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January 2009

Hot Fun in the Summer

SAM took to the IAPPA tradeshow floor and gathered a crop of new ideas for summer fun in the mountains.

Written by Rick Kahl | 0 comment

If you wanted to build multi-season business, where would you start? One logical point is the annual IAAPA trade show in Orlando, Fla., in late November. On the off chance that you were too busy to visit, SAM attended in your stead. We ran across all sorts of likely summer attractions for winter resorts, and no shortage of people who can help you make them happen.

Steve Rice, VP of winter resort investments with CNL, the REIT that has been buying up winter resorts the way most people buy groceries, was one of several winter resort execs at the show. “The attractions industry is coming up with new experiences all the time,” he notes. Rice especially liked the Sky Trail ropes course and the synthetic Xtraice skating surface; both involve active participation by guests, as opposed to the more passive rides at the typical amusement park.

“Lots of areas would like to have an ice rink,” Rice says. “But the cost of refrigeration, Zambonis, and maintenance is high. Artificial ice is a way to avoid the capital cost, and you don’t need something the size of an Olympic rink.”

In general, Rice favors “outdoor fun skill-related activities, obstacle courses, ropes courses, and climbing walls. These activities preserve the sense of skill; you still have to use your balance. You’re a couple of stories off the ground, so there’s lots of fun and thrill, especially for kids. The suppliers have built in very positive safety features, such as harnesses and auto belays. And they are a lot more affordable than electrified rides.”

Rice also likes the idea of the Mountain Coaster, “a ride that can operate year round. There may be other items that take advantage of gravity and can provide a reason for overnight stays and generate revenue year-round,” he adds.

But Rice sees potential in short-term activities, too, like Halloween. “Hershey Park has built Halloween into a big piece of business,” he says, from nothing a decade ago. Parents are concerned about what might be dropped into kids’ candy sacks, so there’s a rise in interest in alternate, safer Halloween activities.

And resorts are discovering the possibilities, says Larry Hays, who represents Rain Drop and Wiegand Mountain Coasters, among others. “Global warming, the business downturn, these are things resorts don’t have any control over. But customers are still reaching out and spending money. Being able to run some kind of revenue operations 12 months a year will become more important,” he says.

“Don’t get carried away with the idea that a few of these can turn your resort into a summer Mecca,” Rice cautions. “But if you know where your sweet spot is, and you are not spending excessively with ramping up and down, we think a number of our resorts have very strong potential to build summer business that complements mountain biking and chair lift rides, things that are already going on. IAAPA is a good place to find complementary items.”

Here are some of the noteworthy items we came across this year:


ROPES COURSES SKY TRAIL
This multilevel “adventure course” caught everyone’s attention at the show—and not just because it was so big. The line to try it was often 20 to 30 deep. Participants cross bridges, beams, and ropes, often high above the ground, while tethered to a safety system. Ropes courses take people outside their comfort zone; Sky Trail lets them choose their challenges and proceed at their own pace. Typically, a 25 x 50 x 32-foot carbon steel structure can accommodate 100 to 125 people an hour (about 25 people at one time); for their 15 minutes of fun, participants pay about $7-$8. Total cost: $250,000. Payback for high-traffic sites is about one year. Info: www.ropescoursesinc.com, (269) 673-0016.



BEST LOCKERS GOPOD
GoPod electronic pay-one-price lockers replace the usual manual lock system with a keypad entry system. Guests check in at a central kiosk or kiosks and pay by cash or credit card. They can access the lockers throughout the day, using a PIN code of their own choosing. In that way, a family or group can use the same locker, and each person can have access, without the hassle of trying to share a key. The company estimates this system’s combination of flexible use by several people boosts revenue by 30 percent or more, due to greater usage and higher fees, while increasing user convenience. Cost: about $450 per locker opening (can also operate as a concession). Info: www.bestlockers.com, 1-800-LOCKER4.



Spectrum Auto-Belay
This fourth-generation hydraulic safety system can handle climbs up to 75 feet. For climbing walls and ropes courses, it means that one employee can monitor up to four climbers; climbers can even train o become certified to use the system without supervision. Cost: $2,395 to $5,295. There’s even a 100-foot Auto Zip ($4,995) zipline based on the technology, good for use with ropes courses and climbing walls. Info: www.spectrumsports.com,

1-888-563-0163.


