Triple Digit Lift Tickets

[VTKilarney]

One other incentive to increase ticket prices is that it can make ski and stay packages much more appealing because they can offer better deals by discounting in-house. The larger ski resorts are no longer content to just sell you a lift ticket. They want your hotel and restaurant revenue - and don't want to see that money being spent somewhere down the mountain road. And if you buy a ski and stay package, you are much less likely to spend a day skiing at another mountain.

Disney World is the master of this. Each year they add some perk to staying at on-site hotels. It used to be that a family spending a week in Orlando would typically visit Disney for four days and Universal Studios (or perhaps Sea World) for two days. A LOT fewer people are doing that because Disney has aggressively created market forces that encourage people to spend their entire vacation on Disney property. An example: The price difference between a four day Disney pass and a six day pass is $21.30. A two day pass to Universal Studios is $146.99 for adults and $136.99 for children. So if a family wants to spend four days at Disney and two days at Universal it will cost a family of four $481.38 more than if they just spent those six days in Disney parks. Since the average guest spends about $75 per day on food and trinkets (just a guess) while in a park, it's well worth it for Disney to discount park admission for those extra days if they know that it will prevent guests from going elsewhere. $75 + $10.15 per day is better than $0.

 

[MadMadWorld]

I really wouldn't be surprised if Stowe breaks the $100 mark next year. And I don't think it'll hurt them in the least. Most of their target demographic won't bat an eye, and the rest of us will still go as long as we can find deals.

I think resorts are just trying to get people to commit ahead of time. If walk up prices were cheap, people would plan a trip, and then if the weather didn't cooperate they'd just cancel. But with high walk up prices, people are pushed to buy in advance, and then it doesn't matter what mother nature does, the resort already has your money. Think about how many times you've heard people say they were going to go skiing and then changed their mind last minute? It happens a lot. Especially with the less dedicated crowd, I'd imagine, make up the largest portion of total sales.

Great point.

 

[4aprice]

When does Stowe start gobbling up some other areas and offering something like the epic pass out west? I'd be on that in a heart beat.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[MadMadWorld]

When does Stowe start gobbling up some other areas and offering something like the epic pass out west? I'd be on that in a heart beat.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

I doubt it. Ski areas don't buy out other ski areas unless they have outside investors (ie Peak Resorts)

 

[jimmywilson69]

They can start with their neighbor on the other side of Spruce Peak and get their "interconnect" back in operation.

If they invested like they have at Stowe, the Smuggs / Stowe Combo would be a pretty awesome setup.

 

[MadMadWorld]

They can start with their neighbor on the other side of Spruce Peak and get their "interconnect" back in operation.

If they invested like they have at Stowe, the Smuggs / Stowe Combo would be a pretty awesome setup.

Good god man you speak blasphemy! Saying that is like nails on a chalkboard. There was never an interconnect officially. The same trail that people used before will still get you back and forth they just had a better relationship in the past. The terrain may be similar but the clientele they target are very different. One is fancy and expensive and the other is bare bones and cost effective. It's like oil and water...they don't mix

 

[4aprice]

They can start with their neighbor on the other side of Spruce Peak and get their "interconnect" back in operation.

If they invested like they have at Stowe, the Smuggs / Stowe Combo would be a pretty awesome setup.

Exactly. And I knew you hear the screams from MMW.(I understand). Best ski complex east of the Mississippi. They could start with an expansion up Morse and to the left Whiteface (Sterling Mountain). I drool thinking about it.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[MadMadWorld]

Exactly. And I knew you hear the screams from MMW.(I understand). Best ski complex east of the Mississippi. They could start with an expansion up Morse and to the left Whiteface (Sterling Mountain). I drool thinking about it.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

Lol Yea I'm a little passionate about Smuggs and people love it because it's different than Stowe. I'm pretty Smuggs does very well for themselves so it's kind of a moot issue.

As far as upper Morse and Sterling....the bears can have it! What's so great about a natural hardwood trees with a steep pitch anyways?

 

[4aprice]

Lol Yea I'm a little passionate about Smuggs and people love it because it's different than Stowe. I'm pretty Smuggs does very well for themselves so it's kind of a moot issue.

As far as upper Morse and Sterling....the bears can have it! What's so great about a natural hardwood trees with a steep pitch anyways?[/QUOTE]

Make it like a Mt Bohiemia (Sp?) or Silverton Co (I think that's the name of the place), just thin the woods and maybe 1 lift. I grew up at Smuggs, love the place, but an ticketed interconnection would be fine with me.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[MadMadWorld]

It won't happen. Someone else mentioned that it's protected bear habitat. I think that sufficiently scares enough people away and that's fine by me.

 

[Bumpsis]

Why anyone pays ticket window prices these days are beyond me.

There are a few good reasons why people will opt to buy ticked window prices (and grumble about the price, rightfully so).
Buying on discount usually invloves prepaying and more than often, being commited to skiing/riding on the specific day(s) for which the ticket or voucher is valid.
Sure, there mey be savings, but they will mean a loss if you come up to the mountain on your specific ski day and find the major lifts on wind hold. Case in point: Today at Sugarloaf. With Skyline, Kingpine lifts off line, most people who wanted to ski the more interesting terrain, were forced to endure long lines at Superquad and the T-bar. If you're a walk up vs a prepaid discount skier, you had no choice of saying, "no thank, you"

Buying a package of ski and stay also forces you into the same kind of a choice. You already prepaid your lift ticket in one form of another and if the conditions are not to your liking, you're on the short end of the deal.
The same pattern has other premutations. Even buying 3 or 4 days worth of ski passes, also defines when it is when you're going to ski, even though you may not want to. If I'm skiing hard for a couple of days and get really exhaused, I may not really enjoy having to ski on the third day.

