Meet Cortney: Connector & Curator for the Anvil Hotel and More

Cortney Asten Sprayberry wants lodging guests to leave feeling like they got to know Jackson, not just visit it.

 

Cortney Asten Sprayberry grew up in hospitality, quite literally. Her dad was the general manager of a hotel next to Houston’s Astrodome, and she learned to ride a bike through the lobby. Trained in photography, she went on to work in editorial wardrobe styling and event production, where her eye for storytelling became a career of dreaming up wild ideas and figuring out how to make it happen.

Cortney jokes that she has always worn a lot of hats: stylist, producer, connector, life wrangler, and, on a good day, maker of magic. Today, those worlds come together through hospitality, community, and her newly founded company, Create A Scene.

 

Create A Scene is the natural next chapter of something Cortney has always done: notice the beauty, dream up what could be, and create a scene worth remembering.

 

Q: How long have you lived in Jackson, and what made you want to make this area your new home?  

A: Like many, I first landed in Jackson in my early 20s, and I kept finding my way back until finally making it home in 2023. Becoming a mom changed what “home” meant to me, and Jackson gave me something I was looking for: the community, adventure and a place where my daughter could grow up a little wild. But shhhh, don’t tell my first love, Austin, Texas.

 

Q: What was the first thing to take your breath away? 

A: Obviously, the Tetons will do it. I remember getting off the plane here for the first time, tearing up and having this weird feeling that I was home before I had any reason to claim it.  But what has continued to take my breath away about Jackson is the people and community. This valley is an incredible mix of creatives, adventurers, thinkers, makers, and people who are genuinely curious about the world and each other. The mountains might get you here, but I think the people are what make you stay — and honestly help me survive the winter.

Q: As Connector and Curator, what does your position entail for guests of The Alpine House, The Anvil and Cache House? What specifically can they anticipate/expect? 

A: I always joke that Connector & Curator is part concierge, part event producer, part community matchmaker, and a healthy dose of life wrangling. My job is to listen to what a guest actually wants from Jackson and connect them to the people and places that make this valley special. But more importantly, help them understand who makes it so special.

 

“I’m also constantly collecting ideas of something I tasted, saw, heard, or stumbled into…”

 

I love introducing guests to the artists, makers, guides, ranchers, chefs, and small business owners behind this community and finding ways for our properties to support and celebrate what they’re already doing. I’m also constantly collecting ideas of something I tasted, saw, heard, or stumbled into and thinking about how we can bring a little of that curiosity back to Jackson and make it our own.

 

Maybe that’s intimate live music with locally crafted cocktails, exploring private collections with a local gallerist, or shopping for your Jackson moment. Truly finding the hat, piece of art, vintage treasure, or locally made something that becomes a little piece of the story you get to take home. Or maybe we bring in an astronomer for night-sky viewing, with a tarot reading on the side, because why not? Ultimately, I want guests to leave feeling like they got to know Jackson, not just visit it. And meet some of the people who make this place worth knowing.

Q: What are some of your personal favorite activities to do in town, the Village and/or Grand Teton National Park? Do you have a “Jackson 5” must-do or see for guests?  

A: I can’t give away all my secrets! And I’m terrible at narrowing Jackson down to five things, mostly because I don’t think you should experience it as a checklist.

 

With Create a Scene, I am in the memory-making business, so I’d start early with a sunrise hike to Taggart Lake, then get on the water. Raft the Snake or grab a stand-up paddleboard and spend a few hours on one of the lakes. Spend a day at Turpin Meadow Ranch and stay for the horse de-wrangle; it’s majestic. At some point, head up to the Village, ride the tram, and yes, get the waffle at Corbet’s. I love the Nutella.

 

But save time for town. Go shopping. Customize a hat, find your new favorite vintage piece, wander into a gallery. I’m currently obsessed with these stained-glass bolos!  Call me, I have a guy. Have a sloshie, learn to line dance, walk around, talk to people, and don’t be in such a hurry to get to the next thing.

 

Then end the day at Glorietta. Order the bison and the fusilli — you have to have an Olivet — and save room for dessert. That’s five-ish, right? And somehow I still haven’t gotten you to Granite Hot Springs.

 

Q: In your opinion, what separates the Jackson campus from other lodging properties in Jackson Hole? 

A: For me, what separates our Jackson properties is that we actually want you out of your room. Of course, we want you to love where you’re staying.

 

These are beautiful spaces in one of the most beautiful places in the world!  But I think of our properties as your home base to Jackson. The scenery is right outside the door, and we want you in it. And sometimes getting out of your room just means coming downstairs.

 

We want our spaces to feel lived in. We house visiting artists and creatives, bring local makers through our doors, and one of my favorite things to experience is live music in the Anvil lobby. You might come down for coffee and find a local author caffeinating beside you, grab a drink and stay for the music, or end up talking to someone you never would have met otherwise.

 

I think that’s when a hotel becomes more than somewhere you sleep. Jackson already has so much personality, history, creativity, and natural beauty. Our job isn’t to manufacture it – it’s to open the door.