Idea for Ski Resort Marketing Strategy

[andyzee]

This year the American Skiing Company came out with an extremely competitive pricing scheme for their season passes. It's a joy for skiers such as myself, personally I will be at Killington this year more then previous years. At the same time this will hurt other resorts, which is a shame since there are many other good resorts out there. My belief is that a majority of people that have purchased these passes have opted for the Silver or Bronze pass which have blackout days. ASC, probably figured that people that have purchased these passes will still come to their resorts and pay full price on at least some of the blackout dates. I think what other resorts should consider is offering specials on these days to lure people away from ASC resorts and encourage skiers to try resorts that they may not have considered otherwise. Just an idea, I'm hoping that this may get to other resorts and at least some consider it.

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

ASC's pricing is certainly a plus for consumers...to a point. Everytime I've been to K-Mart this year (and I haven't been there in about 17 years), it was very crowded and that was mid-week.

Sure, the got more pass revenue, but wll that drive away the day/weekend skiers that pay top dollar in the long run? It certainly is driving up the variable costs. Much as I enjoy what will turn out to be cheap mid-week skiing, I believe in the long run, this will be ASC's undoing.

 

[andyzee]

ASC's pricing is certainly a plus for consumers...to a point. Everytime I've been to K-Mart this year (and I haven't been there in about 17 years), it was very crowded and that was mid-week.

Sure, the got more pass revenue, but wll that drive away the day/weekend skiers that pay top dollar in the long run? It certainly is driving up the variable costs. Much as I enjoy what will turn out to be cheap mid-week skiing, I believe in the long run, this will be ASC's undoing.

I'm not sure about that, keep in mind that the mountain hasn't fully opened yet. Once they open a majority of their trails, this should thin the crowd out some. While it may be more crowded to a certain extent, I don't believe that what you are presently seeing is a good reflection of what the rest of the season will be like. Also, I don't think that ASC has come up with this plan to drive up revenue at the slopes as much as driving up revenue at their surrounding businesses.

 

[riverc0il]

actually, i think it will only continue to get more crowded once the mountain begins to open up. keep in mind, only die hard skiers and riders do early season. lets face it, it sucks. not that i haven't enjoyed all four days i've skied so far this season, i have very much so! but without some natural snow and a decent amount of trails open, it really isn't much other than satisfying the jones.

once trails start opening up and natural snow starts falling, you'll see yahoos floor to ASC resorts like never before. heck, most people in MA don't even know that ski areas are open yet. my co-workers (some of whom ski occasionally, fwiw) were shocked that i went skiing in november. one co-worker was shocked i was going skiing today! the mentallity of many people is if it's not snowing in the city, there must not be snow up north. crazy, i know. but i see it first hand all the time.

that said, the pass could back fire on ASC. if customers have bad experiences or decide the crowds and lines and hassle aren't worth their time, ASC could loose business in the long run after a brief windfall. time will tell. having five different ski resorts to spread pass holders out helps, then again all but the loaf were obnoxiously crowded most weekends before the pass deal. also, i am willing to bet most people won't get their monies worth on the pass even though you only need to ski something rediculously low like 5 or 6 times or so, which will sour people.

i worried about ASC stealing from ski areas, but i have come to the conclusion that this is just not so. people buying the pass generally wouldn't ski at areas that are fighting for revenue. ASC will get lots more mid-week skiing locals for sure, but that's probably as a second pass. would be interesting to see how other corporate ski resorts faired as i think InterWest, Booth Creek, and Triple Peaks have more to fear about losing skier visits and revenue to the ASC pass deal than the smaller ski areas and such.

 

[Greg]

the mentallity of many people is if it's not snowing in the city, there must not be snow up north. crazy, i know. but i see it first hand all the time.

Very true. Traffic doubles to this Website when it snows a lot in metropolitan areas; presumably people looking for information on where to ski...

i worried about ASC stealing from ski areas, but i have come to the conclusion that this is just not so. people buying the pass generally wouldn't ski at areas that are fighting for revenue. ASC will get lots more mid-week skiing locals for sure, but that's probably as a second pass. would be interesting to see how other corporate ski resorts faired as i think InterWest, Booth Creek, and Triple Peaks have more to fear about losing skier visits and revenue to the ASC pass deal than the smaller ski areas and such.

