CrowdRiff Co-Founder & CEO Dan Holowack reached out to Better Destinations to provide a destination leader’s perspective on CrowdRiff’s offerings, particularly its newest product, The Story Network. Cathy Ritter worked with the CrowdRiff team to facilitate a daylong workshop for an executive team retreat. Not only did the team gain deeper insight into the needs and imperatives of Destination Marketing and Management Organizations, the discussion inspired new thinking about ways CrowdRiff could make its offering even more valuable to more destinations.

Our executive team gathers annually for an offsite focused on strategic planning, and this was our first year inviting an expert to host a full-day workshop. We selected Better Destinations because of their rich industry expertise and alignment with our values and mission of creating a net-positive impact for local communities through tourism. The workshop was a huge success, and the insights gained through discussion with Cathy directly impacted the outcomes and direction forward. Cathy has certainly set a high bar for any future guest or offsite contributor in the future!”

—Dan Holowack, Co-Founder & CEO, CrowdRiff

Cathy Ritter’s presentation, “Creating a ‘Net Positive’ Visitor Ecosystem” was the top-rated element of a daylong Board retreat aimed at creating a new action plan. Though Visit Durango had approved a new two-year strategic plan just months earlier, the storied southwestern Colorado destination was faced with identifying new priorities in the wake of a March 2021 tax referendum nearly doubling its budget.

The spending increase squeaked by on Visit Durango’s pledge to allocate all new funding for sustainable tourism. Visit Durango Board leadership and staff ended the four-hour visioning session with clear alignment about shared priorities and the way ahead. The session was co-facilitated with Barb Bowman of Bowman & Associates.