The Forum Dialogues proved to be a constructive endeavor and provided the leadership of the Institution with feedback and ideas on several operational issues. This report summarizes the recommendations received and their status in terms of our current thinking. In the report below, we have organized our work to reflect four distinct categories:  

• actions we are actively pursuing,  
• recommendations that require more consideration and time to flesh out,  
• recommendations that might be considered in the next year or two (i.e., a parking lot for suggestions, but not forgotten), and finally  
• recommendations that we are not likely to pursue at this time.  

As mentioned in previous reports, we received a large amount of feedback, and it became clearer to us via the dialogues that different community members have different focus areas for their Chautauqua experience. That is one of the things that makes Chautauqua unique and meaningful for our patrons. Unfortunately, our staff and financial resources limit our ability to pursue all of these suggestions concurrently. We have therefore prioritized actions that will have a higher impact for more of our patrons.  

Our goal in this report is to acknowledge the suggestions and recommendations that were raised and discussed during the Forum Dialogues. While this is not an exhaustive listing of every specific idea, we have made a concerted effort to include all topics that were substantively addressed in the dialogues.  We have also listed names for leadership team members who will oversee the implementation of our major areas of focus. Lastly, we anticipate a desire to know more details about the actions we are pursuing. In the coming months, we will host webinars to outline more details on these and other initiatives in the works for 2025. 

Recommendations We are Actively Pursuing 

There are seven primary areas of focus and the leadership accountability for each is listed below: 

• Ticketing, Arrival Experience, Website: Vanessa Weinert, Vice President of Marketing and Communications 
• Food and Beverage: Brittany Beckstrom, Senior Director of Athenaeum Hotel Operations 
• Property Owner/Season Pass Holder Communications: Emily Morris, Chief Brand Officer 
• Special Studies: Deborah Sunya Moore, Chief Program Officer 
• Amphitheater Experience: Deborah Sunya Moore, Chief Program Officer 
• Cinema/Facility Maintenance: John Shedd, Vice President of Campus Planning and Operations 
• Overall Operations/Continuous Improvement: Sebastian Baggiano, Executive Vice President 

Ticketing, Arrival Experience & Website 

• Reduce Ticket Office Wait times. Our proposed strategies include the following: 
  • Prioritizing speed in ticketing system load times as this is a significant issue for both patrons and staff 
  • The process for issuing staff gate passes will be shifted out of the Main Gate Welcome Center Ticket Office to a different administrative location. We are also holistically examining the Business & Service Employee (BASE) pass process, including the purchasing process and location of sales. These changes will open up more agents to serve patrons. 
  • Additional staff for patron ticketing needs via a no-fee member services program at the Main Gate Welcome Center. Property Owners and season passholders will be able to book appointments for ticketing needs and there will be a dedicated area at the Main Gate Welcome Center for property owner/season passholder services. Property owners and season pass holders will receive a dedicated communication to explain these offerings in January.  
  • We are investigating self-serve ticketing kiosks (most likely not able to launch this until 2026). 
• Arrival experience improvements, especially on Saturdays 
  • Improved communication and cross-training between ticketing and gate staff. 
  • Implement automated access control for the Main Parking Lot.
  • Implement automated Elm Gate entry mechanism (beta testing in 2025).
  • New operation plan and location for mobility device rentals as demand grows.
  • Continue to leverage pre-printed 45-minute drop-off passes prior to arrival directing traffic to the appropriate gates closest to the patron’s residence, instead of going through the Main Gate. 
  • Reduce and improve signage in key areas.
• Website improvements 
  • Greatly simplify the chq.org site, centering on Summer Assembly needs and improving the user experience, including search function (multi-point plan).
  • Re-organize and enhance the property owner information presence to function more like a portal.
  • Beyond 2025: We were successful in securing a $50,000 matching grant from Market New York to support Chautauqua in creating a modern, user-friendly, and accessible websites to better serve property owners and other patrons. The revised website will reflect the Institution’s mission and values, improve user experience, support marketing and outreach efforts, attract new employees, particularly summer staff, include design and usability updates to tickets.chq.org, and update the experience planner so that it integrates with our new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. We will solicit feedback from a broad range of patrons as part of this process. This project is supported through a Market New York grant awarded by Empire State Development, and I LOVE NY, New York State’s Division of Tourism. 