Some of the other mountain marketing reps provided some interesting feedback when asked about the All For One, including some indication that sales of their own passes are also strong:

http://skiing.alpinezone.com/articles/challenge/response.htm?resort=wildcat
http://skiing.alpinezone.com/articles/challenge/response.htm?resort=cranmore
http://skiing.alpinezone.com/articles/challenge/response.htm?resort=ascutney

I think it's a little to early to tell what the effect of the All For One will be, but if anything it will get more people interested in skiing which is good for the Industry overall. Local area businesses (lodging, restaurants, even gas stations and convenient stores, etc...) around ASC resorts will probably be the biggest winners this season.

 

[andyzee]

Guys, I'm just working on getting us Pass holders some deals :wink: And realistically, this would give other mountains the opportunity to draw visitors that might not otherwise go to their slopes. I purchased a Bronze pass with the intention of going to other mountains during this period. I have also spoken to other pass holders that are unsure of what to do on blackout days. I say to resorts, give them an option, and get some new people to check out your fine mountain. If you have a good product to offer, this is you opportunity to show it off. You may not make mucho dollars from such a promotion this year, but it may result in people coming back in the future.

 

[riverc0il]

great ponit by andyzee! to run with an example, it would be interesting to see other ski areas offer 25% off or non-holiday rates to people that showed up with an ASC pass on an ASC black out date. not only increasing the amount of skier viisits and sales, but also get a skier to potentially consider a new mountain they have never skied before. i am surprised we haven't seen this yet.

 

[andyzee]

great ponit by andyzee! to run with an example, it would be interesting to see other ski areas offer 25% off or non-holiday rates to people that showed up with an ASC pass on an ASC black out date. not only increasing the amount of skier viisits and sales, but also get a skier to potentially consider a new mountain they have never skied before. i am surprised we haven't seen this yet.

Now your talking, that's exactly what I was going for. ASC may have hurt some mountains with this promo, but I think this idea may give them an opportunity to turn things around at least a bit.

 

[andyzee]

Well, tried posting this same thread at Sunday River. Wondered how long it would take them to erase it. I posted last night and it's gone as of 8:52am, are they scared of something? I'm such a bad boy :lol:

 

[Vortex]

Good idea, on discount tickets
I bought the bronze pass to bounce around, but Have the Threedom anytime pass I use for holiday and normal weekends.(Loon home Mountain)
I do not think the pass will hurt business it will help. Loon did this a few years back and alot of people came back. Asc is following a similar plan. The food and beverage sales sky rocket and at a high margin. Also it will bring more people into the sport.
Wildcat is progressive in this area of getting people cheaply . 2nd day consecutive skiing and so on is $25.00 www.skiwildcat.com Cannon Still offers discount midweek tickets during holiday periods. www.cannonmt.com
the Cannon discount for vacation periods only apply during Feb Vacation.

 

[thetrailboss]

I'm kind of jumping in here, but interesting thread.

Here is my perspective being a passholder: lower prices makes it more accessible for me and I often spread info/reviews about my mtn(s).

In 2002-2003, I held two college passes--one with Sugarbush and one with Jay Peak, which got me three mountains, all season, no blackouts at $500. Steal.

If the ASC mtns had been closer, I would have gone for it. Overall, I see all mtns (with the glaring exceptions of Stowe, Sugarbush, and Stratton) all trending to lower season pass rates, more flexibility, more benefits, and higher sales (not surprising). Two seasons ago when I was a passholder at Jay, they had record season pass sales.

If you are a diehard skier, it is a great deal, but at the same time, the one or two day a season skier is paying a lot more, esp with many resorts eclipsing the $60 per day rate.

As to holidays: it all depends. Those who "ski the calendar" will go skiing that day because they have the time to do it. Those "who ski the conditions," and are more likely to be passholders, will come if the conditions are good but otherwise avoid because of the possibility of crowds. From my own experience, I skied on the holidays that I could, but only for a few hours because of crowds and too many people who can't ski.

"Black out dates" usually are a gimmick to make you buy a more expensive pass--there is something that we consumers don't like about entering an agreement with lots of restrictions and I am certainly no exception!

So will holiday discounts work? I think so because there are a lot of season passholders who, if the conditions are good, will take their "blacked out pass" to another mtn to ski because they have the time off.

