This is an example of what Park City Lodging, Inc.’s mobile application’s home screen will look like on an iPhone once launched.

We’re excited to announce the development of our new guest services mobile application. The application will serve as a mobile concierge for Park City Lodging, Inc. guests, providing them with information about Park City including maps and news updates about events happening in town during guests’ stays.

According to a study done by Prosper Mobile Insights, nearly 79 percent of smartphone users use their smartphone or tablet on vacation. The app was a natural choice for us as we continue to strive to be on the cutting edge of hospitality technology. In recent years, travel bookings have become more last minute, and staying on top of emerging tech and travel trends also allows us to be more flexible for people booking last-minute and closer to their stay.

We know that mobile technology is an important part of our guests’ lives, and we adopted the mobile application because it puts us on the cutting edge.

When visitors to Park City stay with us, they’ll be prompted to download the application upon reservation confirmation. The app will provide the guest with check-in information and details about their property such as directions to the rental and passwords for WiFi networks, among other things.

We know that not all of our clients have adopted new technology, and embracing change doesn’t mean we’ll forgo personal communication, especially for guests who do not use smartphones.

We see the development of this application as not only beneficial for our company and our guests, but as a resource for other businesses and residents in park City as well. The app will include a list of businesses like restaurants, spas, ski shops, adventure companies and other points of interest in Park City. Accompanying this list will be contact information and directions from where the user is located in relation to the Park City business they wish to visit, allowing guests to have relevant information at their fingertips. The benefit for Park City residents is that even those who aren’t staying with Park City Lodging, Inc. will have free access to the app so they’ll be able to use some of those features as well.

We’re excited about the opportunity this will afford to not only our guests, but also the residents of and businesses in Park City.

For more information please contact Colette Maddock, Marketing and Social Media Coordinator, by emailing cmaddock@parkcitylodging.com.

Each year tens of thousands of people flock to Park City for the Kimball Arts Festival–a three day gathering of artists and art-lovers alike. The festival runs the length of Main Street in Old Town, Park City, which serves as a temporary home to the work of more than 200 artists from around the country. Ten dollars gets you a weekend-long pass, and you can feel good about spending your money to roam the booths because every dollar goes towards supporting the free year-round education, exhibitions and events at the Kimball Art Center.

This year marked the festival’s 43rd birthday, and nearly 60,000 people came out to celebrate August 3-5. Friday night is historically “locals night,” which means that if you have a Park City address, you get in for free from 5-9 p.m. Friday is a great time to scope out the booths while avoiding larger weekend crowds. We spent a few hours scanning the artwork and then headed to Oishi for some post-fest sushi.

Saturday and Sunday is when things really start to heat up. Temperatures last weekend reached 90 degrees, and people came out of the woodwork to view and purchase art from 12 different categories: ceramics, drawing, fiber, glass, jewelry, metalwork, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture and wood. Each artists had something unique to bring to the table, and we spent hours looking at their work.

Here are some of the highlights from some of our favorite vendors:

Brad Henry Pottery, out of Truckee, California, showcased his beautiful ceramics work on lower Main St. We bought a mug and olive oil dispenser, and were envious of a woman whom we eyed purchasing his last beautiful bird feeder.

“Trying on Chicken II” batik artwork by Lisa Telling-Kattenbraker

Lisa-Telling Kattenbraker was easily our all-around favorite artists, and we’re not the only ones: she won Best in Show in hte “fiber” category in 2011. Lisa is from Olympia, Washington, and creates art through the medium of batik. (You can find out more information about this process on her website, it’s very interesting.) One of the things we like the most about her work is the clever titles and sayings she pairs with each piece.

Another one of our favorites was Richard Curtner‘s mixed media work. He creates pictures by putting together magazine clippings, and the words in each of the clippings match the mood of the photo. Richard won Best in Show in the “mixed media” category this year. You can find a list of the other 2012 winners here.

In addition to all of the wonderful artwork we experienced, there was also live music all three days and restaurant specials going on for “Taste of Fest” on Main Street. The festival was definitely a highlight of the summer in Park City, and just another reason to visit our beautiful town before snowfall!

By: Colette Maddock, Marketing and Social Media Coordinator

An Uncle Sam lookalike rides his motorcycle down Park Ave. during the 4th of July parade.

The 4th of July is a grand celebration in Park City, and this year was no exception. While dry conditions and fires burning throughout the state caused Park City officials to ban firework shows at both Canyons Resort on July 3 and Park City Mountain Resort on July 4, there was still plenty of celebrating to be had. Tuesday, Canyons Resort hosted family activities like face painting and games and The Soulistics performed at the resort that evening as scheduled.

