On mountain food prices

You know its funny. How does one justify a high price meal at a resort...If a person is on their own I guess their isnt much debate but for a family now were talking money that goes real fast.....

http://whitewhine.com/


lol

steamboat1 said:

$12 outdoor deck bbq'd burgers at the Octagon on top of Stowe. Excellent burger & there was a choice of several dressings & other toppings that the server puts together for you on a freshly baked bun. There was also a variety of salads to chose from included. Not overly priced I thought considering the spectacular views from the outdoor summit deck. It didn't hurt that it was almost 70 degrees, sunshine & no wind either. This was 2 weeks ago.

At $3.50 a pop for a choice of several brands of 16.oz canned beers I was in heaven.

Better yet after getting a good buzz going your on top of Mansfield & you have to ski down.

Priceless!!!

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Stowe has it dialed - they charge $14 for a burger plate in the spruce lodge, but's top quality and what you would get and pay for in the city.

$7 for a frozen cafeteria foodservice burger? LOL.

Breadbowl soup and a bottle of coke mid mountain Vail $17 a few years ago. Not sure what it is now. Didn't eat there the last few times I was there.
Good soup though! :lol:

I rarely buy food at the mountain, but when I do I have found the value at Sunday River to be pretty good. St Patrick's day weekend they had a corned beef rueben on special at the Peak Lodge for 7 or 8 dollars with cole slaw. The sandwich was huge- served on a sub roll with huge slabs of meat, and was quite good. I remember thinking it would be a good value anywhere. A couple weeks ago I bought a ham italian at Barker, which came with chips for $5.99. The sandwich was just ok, but I thought the price was great. Usually if I do buy lunch it is at the Peak Lodge, as they tend to have some really good non-traditional specials for around $8.00.

Highway Star said:

Stowe has it dialed - they charge $14 for a burger plate in the spruce lodge, but's top quality and what you would get and pay for in the city.

$7 for a frozen cafeteria foodservice burger? LOL.

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I thought it was $12 down there also, maybe I'm wrong.

Burgers are always cooked fresh to order.

They also serve their food on real plates with real silverware & have someone walking around who'll pick up your plate when you're done. No need to look for the nearest trash receptacle. Did I mention granite counter tops.

While we're talking about food served at eastern ski areas I'm surprised no one has mentioned the food at Le Massif, QE. You can actually get good healthy fresh cooked food at reasonable prices.

billski said:

Adam Smith would simply observe supply and demand. If this is what it takes to stay in business so be it. Recent stats confirm it's a large chunk of revenue it. It doesn't impact the envionment, it brings more local jobs and cash infusion to the local economy. The impact is only on your wallet. Of course, the vocal few on this forum have learned how to deal with this, so it's not really a problem. It is of course very entertaining.

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Actually, it's for the benefit of the resort to find the best price point to make the best profit. The OP is commenting the too high price is decreasing the sale!

Though the forum's consensus is the price was not too high, the point is still worth discussing. When the food price is high and quality low, people starts brown bagging. Not just those who can't afford the price, but even though who could would refuse to be gouged.

The other end of the spectrum, food in DV is so good people make a point of eating there! It's a mountain that makes money running lift and running a high quality restaurant. Not just a cafeteria that gouge the lazy.

So yes, supply and demand. But the demand isn't just food, it's good food that's inline with the price.

uphillklimber said:

Seriously now, what is going on? I was at the River today for pond skimming. They fired up the grill and burgers smelled awesome. I ended up buying one and a dog, $7.00 and $3.50 respectively. Again, I am reminded why I brown bag it to the resort. . . .

Whose marketing idea is this? The burger was a decent burger, as was the dog. If they were to sell them for say, half that price, they'd still make a decent profit, but they would sell so many more of them, that overall their sales and profits would be much higher. There would likely be a whole lot less brown bagging it and more food bought on resort, ending up with greater profits overall.

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In general, ski resorts get away with charging much higher prices than the identical items would cost elsewhere. If it failed on this particular occasion (I'll take your word for it that it did), it is a great rarity, from which I assume they will learn.

For the most part, ski resort food is going to remain expensive because it has long since been proven that most visitors will pay those prices. The same concept works at places like airports and sports stadiums, or anywhere else that the management has a captive audience. Only a small percentage choose to brown-bag it.

And your estimate of the profit percentage is probably way, way, way off.

2 years ago when I went to Gore ,they had really good burger I remember and price was the same as all the ski areas.

1900' Burger at Mount Snow

Full disclosure: Homer alert.

My family loves this place at the Mount Snow Base Lodge.

1900' Burger Menu.

It's a little pricey, but it's full service. The food is off the charts. I rarely eat at the cafeteria (except my my boys beg me for breakfast after hitting the AM Express 7:30 access line on Saturday).

The Waffle Cabin and ZooHoos at the mountain pretty good too.

Again, not a bargain, but definitely "worth what paid".

vcunning said:

Full disclosure: Homer alert.

My family loves this place at the Mount Snow Base Lodge.

1900' Burger Menu.

It's a little pricey, but it's full service. The food is off the charts. I rarely eat at the cafeteria (except my my boys beg me for breakfast after hitting the AM Express 7:30 access line on Saturday).

The Waffle Cabin and ZooHoos at the mountain pretty good too.