Will the bigger mountains do it? No, I don't think so, but look for places such as Cannon, Burke, Jay (they have run a similar promotion to this concept), Wildcat, and any other of these mid-to-large mtns that are aggressively trying to expand their marketshare. If you do see a larger mtn such as Sugarbush, it could be surmised that they are having a tough season.

 

[andyzee]

Like, I had mentioned in my original post, Blackout days are days that I plan to go to other mountains for variety. Some of my considerations have been Burke, Jay, Stowe, Wildcat, etc...... Doesn't matter if they give a discount, I will be somewhere other then an ASC mountain. Now if one of these mountains did give a discount on those days, or being that it is a good weekend for crowds anyway, at least give a discount to season pass holders of another mountain. Well they would help me make up my mind and if I like it chances are good I'd be back. I think that there are a number of ways other resorts can use this to their advantage.

 

[Vortex]

Andyzee, this is one of the most productive threads I have read. I would call Wildcat I could not find it on the web site, but I think Sunday's they gave a discounts to other Season pass holders. I have done that before. I think it may be midweek also. I went on Monday of Kids Nh vacation week last year and it was $ 25 becasue I had a season pass elsewhere. Black mountain I think does any day 89 for family of 4. www.skinh.com has alot of specials posted. We met really quickly 1st weekend at K I believe at the top of (old glades) Good luck Edit i did go check the 89 special is on black Mtn Web site. All the Nh ski areas are accessible from ski nh's above linc on snow reports.

 

[andyzee]

Andyzee, this is one of the most productive threads I have read. I would call Wildcat I could not find it on the web site, but I think Sunday's they gave a discounts to other Season pass holders. I have done that before. I think it may be midweek also. I went on Monday of Kids Nh vacation week last year and it was $ 25 becasue I had a season pass elsewhere. Black mountain I think does any day 89 for family of 4. www.skinh.com has alot of specials posted. We met really quickly 1st weekend at K I believe at the top of (old glades) Good luck Edit i did go check the 89 special is on black Mtn Web site. All the Nh ski areas are accessible from ski nh's above linc on snow reports.

Why thankyou , I'm glad you like it. Now if only some more ski areas would pick up on the idea, that would be great. First and foremost it would help us skiers, put if the resorts play it right, it could help them greatly too.

 

[Greg]

This would have made a great question for the ski area challenges. It'll be interesting to see if any ski areas get wind of this thread...

 

[thetrailboss]

Like, I had mentioned in my original post, Blackout days are days that I plan to go to other mountains for variety. Some of my considerations have been Burke, Jay, Stowe, Wildcat, etc...... Doesn't matter if they give a discount, I will be somewhere other then an ASC mountain. Now if one of these mountains did give a discount on those days, or being that it is a good weekend for crowds anyway, at least give a discount to season pass holders of another mountain. Well they would help me make up my mind and if I like it chances are good I'd be back. I think that there are a number of ways other resorts can use this to their advantage.

Andyzee,

Burke is excellent for weekend crowds (or lack thereof). There is a $10 discount coupon in the Mountain Dew NE Ski Map, which is widely available. Give it a try!

 

[andyzee]

Like, I had mentioned in my original post, Blackout days are days that I plan to go to other mountains for variety. Some of my considerations have been Burke, Jay, Stowe, Wildcat, etc...... Doesn't matter if they give a discount, I will be somewhere other then an ASC mountain. Now if one of these mountains did give a discount on those days, or being that it is a good weekend for crowds anyway, at least give a discount to season pass holders of another mountain. Well they would help me make up my mind and if I like it chances are good I'd be back. I think that there are a number of ways other resorts can use this to their advantage.

Andyzee,

Burke is excellent for weekend crowds (or lack thereof). There is a $10 discount coupon in the Mountain Dew NE Ski Map, which is widely available. Give it a try!

Yeah, that's what I hear about Burke, thanks. Where can I find the map? Stores, resorts?

 

[thetrailboss]

Check out their profile here on this website.

Burke's page is www.skiburke.com

The latest edition of Vermont Life also ran a great article with pictures, as did the October edition of SKIING magazine.

For more advice, PM me.

BTW...my avator is the top third of Burke from the distance! :wink:

 

[Greg]

Jay Peak is doing this!!!

http://news.alpinezone.com/2759/

 

[Vortex]

That is a great Deal. That might be worth a day trip. 20 for kids makes it possible to bring the family.