New Berkshire East Website

[snowman]

I haven't been yet, but labeling trails as extreme is a bit of a stretch isn't it?

More so than that, I was laughing my a$$ off at the "high speed" Hall double. TOO FUNNY! I was going to say "Who are they kidding" with the $50 tickets for a hill that doesn't even have a detachable lift until someone pointed out the midweek ticket price, which is just plain cheap. I think their weekend/midweek pricing logic might be a bit flawed. I'm sure they would be better off doing something like $27.99 and $47.99. It's like they haven't even heard of pricing psychology.

 

[threecy]

More so than that, I was laughing my a$$ off at the "high speed" Hall double. TOO FUNNY! I was going to say "Who are they kidding" with the $50 tickets for a hill that doesn't even have a detachable lift until someone pointed out the midweek ticket price, which is just plain cheap. I think their weekend/midweek pricing logic might be a bit flawed. I'm sure they would be better off doing something like $27.99 and $47.99. It's like they haven't even heard of pricing psychology.

It's actually the fastest fixed grip double in the country. The $50 weekend/holiday price is on par with other ~1k ski areas w/o a detach. The .99 cent psychology doesn't play any significant part in the market Berkshire East is in.

 

[Greg]

More so than that, I was laughing my a$$ off at the "high speed" Hall double. TOO FUNNY! I was going to say "Who are they kidding" with the $50 tickets for a hill that doesn't even have a detachable lift until someone pointed out the midweek ticket price, which is just plain cheap. I think their weekend/midweek pricing logic might be a bit flawed. I'm sure they would be better off doing something like $27.99 and $47.99. It's like they haven't even heard of pricing psychology.

You don't get it. Berkshire East is all about character and great terrain, not high-speed lifts and wide vanilla groomers. I don't think the "high-speed" part of the Hall double is meant to be a marketing gimmick. It's a very fast diesel powered Hall double chair and newbs can easily get wiped out by it when loading if they're not paying attention. Have you ever ridden it? And when all the natural snow terrain is open, a $50 weekend lift ticket is more than fair, and in line with their major competitor, Jiminy Peak, which charges $52.

 

[bvibert]

More so than that, I was laughing my a$$ off at the "high speed" Hall double. TOO FUNNY! I was going to say "Who are they kidding" with the $50 tickets for a hill that doesn't even have a detachable lift until someone pointed out the midweek ticket price, which is just plain cheap. I think their weekend/midweek pricing logic might be a bit flawed. I'm sure they would be better off doing something like $27.99 and $47.99. It's like they haven't even heard of pricing psychology.

Detachable lifts aren't everything. BEast wouldn't be the same with a detachable, at least I don't think so.

 

[snoseek]

I really like the idea of two-seaters that go fast, it's the best of both worlds.

 

[threecy]

I don't think the "high-speed" part of the Hall double is meant to be a marketing gimmick. It's a very fast diesel powered Hall double chair and newbs can easily get wiped out by it when loading if they're not paying attention.

It's an electric drive actually...but yes, its not a marketting gimmick, esp. since it's not used that often.

a $50 weekend lift ticket is more than fair, and in line with their major competitor, Jiminy Peak, which charges $52.

Actually, its $59 at Jiminy for weekend 8 hrs

 

[snowman]

It's actually the fastest fixed grip double in the country. The $50 weekend/holiday price is on par with other ~1k ski areas w/o a detach. The .99 cent psychology doesn't play any significant part in the market Berkshire East is in.

What's the weekend price at Wa then (I know it's not the same market but they do have more vert and HSQ's)? They have a couple high speeds I think? I don't think they're any more? What is the line speed of the double? Is it even close to the slowest HSQ? If not, that's false advertising in my mind.

