With over 25 years of experience in destination resort strategic marketing and related infrastructure, Mr. Garrison is generally recognized as a destination tourism supply side expert due to his extensive experience with destination resort organizational systems, and as a founder of the modern day centralized reservation processing system.

"My experience and passion are focused on the supply side of the destination travel industry that I refer to as “destination marketing systems”, including the way the community’s tourism dependent business are organized, funded, and empowered. From this foundation, some develop systems/procedures and the enabling technology packaging, reservation and distribution systems that allow them to be competitive in this volatile market place. ” noted Garrison.  “Admittedly,  these foundation issues are overlooked or not capitalized upon by many in the leisure travel industry, so I have become an evangelist for this supply side food chain” he concluded. 

Garrison’s company, Advisory Group, Inc. was founded and is operated as a platform from which his philosophy is delivered. The Group’s products, services and affiliates support this focus, skill set, and  share  common values regarding the work they do and manner in which it’s accomplished.

Ralf started the Group in 1981 after 10 years in Crested Butte, Colorado, where he served in may capacities, most recently Vice President – Marketing for Crested Butte Mountain Resort, then Telluride ski resorts. After a seven year stint building central reservations systems through Reservation Technologies and its subsequent sale to Destinations.com, Ralf left the "dot com" business in 1999 and has returned to the Advisory Group, where he is currently working on opportunities associated with the convergence of the technology and travel, and related consulting services, including focus on destination resort infrastructure.

Garrison’s career highlights and academic experience include:

• Founder, Principal, Advisory Group Inc. 1981-1992, 1999 - present
• Founder and owner of the Mountain Travel Symposium: 1978 – present.
• Founder and current President of the Central Reservations Association of Mountain Resorts: 1977-present.
• Director, Vice – President New Business Development, Destinations.com 1997 – 1999.
• Founder of Reservation Technologies 1992 – 1997.
• Vice President of Marketing at Telluride Resort.
• Associate Professor at Western State University, Gunnison, Colorado.
• 10 years at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, with responsibilities for all property management, air program development, centralized reservations and marketing in the capacity of Vice President Marketing.
• Undergraduate work at Wichita State University, and post graduate work at Denver University, with multiple degrees and certificates, including  Marketing/Business Adminstration, Computer Science, and Applied Communications ( Alternative Dispute Resolution).
• Middle School:  Ecole International du Geneve, Switzerland

Associates

Richard is an expert in PC and MAC based systems including internet applications. He works regularly with clients setting up complete small networked systems and provides training and support later. He has developed and written applications for use in: restaurant operations and accounting; petroleum engineering and natural gas well reserve determination; hotel and airline reservation databases; oil and gas accounting; and travel agency administration and accounting.

Richard offers Internet web site hosting, e-commerce, and design services to several dozen widely varied clients including the Mountain Travel Symposium and Central Reservations Association of Destination Resorts. “Keeping up with birdsnest.com and the dozen or so other domains I am webmaster for keeps me utilizing my strong entrepreneurial, management, organizational, and computer skills,” stated Richard.

Richard Bird is no newcomer to the travel industry. In 1988, along with two partners, Richard started Translink, an ARC Travel agency with six agents in large Western Ski Resorts, providing the resorts access to the airline databases, and agents selling package air travel arrangements. Richard developed PC based applications to interface with the airline database systems, and to handle communications between the main office in Denver and the remote resorts.

Also, Richard has been a builder/property manager of four motel complexes and a franchisee of Day's Inn and Ramada Inn, whose annual revenues increased to $2.5 million per year with all units being profitable.

Richard Bird applies his “hands on” experience with his computer interface knowledge to offer travel related businesses a full operational/ managerial package from their web presence to their backend operation.

Nolan Rosall
As a founding partner of RRC Associates, Nolan has a varied and extensive background in both public and private sector planning and strategic research. He has been principally responsible for a wide range of tourism-related research and master planning for ski resorts, convention and visitors' associations, and municipalities. Nolan has been a major contributor of national level research and policy analysis for the ski industry. He has also provided ongoing advice for a wide variety of winter and year-round resorts throughout the United States. Nolan has administered numerous Public Planning projects, starting with his involvement as Planning Director for the City of Boulder in the 1970s, and continuing through his consulting work. He has coordinated several large-scale PUD and urban re-development projects, including their public processing before a wide array of local, regional, and federal agencies.
 

Chris Cares
Chris possesses a diverse background in public and private planning. A founding partner of RRC Associates, he specializes in practical applications of research techniques including survey research, and statistical and computer analysis for problem solving in city planning, administration, and a variety of business applications. His research and recommendations have helped to shape both the design and marketing strategies of major resorts and other developer clients, and he has coordinated the planning and public processing of numerous large resort and mixed use projects. Market feasibility studies and housing needs assessments are a particular area of specialization. Chris has also drafted comprehensive plans, zoning ordinances, growth management plans, capital improvements programs, and related regulations for towns and cities of various sizes.
 

Margie Bootenhoff
As a principal in Clarity Marketing, Margie has recent marketing consulting experience with a variety of tourism destinations including Mountain, Beach, and Conference categories. She has over 20 years of marketing and sales experience in Mountain Travel, seeing that industry through growth, consolidation, the advent of internet marketing, and the transition affiliated with many resorts becoming publicly traded companies. 

Her most recent experience was as a Vice President of Marketing for Vail Resorts, at Keystone, Colorado, a position held for more than 10 years. During that time, Margie was responsible for all resort revenues, including ski, lodging, Conference, recreation, food and beverage, and skier services, as well as all facets of the marketing and sales initiatives. She has extensive competencies in hospitality, data base marketing, and the Meetings and Conference segment. During her tenure at Keystone, she created a successful summer “attraction”, led the initiative for a Summit County Central Reservations and introduced the hospitality revenue management program, while the resort more than doubled its lodging, conference and golf inventory.

 John S. Lewis, CPA, CHAE

John Lewis has been in the hospitality and travel industry for over 30 years. John is a former partner of the international accounting and consulting firm of Panel Kerr Forster, which specialized in the hospitality, real estate and travel industries. John is also a past international president of the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals. While at Panel Kerr Forster, he performed over 30 feasibility and market studies and strategic plans for Colorado hotels and resorts.

Mr. Lewis has served as the Chief Financial Officer for companies in the hospitality and travel industries, including Alpha Inn Management, Eagle View Management and Navigant Vacations.com. He also served as the Senior Vice President of Development for Hostmark Hotel Company and as the Director of Property Accounting for Richfield Hospitality. In addition, John Lewis has served as the Director of Sales for eLodging Solutions, which provides internet and web based solutions for hotels, resorts and convention bureaus. 

John Lewis is a coauthor of the “Uniform System of Accounts for Condominiums,” and a former member of the revision committees for the “Uniform Accounting System for Hotels” and the “Uniform Accounting System for Timeshare Resorts.” He has also authored numerous articles for various national publications and is a nationally recognized speaker on various topics in hospitality and travel.