Food & Beverage Options 

Our pilot initiative to outsource management of Brick Walk Cafe, The A Truck and 3 Taps was unsuccessful. These food and beverage operations will return to the Athenaeum Hotel Company. Solutions for the following recurring challenges are proposed for 2025: 

• Difficulty in recruiting, training and retaining experienced managers and supervisory staff: Hotel leadership team members are creating detailed operational guidelines by venue to be available to seasonal managers. Each guide will break down everything from the target market of each venue, order guides, checklists, schedules, and detailed system training. These resources will allow managers to focus on daily operations, increase time interacting with guests, and ensure consistency in food offerings throughout the season.
• Difficulty in recruiting experienced culinary staff locally: Continue prioritizing partnerships with culinary schools to attract interns. Additionally, prioritize developing a menu that can be easily broken down into simplified and trainable elements. Visual guides will be provided in every food preparation area with detailed steps on food preparation to better control consistency in preparation and delivery. 
• Training needs for high volume of seasonal and young team members: The recruiting for supervisors and managers will heavily focus on experience in training and working with youth over food service background. Emphasis will be placed on daily supervision of the team and ensuring processes are followed. Menus, recipes, trainings, and processes will all be provided to venue supervisory staff with a focus on consistent service at all venues. 
• Preparedness of staff for opening & early season operational challenges: In 2025 we have closed private event rentals in “Week Zero” for Heirloom to enable more training time, so we can further improve the Week One experience for guests. Pre-season soft openings and increased training will be implemented across all venues. The expectation for all operations will be full preparedness on day one of the season, as opposed to several days into the season. 
• Speed of service and managing volume:  
  • Additional patron seating was added to the porch, lawn, and in Heirloom to increase volume during pre-show windows. Popup bars were utilized to alleviate guest bottlenecks in small areas and increase the speed at which guests could be served. In 2025, additional awnings will be added to the Janes Avenue porch to create seating that is not weather dependent and increase reservation capacity. 
  • The physical layout of each venue is under review to identify areas of concern and improve the guest experience. Each venue has unique high-volume periods that will be identified through past sales data. Changes to menus will be made to be able to better react to high volume periods. A major focus will be increasing and improving the selection of grab and go items, primarily at the Brick Walk Cafe. 
• Overall enhancement of food & beverage patron experience: In addition to using feedback from surveys and reviews, venue planning for 2025 will be approached as a comprehensive portfolio. We have identified target markets for each venue that will be used to create menus, design operating processes, and ensure hotel venues are not competing for the same business. Breaking venues apart by markets including price, dietary needs, age demographics, and incorporating the physical constraints of each venue will provide a more focused identity and improved experience at each location. While staff operational training will be venue specific, guest experience training will be the same across all venues to provide the same level of service regardless of location.

In addition to these strategies, the following recommendations are being considered: 

• Location of food trucks: Many patrons enjoyed the convenience and offerings of food trucks at Bestor Plaza and near the Hall of Philosophy. Some property owners closest to Bestor Plaza did not like the smell near their homes, and some St. Elmo businesses prefer the food trucks not be so close to their locations. We are investigating alternative locations for food trucks. 
• Coffee delivery and the Gazebo: We are looking at short- and long-term efforts to bring the Gazebo back as a coffee location.  We are actively working on this goal and hope to share more information in the coming months as our options become clearer. We will improve the service and product experience at the Brick Walk Cafe in tandem with other coffee offerings. 

