous eco-friendly business practices long before the term ‘green’ was coined – was awarded the TripAdvisor GreenLeader and Actively Green statuses, in addition to the Vail Valley Success Awards Green Business of the Year and the Vail Valley Community Impact Award.
Call us at 800-843-8245 to book!
*All guests staying with this promo should meet in the lobby at 8 a.m. to gather, get vests and bags. Then we’ll shuttle the entire group to our assigned section of the highway. We typically wrap up around 10 a.m. While there isn’t an organized BBQ this year, the Antlers will be providing all of our team members with a casual lunch. When you call just let us know the names of your party so we can add them to our highway clean up roster, and get a head count for lunch.
There are some new smiling faces waiting to greet you at the Antlers this summer.
Chris Manning, who welcomed you over the past year as Front Office Manager has made the move over to accounting as the Assistant Controller. He is training with Chris Ratzlaff to eventually take over the Controller position.
Most of you know, but here’s a little about Chris Manning. He originally worked at the Antlers from July 1991 until September 2001. He and his wife, Tessa own and manufacture Tessa Clogs which sell at their factory warehouse, Swedish Clog Cabin in Minturn, Colorado. After leaving the Antlers at Vail in 2001, he continued to work in Lionshead at their retail location for over 20 years. He joined us summer 2020 with a year-long commitment to run the front desk.
Chris then led the efforts to hire our new Front Office Manager, Chad Stephens. We hope that you will join us in extending a warm welcome to Chad.
“Chad is a wonderful addition to the Antlers Team! His gentle demeanor plus his experience in the hospitality world and his incredible business acumen, makes him the perfect match for our property. You will truly enjoy working with Chad,” says General Manager, Magda King.
Chad hails from Hendersonville, North Carolina. He finds similarities in the two areas that make him feel at home here. Both Vail and Hendersonville are small towns set in beautiful mountain resort communities.
Chad loves hiking, skiing, camping, music and concerts. He also has an affinity for southern food and Broadway.
After a brief stop in Atlanta, Chad came to Vail in 2009 and has made this his home. His background is in hospitality. After a brief break, he is glad to be back and looks forward to welcoming you back to your home away from home.
In addition, Rich Bell, who started at the Antlers as a shuttle drive and more recently has worked at a front desk agent has been promoted to Front Desk Supervisor Auditor.
We hope that you will join us in congratulating and welcoming Chris, Chad and Rich to their new roles here at the Antlers.
Colorado mountain communities have been known for several years now as having high rates of suicide. More recently Colorado was been declared a “Mental Health State of Emergency” by the Colorado Children’s Hospital due to the amount of suicide attempts in our communities.
Fortunately, just prior to the Pandemic, Eagle County had begun efforts to destigmatize mental health issues, and provide access to mental health resources.
Earlier this week local non-profit SpeakUp ReachOut offered a program called Mental Health First Aid For Hospitality Workers. Two sessions were offered. One in English and one in Spanish.
Mental Health First Aid is a skills-based training course that teaches participants about mental health and substance-use issues.
Just as CPR helps you assist an individual having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid helps you assist someone experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis. In the Mental Health First Aid course, you learn risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, strategies for how to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations, and where to turn for help.
Many of the Antlers at Vail housekeeping team attended to learn how they can help their family, community and even visitors.
Dog-lovers have something new to celebrate: the return of high-flying canine sport and entertainment as the Go RVing DockDogs Arena will return to Lionshead Village for the 2021 GoPro Mountain Games.
Dock Dogs competition at the GoPro Mountain Games returns to Lionshead Village. The Antlers is happy to once again offer pet-friendly rooms for participants and spectators.
“We were crossing our fingers that we would get the ‘all-clear’ to bring dogs back to Lionshead, and thanks to great partnerships from Vail Resorts, the Town of Vail, and everyone involved, we were able to do so,” said Sarah Franke, Vice President of Operations and Marketing for the Vail Valley Foundation, which hosts the GoPro Mountain Games June 10-13 in Vail Village and Lionshead this year.
“We are thrilled to be returning to Lionshead. It is the
perfect venue for our dog-friendly events and has become an integral part of
the Mountain Games,” Franke said.
This year’s events feature the Orijen DockDogs National
Championships. But that’s not all: Along with Orijen DockDogs Big Air, Orijen
Dockdogs Extreme Vertical, Orijen DockDogs Speed Retrieve, and Dueling Dogs,
the Go RVing DockDogs Arena will also feature the K9 SuperWall.
The K9 SuperWall was a big hit in its inaugural year in
2019. The K9 SuperWall challenges athletic dogs to jump as high up a wall as
they can… like a high jump for our canine friends.
Public concessions will be available in Lionshead 11 a.m. –
6 p.m. Thursday, June 10 – Saturday June 12, as well as Sunday, June 13, 11
a.m. – 4 p.m. Live music from local artists will take place in Lionshead Pedestrian
Mall, as part of the GoPro Mountains of Music, at select times throughout the
GoPro Mountain Games.
