KingM
New member
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2004
- Messages
- 977
- Points
- 0
- Location
- Warren, VT (Sugarbush, MRG)
- Website
- www.goldenlionriversideinn.com
As most of you know, I own an inn near Sugarbush and Mad River Glen. This is not a thread pitching my inn, as I come here for the same reasons as everyone else--to talk about skiing--but I'm trying to figure out some pricing stuff for the inn and would appreciate some feedback of what sorts of things encourage you to book a room/choose a ski resort.
As background, we're definitely not in the high-end B&B business. My niche is a clean, comfortable room at a good price, but with a full breakfast included, so you don't have to go out scrounging for food before you hit the slopes. In the past we've used some really good lift ticket deals provided by SB to help fill rooms midweek, but they've changed that this year, and with the economy I want to make sure that I'm doing what I can. I don't want to look back at the end of the winter and find out that I've hurt myself by not giving this enough thought.
So here are a couple of my options:
1. Lower my base rates. This is tough because I've already only raised rates $2/night since three winters ago while expenses have gone up. I'm going to fill up on good weekends at my current price, so I'd probably be eating into my own bottom line. And with the exception of the youth hostel, you can't really beat our prices on midweek rooms already. But lowering the price midweek might help me pick up room nights when someone is choosing between the MRV and, say, Killington.
2. Be more aggressive with multi-day stay discounts. In the past, I've started these at 5 days, during non-holiday weeks, but maybe I could start at 4 days with 10% and then offer 15% at 7 days. I'm leaning toward doing this, but it seems to me that not as many people take longer ski trips as used to.
3. Offer my own discount on Sugarbush lift tickets. The mountain gives me a certain price and I could package them for whatever. It's true that most of the discount offered by SB is gone this year, but if I matched it, I would have cheaper tickets than anywhere else and I might highlight the value that you get by staying at my place. It could be better than dropping another $10 off the room rate, because if I do that, people might say, "Hmm, Sugarlodge is $100 and the Golden Lion is $80, so I guess Sugarlodge is $20 better than the Golden Lion. Let's go with the nicer place and see if we can save money on the lift tickets." I'm biased, of course, but I think we offer a good value, so I don't want to give people this impression. Instead, I might be able to offer the savings on the lift ticket side, if that makes sense.
I hope you'll forgive me for asking what you think about this sort of thing. It can be tough running a business up here with the hugely seasonal nature of the ski industry. We're so reliant on the weather and you have to save enough during the winter to support yourself in the off-season. But people still deserve a good value, and to feel like they're getting their money's worth. This is true whether you're talking about equipment, lift passes, lodging, restaurants, or whatever.
As background, we're definitely not in the high-end B&B business. My niche is a clean, comfortable room at a good price, but with a full breakfast included, so you don't have to go out scrounging for food before you hit the slopes. In the past we've used some really good lift ticket deals provided by SB to help fill rooms midweek, but they've changed that this year, and with the economy I want to make sure that I'm doing what I can. I don't want to look back at the end of the winter and find out that I've hurt myself by not giving this enough thought.
So here are a couple of my options:
1. Lower my base rates. This is tough because I've already only raised rates $2/night since three winters ago while expenses have gone up. I'm going to fill up on good weekends at my current price, so I'd probably be eating into my own bottom line. And with the exception of the youth hostel, you can't really beat our prices on midweek rooms already. But lowering the price midweek might help me pick up room nights when someone is choosing between the MRV and, say, Killington.
2. Be more aggressive with multi-day stay discounts. In the past, I've started these at 5 days, during non-holiday weeks, but maybe I could start at 4 days with 10% and then offer 15% at 7 days. I'm leaning toward doing this, but it seems to me that not as many people take longer ski trips as used to.
3. Offer my own discount on Sugarbush lift tickets. The mountain gives me a certain price and I could package them for whatever. It's true that most of the discount offered by SB is gone this year, but if I matched it, I would have cheaper tickets than anywhere else and I might highlight the value that you get by staying at my place. It could be better than dropping another $10 off the room rate, because if I do that, people might say, "Hmm, Sugarlodge is $100 and the Golden Lion is $80, so I guess Sugarlodge is $20 better than the Golden Lion. Let's go with the nicer place and see if we can save money on the lift tickets." I'm biased, of course, but I think we offer a good value, so I don't want to give people this impression. Instead, I might be able to offer the savings on the lift ticket side, if that makes sense.
I hope you'll forgive me for asking what you think about this sort of thing. It can be tough running a business up here with the hugely seasonal nature of the ski industry. We're so reliant on the weather and you have to save enough during the winter to support yourself in the off-season. But people still deserve a good value, and to feel like they're getting their money's worth. This is true whether you're talking about equipment, lift passes, lodging, restaurants, or whatever.