Property Owners & Season Pass Holder Communications 

Some property owners and season pass holders express that information is not shared in timely, transparent ways. Additionally, the Forum Dialogues revealed that many participants were not aware of (or missed) information that had already been disseminated. Our strategies to improve communication include the following: 

• Implement new comprehensive plan for property owner/season pass holder communications and vet that with focus groups to ensure we’ve covered all bases. Areas of focus: 
  • Simplify chq.org and upgrade the property owner section.  
  • Create categorized blogs to post emails for easy retrieval of information shared.
  • Patrons requested that we publish a list of frequently called numbers for property owners and patrons. This list already existed, but has now been prominently featured under the “contact us” section of the website (chq.org/contact-us).
  • Re-brand communications to differentiate between: Governance/Decision-making Information, Season/Program Information, Advancement Information, and Emergency/Time-sensitive/In-the-Moment Communications.
  • Document and share information from all community meetings (webinars, Leadership Forums, Strategic Plan sessions).
  • Implement a monthly community newsletter and ensure the information is also available on chq.org for ease of finding.   
  • Refine our approach to socializing change, aiming to establish a more robust feedback process (some in 2025 – more robust with new Customer Relationship Management software being implemented over the course of the next two years).—more robust with new Customer Relationship Management software being implemented over
• Some community group leaders have requested that an executive team member be appointed back into a “Community Relations” liaison role. We will do so, and more information will be shared in the coming weeks.  

Special Studies

The operations of Special Studies were significantly disrupted in 2024.Our strategies to return to a positive patron experience include: 

• New staffing and leadership model are in process. Two new hires were announced in December and currently we are on track to meet deadlines.  
• We will schedule a similar number of courses as in 2023 (we offered approximately 30% more classes in 2024 than in recent seasons).
• We are connecting the proposal, scheduling, and registration technology tools to support a timely rollout of sales and the print catalog. 
• Rethinking in-person sales and service strategy (second floor of Hultquist not strong as a single service location; integrate with ticketing solutions mentioned above).  
  • We are also investigating setting up mobile registration sites during peak class registration hours in more accessible and/or convenient locations. 
• We have committed to the following critical dates for Special Studies:  
  • Confirmation notices will be sent to instructors no later than January 15. 
  • On 11/26, we announced that Special Studies will be on sale beginning April 28. 
  • By March 1, we will announce the release date for the Special Studies print catalog. 

Amphitheater Experience 

Amphitheater sound volume was problematic in selected situations in 2024, and there was overall concern regarding the quality of sound in the Amp. Our solutions include: 

• Continue with our search for a new director of production with initial priority to assess current audio equipment, vendor, process and staffing.  
• Adding cushions for the remaining seats that don’t have them to improve acoustics. Our acousticians (Jaffe Holden) had originally suggested only having cushions in the bowl of the Amp, but time and experience is telling us that more cushions will help absorb sound and help clarity.  
• We are implementing a new Wi-Fi-based Assistive Listening Technology after positive 2024 beta testing. This system is in addition to our existing radio frequency-based technology. Patrons will be able to use their own phones for convenience, but we will continue to offer devices in the Amp, Norton, Bratton & HOP. Additionally, the Wi-Fi Listening technology will be expanded to additional venues that currently do not have them (including Smith Wilkes). 

Cinema & Facility Maintenance

The Chautauqua Cinema is a seasonal facility and was discovered to have mold during the second facility check in May, resulting in the facility being closed for the 2024 season for mold mitigation and environmental system upgrades. Our solutions include: 

• Reviewing building maintenance protocols for adjustments that may be necessary due to changing weather patterns to enable earlier issue spotting. Examples include more regular cleaning in the off-season, dehumidification systems where possible, and added building checks in early/late spring.  
• We are updating the capital projects list for environmental systems upgrades that can help avoid mold.   
• We will operate Chautauqua Cinema at its previous level of offerings for the entire 2025 season. 

Overall Operations & Continuous Improvement 

We always strive to maintain and improve quality programming and service across all areas (continuous improvement). Our strategies include: 

• Document and learn from changes in 2024 that led to successes in program, service areas and patron experience; Consider what more can be done to further improve patron experience. 
• Assess factors that by themselves, or in combination, contributed to problems in 2024. Leverage those learnings toward improvement planning and issue spotting. 
• Develop more detailed “plans B” for critical guest experience and program areas should major disruptions in operations occur. 
• Re-evaluate and focus on timelines for readiness, with all major operations in a state of readiness prior to season opening.  

