New Berkshire East Website

[snowman]

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 is a bit tacky, I agree totally, but it DOES work. Everything here is still .99 or .79 or.... nothing is ever .63 or what have you because there's no point when you can get .69. I can pay their $50 all day long, but when I looked at their lift ticket prices the first thing I said to myself was "$50!??! God damn!". And I'm 34. You take a lot of people out there who are in there 60's and $50 is even more of a "god damn!" for them....again, not for the lack of ability to pay, but for the sticker shock factor. Pricing psychology works on me even though I KNOW what's going on.

 

[snoseek]

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.



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.

while i kind of agree 49- would make some sense, I don't think there are really any comparible places to ski in that area that are any cheaper. I don't think the mt. is really small, but I have yet to ski there.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

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.



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.

$50 seems reasonable for a place like Berkshire east..all the major PA places charge around $50 and not all of them have high speed lifts..including Jack Frost, Elk, and Sno..I think a high speed double is progressive and I'd like to see more of them around. $50 was scary a decade ago..now it's reality..and a bargain in fact..People are in the stone ages when it comes to prices..higher energy costs and on-hill improvements lead to slightly higher than inflation price increases...I remember paying $50 for a ticket at Grand Targhee just 3 years ago and this season it's $59 bucks..it seems bad but in theory..it's an 18% increase over 3 years...I bet alot of us are making more than 18% more than they were three years ago..

 

[snowman]

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.

Fair enough, but look at the pricing you're quoting. Is it $50 and $25? $38 and $52 shows strategy. If you're going to charge $50, you might as well charge $52. It makes absolutely no difference. There's Sticker shock at $50 though, that you can avoid by charging $49. The .99's ARE tacky, but I use them. I would NEVER EVER charge $100 even for something. $99.99 all the way to the bank.

 

[bvibert]

I'm making an intelligent observation.

Based on very little data. I'm sure they put a lot of thought into their pricing structure and even if they didn't it seems to be working so who cares?

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.

Well golly gee, we're not selling burgers here are we? Keeping with your silly scenario; the double burger might be priced at $10 (or even $9.99 if you insist) if they only had so many special double burger buns available per day while they had an unlimited supply of single burger buns...

 

[snowman]

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..

Sigh, this is why we're going to lose so many more hills in the future. There is A LOT of this mentality in the ski industry. That's great until you lose your shirt one season and realize you should have been trying your hardest all those other seasons to have the money kicking around to float you thru a bad one or 2.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

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.

I want to ride this high speed double and I've read alot of good things about Berkshire East..it could be a cool stop-over to/from VT..plus I've never skied in Massatwoshitz..lol Before I joined AZ, I thought AZ meant Arizona and I thought Beast was about Killington..aja the Beast of the East..mad steezy yo..and sa weet website...for Berkshire East...everybody should join me and patronize the place..it looks like a real skiers mountain like Jackson Hole, Stowe, Hunter, Belleayre, and Blue mountain...Holla

Edit..Golly Gee I have the munchies..can I buy one of those double burgers???? How much extra for some Ketchap and Mustard???

Sadly a local fast food place with a condiment bar had a sign up saying "Not a Salad Bar"...lol

 

[Greg]

Fair enough, but look at the pricing you're quoting. Is it $50 and $25? $38 and $52 shows strategy. If you're going to charge $50, you might as well charge $52. It makes absolutely no difference. There's Sticker shock at $50 though, that you can avoid by charging $49. The .99's ARE tacky, but I use them. I would NEVER EVER charge $100 even for something. $99.99 all the way to the bank.

Read what I posted. Monday through Thursday, it's $20 at Butternut and Catamount. Based on your logic, that's more ludicrous than BEast's $25 midweek price. Here's a newsflash: A $50 weekend rate is considered cheap nowadays especially when larger resorts in NNE are charging $70+.

 

[bvibert]

Sigh, this is why we're going to lose so many more hills in the future. There is A LOT of this mentality in the ski industry. That's great until you lose your shirt one season and realize you should have been trying your hardest all those other seasons to have the money kicking around to float you thru a bad one or 2.

If they loose their shirt because of this I'll send you a PM stating that you were right, happy now?

 

[bvibert]

I don't know where you're skiing that $50 on the weekend is steep. Our local mountain charges $48 for an 8 hour ticket all week and they are WAY smaller than BEast, no HSQs either. I'd gladly pay the extra $2 to ski at BEast if only it was a bit closer.

 

[snoseek]

Sigh, this is why we're going to lose so many more hills in the future. There is A LOT of this mentality in the ski industry. That's great until you lose your shirt one season and realize you should have been trying your hardest all those other seasons to have the money kicking around to float you thru a bad one or 2.

maybe they want to carefully spend money, borrow as little as possible, run a cool little mountain, and develop a cult following that will keep coming back. This works for some areas(mrg, cannon, taos come to mind).

