RESORT COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Serving the people and places that matter most.
We guide resort communities and their partners through the complex intersection of economic development, policy, land use, and community interests – so the places people love most can thrive for generations
20+
Years in Resort Markets
4
Core Practice Areas
100%
Resort Focused
1
Firm That Knows Your Market
WHO WE ARE
“We create thriving economies while protecting the unique qualities that make a destination community worth preserving.”
Resort Community Partners is a strategic consulting firm exclusively focused on mountain and resort destinations. We guide political leaders, government agencies, corporations, developers, and values-aligned organizations through the challenges that define resort community life – from workforce housing crises and land use battles to ballot initiatives and media firestorms.
We understand that these communities operate differently from cities and suburbs. The political terrain is unique. The stakeholders – year-round residents, seasonal workers, second-home owners, resort operators, and environmentalists – are often in direct conflict, and the decisions made today will determine whether a community retains its soul or loses it entirely. These are the places we know intimately, the challenges we're built for, and the only work we do.
FOUR PILLARS. ONE MISSION.
RCP’s work is organized around the four fundamental challenges facing resort communities today – policy and advocacy, development and land use, community communications and strategy execution and development. Each practice area is staffed by specialists who have spent their careers working in resort markets.
01 Policy & Advocacy Development
Navigating the localized political landscape of resort communities demands expertise that generic lobbying firms don’t have. We understand the competing interests, the personalities, and the pressure points that determine outcomes.
Government Relations
Economic Development
Advocacy & Issue Campaigns
Public Opinion Research
Coalition Building
A commissioned study without a clear implementation path is just an expensive shelf document. RCP transforms the goals, findings, and recommendations of independent community studies into structured, executable strategies – and stays with you through every phase of execution until results are achieved.
Study Review & Goal Extraction
Implementation Roadmap Development
Stakeholder Alignment & Buy-In
Multi-Phase Project Management
Performance Measurement & Accountability
Progress Reporting & Course Correction
02 Strategy Execution & Implementation
03 Development & Land Use
Every major development project in a resort community is a political event. We structure the partnerships, manage the entitlements, and build the community support that turns complex projects into approved ones.
Land Use & Entitlements
Workforce Housing
Transportation Infrastructure
Public-Private Partnerships
04 Community & Communications
In close-knit resort destinations, how you say something matters as much as what you say. We craft the narratives, manage the media, and build the community relationships that earn lasting credibility.
Community Relations
Media Relations & PR
Message Development
Digital & Paid Media
PILLAR 01
POLICY & ADVOCACY
“Resort communities are not just smaller cities and towns. They are politically and economically unique environments – and they deserve advocates who actually understand them.”
Policy wins in resort destinations aren’t earned by relationships alone. They’re earned by firms that understand the seasonal politics of a ski town, the tension between a legacy ranching family and a resort operator, a restaurant server and a property manager, and the difference between a long-time local and a second-home voter.
RCP brings more than three decades of resort-specific legislative, campaign, and government affairs experience to every engagement – and we use that expertise to build the case, move the audience, and win the issue.
Economic Development
Resort economies are uniquely vulnerable. Seasonal swings, weather dependency, shifting visitor patterns, and national economic headwinds can turn a thriving destination into a struggling one with startling speed. The communities that weather these pressures are not the ones that simply hope for good seasons – they are the ones that have built deliberate, layered economic resiliency strategies designed to perform across the full range of conditions a resort destination will face. RCP works with community leaders, government entities, and private sector partners to develop economic frameworks that reduce volatility, diversify revenue streams, strengthen year-round vitality, and position resort destinations to grow on their own terms – not at the mercy of external variables beyond their control.
Government Relations
Trusted local officials are charged with protecting their constituents’ interests and ensuring the economic success of the destination – all while maintaining the unique cultural vibrancy that locals and visitors alike consider vital. Our approach differs from generic government affairs firms because we understand the essential responsibility of maintaining the emotional quality of a destination, and we know that relationships alone rarely carry the day on controversial issues. Political relationships facilitate communication and provide access – but it is the ability to develop an integrated strategy, craft a compelling message, and communicate it effectively at the right time to the right audience that makes the difference.
Advocacy & Issue Campaign Management
With more than three decades of legislative, campaign, and communications experience within niche resort destinations, we know what it takes to take on the issues that matter and win. Our campaign services are customized to the individual needs of each issue committee through ballot initiative viability assessments, strategic consulting, issue and legislative advocacy planning, media production, campaign management, and communication strategies tailored to the specific destination and target market. We deliver individual services or fully integrated, turnkey campaigns depending on our client’s needs.
Public Opinion Research
The most effective campaigns are grounded in comprehensive data. Our team utilizes targeted polling strategies and focus group research – including survey research, social media panels, in-depth interviews, landscape and policy analysis, and predictive modeling – to develop strategies built for resort community audiences. This is a distinct demographic mix of year-round residents, seasonal workers, second-home owners, and business interests that generic polling firms rarely understand. We deliver actionable findings that directly inform your messaging and strategy.
