Lauren Glendenning, lglendenning@vailtrail.com
April 16, 2008

In a valley where businesses thrive because of out-of-towners who spend so much, having a Web site seems like a natural strategy to reach out to those travelers before they arrive.

But not every business owner in town agrees. There are plenty of businesses without Web sites, and some that are just now building one.

For people who are planning trips to the valley, the Internet is their tool, says Nevada Lee, marketing director for Vail Pro Media, a company that builds and designs Web sites. You want your business to be something they stumble across online, he says.

“There are well over a million people a year who are online searching for where they’re going to stay and for things to do while they’re here,” he says. “If you don’t have a solid Internet presence, you’re not capturing that huge market and stirring their interests.”

From a site as simple as one main page that displays an address, phone number and description of the business, to elaborate sites with flash players, businesses benefit from having at least something online, Lee says.

Catching up to the times
Kathy Peplinski, owner of P Furniture in Eagle-Vail, is thrilled about getting her business up on the Internet. She says so many of her customers are from out-of-state.

They would always ask if the store had a Web site, and Peplinski would end up giving them a list of the sites of the different furniture lines her store carried.
Her Web site should launch June 1, she says.

“I can show pictures of jobs I’ve done and I’ll have links to manufacturers’ sites instead of having to tell (customers) to look at 20 different Web sites,” Peplinski says.

Peplinski says her daughter, who is much more computer literate, will likely be the one learning how to update the site and keep it organized. Peplinski hired Nils Satterstrom, a local architect who designs Web sites as a side business, to design the site and teach her a thing or two about the Internet.

“I’m very computer-challenged,” she says.

For other business owners who are feeling similarly challenged, Satterstrom says they can just start with something simple that would at least get them noticed on a search engine. That way when someone searches a keyword, that business is at least among the mix of results, he says.

“Even if it’s just information that you would find in the yellow pages,” he says.
The site Satterstrom is building for Peplinski is more informational, Peplinski says. She’s considering adding an online store to the site in the future, but for now she’s focusing on the site being a great visual representation of her business.

She’s optimistic the site will help her increase business, especially because people will now be able to see the number of different items she carries in the store.

“(The Web site) gives you an image that you’re savvy; that you’re moving forward and trying new things,” she says. “And with the cost of advertising, so many people are getting on the Internet. It really is an inexpensive way (to get your business out there).”

A really high-tech site with a lot of functions and design can cost as much as $5,000, but something simple can run as little as $250 plus about $10 a month for Web hosting, Satterstrom says.

Location: physical vs. cyber
Lee, of Vail Pro Media, says some businesses around the valley are still not entering cyberspace. Businesses in the touristy areas, like Beaver Creek Village, Vail Village and Lionshead, are comfortable that people in town will see them and shop there, regardless of whether they saw them on the Internet first.

“I agree that location is everything. I’m not going to shove (Web sites) down their throats,” Lee says.

Tourists might walk by a store like Luca Bruno, an upscale Vail clothing store, and wander on inside, but “you want to stir up the pond a little bit beforehand,” Lee says.

Luca Bruno, the owner of the store, is getting his store online this year. He’s not going to have an online store, but you’ll be able to see the clothes he carries on the site.

“We have to be proactive,” he says. “Many people, especially my customers, they love to shop. I want to make them feel comfortable with the product and see if they will want to come in (after looking online). That is the goal.”

Even registering a business onto Google maps is one way to get started.
With a business literally on the map, out-of-towners can choose to make the store a destination while here.

The way a Web site is constructed is also important, Lee says. Businesses have to make sure the site has all the right keywords, so it will show up on search engines. And as the Web site grows, search engines will inevitably rank it higher and higher, he says.

“For businesses really concerned with investment, the Internet is really the only place where you can really see and track numbers,” he says.

Lee suspects that the value of the Internet, especially online stores, will go up because of increasing gas prices. Why pay $20 in gas to drive down to the mall when you can just shop from the comfort of your home, he says.

The site conveys an image
For Jenna Johansen, co-owner of Dish restaurant in Edwards, the restaurant’s Web site is intended to represent the restaurant as clearly as possible, she says.

“We’re trying to be on the cutting edge,” Johansen says. “In this information age, a lot of people make a selection on a restaurant based on their first impressions on the Internet.”

That’s why Dish’s site, which was designed by Vail Pro Media, is hip and swanky, just like the restaurant. The music you hear online is even the same music you’d hear while dining there.

“It’s a great way to visually give guests an idea of what it’s like to eat here,” she says.
Restaurants definitely want to be online, Lee says. They can post their menus and people can see whether it’s something they want to try.

Agave, a Mexican restaurant in Avon, is following suit. The restaurant has no Web site, but its manager, R.J. Andrade, is taking a Web design class at Colorado Mountain College. He’s going to try to build the restaurant’s site himself.

“We’ve had a couple of people lined up to (design the site), but they all fell through,” Andrade says. “It would definitely help if we could have our menu online. I think it’s a slight disadvantage not to have one.”

In the meantime, Agave uses Vailpm.com, a Web site of local listings and information, to get its name and menu out to the masses.

“I think (Web sites) are kind of the most important thing for local businesses,” Satterstrom says.


Lauren Glendenning can be reached for comment at 970.748.2983 or Lglendenning@vailtrail.com.