Date: December 7, 2011

Contact: Pettit Gilwee
530-525-1164
Pettit@gilweepr.com


For Immediate Release


CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, BANNER WINTER HAS BOOKINGS UP

(NORTH LAKE TAHOE, California/Nevada) – Seventy feet of snow last winter, along with a multitude of capital improvements underway and planned for the near future, has North Lake Tahoe advance bookings up 35% over the same period in 2010.
North Tahoe’s transient occupancy tax, a bed tax and a key economic indicator for the region, was also up for the fiscal year, July 2010 to June 2011, ending at nearly 15% over fiscal year July 2009 to June 2010.

“It is fairly uncommon to have more than $100 million in capital improvements coming into just one ski region,” said Tourism Director Andy Chapman of the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association. “But with Vail Resorts acquiring Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort and KSL Capital Partners purchasing Squaw Valley, we’re seeing a financial shot in the arm as both resorts are upping their game and enhancing their products. Millions more is soon coming to North Tahoe with proposed redevelopment plans for Homewood Mountain Resort and the historic Crystal Bay casino corridor. This along with the bounce effect is creating excitement and making for strong early season lodging reservations.”

According to Chapman, the “bounce effect” occurs after a phenomenal snow year, when consumers make lodging arrangements early for this winter based on last year’s banner snow conditions. North Lake Tahoe’s booking numbers come from the Mountain Travel Research Program, which provides lodging performance benchmarking to mountain resorts throughout the western U.S.

In addition to Vail Resort’s $30 million, which has already been implemented this season, KSL Capital Partners $50 million, five-year capital revitalization commitments, and $20 million spread across other Lake Tahoe ski resorts and community projects, JMA Ventures, the owners of Homewood Mountain Resort, are one step closer to creating a pedestrian friendly village on the scenic West Shore that would result in significant economic improvements, as well as create another robust, tourist-driven community.

The redevelopment plans include a five-star boutique hotel with up to 75 rooms at the resort’s North Base, as well as a full-service restaurant, spa, fitness facility, meeting space and 15,000-square feet of retail space, in addition to underground parking. The first phase of construction is slated for some time between 2014 and 2017, with the second phase beginning and ending between 2018 and 2020.

On the Nevada side of the North Shore, Boulder Bay is also moving forward on environmental and government approvals for creating a vibrant, cultural village that will transform the existing Tahoe Biltmore casino property in Crystal Bay into an environmentally sustainable, economically viable wellness resort. Updated plans, revised based on community feedback and input, call for a 275-room hotel with a 10,000 square-foot casino, 59 whole-ownership units, 14 on-site affordable housing units, 10 off-site affordable housing units, a spa and other amenities. Start and completion of construction is to be determined.

According to Executive Director Bill Hoffman of the Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau, great strides and improvements at regulatory and planning agencies have made such investments in North Lake Tahoe that much easier. These changes will also make it less complicated for businesses interested in future North Tahoe projects.

The Tahoe Regional Plan, guided by the Regional Plan Committee of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), focuses on promoting environmental redevelopment in key locations as a strategy for more rapid environmental gain and increased economic opportunity. As part of the recent Regional Plan Update, TRPA is overhauling the current Code of Ordinances, scheduled to take effect in 2012, to make the agency’s rules more understandable, increase efficiency and streamline the processes when planning a project.

Community plans are also playing an integral role in making capital improvements a more straightforward process, such as the Placer County Standards & Guidelines for Signage, Parking and Design, along with detailed-oriented community plans for the North Lake Tahoe towns of Tahoe City, California; Carnelian Bay, California; Tahoe Vista, California and Kings Beach, California.
The Lake Tahoe Basin Prosperity Plan (LTBPP) is also a welcome addition for companies investing in North Lake Tahoe. This unprecedented regional collaboration will develop a basin-wide economic prosperity strategy, which currently does not exist. The plan will provide a framework for a competitive regional strategy that recognizes local differences, leverages the distinct attributes of all communities throughout the basin, and enables local governments, institutions, and businesses to work as partners in revitalizing the basin economy.

For more information about North Lake Tahoe, the best deals on lodging, special events, dining and winter activities, click to www.GoTahoeNorth.com.

North Lake Tahoe is a 45-minute drive from the Reno Tahoe International Airport, two hours from Sacramento International Airport and just over three hours from San Francisco International Airport. For lodging reservations, recreation and event details, call North Lake Tahoe at 1-877-949-3296 or visit www.GoTahoeNorth.com. Visitor information centers are located at 380 North Lake Boulevard in Tahoe City and 969 Tahoe Boulevard in Incline Village. The North Lake Tahoe Visitors Bureaus, Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau and the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, work together to promote North Lake Tahoe as a premier, year-round destination.

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