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When it comes to snow business, relying on just snow is no longer enough to keep our ever-changing guests entertained and coming back for more. Now, in a big way, resorts are tasked with creating experiences that add extra sparkle to snowsports. The purists might suggest that skiing and snowboarding should be enough to keep this generation of customers engaged, but as we battle both changing weather and the digital age, the extras have proven to be a requirement. 

So many factors go into this growing area of our industry, from initial investment and day-to-day costs to revenue model and interest. Do we create permanent offerings? Do we offer up something new and exciting every season? What do our guests want? Are we spinning our wheels on ancillaries just to pull us away from the real meat of our business? 

We checked in with a handful of resorts that are in the throes of crafting ancillary activities to not only boost visitation but improve the overall guest experience. As you review your own offerings this summer and grapple with the age-old conundrum, “Is the juice worth the squeeze?” let the experiences of your fellow industry leaders answer some of the questions in the back, or front, of your mind.

FREE FUN

That extra “wow” factor can come in many shapes and sizes. For Copper Mountain in Colorado, snow sculptures have always been part of the winter fun, but as of the 2021-22 season, the normal snow playground at Copper was leveled up in a big way, creating an even more engaging space for customers to enjoy. Enter: The Snow Maze in Copper’s East Village. According to the resort, it’s the world’s highest alpine snow maze. And it’s free for guests to enjoy.

“Copper is big on offering unique on-snow activations for people that may or may not be skiing or riding, or for families that are looking for fun activities for kids to experience while visiting the mountain,” says Copper communications and philanthropy manager Olivia Butrymovich. Only a signed waiver is required to experience the maze, making it an easily accessible activity for all. 

Investment and operation. As Copper had been working on snow sculpture experiences for quite some time, it wasn’t a big ask to shift the use of that budget and partner with Colorado-based Snice Carvings to create the interactive maze. “Copper makes a lot of snow in the early season on this trail to accommodate race training for the Stifel U.S. Ski Team,” notes Butrymovich. Once training is completed, she says, snow is farmed to build the maze adjacent to the tubing hill in East Village.

The interactive Snow Maze at Copper Mountain, Colo., is free to use and not short on details.

From there, the Snice Carvings team takes over to shape and cut the maze. Once operational, the maze is inspected daily and cleared of any snow as needed. All in all, daily operational costs are minimal, and the bonus activity is now a staple for many visitors. 

Butrymovich says the time, effort, and budget to create this free offering is well worth it. “The Maze is a one-of-a-kind snow experience, and we have seen a lot of guest interest in the activity over the past few seasons. It’s a great option for families or guests that don’t ski or ride to still enjoy the winter experience at Copper,” she says. 

Right-size it. If a full-scale snow maze is not in the cards for your ski area, consider other creations for your guests to enjoy free of charge. Whether it’s a giant snowman adorned with items from your merch collection, or a sculptural selfie station made entirely of snow, finding the free extra for your guests could be the thing that sets you apart from your neighbor, and keeps those new customers flowing in.

SPECIAL SERVICE

The hustle and bustle of a busy ski area on a weekend or a holiday can leave guests feeling overwhelmed, and as operators, we want to find solutions to alleviate those feelings to ensure that guests enjoy their time. 

At Cascade Mountain in Wisconsin, skiers and riders can escape to their own little oasis whenever they need a break by reserving one of the resort’s new Day Cabins. These slopeside cabins offer small groups a private space to hang out, eat, and relax in a ski-in/ski-out location. 

“We were looking for new amenities to assist with tailgaters that were wanting to make their time here more of a day-long party for family and friends,” explains general manager Matt Vohs. 

Filling a need. A lot of us have seen tailgating come back in a big way post-Covid. At Cascade, it was becoming a congestion issue for the parking areas. Knowing they were just trying to have fun with family and friends, Vohs says it was hard to tell folks they needed to reduce the size of their tailgate. “We wanted to provide a solution to this problem,” says Vohs, and the solution has proven to be fruitful. 

