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Ski Resort Response to COVID-19
- Thread starter thetrailboss
- Start date
ss20
Well-known member
I'd imagine it'd be like an amusement park where you reserve your time/day.
They better give me some money back on my pass if I can't use it whenever I want.
Probably a blend of advanced reservations while counting the people that show up. It's actually not that much of a problem to pull off.
Edd
Well-known member
Whatever happens, the indoor spaces are the biggest concern. Anyone willing to reserve lodge access for the day, to change and eat? What if the reservation cost $10/pp?
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hope you're correct. Like skiur said, if they try to limit my access as a season passholder I'll be expecting money back.
slatham
Well-known member
Limited capacity. Limited revenue. Result is to limit costs. How will areas react with snowmaking depth and coverage, and lifts running?
Better sharpen the edges, odds are we arent going to see a lot of snowmaking this year, just enough to open and minimal resurfacing after a rain. Resorts are going to be in major cost saving and survival mode
Well, sadly, I am expecting to see most mountains going out of business.
There is no good answer. Respect the passholdrs and miss a few bucks here and there on the day trip/weekenders, or keep pass holders happy...
Reality is, it's not gonna matter. Without serious crowds, all these mountains fold
So, that's probably where we are.
ss20
Well-known member
There are a couple up-sides to limited ticket sales from a resort operations standpoint. You know exactly how many people you need to staff, you know to a near-exact number of how many lessons you're going to sell, how many lifts are needed to run, and everything down to the number of boots you're gonna put through the rental shop. From December-March these resorts staff full-bore on the weekends. For every bluebird Saturday where they're filling up the parking lot there's a rainy Saturday where you need facilities/staff for a Monday and instead you've got literally 5-10x the labor necessary.
Also the Eastern ski industry is blessed in that it can cut costs substantially just by less snowmaking and grooming. If you just cut out terrain parks you're reducing your snowmaking costs by a pretty big factor (at the larger resorts). Or have 1-2 less snowcats out each night. 2 less groomers out for an 8 hour shift each night is gonna save tens of thousands of $$$ over the course of a season.
And the "most mountains going out of business" comment is absurd. Yes it is almost certain that we lose some smaller hills if things are still very restricted come December. But come on....Maine, NH, and most of all VT simply could not have functional economies if "most" of their ski resorts closed.
Also the Eastern ski industry is blessed in that it can cut costs substantially just by less snowmaking and grooming. If you just cut out terrain parks you're reducing your snowmaking costs by a pretty big factor (at the larger resorts). Or have 1-2 less snowcats out each night. 2 less groomers out for an 8 hour shift each night is gonna save tens of thousands of $$$ over the course of a season.
And the "most mountains going out of business" comment is absurd. Yes it is almost certain that we lose some smaller hills if things are still very restricted come December. But come on....Maine, NH, and most of all VT simply could not have functional economies if "most" of their ski resorts closed.
Not Sure
Well-known member
Pray for a good snow year !!!
If you can work from home you can work from the lodge? Maybe ski areas could focus on some secluded areas with wifi or other connectivity to accommodate those people ? Yurt city with UV filtration LOL
If you can work from home you can work from the lodge? Maybe ski areas could focus on some secluded areas with wifi or other connectivity to accommodate those people ? Yurt city with UV filtration LOL
VTKilarney
Well-known member
A resort that relies on snowmaking is not “blessed.” Quite the opposite.
Newpylong
Well-known member
Did you actually buy it thinking this season would be normal? Capacity is certainly going to be capped with reservations.
BenedictGomez
Well-known member
They charged me full price and I bought a full pass, not a limited pass.
Last week.
I really don't think it matters whether he bought it yesterday or 4 months ago. The passes are typically being sold as granting "unlimited" and "unrestricted" access. Limiting day tickets is easy, but limiting pass-holders creates a rather significant potential issue for any ski area that sold a pass advertised as "unlimited" or "unrestricted". I believe people should understand these are unique times and we need to work together on this, but at the same time I can almost guarantee that if resorts limit pass-holder access, they'll see class action lawsuits unfortunately.
Perhaps places should give full pass refunds and just do day ticket-only this year.
That said, I could certainly envision a world where lodge access is limited but anyone with a pass can use the chairlifts whenever they want.
Season passholders will have special access, but if the state puts a limit on the number of skiers, then there's no way that access can be guaranteed to all passholders. Sucks, but that's the way it will work out.
As things sit today, the national average confirmed covid infection rate is 1.2%. For VT it's 0.2%, NH 0.5%, ME 0.3%. So there's great potential for outbreaks in NE ski country. If a vaccine doesn't save the day, it will be a weird season. (data from https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/)
As things sit today, the national average confirmed covid infection rate is 1.2%. For VT it's 0.2%, NH 0.5%, ME 0.3%. So there's great potential for outbreaks in NE ski country. If a vaccine doesn't save the day, it will be a weird season. (data from https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/)
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