Killington-Elan Partnership Gives Beginners New Skis

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01 August 2013

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SAM Magazine—Killington, Vt., Aug. 1, 2013—Killington is making beginning adult skiers an amazing offer: complete a four-lesson package and receive a new pair of Elan eRise skis—along with discounts on boots and poles, and half-price lessons and lift tickets through the 2014-15 season.

The details: the $249 learn-to package includes four two-hour lessons, rental equipment and lift tickets for adults ages 18 and up. The first 400 participants to complete the program will receive a new pair of Killington Resort-branded Elan eRise skis and bindings (MSRP $499) along with a discount voucher for new boots and poles. The four lessons do not need to be consecutive.

“Our goal is to transition first-time skiers into lifetime skiers,” said Dave Beckwith, director of snow sports for Killington Resort.

“We felt we needed something new and completely different,” sales and marketing director Rob Megnin told SAM, as existing program have not moved the needle sufficiently. Megnin noted that Tracy Taylor, director of operations for sister resort Pico, came up with the concept.

Funding springs from a Killington-Elan partnership that included additional rental purchases this year, with significant contribution from the resort's marketing budget. “This is a marketing program, not just a ski school program,” Megnin said.

“We want to drive skiers' participation” and connect them to Killington, he noted, both through pricing and the Killington-branded skis. The company also hopes to establish a means to track guests' participation over a five- to 10-year period and better gauge retention efforts over the long haul, and to include snowboards in the future as well.

Megnin cites the lifelong value of a new skier, as measured by SIA, as a major reason for investing in beginners' equipment. “If these people are coming back, would I budget for the future acquisition of equipment? If it works, why wouldn't I?” he said. “We'll have to wait and see.”