Coalition Building
Now more than ever, our community members trust the people they know best. Outside validation builds trust. RCP identifies and connects you to the third-party validators who carry real credibility within resort communities – business owners, longtime residents, environmental advocates, employer associations, and civic leaders whose voices matter to the decision-makers you need to reach. We design and guide the creation of coalitions tailored to the specific political terrain of your destination: who the influencers are, what they care about, and how to bring them into alignment with your goals.
PILLAR 02
STRATEGY EXECUTION & IMPLEMENTATION
“Most resort communities don’t have a shortage of good ideas – they have a shortage of people and staff time to execute them.”
Your community identified the issue. You commissioned the study. The goals are set. Now comes the hard part: actually putting the plan into motion and achieving your goals.
RCP builds the roadmaps, aligns the stakeholders, manages the phases, and measures the progress that turns a community’s vision into its reality.
Study Review & Goal Extraction
Before implementation can begin, the goals must be clear, prioritized, and politically viable. RCP conducts a rigorous review of your commissioned study – whether it’s an economic development master plan, a housing needs assessment, a transit feasibility study, or a community visioning report – and extracts a focused, actionable set of goals ranked by feasibility, community support, and impact. We identify which recommendations are ready to move, which require additional groundwork, and which may need to be restructured to survive the political environment they’ll encounter.
Implementation Roadmap Development
A goal without a plan is a wish. RCP develops detailed implementation roadmaps that translate study recommendations into sequenced, time-bound action plans. Each roadmap identifies lead responsibilities, required resources, funding mechanisms, regulatory approvals, community engagement milestones, and decision points. We account for the specific political and community dynamics of your destination – because an implementation plan that ignores the people it has to move through isn’t a plan at all.
Stakeholder Alignment & Buy-In
Even the most technically sound strategy will fail without the right people behind it. RCP maps the stakeholder landscape for each implementation initiative – identifying supporters, skeptics, and the critical voices whose endorsement is required to move forward. We build the coalitions, facilitate the conversations, and craft the narratives that bring key stakeholders into alignment with the goals your community has already committed to through the independent study process. We turn findings into consensus.
Stakeholder Alignment & Buy-In
Even the most technically sound strategy will fail without the right people behind it. RCP maps the stakeholder landscape for each implementation initiative – identifying supporters, skeptics, and the critical voices whose endorsement is required to move forward. We build the coalitions, facilitate the conversations, and craft the narratives that bring key stakeholders into alignment with the goals your community has already committed to through the independent study process. We turn findings into consensus.
Multi-Phase Project Management
Implementation rarely unfolds in a straight line. Funding falls through. Approvals take longer than expected. Community opposition emerges. Political priorities shift. RCP provides ongoing project management across every phase of implementation – coordinating across departments, agencies, consultants, and community partners to keep initiatives on track. We serve as the connective tissue between the vision established in the study and the people and processes required to execute it.
Performance Measurement & Accountability
Progress requires measurement. RCP establishes clear performance metrics and benchmarks tied directly to the goals identified in your community’s study, and we track them rigorously throughout implementation. Regular reporting keeps decision-makers informed, community stakeholders engaged, and the implementation team accountable. When performance data signals that a strategy needs adjustment, we course-correct quickly – before small deviations become costly detours.
Progress Reporting & Community Communication
Implementation only builds lasting community trust when people can see it happening. RCP develops transparent, accessible progress reporting frameworks that communicate milestones, setbacks, and wins to the full range of community stakeholders – from elected officials and business owners to long-term residents and the press. We understand that in resort communities, perceived momentum matters as much as actual progress, and we manage both with equal attention.
PILLAR 03
DEVELOPMENT & LAND USE
“In a resort community, every development project is a political event. Whether it’s a new lift, a workforce housing complex, or a roundabout – someone has an opinion, and that opinion can derail a decade of planning.”
RCP guides clients through the full arc of development in resort destinations – from early-stage entitlement strategy to community education to public financing. We know that successful projects in these markets aren’t just permitted, they’re earned. Our work structures the partnerships, manages the processes, and builds the community support that turns a good project into an approved one.
Land Use & Entitlements
RCP guides clients through complex and potentially controversial development initiatives within resort communities. We focus on structuring public-private partnerships and governmental relations, managing entitlement processes and permitting issues in places that are both environmentally sensitive natural landscapes and emotionally charged, experientially rich neighborhoods. The regulatory and community terrain is distinct – scenic view corridors, avalanche zone considerations, and wildfire mitigation requirements all carry weight here, as does the deep attachment residents and visitors hold for the character of these places. We work to acquire public financing and develop community relations strategies that navigate this terrain with care and bring projects to successful completion.
Transportation Infrastructure
Transportation in resort destinations is never just about moving people – it’s about what kind of community you want to be. RCP brings a track record of guiding resort communities and transportation stakeholders through complex, politically charged mobility projects. We help clients secure public financing, structure intergovernmental agreements, manage multi-stakeholder engagement processes, and build the coalitions necessary to advance projects that improve access while protecting the character of the destination. From free transit systems to valley-wide mobility plans to alternative transit feasibility, we understand the full picture.