The heated 9’x12’ cabins comfortably seat up to eight people—all of whom must have a valid lift ticket—indoors and have an outside deck with seating and a gas fire table, plus reserved parking and storage for belongings. The day-long rental goes from opening to one hour before close. It cost $199 on non-peak days and $299 on peak days and holidays during the 2023-24 season. Guests could also scan a QR code to order food from their mobile device that Cascade staff would then deliver to the cabin, which many took advantage of, providing the resort with a good mix of brown-bag tailgaters and add-on spenders.

Small groups can reserve their own slopeside oasis for the day at Cascade Mountain, Wis.

Installation and operation. Cascade purchased cabin kits for the project. The kits range from $10,000-$30,000 apiece and arrived ready for basic assembly by Cascade’s in-house team of puzzle masters (we hear they get easier to assemble after you have one under your belt). Purchasing kits mitigated labor and excess materials costs without sacrificing style. Vohs says Cascade selected the cabin kits for their Scandinavian aesthetic (rather than your standard buy-and-drop shed) because, “They make for a more unique experience, and I believe offer a memory and family photo that won’t be forgotten.”

The team also spent money to pave the area near the cabins, including the parking spots, so guests wouldn’t have to trudge through muck or risk getting their vehicles stuck in case of a muddy, low-snow season like the one we just had in the Midwest.

The upkeep and service of the cabins did warrant the addition of one full-time seasonal staff member to the guest services department. Duties involved cleaning and inspecting cabins after checkouts, propane delivery and hookup, snow removal and salting, and mobile food order deliveries. 

Quick ROI. Vohs says they hoped to see a return on the investment inside of three seasons, or perhaps in even less than two seasons of use. “It was more popular than we had ever anticipated,” he says, “and we were able to get our full return in one season.”

Cascade plans to add another cabin unit this summer for the 2024-25 season, “but we’re going to slow the pace of additional units down to make sure we hit the sweet spot and do not overshoot,” says Vohs.

Finding the sweet spot is an overarching theme with all these ancillary offerings. 

After a successful season with its new slopeside cabins, Vohs believes the demand is growing for ancillary activities and amenities, especially to appeal to a broader audience. “Our priority target is new guests and guests that are new to the sports of skiing, snowboarding, and tubing,” he says. “Adding amenities like a private day cabin rental is a way to ensure that they get the most value out of their experience at Cascade.”

ADDITIONAL ACTION 

Sometimes, in our line of work, well laid plans go out the window (and by sometimes, we mean always). In 2022, the demolition of one of the main buildings at Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia displaced several departments. As part of the ensuing shuffle, Snowshoe’s former indoor family fun zone, the Big Top, was requisitioned for ski patrol operations, and a smaller space in the Silver Creek area of the resort, the Bear’s Den, was identified as a new temporary home for the family-friendly ancillary activities. 

Six months before the start of the winter season, Snowshoe’s team was forced to rethink its indoor add-ons for a new space and location. “[Bear’s Den] is a less spacious area than the Big Top, so we had to lose some of the activities with a large footprint—bouncy houses, climbing wall, etc.,” says Snowshoe marketing director Shawn Cassell. 

After saying goodbye to the space hogs, though, opportunities for new offerings became apparent. “We added axe throwing and some other cool new offerings in the process,” says Cassell. “The staff that had worked the Big Top made the transition to the Bear’s Den very smoothly.” 

Snowshoe, W.Va., had to relocate its indoor family fun zone to a smaller space, which presented an opportunity to introduce new activities like axe throwing.

The Bear’s Den has not yet reached business levels comparable to the old Big Top facility, says Cassell. But there is reason to be optimistic. “While the location at Silver Creek is less central for the majority of our guests, it does work well in tandem with our tubing hill and night skiing, which are also located at Silver Creek,” he says, and there is hope to construct a new, larger facility in the central resort village in the near future. 

Demand fluctuations. Ancillary offerings have long been important to Snowshoe, and while demand for the indoor offerings has dipped slightly with the move to a new location, demand for adventure dining is on the rise (“It is very unique to Snowshoe, and it books up fast.”) and demand for snowmobile excursions (which the resort is able to offer despite sometimes challenging weather “thanks to our amazing snowmakers”) remains steady.