I understand what you guys are saying, BUT, you can not rule out pricing psychology EVER if you really care about the bottom line. Take the $50/$40 split for instance. If someone shows up at 11 am and sees that they will likely say F it and go and have lunch in the lodge for free (in essence) until the afternoon pricing kicks in. If it's $47.99 vs $40, they might just say F it in the other direction, buy the more expensive ticket, ski the lunch hour (when the 9 amers are eating) and STILL go and have lunch at 1 or 2 netting the area $8 more revenue per head. You also remove a few more people off the terrain during rush hour with that logic. You have the power to control people with your pricing and you should never forget that.

 

[snowman]

How busy is this place on the weekend anyway? If it's not busy my logic might help. If it's jammed anyway, they may as well do something like $53.99. I'm just making points on my guesstimations. To me, it looks like no real thought went into the pricing.

 

[threecy]

What's the weekend price at Wa then (I know it's not the same market but they do have more vert and HSQ's)? They have a couple high speeds I think? I don't think they're any more? What is the line speed of the double? Is it even close to the slowest HSQ? If not, that's false advertising in my mind.

It runs at the fastest speed allowed, which is still significantly slower than a modern HSDQ but significantly faster than a FGQ. In terms of it being advertised as a high speed double, it's only labelled as such on the web site and not part of any sort of advertising campaign.

I understand what you guys are saying, BUT, you can not rule out pricing psychology EVER if you really care about the bottom line. Take the $50/$40 split for instance. If someone shows up at 11 am and sees that they will likely say F it and go and have lunch in the lodge for free (in essence) until the afternoon pricing kicks in. If it's $47.99 vs $40, they might just say F it in the other direction, buy the more expensive ticket, ski the lunch hour (when the 9 amers are eating) and STILL go and have lunch at 1 or 2 netting the area $8 more revenue per head. You also remove a few more people off the terrain during rush hour with that logic. You have the power to control people with your pricing and you should never forget that.

Berkshire East is not in direct competition with other ski areas. There is no reason to remove people from the terrain during rush time because there is no rush time compared to other ski areas.

 

[bvibert]

You sound like you're coming up with this stuff just to make yourself seem smart(er) and/or to pick fights. I don't recall anyone saying that Berkshire East needed help in their pricing structure...

 

[Greg]

It's an electric drive actually...but yes, its not a marketting gimmick, esp. since it's not used that often.

Actually, its $59 at Jiminy for weekend 8 hrs

I stand corrected on both points. Why did I think it was a diesel drive? I was looking at Jiminy weekday rates, which strengthens my argument that BEast is fairly priced since there are no detachable lifts; not that I feel that's important, but it might be to some.

What's the weekend price at Wa then (I know it's not the same market but they do have more vert and HSQ's)? They have a couple high speeds I think? I don't think they're any more? What is the line speed of the double? Is it even close to the slowest HSQ? If not, that's false advertising in my mind.

They call it a high-speed double which, as threecy points out, is the fastest in operation so I guess it technically is. There's nothing stated about it being detachable or anything so I don't know why you feel its speed needs to be on par with a slow HSQ.

2 HSQs at Wa Wa. Less vert. Weekend lift ticket is $49. However, despite the detaches, I would guess it's far more crowded than the BEast so as far as actual ski time, it's probably comparable which again, further suggests the BEast pricing is fair.

How busy is this place on the weekend anyway? If it's not busy my logic might help. If it's jammed anyway, they may as well do something like $53.99. I'm just making points on my guesstimations. To me, it looks like no real thought went into the pricing.

How about the fact that they are on par with what the rest of the similar sized mountains in the region are charging? I don't know of any ski area that charges $53.99 or whatever for a lift ticket. :blink: You must know something that every ski area in the Northeast hasn't figured out yet...

 

[snoseek]

The .99 thing is kind of a retail thing, right? Food service used this a lot in the 80's, but now it's kind of seen as tacky. Still works strong on gasoline and heating oil.

 

[threecy]

Why did I think it was a diesel drive?

Because it sounds like Hootie and the Blowfish's lead singer when its operating?

 

[threecy]

The .99 thing is kind of a retail thing, right? Food service used this a lot in the 80's, but now it's kind of seen as tacky. Still works strong on gasoline and heating oil.

