Local business wins award

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A Wheatland County business is celebrating being awarded Trip Advisor’s Traveler’s Choice Award for the second year in a row. 

Ryan Carriere said he and his wife took over the business two years ago and have been working to keep it as a staple within Wheatland County ever since. 

“We are pretty happy with it, it means that we are doing something right. The award is given to accommodations that go above and beyond,” said Carriere. “It is given by visitors who make a review and say they had a really great time at the Rocking R Guest Ranch and Trip Advisor then goes and looks at that and picks the best of the best.”

According to Carriere, only 10 per cent of businesses listed on Trip Advisor have achieved the award. 

Other categories for the Traveler’s Choice Award include venues such as bed and breakfast, destinations and hotels. 

“What it does is it actually helps your business in a lot of different ways. When you win this award, you have a prominent place on Trip Advisor so it is really easy to build trust for customers who are looking to travel to a destination,” said Carriere. “They look at it, they see the little badge saying ‘winner 2021 or 2022,’ and they know right away that we are doing something right and if they come here, they will probably have a good time.”

Carriere explained following his first award win last year, the impact for his business was immediately noticeable, as more guests were coming in from as far away as the United Kingdom, Ireland and Holland.

Rocking R Guest Ranch has existed within Wheatland County for roughly seven years in total. Now having been taken over by the Carriere’s, the property hosts weddings, and larger social events as well as activities to do around the ranch.

“We also rent out our cabins, and we partner with a lot of local businesses to provide tours, horseback riding, white water rafting, flyfishing, (and other activities),” said Carriere. 

Although hospitality was not in either of the couple’s backgrounds prior to taking over the ranch, Carriere said he and his wife have enjoyed getting involved both in the local community, as well as with their host of business partners. 

As with any business, he added, it is not all sunshine and rainbows, as maintaining a 40 acre property comes with its own host of challenges. 

“It has been a bit of a daunting task and it definitely keeps us busy … having a bunch of animals so close to the wedding areas is both really great, but also hard to make sure it is always running as smooth as possible,” he said. 

Carriere is excited to have a lot more in store for visitors throughout this year and wants to encourage anyone who is curious about the ranch to keep an eye out and stay tuned for what’s to come.