A combination of old-fashioned hustle and modern business methods has produced a 17 percent average net income growth through the past six seasons at Ski Roundtop in Lewisberry, Pa. Before that, the area’s profits were satisfactory but not spectacular. Seven years ago Sepp Gmuender took over as general manager, and Roundtop’s business took off.
This muffin-shaped hill overlooking the Susquehanna Valley south of Harrisburg is in the middle of a population center. Skiers come from Washington, D.C., Richmond, Va., Baltimore, Md., and the Pennsylvania cities of York, Harrisburg and Chambersburg. But mere proximity is not the only factor that brings an average of 200,000 skiers per winter.
The most important tool in Roundtop’s promotional arsenal is the purchase of drive-time radio spots for snow reports. Skiers are notoriously wary about traveling distances and spending money when there is no snow on the ground. Roundtop depends on its radio spots to convince the skiing public that although conditions may be marginal, there is snow on the hill. Reports are updated twice daily and follow NESAC guidelines. Their credibility rating is high due to Roundtop’s proven reputation as a massive snowmaking plant. The system, which can function at above normal conditions of temperature and humidity, was engineered by Gmuender to cope with southern Pennsylvania’s climate.
Last season Roundtop bought $100,000 in drive-time spots from 24 stations within a hundred mile radius of the mountain. To blanket the market, the area selected stations as diverse as WBAL in Baltimore whose programming emphasis on music, news, sports and weather draws an “over 35” audience and WHP in Harrisburg whose format of current hits and selected oldies attracts the “18 to 35” crowd. AM and FM stations were used. The total program cost Roundtop only $40,000 because they sold 30 seconds of the minute spots to sponsors such as local restaurants and retail shops.
To complement its radio snow reports, Roundtop, maintains a 24-hour WATS snow reporting line for skiers from Pennsylvania and out-of-state. Operators are at the phone from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. with live reports, and last season they logged 13,600 calls. Tapes are used from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
In the summer months the office staff is not idle. A major promotional campaign is mounted by sending letters to every business employing over 50 people in their market area. The list of 6,000 names is culled from chambers of commerce directories and from records of past customers. The sales office also sends letters to ski clubs and other groups who have purchased packages in the past. Roundtop offers discounts of up to 25 percent for businesses and up to 20 percent for groups on packages including lifts and rentals or lifts, lessons and rentals. Purchase of these deals provides not only a dependable and early income, it also fills the slopes on weekdays and nights when business is traditionally slow.
This year Roundtop is running a pilot plan to attempt to sell groups on early season skiing. “By saturating the early months, we can build skier confidence in our capacity to provide optimum conditions in marginal weather,” explains Gmuender. “Getting skiers here early not only balances out our short season, which usually ends the second week of March due to skier disinterest; it also helps auxiliary businesses such as retail shops. Due to our firm financial base, we don’t have to wait for new cash to get the area in good shape; and we have the advantage of getting all the bugs worked out of our operation before the real crowds get here”.
Getting skiers to the hill brings in money. Trimming operating costs through efficient use of facilities, personnel, and modern business methods saves money. Last year Roundtop transferred its payroll operation to a York-based computer firm, 20 minutes from the area. This move resulted in a cost savings of close to 50 percent. Using clerical help, putting out the payroll cost approximately $96 a week. The computer did it for $50. The process involved the area’s initial preparation of a master form listing all employees, their names, addresses and Social Security numbers. Each week the computer firm mails Roundtop a master printout on which the area transcribes the employee hours. When the printout is returned by mail to the computer firm, it prints out the checks which are then sent to Roundtop for distribution. This experiment with the payroll department worked so well that Roundtop is transferring its bookkeeping to computer this season.
The area uses statistical analysis to determine its day-to-day personnel needs. Gmuender has kept records of weather patterns, snowmaking and skier attendance through the past six seasons. By studying his figures and the weather reports, he can make a projection of personnel needs for the following day. The staff is divided into three groups, each headed by a supervisor. One, two or three groups can be called in as business dictates. All Gmuender has to do is insert the coded phrase “supervisory stage one (or two or three)” at the end of the nightly taped message on the WATS line. Supervisors must call in every morning to find out if their team is working. They in turn must phone the members of their team. In this manner Roundtop has exactly as many workers as it requires for any day’s business.
Efficient management has enabled Roundtop to maintain a pattern of controlled growth with a goal of half a million skier visits a year within five years. The private corporation, Ski Roundtop, Inc., is run by a cadre of York businessmen: president, Irvin Nalor, a manufacturer of containers; vice president, Robert A. Kinsley, a contractor; and secretary-treasurer, Fred Rosenmiller, owner of a real estate agency. There is an eight-member board of directors which includes Gmuender. The present corporation is the original owner and developer, and the officers and directors have a long-standing policy that mandates an increase in development only when there is an increase in equity.
With 11 slopes and trails served by five double chairs and two J-bars, Roundtop already qualifies as a “big little mountain,” but additional beginner and intermediate trails plus four new lifts are projected for the terrain to the west of the existing slopes.
There is sufficient water for both current snowmaking use and for the planned expansion in two creek-fed ponds, and the existing snowmaking pipes are sized for 40,000 cubic feet of air per minute without friction loss. In preparation for expansion, the snowmaking capacity has been increased this year from 21,000 to 27,000 cubic feet per minute. This will allow simultaneous coverage of four to five slopes overnight.
There is a two-stage plan to enlarge the base lodge. This fall $100,000 was spent in the initial phase which included rebuilding the wrap-around sundeck by installing new window walls, re-routing the stairs from the cafeteria to the deck area, and re-organizing the cafeteria for better space utilization. During the summer of 1980, the construction of a $250,000 addition will double the lodge’s original size. At an expanded 40,000 square feet, it will house offices, an information center, a restaurant and a large cafeteria.
In addition to the ski area’s expansion, Ski Roundtop, Inc., is planning to get into real estate sales for the first time. Slated for development is a vacation community on over 1,000 acres of corporation-owned land bordering the area. Currently a professional land-planner is being selected, and phase one of the subdivision has been approved by the township. No specific date has been set for offering the property to the public, but it will be “only when the market is right,” according to Gmuender.
Ski Area Management Vital Statistics — Ski Roundtop, Pa. 17339
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Vertical Rise | 500′ |
| Top Elevation | 1,355′ |
| Area Capacity (vertical transport feet per hour) | 1.907.480 |
| Snow Making Capacity (no. cubic feet of air or no. guns and feet of air) | 27,000 CFM |
| Grooming Fleet | 3 |
| Amount of Terrain (acres or miles of trails) | 60 acre |
| Season Pass Price (standard individual) | $281.25 |
| Number Full Time Employees | 30 |
| Number Seasonal Employees (not including ski school) | 170 |
| Number Full Time Instructors | 30 |
| Part Time | 40 |
| Miles of Track-Set Cross Country Trails | 5 miles groomed, unlimited ungroomed |
| Lift Type | Number |
|---|---|
| Tram (Capacity) | |
| Gondola (Capacity) | |
| T-Bar | |
| Poma | |
| J-Bar | 2 |
| Single Chair | |
| Double Chair | 5 |
| Triple Chair | |
| Quadruple Chair | |
| Rope | |
| Other |
| Adult | Junior | |
|---|---|---|
| Weekend | $13.00 | $13.00 |
| Weekday | $12.00 | $12.00 |
| Facility | Area Owned | Concession |
|---|---|---|
| Ski School | X | |
| Ski Shop | X | |
| Rental Shop | X | |
| Restaurant | X | |
| Bar | ||
| Nursery | X |
