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• Marketing
• Advertising
• Media
• Public Relations / Publicity

SAM's annual review of marketing hits and misses.   Add a comment In a season during which prolific snow was falling out West before most in the East had seen a flake, the approach to resort marketing, like the snowfall, was a tale of two sides. With Ma Nature serving up free marketing soup in the form of jaw-dropping, powder-fi...

• Finance
• NSAA
• Research

Charting the long-term trends at U.S. resorts through the lens of the NSAA Economic Analysis of United States Ski Areas.   Add a comment How has the economic performance of U.S. ski areas changed since the last “normal” year preceding the Great Recession, 2006-07? What can we learn from any of these changes? Can what we lear...

• Snowmaking
• Computers & Automation
• Weather

A look at the lessons learned from a winter tht humbled even some of the best snow management teams. Add a comment SMI Super PoleCat at Snowshoe, W. Va. Photo: Snowshoe   And I had plenty of company. “I never thought we would miss Christmas!” Chris Bates, general manager of Cataloochee Ski Area, N.C., confided. Well, I neve...

• Ticketing
• Finance

Online ticket sales give customers a means to find bargains and buy in advance. Are resorts reaping any benefits, too? Add a comment Third party partnerships are not a new concept in the ski industry. Wholesale tour operators have been profiting from selling ski trips for decades. But the concept of selling lift tickets online through...

• Business
• Management
• Ski Area Profiles

Six small-area leaders join a wide-ranging roundtable discussion. Add a comment   A number of smaller ski areas struggle to find employees to fill roles that require training and expertise particular to the industry, such as grooming, snowmaking and lift maintenance. Have you experienced this, and how have you solved this dilemm...

• Ticketing
• Business
• Finance

RFID access gates are a convenience to guests and a surprisingly cost-effective tool for operators. Add a comment Almost every guest at a ski area has a grand time once the skiing and riding actually happens. But customers can become dissatisfied with the rigmarole needed to get to the slopes—parking, standing in line to get tickets...

• Buildings & Grounds
• Summer

Landscaping has long been a low priority for winter resorts, but summer operations are giving many a new perspective. Add a comment The natural landscape of most ski areas is a tremendous asset—offering amazing views, vast amounts of open space, cascading streams, and verdant forest. Since most guests live in a more urban environmen...

• Summer
• Activities

The prospects for mountain bike parks are looking up. Add a comment Mountain resorts offer the ideal environment for a downhill mountain bike park. Still, a successful park doesn’t spring up overnight. There are several considerations and steps resorts can take to either start a program or adapt an existing program. A bike park sho...

• Opinion
• Pub Memo
• People

A year ago we kicked off a new series in SAM, called Trailblazers. It highlights those who have had the courage and creativity to see opportunity where others saw obstacles. These are individuals who have forged new ways of doing business, advancing the industry and inspiring many to follow in their footsteps. Add a comment SAM’s Ve...

• Industry Reports
• News
• People
• Obituary

WILMOT'S $13 MILLION OVERHAUL... WHISTLER BLACKCOMB RENAISSANCE... KILLINGTON INVESTING IN SUMMER... PEOPLE... AWARDS... OBITUARIES... SUPPLIER NEWS Add a comment WILMOT’S $13 MILLION OVERHAUL After more than 75 years in operation, Wilmot Mountain, Wis., is getting $13 million of improvements courtesy of new owner Vail Resorts. On-...

• Weather
• Business

Thanks for everything, or nothing. Add a comment A monster El Niño wreaked havoc on the 2015-16 ski season, restoring normal snowfall and visitation to the Pacific West, but bringing the warmest winter in history and one of the worst-ever ski seasons to the East. It was a winter of contrasts. In the West, it was a “nice” El Niñ...

• Risk Management
• Safety
• Personnel Issues

As workers' comp costs rise, it's time to establish a culture of safety. Add a comment   The cost of insuring employees due to workplace injuries continues to rise. Many resorts have instituted the position of risk manager or safety director, but escalating workers’ compensation premiums can offset their success at reducing in...

• Customer Service
• Mountain Spy
• Guest Services

This month's Mountain Spy asks a rather unusual but not implausible question. It does more than simply test how broad-minded a resort is though—it reveals how sensitive guest service issues are handed. Add a comment   THE QUESTION:  MY FIANCÉ AND I ARE NATURISTS. WOULD YOU BE OK HOSTING A SMALL, PRIVATE, NUDIST WEDDING C...

• Risk Management
• Events
• Safety

Managing and shifting risk when hosting third-party events. Add a comment Hosting a third-party event provides ample opportunities for financial and marketing gain. But those benefits can be offset and even eliminated if the risks aren’t managed and shifted properly. A single incident, especially a catastrophic one, can take the fun...

• Conversion
• NSAA
• Research

The NSAA Beginner Conversion Study delves deep into the learn-to process. Add a comment At the close of a skier or snowboarder’s very first day on the slopes, when that person reflects on what was likely an odd and foreign experience, what factors are likely to inspire he or she to come back? What negatives will keep this first-time...

• New Ideas

Tissue boxes, recycled dispensers, and the many uses of Trex Add a comment  DIY TISSUE BOXES “Mike Rumrill, our lift ops supervisor, made five of these for each of our lifts this winter. He reused lumber that we had left over in our shop, scrap plastic left over from terrain park features, some PVC piping, and paint from our s...

• Opinion
• News

JAY AND BURKE: GOOD INTENTIONS GONE BAD When Jay Peak, Vt., owner Bill Stenger championed the EB-5 foreign investor program as a way to develop and create jobs in Vermont’s employment-starved Northeast Kingdom, he was praised as a visionary. His relatively silent partner in this renaissance was Florida businessman Ariel Quiros, who initially rea...