Again, not a bargain, but definitely "worth what paid".

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Another great eatery@ mt snow is great deli under the hotel, same prices as the lodge but food is sweet. http://mountsnow.com/plan-your-trip/lodging/grand-summit-hotel/

abc said:

A
So yes, supply and demand. But the demand isn't just food, it's good food that's inline with the price.

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Unless you are a captive audience :-D (hotel room, etc.)

In that case, I buy for convenience, not taste. Skiing equipment, etc. is already such a hassle, especially when you have to carry skis for three Dinner of course is an entirely different matter.

billski said:

Unless you are a captive audience :-D (hotel room, etc.)

In that case, I buy for convenience, not taste. Skiing equipment, etc. is already such a hassle, especially when you have to carry skis for three Dinner of course is an entirely different matter.

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But with DV, they attract even non-skiers to their on mountain restaurant!

To a small degree, their restaurant is swaying people's decision of where to ski...

deadheadskier said:

Sunday River's food offerings both quality and selection have gotten a bad rap for years. Good to hear they are upping their game.

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I'd like to think that this was an instance of management listening to the customers' concerns. A year or two ago, people were complaining on the SR community board about the price of food (I think it was the price and quality of the pizzas on offer) and the lack of variety. After that, I noticed improvements such as better offerings (sweet rolls at North Peak), sit-down dinners (North Peak) and more variety (Asian rice and noodle dishes). A big reason I patronize this ski area is because I feel that management goes out of its way to please its customers. You won't find too many disgruntled Sunday River regulars.

I've noticed Killington's prices are above average AND above their quality. K is one of the few mountains I ALWAYS brown bag... and I have gotten quite lazy these past few years about packing a lunch. But I am never lazy when going to K.

There is more to it than supply and demand. Ski areas don't have all the information. They don't know that perfect point at which they are not charging so much that they are loosing too many sales but also not too low that they are loosing profitability. There is a lot of guess work. The sad thing is many places are not getting it right and the customer is the big looser, though the ski area looses profits too.

If skiers feel they are being gouged as a captive audience, they won't come back. Or if they do, they'll come back with a brown bag. There has to be a premium, but the premium can't be too much and has to come with better than fast food quality.

The funny thing is gouging vs good quality might only be the difference of a dollar or two. But I think that is where the value and quality aspects come in. You can charge more but you need to produce a better product.

Having stated the obvious, I'll help continue this discussion.
I ate twice at the Stowe Mt. Lodge for lunch. While the Chicken Cesar salad was $12, it was giant and very well made, very fresh lettuce and chicken. It was quite delicious. Now, I could only eat about half of it, so it made for a great dinner. $6 per meal, not so bad. They hide away the to-go boxes so you gotta ask. Somehow I managed to get it home without crushing it in my bag!

I've also had their burger - while astronomically priced, it is one or the finest burgers I've ever had. A real hard roll, very big burger and real condiments. While I may be cheap, there are times to splurge. Like RC said, sometimes one just gets lazy.

Regarding not returning on account of bad food, meh, that's not me. A terrific mountain trumps food any day. Besides, there is no time to eat anyways.

I always brown bag for the most part. If I'm on a ski bus, I brown bag for lunch and dinner (which means 2 sandwiches) as I may not have quite enough time to get something from the lodge to catch it 15 minutes before it departs the resort but who cares when I'm saving money. And then I try to compact it small enough to fit in my coat so it'd consist of a sandwich and a few energy bars. For the times I've gone on my own, it depends. I've always brown bagged all meals at K-mart as I've mostly went there for weekend trips to the Mt. Green such that I'd have to rely on a bus running infrequently other than just the expensive convenience store and probably restaurant in the front. When I used to go to North Conway, I knew enough breakfast places to eat out in town and I could find dinner reasonable enough at some informal dining establishment whether it'd be just get sushi from the case at the supermarket or go to a local pizza joint. Then, what I'd eat brown bagged would be just lunch.

I've used to get a good deal with Stratton in terms of pricing at their restaurants that actually convinced me to go there a few times over other options (but the deal has been gone for some time now because of the economy) but now since that is now gone I brown bag it there too and it gets the same due consideration vs other resorts, which means wherever the bus is going is where I'm going in terms of who offers the best value for the range of days I want to ski and there's good conditions expected or for overnights, who offers the best value (whether it'd be staying at an independent hotel and hopping around to the different resorts or just paying for the full package at the resort).

I think logistics plays into it quite a bit. Especially if you look at the prices at a summit lodge.

We tend to "snack" more vs eat at the mountain. We stay fueled with a hot cocoa, apple and a granola bar. We'll usually toss a granola bar and a box of rasins in my coat pocket before we leave in the AM.

vcunning said:

Full disclosure: Homer alert.

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A lot of this comes down to a day tripper vs. a Vacationer. The guy/girl who only makes it out once a year, for a few days, all excited about being at a big mountain deserves to treat themselves, if but once a year.

While at Stowe this past spring, I saw several groups getting their picture taken at the Spruce lift, the base lodge, Mansfield. All smiles, gawking a everything, buying souvenirs. They were all having so much fun; this was quite a treat for them. They may never have the opportunity to come again. Why spoil their fun?

When I'm in the islands or out west, I know I'm getting gouged. But I'm paying for convenience, not washing dishes and treating myself to something special.