The Sundance Film Festival is moving its Boulder headquarters out of the Hotel Boulderado as workers at the historic downtown hotel wage a monthslong campaign to unionize and call on festival organizers to support their efforts.
The Sundance Institute says the move was driven by a need for more space and that discussions with the new venue began before the labor dispute.
The move was announced Oct. 15, the day tickets went on sale for Sundance’s first Boulder festival. The two-sentence announcement did not mention the Hotel Boulderado.
The switch comes as Boulderado workers campaign to get their union recognized. In recent months, they have picketed outside the hotel and urged the festival’s organizers to use their influence to encourage hotel management to resolve the labor dispute. Unite Here, a national hospitality union, is helping to organize the Boulderado employees.
“Will Sundance cross our picket line?” Ray Guadalupe, a hotel worker, said in an Oct. 15 press release by Unite Here.
In July 2026, about a month into the labor dispute, Eugene Hernandez, director of the Sundance Film Festival, confirmed the Boulderado would serve as the festival’s headquarters, noting its proximity to the city’s downtown. In an Oct. 15 press release, the Sundance Institute announced its new headquarters would be The Rink, located at 1722 14th St., also near downtown.
Katie Shapiro, a representative for the Sundance Institute, told Boulder Reporting Lab that The Rink is larger, allowing all of its departments to work from one place, rather than “spreading our operational footprint across multiple venues.” She said conversations with The Rink began before the union dispute, initially as part of a search for additional small offices to supplement space at the Boulderado.
Shapiro said the institute has no plans to house staff at the Boulderado.
It remains unclear what the move will mean financially for the hotel.
“The Sundance Institute strongly supports unions and believes that they strengthen the institutions they work for,” Shapiro said. “While we began our conversations with The Rink’s leadership team before the dispute took place, we are aware of the ongoing efforts by the Boulderado staff and we hope management and workers can come to an agreement.”
Union representatives responded to the change by doubling down on their request for the festival to use its influence to resolve the labor dispute.
“The Sundance Film Festival has a responsibility to help workers in its new hometown, and that includes taking on Hotel Boulderado’s private equity owner AJ Capital Partners,” said Allyssa Pollard, a Unite Here representative.
Union efforts
In March 2025, the iconic 117-year-old Hotel Boulderado was purchased by Nashville-based AJ Capital, after over 40 years under the same ownership. By July 1, 2026, hotel workers were trying to unionize, citing layoffs, reduced hours and heavier workloads.
Union representatives estimated about two dozen people lost their jobs earlier this year, while others had seen their shifts, hours and benefits cut. One longtime housekeeper said management had doubled the number of rooms she was required to clean.
“In the five years I’ve worked there, no one has ever brought up needing to unionize until recently,” Liz Lytle, a front-of-house employee, told Boulder Reporting Lab in July. “That just shows how bad things turned, so quickly.”
Schulte Hospitality, which AJ Capital contracts with to manage the Boulderado and several other hotels, has not recognized the union. Unite Here reports that the hotel has brought in consultants to talk to staff and convince them not to unionize.
AJ Capital and Schulte Hospitality did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
AJ Capital, which describes itself as a real estate investment manager, manages the Graduate Hotels by Hilton portfolio, which focuses on hotels in college towns, as well as several others. The Boulderado is expected to join the Graduate collection after it undergoes renovations.
AJ Capital has faced lawsuits and community pushback in New York, California and Florida over hotel closures, tenant evictions, layoffs and an alleged effort to push a bakery out of its space.
In March 2025, the Sundance Institute announced Boulder would host the festival, which is expected to bring tens of thousands of visitors to the area each winter.
In 2024, the festival brought $132 million in economic activity to Utah, according to the Boulder Chamber. The city and state invested in bringing the festival to Boulder, expecting a boost in sales tax revenue. The 10-day festival kicks off Jan. 21.