 

[snowman]

it seems to be working so who cares?

I'm getting the impression here the place is a bit of a ghost town to the point that they rarely run all their lifts. Do you consider THAT working? I don't. Sounds more like teetering on the edge to me. If you're not getting that many people, you need to either maximize your profit from the few you do get, or make your pricing more conducive to getting more. I really don't think they're doing that.

 

[snowman]

I don't know where you're skiing that $50 on the weekend is steep. Our local mountain charges $48 for an 8 hour ticket all week and they are WAY smaller than BEast, no HSQs either. I'd gladly pay the extra $2 to ski at BEast if only it was a bit closer.

http://www.crabbemountain.com/liftticket.asp

http://www.poleymountain.com/tickets/lift/

http://www.bigrockmaine.com/ticketsandpasses/lifttickets.htm

That's where???

Although $50 for a small hill sticker shocked me, MYSELF, due to the above, my main point was the lack of thought to the pricing. If you're going to sticker shock people with $50, you might as well charge $52,3,4. because it wouldn't send anyone packing that would be willing to pay $50.

 

[bvibert]

I'm getting the impression here the place is a bit of a ghost town to the point that they rarely run all their lifts. Do you consider THAT working? I don't. Sounds more like teetering on the edge to me. If you're not getting that many people, you need to either maximize your profit from the few you do get, or make your pricing more conducive to getting more. I really don't think they're doing that.

You can get whatever misconstrued impressions you want, I think what they are doing IS working.

AFAIK they run 4 of their 5 lifts all the time with the 5th being used when it's extra busy to help with lift lines.

As I said before, maybe they are maximizing their profit to get the most out of their customers and maybe they don't want a bunch more because that would lower the experience on mountain. Maybe they're not, I don't really know and either do you.

Next time I'm there I'll ask if they're having trouble with their pricing structure, if they are I'll point them to this thread where they'll be able to get your fine consultation for free...

Do that make you happy or feel more needed???

 

[Greg]

I'm getting the impression here the place is a bit of a ghost town to the point that they rarely run all their lifts. Do you consider THAT working? I don't. Sounds more like teetering on the edge to me. If you're not getting that many people, you need to either maximize your profit from the few you do get, or make your pricing more conducive to getting more. I really don't think they're doing that.

Wow. You're making a lot of assumptions based on nothing more than the price list on their Web site... :roll: How many times have you skied Berkshire East?

 

[The Sneak]

Berkshire East has what, 1140 ft vertical? That's not a *small hill*. Yawgoo, or Nashoba or something like that is a small hill.

BEast is bigger than wachusett in terms of vert and # of trails. It's got more character than wa-wa as well.

 

[snowman]

Look, you're attacking me for making an observation. I think it's a very valid observation. Their prices are round numbers and pricing midweek is 1/2 of weekend. No one prices 1/2 price for EVERY weekday vs. the weekend (not including holidays), although 2 for DAYS are popular midweek at a lot of places. Point blank, their pricing stinks of lack of strategy of any kind. I'm going to stop posting statements designed to spark interest and debate if all you guys want to do is argue against me for the sake of arguing against me. It's stupid.

 

[Greg]

http://www.crabbemountain.com/liftticket.asp

http://www.poleymountain.com/tickets/lift/

http://www.bigrockmaine.com/ticketsandpasses/lifttickets.htm

That's where???

Ha ha ha! :lol: Now I know you're just trolling. Your definition of good comparables include two smaller mountains in Canada and a third smaller ski area in the middle of nowhere Maine? :blink: Meanwhile we're talking about a 1,100+ vert mountain ~2 hours of metro Boston, and probably 90 minutes from the Greater Hartford area. I already gave better comparables within the same region, ~1K vert hills in Western Massachusetts. Based on that, Berkshire East's weekend lift ticket pricing is representative of others in the same market area. Nice try though... :roll:

 

[Greg]

I'm going to stop posting statements designed to spark interest and debate if all you guys want to do is argue against me for the sake of arguing against me.

No. We just like to point out the serious flaws in your arguments.

 

[marcski]

http://www.crabbemountain.com/liftticket.asp

http://www.poleymountain.com/tickets/lift/

http://www.bigrockmaine.com/ticketsandpasses/lifttickets.htm

That's where???

Although $50 for a small hill sticker shocked me, MYSELF, due to the above, my main point was the lack of thought to the pricing. If you're going to sticker shock people with $50, you might as well charge $52,3,4. because it wouldn't send anyone packing that would be willing to pay $50.

Wow, those places are mega resorts that have a huge draw from metropolitan areas and have lots of nearby competition.