As we sat in the bar near the check-in desk at the Marriott in downtown Salt Lake City, we laughed about how we could easily pick out which guests were in town for the America Outdoors Conference (AO). Tie? Nope. Briefcase? Probably no. Suit? Definitely not. Chaco flip-flops (in December) and sunglasses hanging around their neck? That’s one of us!
There were multiple conferences happening at the same time and lots of people milling around, but the outfitters that show up for AO have a distinct look. These are rafters, kayakers, mountaineering guides, horse packers and outdoor adventure enthusiasts! We’re not the fanciest bunch but we are A LOT of fun.
We spent the week attending seminars and walking the aisles of the vendor trade show in the Salt Palace Convention Center, learning about Google analytics, marketing, new raft technology, great customer service, the hottest trends in merchandise, liability, national issues and much more. From the Grand Canyon Whitewater/Arizona River Runners crew, we had 10 staff members in attendance. It was a lot of fun to learn together and spend some quality time chatting about how we can continuously improve our rafting operation. And since we’re outdoorsy kinda folks, we couldn’t just sit inside all week… we tacked on a few days of skiing in Park City pre-conference! Super fun.