It works with certain prices, but at the level lift tickets are at in MA right now, it doesn't do much good to add two more decimals - it invites the thinking that there might be tax added to it, possibly deterring someone on the fence.

 

[snowman]

It runs at the fastest speed allowed, which is still significantly slower than a modern HSDQ but significantly faster than a FGQ. In terms of it being advertised as a high speed double, it's only labelled as such on the web site and not part of any sort of advertising campaign.

I don't think they should be calling it high speed then. It's missleading. Likely not intentionally missleading, but missleading all the same. If it is in fact the fastest fixed grip double in existence they should call it the hall rocket and really market the fact that it's the fastest. That way people like me won't be saying "who are they trying to kid?", instead, I'd be interested in riding the thing so I can say I've been on the fastest fixed grip double.

Berkshire East is not in direct competition with other ski areas. There is no reason to remove people from the terrain during rush time because there is no rush time compared to other ski areas.

OK, just as I suspected. A tiny portion of that would be because people like myself who go on tours of little hills every now and then would see the $50 price tag as "$50 for that...Holy crap!" and ski somewhere else that day. I don't imagine the $50 price tag goes down too well in the eyes of a family on a budget or newbies, which is who the smaller hills in new england really need to cater to. $50 is $50. It's a scary number to throw out when you don't need to.

 

[bvibert]

The .99 thing is kind of a retail thing, right? Food service used this a lot in the 80's, but now it's kind of seen as tacky. Still works strong on gasoline and heating oil.

I agree that it's tacky. Gasoline and heating oil take it the next step by using 9/10's of a cent. If I buy 1 gallon of gas for $2.999 a gallon and hand them $3 I want my tenth of a cent back as change!

 

[snowman]

You sound like you're coming up with this stuff just to make yourself seem smart(er) and/or to pick fights. I don't recall anyone saying that Berkshire East needed help in their pricing structure...

Well, golly gee Brian. I'm looking at a price chart that say's $50 weekend, $25 midweek. How much strategic thought do YOU think they put into that. I'm not picking a fight, I'm making an intelligent observation. When you go to a burger joint, is a single burger $5 and a double burger $10? I think not. Why? Because the put a lot of thought into pricing strategy and psychology.

 

[bvibert]

OK, just as I suspected. A tiny portion of that would be because people like myself who go on tours of little hills every now and then would see the $50 price tag as "$50 for that...Holy crap!" and ski somewhere else that day. I don't imagine the $50 price tag goes down too well in the eyes of a family on a budget or newbies, which is who the smaller hills in new england really need to cater to. $50 is $50. It's a scary number to throw out when you don't need to.

If you choose where you ski based on the ticket price to high speed detachable lift ratio then you deserve to miss out on a gem like Berkshire East. You're not their target audience anyway.

Maybe they set their price so that people like you will stay away, thus keeping the crowds down while still making enough to cover expenses. That makes a better ski experience for people like me who don't need a HSQ to have fun..

 

[Greg]

Well, golly gee Brian. I'm looking at a price chart that say's $50 weekend, $25 midweek. How much strategic thought do YOU think they put into that. I'm not picking a fight, I'm making an intelligent observation.

Unless you know the BEast midweek versus weekend skier visit numbers you really have no business questioning their pricing model. BTW, Catamount does the same thing - $20 Mon-Thu and $38 on Friday and $52 on the weekend. Guess what? Butternut does it too with their midweek pricing being the same as Catamount's and their weekend ticket is $50. Cheap midweek tickets are a great marketing tool. Perhaps someone new will try the mountain midweek because of the cheap rate. If they like the product, they might show up on a weekend.

 

[shpride]

I think they need to call it high speed because so many dummies get in line thinking it is a normal double. They then proceed to get taken out at the knees and end up in a tree. Maybe by saying "high speed" it will give a possible rider a heads up to be a little more cautious. That and all the warning signs before you get on.