Festivities started at 7 a.m. on Wednesday with an Independence Day pancake breakfast in City Park. At 8 a.m. Cole Sport hosted a 5k fun run, and Rugby games went on throughout the day. It was a beautiful day for a parade on Main St. and Park Ave, and parade-goers started staking out spots around as early as 8 a.m. Three hours later, more than 70 floats rolled and groups of performers marched and danced down the street.

After the parade spectators headed over to City Park for live entertainment from some of our favorite local performers: Motherload Canyon Band, Austin Wolfe/Mere Image, The Codi Jordan Band and Sin City Soul rocked out all afternoon.

Park City is definitely the place to be, fireworks or not, for Independence Day. If you weren’t able to make it out this year there’s always time to start planning for next summer’s getaway to the mountains! Be sure to check out the rest of our pictures from the 4th of July on our Facebook page.

The National Ability Center’s float in the Park City 4th of July parade.

By: Colette Maddock, Marketing and Social Media Coordinator

Saturday marked the 5th annual Savor the Summit event presented by the Park City Area Restaurant Association. Each year area restaurants set up shop on Main Street, create one long table, and serve special menus to those with reservations at their restaurant. This year 2,103 food enthusiasts enjoyed dinner at Park City’s “largest dinner party.” Menus vary from restaurant to restaurant and range from $40 to $150.

Reservations filled up quickly, but those who weren’t able to snag a seat at their restaurant of choice could still enjoy the evening. Music started at 4:00 p.m. in the Spirit Garden, set up at the intersection of Main Street and Heber Avenue. Dan Welden Duo, Silver Spoon, and the Pimps of Joytime all played on the main stage, and many restaurants provided their own musical entertainment.

Each table was adorned with unique decorations.

Half the fun of the night was walking around and looking at all of the creative tables. The decorations that stole my heart belonged to Talisker on Main, Wahso and Cuisine Unlimited.

Next year, Savor the Summit will be held on June 22, 2013. For more photos from the evening visit us on Pinterest or Facebook.

A Native American flute players serenades diners at Cuisine Unlimited.

By: Colette Maddock, Marketing and Social Media Coordinator

Park City locals gathered together Wednesday May 9, 2012, to view “Strength in Numbers,” a mountain biking film presented by Anthill Films and to recognize local Park City community members and organizations for their help and support in making Park City the first and only International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) Gold Level Ride Center® in the world.

Rhonda Sideris, Park City Lodging, Inc. President, received a custom engraved Gold Level Ride Center® Plaque for her continued support and involvement with the mountain biking community.

“It is such an honor to be recognized by my peers and the community for the efforts put forth to make Park City a premier mountain biking destination that myself and many others have supported over the years,” said Sideris. “A special thanks to my staff at Park City Lodging, Inc. Without them helping me implement the vision, it wouldn’t have happened.”

Back in the late 1980s, Park City considered banning skateboarding and biking on Main Street and consisted of only 14 miles of damaged trails. Then in the 90s, people began to open their land for recreational use and volunteers began building the trails.

Today, Park City boasts over 350 miles of trails, ranging in elevation from roughly 7,000 ft. to 10,000 ft. with a variety of terrain for any ability level or any style of riding. Each Park City Resort – Deer Valley, Park City Mountain and Canyons – offers lift-served mountain biking options as well.

Due to continued dedication and support over the last 10 years, IMBA designated Park City as the first and only Gold Ride Center® in Nov. 2011, making it the model for all IMBA Ride Center Programs. According to IMBA’s website, The Ride Center® designation represents IMBA’s Model Trail recognition for large-scale mountain bike facilities that offer something for every rider. The IMBA staff selects candidates for Ride Centers recognition on an invitation-only basis, and Park City received a score of 98 points out of 100 over a two-year process.

In April 2012, Park City Lodging, Inc. became a Corporate Member and an official Destination Partner of IMBA, which is a non-profit educational association whose mission is to create, enhance and preserve great mountain biking experiences. As an IMBA member, Park City Lodging, Inc. joined a community of over 80,000 mountain biking enthusiasts.

“It has been a long journey and I have enjoyed watching Park City transform over the last 20 years, said Sideris. “I am excited to see where our new Gold Level Ride status will take us in the future.”

Other organizations and individuals who were recognized for their support at the event included: Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort, John O’Connell from The Colony, Canyons, Park City Municipal Corporation, Summit County, Park City Chamber Bureau, Snyderville Basin, White Pine Touring, Cole Sport, Jans, Summit Land Conservancy, Jan Wilking, Utah Open Land, members of Park City’s Mountain Trails Foundation, among several others.

Click here to view a video from the event!