Sure, finding savings is possible in some cases but it always requires jumping through some hoops and possible risk of not having an optimal experince due to prepay (conditions, crowds, personal issues). I much rather have the flexibilty of picking the time when I want to ski.
It is regretable that this option is the most expensive so I'm definitely not OK with high walk up prices and I don't find any solace with people saying that it's OK for ski areas to charge huge money for walk ups because "you can find a deal in 2 minutes" as somebody in this discussion wrote.

 

[snoseek]

Over the Holiday week at Kirkwood and Heavenly I can vouch that the crowds were completely non-existent but I imagine that has more to do with blacked out local passes than anything else. Seriously, Heavenly on Sunday was more like a normal Thursday, tickets were selling for 115 that day.

 

[MadMadWorld]

There are a few good reasons why people will opt to buy ticked window prices (and grumble about the price, rightfully so).
Buying on discount usually invloves prepaying and more than often, being commited to skiing/riding on the specific day(s) for which the ticket or voucher is valid.
Sure, there mey be savings, but they will mean a loss if you come up to the mountain on your specific ski day and find the major lifts on wind hold. Case in point: Today at Sugarloaf. With Skyline, Kingpine lifts off line, most people who wanted to ski the more interesting terrain, were forced to endure long lines at Superquad and the T-bar. If you're a walk up vs a prepaid discount skier, you had no choice of saying, "no thank, you"

Buying a package of ski and stay also forces you into the same kind of a choice. You already prepaid your lift ticket in one form of another and if the conditions are not to your liking, you're on the short end of the deal.
The same pattern has other premutations. Even buying 3 or 4 days worth of ski passes, also defines when it is when you're going to ski, even though you may not want to. If I'm skiing hard for a couple of days and get really exhaused, I may not really enjoy having to ski on the third day.

Sure, finding savings is possible in some cases but it always requires jumping through some hoops and possible risk of not having an optimal experince due to prepay (conditions, crowds, personal issues). I much rather have the flexibilty of picking the time when I want to ski.
It is regretable that this option is the most expensive so I'm definitely not OK with high walk up prices and I don't find any solace with people saying that it's OK for ski areas to charge huge money for walk ups because "you can find a deal in 2 minutes" as somebody in this discussion wrote.

You can buy a lift ticket at 11 PM the night before on liftopia and still usually save around 10%.

 

[steamboat1]

What? Too much?

Uncalled for & ignorant would be a better description.

Wouldn't expect anything less.

 

[C-Rex]

Uncalled for & ignorant would be a better description.

Wouldn't expect anything less.

From a snowboarder, you mean? What a typical, d-bag statement. Far from ignorant, but I'll agree with over reaction. Maybe stop trolling over semantics and we'll get along.

 

[steamboat1]

From a snowboarder, you mean?

No, just an overall douch

 

[MadMadWorld]

Man Steamboat1 you have quite a few serious haters. Did you run over their dog?

 

[steamboat1]

Man Steamboat1 you have quite a few serious haters.

I guess you're in the mix.

 

[Bumpsis]

You can buy a lift ticket at 11 PM the night before on liftopia and still usually save around 10%.

Not for Sugarloaf and not during Mass School Vacation week (I checked).

 

[dlague]

There are a few good reasons why people will opt to buy ticked window prices (and grumble about the price, rightfully so).
Buying on discount usually invloves prepaying and more than often, being commited to skiing/riding on the specific day(s) for which the ticket or voucher is valid.
Sure, there mey be savings, but they will mean a loss if you come up to the mountain on your specific ski day and find the major lifts on wind hold. Case in point: Today at Sugarloaf. With Skyline, Kingpine lifts off line, most people who wanted to ski the more interesting terrain, were forced to endure long lines at Superquad and the T-bar. If you're a walk up vs a prepaid discount skier, you had no choice of saying, "no thank, you"

Buying a package of ski and stay also forces you into the same kind of a choice. You already prepaid your lift ticket in one form of another and if the conditions are not to your liking, you're on the short end of the deal.
The same pattern has other premutations. Even buying 3 or 4 days worth of ski passes, also defines when it is when you're going to ski, even though you may not want to. If I'm skiing hard for a couple of days and get really exhaused, I may not really enjoy having to ski on the third day.

Sure, finding savings is possible in some cases but it always requires jumping through some hoops and possible risk of not having an optimal experince due to prepay (conditions, crowds, personal issues). I much rather have the flexibilty of picking the time when I want to ski.
It is regretable that this option is the most expensive so I'm definitely not OK with high walk up prices and I don't find any solace with people saying that it's OK for ski areas to charge huge money for walk ups because "you can find a deal in 2 minutes" as somebody in this discussion wrote.

I disagree look at my signature and I have always paid 50% or less! I have plenty of options and it is never a problem! I find the deals easy to work with and ski decent resorts! Paying full price is craziness!


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