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July 2007

Midweek Blues

Can we put new life in old ideas for driving business?

Written by Linda Goodspeed | 0 comment

Discounts, special events, programs, promotions—ski areas have tried them, and keep trying them, all in an effort to drive midweek business.

But, with core markets working or in school, midweek remains a struggle at most resorts. Mission Ridge, Wash., closes completely every Tuesday and Wednesday, except Christmas and February vacation weeks.


Old Ideas, New Media
There may be no new ideas, but there are new tools. The Internet, for example. Many areas offer short-term midweek discounts over the Internet to boost business during slow periods.

“The Internet has helped a lot,” says Al Fletcher, operations director at Nashoba Valley, Mass. “We noticed our walk-in business was a little soft Monday through Thursday nights. We put some couponing on our website, and it was surprising how quickly they were redeemed. It used to take more planning: creating an ad, waiting for the ad and running the ad. Now you can be in the middle of the season and whack something out in an hour. It’s much easier to react to a soft period.”

Or just coax a few more folks to come out midweek. About once a month, Jiminy Peak, Mass., sends out an e-mail blast to 25,000 pre-selected recipients, offering them a $20 lift ticket on a certain midweek day. “We’ve seen anywhere from 900 to 1,100 skiers who potentially otherwise would not have come,” says marketing director Betsy Strickler. “The other nice thing is they send the offer to friends and we capture more names for our e-mail list.”

This season Jiminy Peak will publicize half the discount days ahead of time and increase them from monthly to every two to three weeks. But don’t overreact, warns Strickler. “We’re trying to hold back and make it special,” Strickler says. “Don’t price yourself out of the market.”

Or just rob yourself. A few years ago, Sierra Summit in Lake Tahoe offered deep discounts on midweek tickets through a grocery store chain. “We got a lot of midweek skiers, but we were sacrificing our weekend skiers,” says Boomer DeVours, marketing manager. “We weren’t getting more volume, just changing patterns.”


Night skiing
Ski areas that offer night skiing have a big advantage midweek. Fletcher says Nashoba Valley does 75 percent of its prepaid business midweek, thanks to its adult and school racing leagues.

Nashoba has company. “We are busier midweek than any other resort I’ve worked at largely because of school groups,” says Melissa Rock, marketing director at Shawnee Peak, Me. With nearly half the mountain lit, Rock says Shawnee draws school groups from as far away as two and a half hours. During the week, she says, the area also targets home schoolers and adaptive skiers, who have more flexibility than some other skiers. In fact, the more flexible the group, the more flexible Shawnee’s midweek pricing.

“We price our tickets based on how busy we’re going to be,” Rock says. “If a group wants to come at 1 p.m., but is willing to come at 9 a.m. instead, we’ll take a few dollars off the ticket.”

On the midweek retail side, Shawnee Peak’s $10 Monday night ticket has made that night as busy as Saturday mornings. “Last year we went to $12 and it didn’t hurt demand at all,” Rock says.


Promotions, Pricing, Programming
Pricing is probably the biggest marketing tool ski areas use to attract skiers midweek: Carload days, 2-for-Tuesdays, etc.

“We put a lot of energy into attracting corporate groups and associations midweek,” says Stacy Lopes, Loon marketing director. “We have various facilities they can rent out, meet, ski, have lunch, apres ski.” Because of the area’s easy access to Boston, Loon’s midweek corporate focus is a natural, Lopes says.

Other areas target different types of groups—women, men, seniors, etc.—with special midweek days and prices or programming. Jiminy Peak offers a discount Ski Wee day midweek. “Parents can drop the kid off for the day or come up with the child,” Strickler says. “We got a great response to it.”

Sierra Summit gives military and college skiers a price break midweek. Saddleback, Me., last year added telemarkers to its list of groups who get their own midweek day (Tuesday) and price. Saddleback also sells midweek ticket books (10 for $250).

Sugarloaf, Me., which has level pricing, offers Maine residents a $29 lift ticket every Wednesday (normally $67). The program has had good response.

Other areas target different groups of skiers midweek with programming rather than pricing. Saddleback has a “Tuesday tuneup”—coffee, donuts, two-hour group lesson and lunch.

Okemo offers women’s clinics and senior programs midweek focused on the social aspects of skiing. “People meet in the morning over coffee and muffins and go out skiing and have some instruction,” Okemo’s Bonnie MacPherson says. “One of the top reasons people give up skiing is because they have no one to ski with.”

But the best midweek (or any other day for that matter) promotion remains fresh snow. “Our biggest driver for anything is weather and snow conditions,” DeVours says. “People react to fresh snow and sunshine on a midweek day more than a discount.”

If we could only bottle it.