Black Phantom
Active member
How billski was not interviewed for this article is beyond me
Now just a click away
Liftopia brings online ski sales to consumers, with resorts’ help
By T.D. Thornton
Globe Correspondent / December 1, 2011
If Evan Reece has his way in the not-too-distant future, arriving at a ski resort with cash or plastic to buy a lift ticket will be as practical as going to each ticket counter at Logan Airport to comparison shop for last-minute flight deals.
Although some New England resorts have offered bare-bones online sales for the last decade, it is Liftopia.com - Reece’s advance-purchase, multi-mountain, bargain-centric site for lift tickets - that has established the standard for Internet sales in the snow sports industry.
The telltale sign that the San Francisco-based private company is onto something big is that competitors - like startups GetSkiTickets.com and LiftTickets.com - are nipping at Liftopia’s heels.
“Definitely, competition makes you strive to be more effective,’’ said Reece, 33, who grew up in Topsfield and learned to ski at Bradford before attending Colby College. “Obviously, consumers want deals. Resorts want to give them, but without losing their shirts. The entire industry is trending toward advance purchasing, and part of the reason for this change is that we’ve created a model that is not just beneficial for consumers, but for resorts.’’
The lure for skiers is that they can browse an entire season’s worth of Liftopia lift ticket offerings at 150 mountains for both last-minute deals (appealing to day trippers) and long-range bargains (helpful to vacationers locked into specific time slots). Buyers pay via credit card or Paypal and get a printed receipt to swap at the mountain for the lift ticket(s). In exchange for significant savings, customers must give up their right to back out of the deal. Purchases on Liftopia cannot be exchanged, refunded, or transferred.
(cont)
http://www.boston.com/sports/other_...ne_ski_deals_now_just_a_click_away/?page=full
Now just a click away
Liftopia brings online ski sales to consumers, with resorts’ help
By T.D. Thornton
Globe Correspondent / December 1, 2011
If Evan Reece has his way in the not-too-distant future, arriving at a ski resort with cash or plastic to buy a lift ticket will be as practical as going to each ticket counter at Logan Airport to comparison shop for last-minute flight deals.
Although some New England resorts have offered bare-bones online sales for the last decade, it is Liftopia.com - Reece’s advance-purchase, multi-mountain, bargain-centric site for lift tickets - that has established the standard for Internet sales in the snow sports industry.
The telltale sign that the San Francisco-based private company is onto something big is that competitors - like startups GetSkiTickets.com and LiftTickets.com - are nipping at Liftopia’s heels.
“Definitely, competition makes you strive to be more effective,’’ said Reece, 33, who grew up in Topsfield and learned to ski at Bradford before attending Colby College. “Obviously, consumers want deals. Resorts want to give them, but without losing their shirts. The entire industry is trending toward advance purchasing, and part of the reason for this change is that we’ve created a model that is not just beneficial for consumers, but for resorts.’’
The lure for skiers is that they can browse an entire season’s worth of Liftopia lift ticket offerings at 150 mountains for both last-minute deals (appealing to day trippers) and long-range bargains (helpful to vacationers locked into specific time slots). Buyers pay via credit card or Paypal and get a printed receipt to swap at the mountain for the lift ticket(s). In exchange for significant savings, customers must give up their right to back out of the deal. Purchases on Liftopia cannot be exchanged, refunded, or transferred.
(cont)
http://www.boston.com/sports/other_...ne_ski_deals_now_just_a_click_away/?page=full
