billski
Active member
Interesting article in the WSJ this week about how Vail (snow, inc) is buying up little places in Michigan as "feeder hills" for future Vail customers. Turns out a lot of their customers come from Michigan. They figure if they grab them young it's a good strategic bet for them.
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The goal is to hook families on the sport at spots close to home and groom them for vacations at the company's pricier Western mountains like Canyons Resort in Utah and Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado. Vail Resorts has already bought resorts in Minnesota and Michigan and spent $20 million to renovate and upgrade them.
It is a long-term strategy, says Rob Katz, Vail Resorts Inc.'s chief executive. "There are kids in those [Midwestern] markets whose parents may not ski—maybe they are 12. If we can make a connection with that kid, we have a great opportunity to keep him in our family as he gets older and begins making his own decisions about where he is going to travel," he says. "
Skiing and snowboarding are looking to attract younger participants to replace aging baby boomers. The percentage of skiers and snowboarders ages 24 and younger fell to 22.8% in the 2012-13 ski season, down from 30.6% in 1997-98, according to a survey of visitors to 88 U.S. resorts by the National Ski Areas Association, a trade group. During the same stretch, the percentage of people ages 45 to 54 increased to 19.8%, up from 14%.
But the Midwest has the largest share of young skiers and snowboarders: About 35% are 17 and younger, compared with the national average of 9%, according to NSAA data. Mr. Katz says that more skiers at Vail's Western resorts come from the Midwest than any other area. He notes the popularity of hockey and says Midwestern kids "are very comfortable in cold-weather activities."
There were about 56.9 million visits to U.S. ski spots in the 2012-13 season, a rebound from the dismal 2011-12 season's 51 million visits, when little snow fell on swaths of the West, but on par with the yearly average for the last decade. Skiing and snowboarding's pricey equipment and lift tickets can deter some potential participants.
Vail Resorts' purchases are the latest in a string of efforts by the industry to attract more people to the sport. In recent years, resorts have also plowed money into elegant restaurants and lounges, souped-up kids' programs and fancier lifts. (Heated seats, anyone?)
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Vail is marketing tiny Mt. Brighton, about a 45-minute drive from Detroit, and Afton Alps, outside Minneapolis, as the places "Where Epic Begins." Vail paid about $10 million in December 2012 to buy the resorts. Mt. Brighton has a vertical drop of only 230 feet. Afton's is 350. Compare those to the smallest vertical drop among Vail Resorts Western slopes—the 2,000-foot drop at California's Kirkwood Mountain Resort near Lake Tahoe.
Mr. Katz said Vail took a straw poll of its executives while considering this move: "We all learned to ski at these small resorts." He notes that you don't need a big mountain to play in a terrain park or try a half pipe. And "if you're 3 or 4 or 5 years old, just learning to ski, you are just as good to be at Mt. Brighton than you are to be at Vail."
Some season passes at each of the little hills include free days of skiing at Vail's Western resorts.
"
The goal is to hook families on the sport at spots close to home and groom them for vacations at the company's pricier Western mountains like Canyons Resort in Utah and Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado. Vail Resorts has already bought resorts in Minnesota and Michigan and spent $20 million to renovate and upgrade them.
It is a long-term strategy, says Rob Katz, Vail Resorts Inc.'s chief executive. "There are kids in those [Midwestern] markets whose parents may not ski—maybe they are 12. If we can make a connection with that kid, we have a great opportunity to keep him in our family as he gets older and begins making his own decisions about where he is going to travel," he says. "
Skiing and snowboarding are looking to attract younger participants to replace aging baby boomers. The percentage of skiers and snowboarders ages 24 and younger fell to 22.8% in the 2012-13 ski season, down from 30.6% in 1997-98, according to a survey of visitors to 88 U.S. resorts by the National Ski Areas Association, a trade group. During the same stretch, the percentage of people ages 45 to 54 increased to 19.8%, up from 14%.
But the Midwest has the largest share of young skiers and snowboarders: About 35% are 17 and younger, compared with the national average of 9%, according to NSAA data. Mr. Katz says that more skiers at Vail's Western resorts come from the Midwest than any other area. He notes the popularity of hockey and says Midwestern kids "are very comfortable in cold-weather activities."
There were about 56.9 million visits to U.S. ski spots in the 2012-13 season, a rebound from the dismal 2011-12 season's 51 million visits, when little snow fell on swaths of the West, but on par with the yearly average for the last decade. Skiing and snowboarding's pricey equipment and lift tickets can deter some potential participants.
Vail Resorts' purchases are the latest in a string of efforts by the industry to attract more people to the sport. In recent years, resorts have also plowed money into elegant restaurants and lounges, souped-up kids' programs and fancier lifts. (Heated seats, anyone?)
...
Vail is marketing tiny Mt. Brighton, about a 45-minute drive from Detroit, and Afton Alps, outside Minneapolis, as the places "Where Epic Begins." Vail paid about $10 million in December 2012 to buy the resorts. Mt. Brighton has a vertical drop of only 230 feet. Afton's is 350. Compare those to the smallest vertical drop among Vail Resorts Western slopes—the 2,000-foot drop at California's Kirkwood Mountain Resort near Lake Tahoe.
Mr. Katz said Vail took a straw poll of its executives while considering this move: "We all learned to ski at these small resorts." He notes that you don't need a big mountain to play in a terrain park or try a half pipe. And "if you're 3 or 4 or 5 years old, just learning to ski, you are just as good to be at Mt. Brighton than you are to be at Vail."
Some season passes at each of the little hills include free days of skiing at Vail's Western resorts.