“The ups and downs of our weather in West Virginia is a big driver for our ancillary activities,” says Cassell. “We have several strong, permanent offerings that aren’t going anywhere, and we’re also keeping an eye out for new opportunities.

“In the summer season, we have significantly more ancillary offerings available to our guests,” he adds. “I think that, moving forward, as we look at capital improvements, we ideally would find attractions that we can offer in both winter and summer.”

YEAR-ROUND YEARNING 

Add-on activities can be a bit of a white whale. Trying to find a weatherproof, year-round activity that appeals to skiers and non-skiers alike is akin to trying to hit a moving target while blindfolded. 

Know your demo. In search of this white whale, Sugarbush, Vt., first considered its year-round guest profile, which includes many folks who are both passionate golfers and skiers (Sugarbush is home to Sugarbush Golf Club, designed by the venerable Robert Trent Jones, Sr.). Thus, the resort decided to introduce SIM Suites, i.e., fancy indoor golf simulators that do a lot more than just golf. 

“We had been looking into golf simulators for a few years; we have a strong summer golf membership and many of our winter guests are golfers as well,” says Sugarbush PR and communications manager John Bleh. “We had also been continuing to try and find ways to expand our ancillary offerings, particularly for non-skiers, so the simulators were a great fit.”

Installation. Sugarbush converted three racquetball courts in its Health and Recreation Center to house the SIM Suites, which opened in December 2023. The rooms needed updated lighting, electrical, paint, and added security cameras to monitor activity. Operationally, not a huge task for a resort like Sugarbush. The bulk of the energy investment went into research. “Significant time was spent researching the brand of system that would work best for us,” says Bleh. 

Ultimately, the team landed on HD Sportsuite, which they found to have a user-friendly interface and a large suite of additional games such as zombie dodgeball, bowling, archery, target shooting, baseball, and soccer. Sugarbush purchased the simulators and has a service contract with the company.

Weatherproof and family-friendly, the SIM Suites at Sugarbush, Vt., are a year-round hit.

Operation and interest. Guests reserve a suite for a rack rate of $100 per hour (discounts are available in summer, and punch packs with preset expiration dates are also offered). The rate includes up to six people, but the rooms can hold up to 10 guests (each guest over six is charged an additional per person rate). Sliding doors that connect the suites allow large parties to flow between multiple suites, excellent for group business potential.

Rec center front desk staff handles payment, cleanup between rentals, and alcohol and snack sales. An online scheduling system eases administrative burden. Introducing food and beverage, which wasn’t offered in the building pre-SIM Suites, is a nice bonus that rings the register, but isn’t a driver of suite usage, says Bleh.

While the simulated golf is a hit, the extra extras—somewhat accidentally—are an even bigger success. “The additional games have been even more popular than we expected,” says Bleh. “We are now able to host birthday parties, company outings, and more in the SIM Suites.

“It took a bit of time for guests to learn about them,” he adds, “but they were busy, particularly during holiday periods and when ski conditions weren’t ideal. We’re continuing to look for creative ways to use and market them.” 

The new investment also helped fill the spring shoulder season, with guests and locals looking for something to do while they’re stuck in seasonal weather limbo. 

“We’re trying to tap into new guests who might find these offerings attractive, such as families where perhaps not everyone skis,” says Bleh, who adds that the suites also create a more diverse experience for passholders and add more value since passholders and golf members get a discount on the hourly rate. 

The demand for ancillary winter activities and experiences is increasing, says Bleh. “Guests are looking for more to do off the slopes when they visit as a complement to skiing and riding.”

BOTTOM LINE

Whatever your extras might be, they should fit your brand, your customer’s needs, and your operational bandwidth. 

Dreaming up ideas is always the fun part. Turning those ideas into action and successful ancillary offerings is a whole different ballgame (or ski race). There will be trial and error. There will be drawing board revisitation. But along the way, you may find that bonus for your guests that becomes the cherry on top of their winter, and maybe even their year.