Ask a skier or rider why he or she does not ski or ride more often and they will say “not enough time.” The second reason is inevitably “too expensive.”
When it comes to leisure time, money facilitates, but time determines. Today, the options for leisure time have become so numerous that leisure time itself has become precious. And at present, the ski industry is one of the few businesses to figure out how to deal with the issues of time and money. The inexpensive season pass, sold in the fall before the snow flies, addresses these two most important reasons Americans do not ski and ride more often.
The pass motivates Americans to commit time to the sports in advance. The psychological impact on the behavior of skiers and riders is enormous. They plan ahead and adjust their schedules for other activities around the fact that they have made going downhill a priority. Writing a check or signing a credit card for $300 to pay in advance for something that we think we want to do, but can always find an excuse not to do, is enough to trigger us to do it. It is far superior to a coupon that offers us a 20 percent discount if we load up the car, drive three hours and then have to find the right window to buy our discounted lift ticket.
The pass is a talking point. Its physical presence, pinned to the bulletin board in the kitchen, is a constant reminder. It promotes discussion that leads to planning and before you know it, skiers and riders are committed for several days, weekends and maybe even a winter vacation.
Because the price is right, it addresses the second most mentioned reason given for not skiing more often, price. Shopping is one of America’s favorite pastimes, and the most successful shopping is to find a bargain (discount stores are the fastest growing sector of retail). A season pass for $300 to a ski area that advertises a day ticket price of $40 to $60 is a bargain.
Short History
Until recently, snow has been the Holy Grail of the ski industry. The lower-priced season pass is the first signal that the customer’s desires are about to compete with snow in importance. This shift in focus could be just what the industry needs to regain the growth it experienced 30 years ago. Most other strategies have come up short.
This strategic shift away from reinvestment, and the recognition that time and money are important to the skiing public, has been the most successful in the Colorado Rockies. The areas have created plentiful uphill capacity. Discounted season passes—combined with flexibility to ski weekends as well as mid-week, mornings or afternoons, and at multiple areas—has created more skier days from the Front Range population.
The genesis for the shift to investment in finding and keeping customers was a combination of factors. The most influential was the need for a higher return on investment. Costs of highly technical lifts, snowmaking and other equipment had rocketed upward. Capital was tied up. At the same time, uphill capacity exceeded demand and the new technology was delivering an improved experience. But product was not driving business—skier-days were flat.
In 1992, the Front Range Track, a market research study done by Leisure Trends, contradicted long-held misconceptions of the size of the market and the frequency of visits of skiers living on the Front Range. It pointed out that the market was large and that the dropout percentage was huge.
Research underlined that high cost plus competition-for-time were the cause of dropouts and that superb snow conditions were less important than the industry believed.
Research also made areas refocus on service and on the quality of the experience. Area operators switched some of their emphasis from capital investments to increasing service levels. Ambassador programs, food service variety, nurseries, special programs for kids and other amenities were introduced. This pushed the satisfaction needle higher, but did not do much to increase skier days.
The season of 1999/2000 opened the eyes of the more astute operators. Snow came late and in quantity and skiers rushed to the slopes. What was going on?
The Customer is King
It became embarrassingly clear that the industry had been blowing the wrong bugle. Skier day anemia was not because there were not enough skiers and riders. The reservoir was significant. It was not because customers were not treated well at the areas, and it was not because they did not like the sports. Customers give most areas high marks for satisfaction and the majority of never-evers claim they will ski or ride again. Problem was, the industry knew only one trigger to motivate visitors. That trigger was snow.
The rise of the discount pass marked the dawning of a new age: the realization that the customer is king. The discount pass is the ultimate customer service. And it gives customers a second motivational trigger.
Ski resorts are now embarking on a full-blown courting of the consumer. They are not only listening to what the customer wants, they are changing the product mix. Not just is snowboarding allowed at most areas, with its own terrain parks, but so are snowshoeing, Nordic skiing, tubing, snowdecks and snowskates and other snow toys. All these create more reasons for visiting the mountains.
The evidence of this new customer focus is in the surprisingly high number of skier-days in 2001/02, one of the worst snow years on record. Skiers and riders showed up because resorts invited them, through discounted passes and targeted promotions and more snow-sliding options. The more resorts listen and respond to what their customers want, the more customers they will have.