ALLIED ICE SKATING SYNTHETIC ICE RINK
A year ago, we were impressed with Xtraice, a synthetic skating surface for year-round use, but it seemed a bit pricey. Allied Ice Skating felt the same way: it’s surface costs just under $30,000 for a 60 x 40-foot installation, about half the cost of Xtraice. The synthetic surface comes in 3/4-inch-thick sheets, 4 x 8 feet, for about $500 each. The material contains Teflon for reduced gliding resistance; imagine a surface like an enormous ski-binding Teflon AFD pad. Installations charge a small fee for skate time, plus skate rentals, so the revenue potential exists for year-round skating, without the usual refrigeration costs. Installation can be either permanent or temporary. Info: (517) 403-6647; www.alliediceforum.com.



The Scare Factory Animatronics
Halloween animatronics can be the mainstay of an annual fall revenue driver: a haunted house or forest. For perhaps a total of $100,000, roughly $20,000 of that for lifelike animated creatures and props, you can concoct a good acre of hell on earth. The Feeding Wolf ($2,295 to $6490, depending on timing of purchase and any accessories) is one of dozens of possibilities; it growls and turns its head as it chomps away. The leaping version is particularly startling. Info: www.scarefactory.com, (614) 252-8000.



EUROBUNGY FUN CLIMBER
Okay, climbing walls are not new. But this four-sided tower is. Each side sports a different type of climbing element, such as a lattice or a staggered set of foot- and handholds; eight different types are available. The idea is to give climbers a variety of challenges, some of them more urban than rock-like. Key benefit is that the structure’s cost is similar to a typical mobile wall, but the revenue opportunities are as much as doubled. And the Fun Climber requires fewer employees to monitor and work per climber. Setup time: 10 minutes, more or less. Cost: about $30,000, including the trailer. Info: www.eurobungy.com, (305) 252-1422.



RAIN DROP MISTERS
Full-on waterparks are multi-million-dollar investments. A wet deck or “sprayground” of interactive water features costs a fraction of that, and accomplishes some of the same ends: it lets kids (and adults) play in the water or just cool down. And these installations are low maintenance—no need for lifeguards or changing rooms, for example. There are about a 100 different features to suit a wide range of themes or concepts. Cost: about $20,000 per feature, including pumps; a 1,000 to 4,000 sf installation might cost up to $200,000. Info: www.rain-drop.com, (419) 207-1229.



SPECTRUM SPORTS DIGIWALL
Swedish-made DigiWall looks like a low climbing wall, which it is—but it’s also more than that. The interactive foot- and handholds have built-in sensors and lights, and the wall can be programmed like a computer to create a variety of games, exercises, and challenges. The games are intuitive and easy for kids and adults alike to learn, and each offers three skill levels, so that the challenge can ramp up as players become more adept. SkiStar Vemdalen of Sweden has installed one of these as the centerpiece of its indoor activities center. Cost: $41,900 for a 9 x 21-foot wall. Info: www.spectrumsports.com, 1-888-563-0163.

WHO YA GONNA CALL?
Want more advice on summer ops? Some companies go the extra mile and do joint ventures or operate as concessionaires. Two that know both the winter business and the summer trade: Amaze’n Mazes and Ride Entertainment Systems.

Greg Galavan of Amaze’n Mazes operates concessions at several winter resorts across the West. His company sells mazes, as the name suggests, but he finds that many resort operators are reluctant to take on the staffing and training burden of summer ops. So his company comes in and runs the show, with a cut going to the resort. Info: www.amazenmazes.com, (970) 531-5334.

Ed Hiller’s Ride Entertainment Systems often does the same type of thing, but its expertise tends toward rides like the Wiegand Mountain Coaster, ziplines, ropes courses, and skating. The company can provide financing and partner with resorts on operations as well, usually with an option for the resort to eventually purchase the facility outright once it has become comfortable doing so. Info: www.rideentertainment.com, 1-866-377-2169.