Beaver Creek’s new COO Bobby Murphy: ‘Legendary attention to detail, for me, is really important’
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The Beaver Creek Metro District earlier this month got a chance to meet Bobby Murphy, Beaver Creek’s new vice president and chief operating officer.
Murphy started his tenure as the resort’s new COO during the 2023-24 season and said he feels fortunate to be back in Eagle County after spending the last six years in Stowe, Vermont, where he was the general manager.
Murphy helped integrate Stowe into Vail Resorts’ portfolio in 2017 when Stowe was acquired by Vail Resorts.
Prior to that, he was the senior director of ski and snowboard school and skier services and vice president of skier services at Vail Mountain from 2010 to 2017.
Murphy is now entering his 37th season in the ski industry, with most of that time spent in Colorado. He has also worked in Crested Butte and Telluride in addition to Vail and Beaver Creek.
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Murphy, in a speech to the metro district on Wednesday, Jan. 24, said he’s very passionate about the guest experience.
“I see Beaver Creek and the guest experience through the eyes of a guest behind me or with me in a ski lesson or snowboard lesson,” he said. “I’m very focused on details.”
Beaver Creek’s goal is to be the world’s best luxury family resort, which it attempts to accomplish through attention to detail, being perpetual hosts, and providing rarefied experiences, Murphy said.
“Legendary attention to detail for me is really important, that first impression — name tags, uniforms, how we present the resort,” he said.
Murphy shared an expression he once heard about attention to detail as an example of the culture he’s trying to create at Beaver Creek: What you’re willing to walk past is what you’re willing to accept.
“That’s how I show up at work, that’s how our team shows up at work, hopefully that’s the culture that I’m focused on developing,” he said. “That piece of trash, god forbid that beer can that was thrown out the window that’s on the road, whatever it might be through the village and on the mountain, legendary attention to detail is key to our success.”
Murphy said when it comes to being perpetual hosts, he uses something called the 5/10/20 rule as a benchmark.
“20 feet away we’re smiling, we’re making eye contact, 10 feet away we’re engaging with a good morning, good afternoon, and 5 feet away, that person probably really needs help, I’m going to engage with helping that person and find what they’re looking for,” he said.
When it comes to providing rarefied experiences, Murphy said Beaver Creek is especially focused on food and beverage this season.
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“Through COVID, we had to really shut down and narrow our scope of what we could provide, and what we did provide,” he said. “Now being able to open that up with more signature items, uniqueness to Beaver Creek, and elevating that culinary experience is a very important focus and priority on my mind.”
Another focus, Murphy said, is “grooming and what we can provide on the mountain.”
Murphy describes himself as an operator at heart.
“The reason I walk the talk is because I grew up in this industry and I built my career around this industry and the love for what it is,” he said. “And my love for Beaver Creek and the Vail Valley is really strong.”