Workforce Housing Development
Workforce housing is the defining challenge of thriving resort communities. When the people who teach the children, staff the regional medical facilities, work in our shops and restaurants or operate the lifts can’t afford to live where they work, the entire economic and social fabric of a destination begins to unravel. RCP guides clients – including municipal governments, housing authorities, developers, and resort operators – through structuring public-private partnerships, navigating deed restriction frameworks and AMI targeting strategies, managing entitlement and permitting processes, and building the community consensus necessary to see projects through.
Stakeholder Engagement
Who you know makes all the difference – and in resort communities, the network of influencers is both tightly knit and politically complex. We pinpoint crucial connectors and facilitate introductions, equipping your team with background, strategy, and access to reach decision-makers, community members, and influential third parties. We leverage our expertise in resort community decision-making to build coalitions and organized support structures aligned with your development and advocacy goals.
PILLAR 04
COMMUNITY & COMMUNICATIONS
“In a small mountain town, a poorly worded press release can undo six months of relationship-building. In resort communities, communication isn’t just strategy – it’s survival.”
Resort destinations operate in a high-visibility, high-scrutiny environment where the lines between local news, social media, and word of mouth blur quickly. RCP brings media expertise, community relationships, and message discipline to every engagement.
We craft the narratives, train the spokespeople, manage the press, and – when the moment calls for it – know exactly when to let the community speak for itself.
Community Relations
Whether it’s a land development project, a public works initiative, or a corporate undertaking, public perception in resort communities can make or break your objectives before a single vote is cast. Our success is driven by our ability to work with grassroots organizers and neighborhood leaders – understanding their perspectives and building genuine relationships. We focus on proactive engagement designed to find solutions that achieve our clients’ objectives while honestly addressing the concerns of any opposing parties.
Media Relations & Communications
Resort communities operate in a high-visibility media environment – local papers, regional outlets, and national travel and lifestyle publications all have opinions about what happens here – not to mention local social media pages and meme accounts. Our team includes seasoned media strategists with firsthand experience covering mountain town development controversies and public policy in resort markets. We develop proactive communication strategies that get ahead of the narrative. Our services include press strategy consulting, media pitching and placement, op-ed writing, local influencer development, spokesperson preparation, and on-camera media training.
Message Development & Communications Strategy
We are firm believers in the power of clear communication to win hearts and minds and create long-term change. We excel at helping clients communicate effectively to achieve their goals – developing communications strategy, messaging frameworks, talking points, and data-informed narratives that resonate with resort community audiences. We leverage public opinion research to ensure your message is grounded in what your community actually thinks and cares about.
Digital Content & Paid Media
Resort communities are visually compelling places – and that’s a strategic asset. RCP produces digital content and video that connects your message to the landscapes, people, and culture that make your destination distinct. From community testimonial videos to issue explainers to targeted social media campaigns, we create material designed to move audiences. We employ geotargeting and precision audience tools to ensure your message reaches the right people – whether that’s seasonal residents, business owners, or local voters.
HOW WE WORK
Our Approach
01 Understand the Terrain
Every resort community is different. Before we advise, we listen – to clients, to stakeholders, to the community, and to the data. We map the political landscape, identify the key influencers, and assess the opposition before developing any strategy.
02 Build the Strategy
We develop integrated strategies – not isolated tactics. Government relations, community engagement, media, and messaging are coordinated from the outset so that every move reinforces every other. We establish clear objectives, timelines, and performance benchmarks.
03 Execute with Precision
We believe accountability drives effectiveness. We coordinate, design, and run every component of the campaign – providing regular updates and real-time adjustments based on audience engagement, community sentiment, and emerging developments.
04 Protect What Makes It Special
Throughout every engagement, we hold ourselves to a higher standard: our work must not just achieve client objectives, but contribute to the long-term resiliency and character of the destination. That’s what separates RCP from firms that are simply hired guns – we ensure that our clients are creating a better destination for the future generations that will live and visit long after our work is finished.
Why Resort Communities Need a Different Kind of Firm
Generic consulting firms don’t understand the political terrain of resort destinations. They don’t know the difference between the interests of a second-home owner and a lift operator. They haven’t sat in a county commissioner meeting in a mountain town and felt the room turn.
The issues that define resort communities – workforce housing, traffic, environmental sensitivity, over-tourism, the tension between growth and preservation – require consultants who have spent their careers in these specific environments.
That’s why RCP exists. We don’t dabble in resort markets. They are the only markets that matter to us.
CLIENTS & MARKETS
WHO WE SERVE
Resort Community Partners works with a range of public, private, and nonprofit clients – all with a stake in the economic vitality and long-term resiliency of mountain and resort destinations.
Land Developers
Resort Operators
Housing Authorities
Transportation Agencies
Municipal Governments
Muni Service Providers
Advocacy Organizations
Business Associations
Environmental Groups
Issue Committees
Ballot Initiative Campaigns
Nonprofits
Corporate Stakeholders
LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR COMMUNITY.
Every engagement begins with a conversation. Tell us about your community, your challenge, and your goals – and we’ll tell you honestly whether and how we can help.
RCP works with a limited number of clients at any given time, ensuring that every engagement receives the strategic attention it deserves.