Big Burke announcement

[VTKilarney]

They have finally posted their lift ticket specials.

$35 for people 55 and older on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

$25 for Sunday afternoon (12:30 - 4:00) tickets beginning on January 4th - open to all.

I can understand not offering the Sunday special during Christmas vacation, but why aren't they offering it on December 14th?

 

[from_the_NEK]

They have finally posted their lift ticket specials.

$35 for people 55 and older on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

$25 for Sunday afternoon (12:30 - 4:00) tickets beginning on January 4th - open to all.

I can understand not offering the Sunday special during Christmas vacation, but why aren't they offering it on December 14th?

I don't think they have ever offered the Ski and Ride NEK Style (SUnday afternoon discount) prior to January.

 

[from_the_NEK]

Q Burke posted some photos to their Facebook page.

Here is the training hill as of today (12/1):

With the cool down starting this afternoon. Looks like they are trying to spread out the whales before they freeze solid.

 

[VTKilarney]

I don't think they have ever offered the Ski and Ride NEK Style (SUnday afternoon discount) prior to January.

Ahh... I did not know that. I wonder why?

 

[thetrailboss]

I don't think they have ever offered the Ski and Ride NEK Style (SUnday afternoon discount) prior to January.

That's my recollection as well.

 

[from_the_NEK]

We went from nothing to nearly a foot on hot ground, back to almost nothing in less than a week .

At least the ground might get a chance to freeze a little this time around.

From Saturday:

Burke_Snowmaking by Tim_NEK, on Flickr

 

[thetrailboss]

From this month's SKI Magazine...




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[deadheadskier]

you should post that up on facebook

 

[thetrailboss]

Also in SKI:



Someone needs to take them to task over the MRG comment.


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[thetrailboss]

you should post that up on facebook

I'm tempted. The last time I made a comment Q Jr. posted a snarky reply.


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[deadheadskier]

Funny thing is that I don't he even cares that SAM magazine and now SKI magazine is making fun of him. It's one thing to have a few customers ridicule you on Facebook and message boards, but when a mainstream publication like SKI magazine throws you under the bus, you might want to listen. That's not the kind of PR you want.

 

[thetrailboss]

Funny thing is that I don't he even cares that SAM magazine and now SKI magazine is making fun of him. It's one thing to have a few customers ridicule you on Facebook and message boards, but when a mainstream publication like SKI magazine throws you under the bus, you might want to listen. That's not the kind of PR you want.

Exactly


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[crank]

Let me say this about that. I used to work in TV promotion. I wanted reaction to our on-air spots. If it was negative reaction that was awesome because it showed people were involved with our product. This thread being as active as it is is , believe it or not, is music to Q's ears.

 

[VTKilarney]

Let me say this about that. I used to work in TV promotion. I wanted reaction to our on-air spots. If it was negative reaction that was awesome because it showed people were involved with our product. This thread being as active as it is is , believe it or not, is music to Q's ears.

The "no such thing as bad press" argument. Anyone who is remotely knowledgeable about marketing knows that this is a myth. Just ask Toyota and Tiger Woods how they feel about this issue. Respectfully, TV promotion is probably much different than ski area promotion.

Having said that, I don't think that these kerfuffles have negatively affected Q Burke much at all. Their customer base is generally local, affiliated with BMA, or already committed.

 

[crank]

You guys are talking nonstop about Q. Ski mag is talking about Q. I think you are raising awareness of Q. Probably more people are aware of Q now than were ever aware of a sleepy little hill everybody drives by called Burke.

 

[zeke]

The "no such thing as bad press" argument. Anyone who is remotely knowledgeable about marketing knows that this is a myth. Just ask Toyota and Tiger Woods how they feel about this issue. Respectfully, TV promotion is probably much different than ski area promotion.

Having said that, I don't think that these kerfuffles have negatively affected Q Burke much at all. Their customer base is generally local, affiliated with BMA, or already committed.

totally agree about current audiences but they have a new audience they need to reach that cares very much about how the mountain functions compared to the rest of the industry–future investors. eb-5 problems with the same group at Jay aside, an industry mocking someone looking for money to operate within said industry probably doesn't scream return on investment.

secondarily, somebody needs to fill that hotel once (if) it's open and those people won't, for the most part, be locals, or bma or those already committed. so that's another market that the q-team is currently ignoring who will be forced to get information from outside sources like az or ski magazine.

 

[thetrailboss]

The "no such thing as bad press" argument. Anyone who is remotely knowledgeable about marketing knows that this is a myth. Just ask Toyota and Tiger Woods how they feel about this issue. Respectfully, TV promotion is probably much different than ski area promotion.

Having said that, I don't think that these kerfuffles have negatively affected Q Burke much at all. Their customer base is generally local, affiliated with BMA, or already committed.

+1. This is the wrong kind of publicity. Last season they had a good snow year during the second half. However, their numbers were pretty flat in terms of skier days. This year will likely be the same or down because lots of locals despise him and will not ski there. And, as of right now, they have to rely on locals.

Unfortunately our concerns would normally at least be considered by a regular, logical thinking business person. But since it appears that Q has other motivations (proving himself), there is no logic and our concerns fall on deaf ears.

SAM ridiculed Q in their annual "best and worst" of the ski season article. The industry is relatively small....and many read SAM. When your own industry is telling you that you are wrong you should listen. Q's response when I brought that up on FB: a snide remark that he is a "leader" and doesn't follow the pack. Um, OK.....

 

[VTKilarney]

+1. This is the wrong kind of publicity. Last season they had a good snow year during the second half. However, their numbers were pretty flat in terms of skier days. This year will likely be the same or down because lots of locals despise him and will not ski there. And, as of right now, they have to rely on locals.

For all of the complaining, I'm not convinced that the locals are fleeing. This is because most of the local market is a captive one. For most locals it's a significantly longer drive to the next closest hill. Having said that, this is a test year for us since it's the first year that we have season passes. If Burke does not deliver, we will go to Cannon or Bretton Woods. Had we gone to Bretton Woods, we would have been skiing already - and we would be skiing later in the spring. That alone makes up for 30 minute longer drive. And, frankly, Bretton Woods is a better fit (terrain-wise) for my children.

On the other hand, I think Ary may mistake the difficulty locals have for skiing elsewhere with support. That would be a grave mistake, indeed.

 

[deadheadskier]

The thing is though, how many "locals" are really supporting the place? They did what, 75K skier visits last year? So, how many season passes do we think they sold? 500? It's not a busy mountain. You piss off say a dozen season pass buying families that do make the decision to ski elsewhere and that's a big hit for a place like Burke.

 

[VTKilarney]

I was under the impression that Burke was going to close mid-week between the weekends of December 13th and December 20th.

Yet Liftopia is selling tickets for those mid-week days. Could Liftopia be wrong or is this an indication that once Burke opens they will stay open?