In addition to these focus areas, we are pursuing additional strategies to improve the patron experience, including the following: 

• The Chautauquan Daily: We have received feedback on the Business Office service challenges and distribution/delivery challenges since the pandemic, with concerns regarding the quality and quantity of editorial content more recently. A comprehensive improvement plan is underway to address staffing, service and quality, as we have been unable to attract a full staff cohort since 2019.  
• Electric Vehicle (EV) Chargers: For the short-term, we plan to adjust operations and communications to optimize use of existing stations as well as a long-term vision and plan for adding stations, as demand will only grow. We will continue to listen to feedback from current EV owners in particular as we work to create a long-term plan and update day-to-day operations.  
  • Additionally, we note for the community that ALU (Architectural and Land Use) regulations have an “accessory accommodation” that allows EV chargers to be installed on homes if adequate parking exists. Please contact Operations team at 716-357-245 for more information. 
• Overall Customer Service Operations and Philosophy: We will reinforce a shared customer service philosophy for all employees, including seasonal employees. Additionally, we will work to:  
  • Improve upon our annual cadence for overall training for full-time and seasonal staff at the Institutional level.  
  • Update current training program on patron experience to include staff whose roles do not traditionally involve daily customer service, with a focus on friendliness, timely and appropriate response, following issues to complete resolution, and problem-solving orientation. 
  • Encourage all staff to wear nametags in the course of work. Consider effectiveness of “How may I help?” buttons for staff. 
  • Streamline and provide training on resources and best practices for staff to reach other departments easily to help them problem solve or refer patron issues across departments.  
• Program Changes Process: We hear the call that patrons want line of sight into program changes. Whenever possible, we will give patrons advance notice on changes and articulate reasons for them. However, we want to note that sometimes staffing or other unanticipated issues might limit our ability to do so.  
• Train staff and patrons to deal with uncivil behavior, particularly around race, in the moment (because incivility is on the rise): Most full-time staff and some patron facing seasonal staff have already received these types of trainings. We are developing an allyship training that will be offered to patrons free-of-charge throughout the season. Ideas are being vetted via community leaders and focus groups. More details will be shared in the spring.  
• Create a comprehensive strategy to invite & retain new and diverse patrons: In addition to the training mentioned above, we are working on larger culture change to make patrons of all backgrounds feel a sense of belonging at Chautauqua. We have built partnerships with local and regional racially diverse communities to invite them to Chautauqua. Additionally, we are working on a marketing plan to invite diverse patrons to the grounds, specifically from our key geographic target market areas.  