All of the above is just one portion of the action at the
2021 GoPro Mountain Games. Learn more about activities in Lionshead as well as
Vail Village and the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater at mountaingames.com.
Vail Resorts announced today plans for summer
operations at its Colorado resorts. Vail and Beaver Creek mountains
will open for the summer on June 19. Following a reduced operating footprint
last summer, guests can look forward to more activities on tap at the resorts
for the upcoming summer season.
Health and safety continues to be a top priority. The resorts will be operating according to local public health orders and will be following their guidance as it relates to face coverings throughout the summer season. Eagle County, where Vail is located, has set a target of May 27 to expire all local public health orders and rescind the local emergency declaration.
Grab a tube, hop a lift, get a rush on one of the two summer tubing hills. Photo courtesy Vail Resorts/ Andrew Taylor.
Vail: June 19 –
Oct. 3
Open daily through Sept. 6, then Fridays to Sundays weekly through Oct. 3
Activities will include Gondola One and Eagle Bahn Gondola (#19) for scenic rides, hiking and bike haul, as well as Epic Discovery summer operations including the Forest Flyer Mountain Coaster, Eagle’s Nest Tubing and Gore Creek Mini Golf
Saor down Vail’s Forest flyer alpine coaster starting June 8, 2018. photo: Andrew Taylor/ Vail Resorts
Epic Pass Lineup & Price Reset
Vail Resorts recently announced a bold price reset of
Epic Pass products to continue to deliver on our commitment of Epic for
Everyone and to honor the loyalty of our pass holders. Epic Pass
prices have been reduced by 20 percent across the board, and are now available
to purchase at EpicPass.com for the 2021/22 winter season. The price reduction
applies to the entire portfolio of the company’s North American pass
lineup. The Epic Local Pass is now available for $583 (down
from $729 last season) and the full Epic Pass is priced
at $783 (down from $979 last season). This reset takes these products
back to prices last seen during the 2015/16 season when the Epic Pass offered
access to only 11 U.S. resorts compared to today’s more than 70 resorts
worldwide. With the price reduction, the Epic Day Pass, which provides the
same season pass value to guests who want to ski or ride just 1-7 days, gives
guests the chance to visit world-class resorts like Vail for just $87 for
a 1-day pass.
2021/22 Epic Local Pass and full Epic Pass holders
receive free summer lift access and other benefits.
Eagle County Vaccine Status and Health Orders
As of April 27, Eagle County was the third highest county
in Colorado for vaccine adoption by population. 69% of the eligible county
population has had at least one vaccine dose. 87% of the county population over
age 50 has been vaccinated. The county goal is to have 60% of the total county
population vaccinated by Memorial Day to see some level of herd immunity to
provide some community protection for those who aren’t eligible for the vaccine
(under age 16) or can’t get it for some reason. This is key to meeting the goal
of expiring health orders on May 17.
“All of us are really excited to get back to normal
very soon. The answer is vaccines,” said Eagle County Emergency Management
Director, Birch Barron
Things will still look a little different than
pre-pandemic normalcy. Private businesses will still have the ability to
require face coverings. Organizations, such as the airports and transit, that
receive federal funding may still require face coverings.
It is very exciting to look forward to a summer in Vail
that looks a little more like pre-pandemic summers, with the town and mountain
buzzing with activity and fun.
Once upon a time the town of Vail,
Colorado was known for an epic line up of consistent annual events that drew
large crowds to this charming Bavarian mountain town. Then exactly a year ago
the first case of COVID was discovered in Colorado. A few short days later ski
resorts shut down. We were all left wondering what the world would look like in
the coming weeks and months. While we still don’t know exactly what lies ahead
over the next few months, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. With
vaccination efforts well underway and continued social distancing in place,
case counts and hospitalizations have declined. Our community is headed in the
right direction.
The Vail Valley Foundation’s announcement this morning that GoPro Mountain Games will return June 10-13, 2021 brought an unexpected burst of joy to this resident’s heart. That the outdoor adventure sports competition will again feature whitewater sports, mountain biking, road biking, fishing, trail running, DockDogs, disc golf, yoga, a photo competition, three nights of GoPro Mountains of Music (livestreamed and limited in-person capacity) made the hope that I have been feeling about the future a bit brighter.
DockDogs competition at the GoPro Mountain Games. The Antlers is happy to once again offer pet-friendly rooms for participants and spectators.
“We are BACK, and we
could not be more excited to bring some joy, vitality and positivity into
people’s lives in the fresh air and sunshine of this beautiful mountain
setting,” said GoPro Mountain Games Event Director Dave Dressman.
This announcement
really does just that — bring joy, vitality and positivity to our community.
