SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The Tahoe Chamber of Commerce, along with its partners, held two days of Business Walks on October 16 and 17, where volunteers checked in with business owners about how they’re doing and what support they needed.

The last Business Walks were conducted by the Tahoe Prosperity Center back in 2017. But since the effects of the pandemic and some difficult winters on Tahoe, the Tahoe Chamber decided to hold them again this year. North Shore and South Shore each had their own committees; for South Shore, the committee was made up of the Tahoe Chamber, the South Tahoe Chamber, the City of South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County Economic Development, Douglas County Economic Vitality, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority and the Destination Stewardship Council.

The project was also sponsored by the City of South Lake Tahoe and Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC), a partnership that former mayor Devin Middlebrook initiated. LTCC students participated in the Thursday business walks. Melissa Mikolajczak, professor of business, marketing, economics, and entrepreneurship said that students would hopefully be able to help with processing the survey data in future classes and projects.

Cristi Creegan, CEO of the Tahoe Chamber, said that the intent was to help with forming strategic plans for businesses in the city, as well as helping businesses form connections with others. “When I think about what this chamber can do, I think about the connections we can make.”

She also brought up that businesses on North Shore and previous responses showed that broadband and increasing rates of homelessness were major points of concern.

Volunteers were instructed to download an app called eCanvasser that would allow them to keep track of responses to questions designed by the committee. The questions included asking about overall trends of business, how local businesses associations and government could provide help or support, what tools and infrastructure were needed for success, environmental sustainability and tourism’s impacts on business, and how business owners felt about the state of Tahoe’s economy.

The Tribune tagged along on Wednesday to hear from businesses in Heavenly and Stateline and parts of Midtown.

In the Tourist Core, businesses naturally cited tourism as an important part of their business. But many of them indicated difficulties with transit, parking, and most importantly, affordable employee housing. Seasonal businesses like Powder House, which owns many of the businesses in the Heavenly neighborhood, struggle with getting their employees to work on time. Most of their workers live in Carson City or other areas in Nevada, so getting them up with unreliable transportation or bad weather is challenging. Employees also complained that they had no dedicated parking and would be forced to either pay to park or get towed while on a shift.

Other businesses also complained about the irregularity of implementing South Lake Tahoe’s sign ordinance—for example, the Margaritaville’s van is parked outside their building instead of placing a sign on the sidewalk. Small businesses like car rentals told their woes of visitors complaining that they don’t have signs easily directing them to where to leave their car. Still others located in less visible locations said that a sign that directed people towards their area would vastly improve business.

In Midtown, there were more businesses who relied on locals rather than tourists—but tourism still played an important part in drawing customers. Several businesses were interested in increasing their sustainability efforts, such as installing water refill stations or finding better compostable packaging for their restaurants. Many were interested in employee housing, public transit, affordable childcare options, and business loans.

Almost every business that responded in these sections agreed that the environment was important to their business because people are drawn to Lake Tahoe for its natural beauty. But businesses differed in their responses to the state of Tahoe’s economy. Some worried about the effects of climate change on the weather, while others expressed concern over long-time businesses shutting down around them. On the other hand, some felt positively about Tahoe’s economy, especially when looking to the end of shoulder season and a new wave of tourists.

The data from these Business Walks will be collected and considered by the Tahoe Chamber and its partners over the next weeks.

Eli Ramos is a reporter for Tahoe Daily Tribune. They are part of the 2024–26 cohort of California Local News Fellows through UC Berkeley.