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INDUSTRY EVENTS NSAA 2006 EASTERN REGIONAL TRADE SHOW AND CONFERENCE On February 6-7, 2006, the NSAA hosted its Eastern Regional Trade Show and Conference at Killington, Vt. Representing 67 areas, 391 attendees cruised the trade show floor catching the latest and greatest from 99 exhibiting suppliers. The number of attendees was up by almost 100 over last year making it a lively show (the NSAA Board meeting took place at the show, accounting for some of the bump in numbers and the vast geographical representation). Following is a recap of some of the sessions, which many attendees felt were some of the best they’ve attended, as well as a gallery of photos from the show.New Direction for Sustainable Slopes—Judy Dorsey and Geraldine Link This two-part session tackled many of the issues facing NSAA’s Sustainable Slopes program, including introducing a tier system. Until now, the program has been voluntary and ski areas simply pledge to conduct business in a sustainable way, without any accountability. Under the new proposed program, there would be three different levels (gold, silver and bronze is one of the possibilities for titles) that would allow ski areas to excel in its sustainable practices by achieving increasingly stricter levels. Most attendees liked the concept and the ideas will be further hashed out at the western show in Squaw Valley. Growing Your Business: Turning Challenges Into Opportunities—Dave Belin In this session, Dave Belin from RRC Associates reviewed recent research conducted by his firm to measure results of the Model for Growth plan. The new buzzword in the industry’s effort to reach out to more skiers is “net promoter.” A net promoter is anyone who is recommending the resort to others, which correlates directly to the bottom line. And what are important to net promoters? Number one on the list is variety of trails. Coming in second was dealings with employees, be it in the ski school, ticket line, cafeteria and so on. Lessons and rentals were close on the heels of employees and rounding out the list was availability and cleanliness of the bathrooms. When it comes to beginners, the most important factors in conversion were: extra attention in the rental shop; a greeter that helps out; taking a lesson; having a roaming instructor on the beginner slope available to give tips to beginners who did not opt for a lesson; and follow up--in other words, inviting them back. Designed for Success: Freestyle Teaching and Terrain Representatives from Okemo, Mount Snow, Booth Creek and Killington used this hour to underscore the importance of good beginner and teaching terrain when it comes to freestyle. It ain’t rocket science, but sometimes communication breaks down between the many involved departments and the customer is the ultimate loser. Panelists stressed the need for ski school, grooming, rental, terrain park and ski patrol to get together, every day is best, and go over what needs to be tweaked. Panelists also debunked the notion of flow for beginners. Most freestyle first-timers should practice on one element and get it dialed before moving on. Some areas go so far as to net off each of these beginner elements to prevent sliders from running into each other. The Showcases New this year were "The Morning Showcases," which combined classroom discussion followed by on-hill clinics. This was done for risk management, freestyle teaching, women's ski clinics, WinterKids SnowSchool and lift ops and maintenance. All sessions ran from 7:45 to 11:45 and were well attended. In the women's clinic, participants learned about the power of the women's market—specifically, how to grow business in this critical market using free clinics. The discussion was led by Lisa Densmore and she explained how with Head's support, they have traveled around the U.S. to 40 different locations doing a free women's clinic. She says they are a great way to educate and promote women-specific products, generate store traffic, sell gear and promote goodwill. The key is good instruction, small group sizes, a demo area, welcome reception, apres-ski gathering (in the store, for example), take away (book or DVD), ski personality host, and discount on gear (to buy on the spot or within a short time frame). Densmore cited some resorts who were able to funnel the expense of offering the day free through corporate giving—make it a charity (breast cancer for example). Also new this year was the day-long food and beverage track covering employee training best practices and maintaining a competitive advantage. An impressive panel of guest speakers shared their insights including VP's from The Boston Culinary Group, Sam Adams, SYSCO, Pepsi, Brill and the wine and spirits industry. Food and beverage ranked second or third for profitability after ticket sales for most of the resorts gathered in the room, so the flow of information was good. Some of the advice shared with attendees was to look for ways to upsell your brands. For example, 84 percent of beer drinkers are open to suggestion, so put your more profitable brands on the taps. As well, Sugarbush saw a 22 percent increase in profits when they switched to Starbucks as opposed to a generic coffee. The overall message was this: 1) partner with your brands, 2) quality will bring you profit, 3) elevate your service by educating and training so there is a consistency in what you're doing, 4) offer healthy options, 5) evaluate the positioning of what you're selling, 6) offer healthful grab-and-go products for travelers going home, and 7) the breakfast sandwich is the most popular item on the cantina menu so make sure you offer one. One last point of interest—wine has eclipsed beer as American's favorite alcoholic beverage and the number of younger wine drinkers is on the rise in the U.S.
Photos by Jennifer Rowan, Sam Geise and Troy Hawks
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EVENTS WRAPUP 
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