The Sheraton offers extensive facilities for the association’s 9th annual meeting, especially for the trade show. Inside exhibits will occupy space normally taken up by three indoor tennis courts, while there is an extensive paved area adjacent to the building for outdoor exhibits. Inside booths are $300 for the first 8×8 ft. space and $200 for each additional 8×8 unit, with a limit of four booths per exhibitor. Outside space costs $300 for the first item or vehicle and $100 for each additional one. Of course, exhibitors must be sponsoring members of NSAA. Companies that want exhibit space should contact NSAA.
One of the principal advantages and reasons for selecting Hyannis as the meeting site is its accessibility. There are daily flights from New York and Boston to the Hyannis Airport and the drive from Boston or Providence takes only 90 minutes. The inn also offers extensive recreational facilities. Located on Nantucket Sound, ocean swimming is possible, but it might be cool in the middle of May. However, the inn has an indoor heated pool, plus an 18-hole par-three golf course, complete health club for men and women, two specialty restaurants, two cocktail lounges, a convention center and outdoor tennis courts.
The program for area managers promises to be informative and includes four panel periods—mountain management, summer operations, weather modification and a brainstorming session. The panel session for mountain managers will cover many topics of current interest, including inventory and tool control, discussion of various procedures or techniques which will enable them to improve their operational performance. The mountain managers will also hear panelists on lift maintenance, lift construction, supplies and materials. Employee handbooks will be reviewed, which should be timely in view of the current pressure of unionization at many ski areas.
Another panel will be devoted to summer resort and hotel operation. Ski area operators are prone to a disease called “spring freeze,” which hits usually in April and May, resulting in a gelling of the operator’s mind, body and economy. The second and more serious stage of this peculiar disease occurs during the summer and continues unabated until the first snowfall, when area owners are revitalized and swing into action once more. To combat spring freeze, operators will hear about the costs, possibilities and profitabilities of summer activities. A representative of Robert F. Warner Inc., hotel consultants, will be one panelist on hand to answer questions, along with a representative of the department of commerce, who will outline summer consumer spending patterns. In addition, a travel consultant will explain what vacationers are looking for in the summer. Then an executive from an accounting/consulting firm will explore a professional approach to analyzing new ventures and present guidelines for determining return on investment and profit analysis.
Weather modification will be the topic for a third panel. Although only experimental today, ski area operators must be involved in the ground level discussions currently going on to properly evaluate how weather modification could affect their operations in the future. For example, ski areas located in sections that normally receive heavy snowfalls could soon be faced with snow dispersal efforts. There is also the possibility of custom-ordering a snowfall for your area. Right now, weather modification is hit-or-miss at best and there is no institutionalized procedure for compensation for damages resulting from the experiments.
Finally, there will be a session devoted to brainstorming, where area operators will have an opportunity to voice their pet peeves or ask their favorite questions. The purpose of the session is to determine how NSAA can better serve its members in the future.
Evening activities will consist of the exhibitors’ cocktail party and an authentic New England clambake Tuesday night on the terrace beside the swimming pool. The NSAA annual banquet will be Wednesday evening and a closing cocktail party Thursday evening.
There will be an important change in the business meeting format at this year’s annual get-together. The meeting will consist of reports from the president, Steve Bradley, of Winter Park, treasurer Harvey Clifford, of Stratton Mt., and executive director Dick Garis. Then, instead of having committee chairmen read their annual reports, the reports will be prepared and handed out in advance so delegates can read them and then ask the committee chairmen questions. This should help speed up the meeting and cut down on monotony.
If you plan to attend the convention, contact reservations coordinator Betsy Shurbuck at the Hyannis Sheraton Inn, telephone 617-775-7775 and then pre-register with NSAA to cut down on registration time when you arrive.
Please clip coupon and send to Betsy Shurbuck, Sheraton Hyannis Inn, Hyannis, Mass.
