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Andy Damman

Director of Recreation for Montage Hotels & Resorts

Andy Damman

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  • What do you do and how did you get here?

    I am the Corporate Director of Recreation for Montage Hotels and Resorts, and I got here by being passionate about outdoor pursuits and following my heart to be able to make a career of all the things I love in life.

  • Montage Deer Valley’s new Montage to Moab excursion is an incredibly unique offering from a property. Tell us a bit about it and how it came to fruition.

    I spend a lot of time in Moab every year. Last year I spent an entire month riding and exploring. One day on the trail with my wife I mentioned how cool it would be to launch a Moab excursions trip to open up the national parks to our guests and offer something so unique in our market. Persistence, collaboration with many departments including security, our Executive Chef, and Leadership team is what brought this to fruition.

    Montage to Moab Montage to Moab
  • You’ve got some great partners in the program’s mountain bike and aviation companies. Who are they and how does their involvement helps to elevate the experience?

    Keystone Aviation rolled out the red carpet for us. The whole flight operation team was extremely excited about the program from the beginning. David Mars, our Resort Manager and I drove down one day to take a look at the operation, and the moment we saw the aircraft and met the team we knew this was a world-class partnership for Montage to Moab. We have been a partner with BMC Switzerland bicycles since 2011. BMC mirrors what we do perfectly. Their bikes are unique in the industry as they use only the best materials, and are made to be efficient on the trails. We absolutely love partnering with them.

  • Curated adventures are one of the newest, most exciting trends for travelers. What do you think are the keys to creating unique, memorable experiences for guests, and what are some of the biggest challenges?

    In my opinion, the key to creating unique and memorable experiences is not just what you are offering. Our success comes from the Compass Sports team’s expertise. and humble approach to ensuring our guests day of adventures is designed 100% around their needs. We love to teach and give people different experiences they normally do not get to do in their daily lives.

    Compass Sports at Montage Deer Valley Compass Sports at Montage Deer Valley
  • Now that you’re in charge of overseeing activities at the other Montage properties, can you tell us about any new ideas you’re working on?

    Right now, being in the early stages of this process, we are talking about more organic offerings and unique events throughout the year, and researching what type of indigenous activities we can offer throughout the Montage Properties.

  • What did you want to be when you were growing up?

    In all seriousness, a professional skier. I am really doing what I wanted to do. I love everything about outdoor pursuits and told myself early on I would make a career out of my love for the outdoors. I would never settle for anything but this. I absolutely love my job and believe so much in Montage Hotels!

  • What does your ideal day off look like?

    Big Questions! A typical day off would look like this: waking up when the sun comes up, pouring a cup of strong coffee into my favorite mug, and walking outside with my Chocolate lab Cora to let the chickens out followed by a walk through our gardens to pick some fresh raspberries for breakfast. After that I would get the bikes ready for a fun long ride with my wife followed by a walk with Cora and finishing with an espresso at a local coffee house while we share pictures we took earlier in the day. We would then go out for a short paddle on the reservoir. I would end the day by cooking dinner and sitting outside until the sun goes down with a cold beverage.

  • Can you tell us the name of the nature conservancy program you're involved in and what inspired you to get involved?

    I love to work on trail days with Mountain Trails Foundation and Wasatch Trails alliance. I’ve been more involved recently with the development of trails in Wasatch county since I live there. As Park City is the only IMBA Gold certified trail network in the world, a fascinating amount of volunteer work goes into the development of trails in this area.