While spectator participation and activities
are expected to be curtailed, and in some cases eliminated, due to ongoing
public health restrictions, this announcement still signifies a return of some
of the things we love so much about our home in the mountains of Colorado.
Dressman continues, “It takes months of planning and many, many key partners to make this event happen. The support we have received from our sponsors, the Town of Vail and Vail Resorts is remarkable, and it speaks to the power of the Mountain Games brand. We have looked at this from every angle and we feel confident we have a strong baseline plan to execute a safe, high-level, athlete-focused GoPro Mountain Games this June.”
Antlers General Manager says, “We understand that it “takes a Valley” to make such a wonderful event happen, and we cannot be happier and proud of the Town of Vail and the Eagle County for moving forward with this event. The Antlers at Vail is once again ready to support our community by providing discounted lodging rates for anyone who wants to enjoy the celebration of outdoor sports at the GoPro Mountain Games. We do this while taking our mission of keeping everyone healthy by following the Eagle County “5 commitments of Covid-19 Containment.”
Vail Valley Foundation organizers said they are going to take
all the energy and excitement of the GoPro Mountain Games and concentrate it on
core components of the event to ensure that both “pro and joe” athletes can get
back to the water, trails, and competition after nearly a year of limited
adventure sports competition opportunities.
The event will also include three nights of GoPro Mountains of
Music headliner concerts (in-person and livestreamed) from the Gerald R. Ford
Amphitheater, and a daily ‘SportsCenter-style’ live broadcast produced by
Outside TV, which will open the livestream concert each evening. Athlete
registration is expected to open April 9, 2021.
GoPro Mountain Games will kick off a new and improved season of
2021 summer events in Vail. This summer may look like a mesh of typical summers
peppered with some of the adaptations we saw in summer of 2020. Last summer saw
the introduction of a small stage at Ford Park, as well as small pop up
performances throughout the villages. Those are likely to return and be
incorporated into the schedule as large events return.
Based on funding the Vail Commission on Special Events has
agreed upon you can expect a return in some possibly modified format of the
Vail Farmers Market and Art Show, Bravo! Vail, Vail America Days, Vail Jazz
Festival, Vail Oktoberfest and live music at the Gerald R Ford Amphitheater.
“The Commission on Special events is very pleased that many of the “iconic” summer events are well into planning for a return in 2021 and have received funding from the Town of Vail. There will be something for everyone to enjoy, as Vail welcomes back events such as the Vail Lacrosse Tournament, The King of The Mountain Volleyball Tournament, Vail Arts Festival, the Kids Adventure Games, Vail Craft Beer Classic, and Gourmet on Gore (just to name a few),” said Antlers Assistant General Manager and Commission of Special Events member Kim Newbury Rediker. “Our fresh air and wide open spaces are perfectly suited for hosting these outdoor events in a safe, yet fun, way.”
Chef Barry Robinson’s Delicious Thanksgiving Feast
Enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner this year at the Antlers, catered by Chef Barry Robinson.
This Thanksgiving, leave the cooking to us! Enjoy Chef Barry Robinson’s delicious thanksgiving feast. Ideal for those who’d rather spend Thanksgiving in Vail on the slopes rather than in the kitchen. Chef Barry’s classic Thanksgiving feast lets guests enjoy the excitement of a Vail ski vacation, while still relishing the comforts of a home-cooked meal. Add Chef Barry’s Thanksgiving Dinner to your lodging reservation by November 21, 2020. We will deliver it to your condo in recyclable, oven-proof containers in time for Thanksgiving Dinner on November 26, 2020.
Enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner this year at the Antlers, catered by Chef Barry Robinson.
Vail Chef Barry Robinson will prepare Thanksgiving dishes he’s cooked for his own family for years. Dishes include roasted turkey and slow-cooked giblet gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans with toasted almonds, caramelized butternut squash, savory stuffing, tart cranberry sauce and mixed greens with herb dressing. And dinner wouldn’t be complete without the Chef’s classic pumpkin pie. Chef will deliver the meal to your condo in ovenproof, recyclable containers for heating and serving at your convenience on Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving dinner is $45 per person (plus 8.4% tax)
Home-Away-From-Home Antlers at Vail Thanksgiving
Relax in the Antlers platinum-rated Condo Suites.
With our friendly staff and comfortable condominiums, we strive to provide a “home away from home” experience for our guests. Antlers condos are comfortable for families, groups of friends and even pets. All Antlers’ suites feature a fully equipped kitchen making leftovers easy to reheat. A spacious dining and living area, cozy bedrooms and gas fireplaces make relaxing easy. Book your Thanksgiving lodging reservation with us today. Enjoy Vail, a delicious thanksgiving meal, and all the comforts of home at the Antlers.
Simply add dinner to your reservation when you book your Antlers lodging, or call 970.476.2471 to add it on to an existing reservation.
