Nestled in a lush forest meadow, Sunriver Resort stands on its 56 years of supporting its guests, employees and owners.

But that doesn’t mean it’s resting on its laurels. The 244-room resort, which has been ranked among the top 500 best hotels worldwide by Travel + Leisure, rebranded for only the fourth time since it opened.

The resort’s logo now features three pine trees instead of a river and mountains, said Tom O’Shea, Sunriver Resort managing director. The trees support the company’s mission and supports its culture of trust, honest communications and commitment to quality, O’Shea said.

“We’ve always prided ourselves as being one of the top destination resorts in Oregon and the country,” O’Shea said. “It’s a bold statement. We have to invest in ourselves.”

Companies like to rebrand to to keep their product appearing fresh and to reflect a company’s mission and position in the marketplace. Strategic rebranding, refreshing, a logo change or shift in market direction, all can have value to a company, said Justin Yax, DVA Advertising & Public Relations partner.

“Consumers understand that brands themselves are products that have a finite shelf life and are not simply a ‘set it and forget it’ product,” Yax said. “As competition increases, consumer preferences change, styles and trends evolve and economic conditions shift, the need to stay current, fresh and relevant among your target audience is increasingly important.”

Visitor industry

The visitor industry has a big footprint in Central Oregon, with summer tourism typically kicking off each Memorial Day weekend. This summer, the leisure and hospitality industry is gearing up for a record number of visitors. Typically summer accommodations run an average of about 78% occupancy in Central Oregon.

Nearly 14,000 people were employed in the leisure and hospitality industry in April in the Bend-Redmond communities. The bulk of those employed were in the accommodations and food services sector, according to the Oregon Employment Department.

Sunriver Resort is considered a large private employer for Central Oregon. Its 950 employees ranked it No. 6 in a list of Central Oregon’s largest private employers by the Economic Development for Central Oregon, a nonprofit economic development corporation. In 2022, the resort was ranked No. 3.

Over the three-day Memorial Day weekend, the resort was fully booked, O’Shea said.

“Our summer has the the projections of being similar to last year: 10 weeks of intense occupancy of around 90%,” O’Shea said.

A look back

Sunriver Resort opened in 1968 as a master planned community with homesites and a resort. The founder of Omark Industries and Donald McCallum built the hotel and gave the community the name Sunriver.

The current owners, Sunriver Resort Limited Partnership, purchased the property in 1993.

At the time, the hotel underwent a refresh of guest rooms and amenities, not unlike what has been occurring over the past couple of years, O’Shea said.

Over the past three years, the resort renovated guest rooms, and made a significant investment in the golf course and the aquatics facility, O’Shea said. Recently, it converted its tennis courts to pickle ball courts.

The changes were geared to address guest desires, he said. In all the recent renovations totaled $40 million.

“We are deeply rooted in the community. These improvements are geared toward what people want today,” O’Shea said. “We want the changes to be thoughtful.”

The resort is epitome of what makes Central Oregon attractive to visitors, said Katie Johnson, Visit Central Oregon senior marketing director.

The setting — the Deschutes River and a forested meadow — is unmatched in any resort in the west, Johnson said.

“The variety of accommodations and activities are attractive for everything from solo travel and romantic getaways to family vacations, multi-generational reunions and meetings and events,” Johnson said. “The quality and continued improvement of the facilities keep the resort fresh and relevant to the point that even annual visitors find something new and different each time they come.”

New brand

The new logo represents the resort’s vision, O’Shea said. Three trees in the new logo represent the value the resort places on its employees, its guests and its ownership, he said.

The new logo is simple and elegant and helps remind resort leadership that it should always try to be better, he said.

“We are creating a story. People will ask us why and that gives us an opportunity to talk about our ability to make Sunriver Resort the destination of choice.”