Recommendations That Require Further Consideration, Time and Planning 

• Some community members suggested forming community advisory groups. We need to better understand how such advisory groups would work in tandem with existing advisory and governance bodies. However, we hear the call for more community input to shape our thinking. Over the coming months, we will consider the development of focus groups to provide feedback on specific projects, ideas and changes. Additionally, we will work more closely with the CPOA leadership in gathering input and feedback. 
• Youth programs and facilities advisory group and planning: We are currently developing updated building evaluations and cost estimates in hopes of packaging projects for philanthropy. We will involve patrons in envisioning long-term changes for the future. 
• Food services patron feedback: We will consider the development of new mechanisms to  gather and respond to feedback on specific topics and projects, and to communicate about ideas and changes being implemented in our food service venues, including community webinars.  
• We recognize that for some properties, emails are only going to the “owner on record”. As recommended, we will investigate expanding the list of “property owners” beyond the owner on record as our new CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system is implemented. Note that all emails will also be posted on the property owner/season passholder web page that can be accessed by all. 
• Some patrons requested more communications, in simpler, non-technical language, on Project 360 and our technology roadmap. Furthermore, they wanted to know how these technologies might improve the guest experience. We will consider offering a webinar on this topic.  
• Some participants suggested developing additional “appreciation gatherings” for volunteers from various organizations. We agree that volunteers are wonderful contributors to our community. Please give us some time to develop plans and consult with community leaders on how we can build upon our existing recognition efforts. 
• Use the Amp A/V system before lectures to do short videos with important community information, safety information, etc.: We have started doing this and will look into understanding what kinds of information would be helpful for our various patron types (e.g., season pass holders versus weekly patrons) 
• Some Forum Dialogues attendees asked the Institution to have a “better relationship with Advocates for Balance at Chautauqua (ABC).” Our Program Team was in conversation with ABC leadership this summer and looks forward to continued ideas sharing.  
• Some patrons asked for a “multi-year Transportation & Livability plan” to address issues like speeding, parking, lighting, “public” transportation, etc.: We engaged in a study on some of these topics during the 2024 season and have received recommendations. We are working on this and plan to publicize the recommendations and our plans to address them in February so we can receive feedback on our initial thinking around the recommendations. We see this as a community effort that requires partnership between staff and community members.  
• Communicate highlights of the capital expenditures plan to the community once it has been approved by the Board of Trustees, highlighting new projects or investments that will impact patron experience. Lastly, publish a list of priorities for maintenance and upgrades over the coming years (this is different from the master plan), and tie this to fundraising: We see value in highlighting how our capital investments impact the patron experience. Please give us some time to consider when and how we might share this information with patrons. 
• Use the “Common Grounds” model to use the time and talents of patrons; Chautauquans want to help!: We appreciate our community volunteers and understood this suggestion as an offer to utilize our community’s wealth of personal and professional expertise. We will continue to publicize volunteer opportunities, consider the development of specific focus groups and feedback loops, whenever possible, to create these opportunities.  
• Enhance the experience of new children or non-season children at Boys’ and Girls’ Club; Can we make it more welcoming and inclusive? (e.g., designate kids as “welcome ambassadors” for each group): We are looking into this recommendation. 
• Have a “comment period” on new policies that impact patron experience before they are established: We appreciate the suggestion. We will seek and incorporate feedback on these types of policies when we are debating between two or more potential pathways to achieve a needed result. The Institution is legally responsibility for policy development and enforcement, so we may not always be able to entertain discussion on the need for a policy in the first place or the ultimate result a policy aims to achieve.  
• Utilize The Chautauquan Daily to talk about big-picture strategies since more patrons read the Daily on a regular basis: We are considering this suggestion in the context of additional new communications that are being developed following other suggestions. The Daily serves all patrons and may not always be the best vehicle for strategy-related content. 

