Season Pass Savings

[ski_resort_observer]

I kinda agree with what both you guys are saying. Every company/resort/hill spends alot of time, money and effort to build brand loyalty. If your buying burgers, beers or lip balm at the resort cause you want to support that resort then I would say that shows a great deal of brand loyalty for that resort. They would be thrilled to hear this.

Alot of this rises from great customer service which, in part, can be greatly disaffected by bad management.

I think most people buy food/beer at the base lodge for a variety of reasons but I would say few do this to financially support the resort. I certainly never heard of someone, before today :wink:, buying a beer they don't want to financially support the resort.

Conversly, there isn't a resort or a business in the world, who doesn't dream about having customers like that, and work very hard in order to exceed expectations so they have more customers who feel the same way. It's a win win for all concerned as far as I can see.

 

[snoseek]

may 5th and 6th i bought beer at wildcat even though i had some at the car. i think when it's extremely early or late it's a good idea (unless your flat broke) because this is when resorts need $$$ to justify being open that time of year. plus their beer is colder. Mid season i buy nothing.

 

[noonan]

....While at Loon (use to be cheap passes)...

(Side bar this year they raised prices. They wiil not get 4 passes or the fluff money from me.) Not sure how many stubborn people like me there are.

"use to be cheap passes" is right, Bob.

I, too, did not invest in a Threedom Pass for 07/08. After being a 3dom pass holder for the past 5 seasons, the price hike of $150-200 from the 06/07 season was waaaaaay too much of a hike to feel comfortable with...WAAAAAAAAY TOO MUCH!!! I understand a lot of the price hike has to do with Loon's South Peak expansion, but come on.

The ironic thing is, I still spent almost 600 bucks for an S.O.S pass (about the same amount as I would've paid had I gotten the Limited 3dom pass). I felt the quality of mountains in the SOS pass was superior to the mountains in the 3dom pass.

In fact, the SOS pass is a much better value when you consider the $$$ per skiable acre. (Using the cheapest early purchase prices.)
SOS pass: $582 / Skiable acres:1440 / Price per acre: about $0.40/acre.
3dom pass: $549 / Skiable acres: 763 / Price per acre: about $0.72/acre.

Bottom line is, there will be at least 6 less 3dom pass holders for next season. My friend also decided not to get the 3dom pass for next season, too, based on the price hike. That's a loss of at least $3000 just in the passes alone. Then, throw in the fluff money on top as well as any friends/family members you might bring with you, and their fluff money; that's a huge loss from a money standpoint, but also from a customer loyalty stanpoint. They crossed the line by increasing prices too much too fast and now THEY will be the ones paying the price without having our services. ATTENTION other ski areas: please take note of this!!!

 

[nycskier]

While I always willing to buy beers at the K1 base lodge I rarely bought lunch there. This was not for financial reasons (i.e. I didn't brown bag it to save money) but because I found most of the food at Killington completely inedible.

If resorts want you to buy lunch on the mountain they got to make food that is worth buying. While I rarely bought food at Killington, when I was at Whistler I would always get food on the mountain. I didn't do this to support interwest (they make enough money with out me) but because the food on the slopes was pretty good.

I tend to believe the large amount of brown bagging it at a place like Killington is a direct result of the poor quality of food on the mountain.

This gets back to the point if the resorts take care of the skiers the skiers will take care of the resorts!

 

[mlctvt]

While I always willing to buy beers at the K1 base lodge I rarely bought lunch there. This was not for financial reasons (i.e. I didn't brown bag it to save money) but because I found most of the food at Killington completely inedible.

If resorts want you to buy lunch on the mountain they got to make food that is worth buying. While I rarely bought food at Killington, when I was at Whistler I would always get food on the mountain. I didn't do this to support interwest (they make enough money with out me) but because the food on the slopes was pretty good.

I tend to believe the large amount of brown bagging it at a place like Killington is a direct result of the poor quality of food on the mountain.

This gets back to the point if the resorts take care of the skiers the skiers will take care of the resorts!

I agree about it being the quality and not necessarily the pricing. We ski mostly Mount Snow and we tend to either ski back to our condo for real food or brown bag it too. There's just too much fried food and other unhealthy food choices in the cafeteria. The restaurants have better food at slightly higher prices than the cafeteria and you get a better seating arrangement and get waited on but the extra time wasted is the biggest problem for me. I do think the ski areas are making progress and the choices are getting better over the last 20 years but they've still got a long way to go. I spoke to a friend that works at Mount Snow a few weeks ago and I asked him if there have been any personnel changes so far. He said the only member of management that was let go was the food services manager. Hopefully this signals that Mount Snow is making changes with the food choices too.