Short- and Long–term Recommendations for the Future

• Some patrons recommended a “real time reporting” system to address facilities or patron experience issues. Such a system would also allow for timely follow-up from staff. Others suggested a centralized customer service hotline, texting or email system to address patron concerns. We agree that such a system would be helpful. Our new Customer Relationship Management software has this capability, but we don’t believe that we can bring this system online for the 2025 season; 2026 seems more of a realistic timeline. For now, patrons may continue to report issues via the following mechanisms: 
  • In-person: At the Colonnade reception desk during season. 
  • Operational and facilities issues should be directed to the Operations team by calling (716) 357-6245 or emailing Jennifer Majewski at jmajewski@chq.org. 
  • Safety concerns should be reported directly by calling Safety and Security at 716-357-6225. Dial 911 for emergencies. 
  • Concerns specific to a department can be addressed directly to staff members for that department. 
  • The Contact Us form available in the footer of chq.org is monitored all year-round and directs inquiries to the proper staff person.   
• Some patrons made recommendations for ticketing that we need to investigate further: 
  • Simplify ticketing options (e.g., Ticketing for overnight guests of property owners requires multiple tickets instead of a single pass). Over the past several years, we have significantly reduced the number of ticket options available. We currently do not have any additional changes planned for the ticketing structure or offerings for 2025. We need more dialogue on this issue. Forum Dialogues conversations also revealed that some property owners were not aware of the GAP passes, which might be a solution for some patrons.  
  • Use technology to provide time-sensitive ticketing updates (e.g., text people when a class or performance is cancelled if they have a ticket for that event). We agree, and our new software will have this capability. We anticipate bringing this online in 2026. 
• Website recommendation – change search engine on CHQ website: Some patrons reported getting better results by googling outside of CHQ website. We will look into this as we implement website updates. 
• Create a “Chief Operating Officer” position at the Executive Team to oversee all operations: The operational responsibilities across Chautauqua are managed collaboratively by several members of the executive team.  This effort is coordinated by the Institution’s Executive Vice President (Sebastian Baggiano), who works closely with his colleagues to ensure alignment and efficiency.      
• Establish a patron and staff committee to consider a “CHQ App”: We believe that some other technology upgrades need to be fully in place and operational before we can move towards an app. We don’t want to add another place to manually update information. Also, we would need to understand and define scope/purpose for an app – e.g., planning your visit pre-arrival versus navigating experience while on the grounds. 
• Hall of Philosophy maintenance issues, including seating for large gatherings as there are not enough seats: We address HOP needs on a regular basis through our capital improvements process. We will consider bringing in additional seating for the grove area for events with anticipated high attendance. Additionally, we completed a Historic Building Evaluation in collaboration with historic preservation architects HHL Architects. We have developed some thoughts on Grove enhancements that could include additional A/V systems (large video screen with speakers), add sun sails between trees (for sun and rain) – all to be created with the natural environment in mind.  
• Reach out to well-established local restaurants for partnership/food service on grounds: Local restaurants continue to struggle, as may be evident via the recent closing of Webb’s and the Watermark restaurants in Mayville. Staffing in the food industry is a big challenge. We continue to remain very open to such partnerships, but do not believe that local establishments have the capacity to expand their operations at their own physical site and at the Institution.  
• Use Bestor Plaza as community space – more food trucks, picnic tables, etc.: The location of food trucks is an area of concern for some property owners near Bestor Plaza. We can investigate more tables and community space orientation.  
• Use Afterwords Café for something else during the day. The venue is sitting closed until 4 p.m.: We plan to expand the hours of Afterwords and are exploring lunch service options. 

Recommendations We are Not Pursuing at This Time 

• Re-open Heinz Beach: We have investigated this issue repeatedly and we are unable to pursue this recommendation because of our struggles with recruiting lifeguards. We have prioritized the Turner pool, Children’s Beach and the Sailing Center as access points for water-based activities.  
• Re-vamp governance structures so that all twenty-four trustees are elected by patrons: There was significant disagreement on this recommendation during the Forum dialogues. We will not be recommending changes to the governance model of the Institution and will maintain focus on continued efforts for transparency, community engagement, and relationship development between patrons and our Institutional leaders (trustees and executive team members). 
• Constitute an advisory group for “Rapid Response/Emergency Management”: EMS, fire and police responses are handled by Chautauqua County. Institution staff are happy to connect patrons to county personnel so they can provide feedback and requests directly to them.   

Closing Summary and Next Steps 

The extensive information and plans shared in this document intend to exemplify the administration’s earnest commitment to incorporating patron feedback into our continuous improvement process. We have especially targeted our efforts toward areas where we underperformed in 2024. In the case of food service, where we have had problems for many years that are related to our seasonal business model and that worsened during and post-pandemic, our strategies have focused on addressing the underlying systemic issues. We have covered a lot of ground on a number of topics and suggestions. We anticipate that some community members might be disappointed that their suggestion or recommendation is not on our direct list of actions we have publicly committed to. Please know that we value your recommendation, and if it is not on our immediate to-do list, it does not mean that it will never get there. We took a comprehensive look at our staff’s capacity to do some of this structural and culture change management while building the 2025 season. We have said yes to as much as we reasonably could, while prioritizing actions that would have the largest impact on the widest array of our patron base. We ask for your continued patience. If we missed addressing your suggestion, please reach out to Amit Taneja, ataneja@chq.org, and Melissa Spas, mspas@chq.org. 

We anticipate that our community members will have additional questions, concerns and ideas related to the information we have shared above. We welcome the opportunity to be in conversation with you. Early in 2025, we will announce opportunities for webinars where we will share more details on our 2025 operational and program plans. We are grateful for your participation in the Forum Dialogues, and hope that you will continue to stay in dialogue with us.  

Warmly, 

Michael Hill and the staff of Chautauqua Institution