Every ski season begins with a combination of expectation, anticipation, and reality. The mountain is finally open after months of preparation and marketing campaigns. Guests are eager to get back on the snow after a long summer.
However, the early season rarely delivers peak conditions or ample open terrain. Holiday crowds arrive before operations have ironed out all the kinks. As such, guest feedback often reflects a disconnect between their dream, expectation, and reality.
From a measurement standpoint, early season feedback is important because, on average, 30 percent of a year’s surveys are completed by early January—and because that feedback can and should be used to enhance the balance of the season.
But resorts need not wait to react. Anticipating and preparing to meet early season challenges is key to providing a strong guest experience and, thus, achieving higher Net Promoter Scores (NPS), and taking those steps can have a positive ripple effect on NPS throughout the winter.
Measurable Performance
A recent analysis of 120,000 guest surveys from 39 North American resorts during the 2025-26 ski season uncovered the importance of the early season for the guest experience.
The lowest NPS ratings for likelihood to recommend a resort during the year were from opening to Jan. 4, averaging 66, rising to 71 by mid-season, and remaining at roughly 71 through the end of the season. Overall ski/ride experience and overall visit satisfaction followed that pattern. The snow conditions score had the largest variation, averaging 12 early in the season, 32 during mid-season, and 19 late in the season.
It’s not surprising that as terrain opened and snow conditions improved, so did the NPS (a significant +4.8 from early to mid-season). What is surprising is the lack of improvement from mid-season to the end of the season.
Explaining last year. Typically, “likelihood to recommend” (NPS) measures the resort’s longer-term relationship with its guests and is often an evaluation of multiple visits; it should increase throughout the ski season. Last season, the lack of improvement might be attributable to late-season snow conditions, early closings, and staff fatigue and reductions. That explanation is supported by the ratings for “overall snow conditions,” “overall ski/snowboard experience,” and “overall satisfaction with visit” (CSAT), all of which are visit-specific metrics.
The normal pattern is for the lowest NPS to occur in early season and then gradually improve into and during much of the late season, rather than flattening out after the mid-season improvement as they did this past year.
The pattern can vary for individual resorts, though. Some handle the early season well, achieve high ratings, and maintain them all season long. Last season, for example, several resorts posted strong early-season NPS (75-85), which they maintained all winter. Other resorts showed 20-point improvement as the season progressed. Still others achieved high NPS in early season but were unable to maintain that strength.
This varied performance suggests the guest experience is shaped by far more than snow conditions, including staffing, operational smoothness, and holiday crowds with high expectations.
North American Average Ratings by Early, Mid- and Late Seasons, 2025-26
| Early Season | Mid-Season | Late Season | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Snow Conditions | 12 | 32 | 19 |
| Overall Ski/Snowboard Experience | 50 | 59 | 57 |
| Overall Satisfaction with Visit (CSAT | 59 | 66 | 66 |
| Likelihood to Recommend | 66 | 71 | 71 |
Note: All NPS scores were calculated using NPS scoring, and values were rounded to the next whole number. Paired t-tests were conducted across 39 resorts. Early to Mid NPS: +4.8 points (95% Confidence Interval 2.3–7.2, p = 0.0005). Mid to Late NPS +0.3 (p = 0.75). Definitions: Early = opening–Jan. 4; Mid = Jan. 5–Feb. 22; Late = Feb. 23–close.
What Guests Are Telling Resorts
Snow is the most obvious reason that early-season scores lag. Guests immediately noticed limited terrain and thin cover, and repeatedly mentioned concerns about them, even at resorts that otherwise performed well. Snow conditions showed the largest seasonal swing in the data—closely followed by changes in ski/ride experience, satisfaction, and loyalty.
Yet snow alone does not explain the full story. Some mountains consistently outperformed others in the early season, even under parallel snow conditions. Why? Because they showed up on day one prepared with general warmth and honesty, and operations ready for an influx of guests.
Be prepared. Guests are less forgiving when poor snow conditions and operational challenges collide. In these cases, guests consistently expressed frustration with crowded lodges, long lift lines, and food service bottlenecks, and annoyance with holiday pricing, limited open terrain, and lackluster communication from the resort. They groused about employees still learning and developing confidence in their roles, and resorts struggling to keep pace during peak holiday traffic.
Be frank. What also stands out is how frequently guests mentioned a resort’s clear, honest communication alongside snow conditions complaints in their feedback. Many guests are willing to accept the realities of early-season skiing if a resort is transparent about what to expect. Poor snow conditions are forgivable if they see that the resort is doing everything it can to create the best possible experience. Honest and timely communication builds trust, which is a prerequisite for loyalty.
Be friendly. Guest comments show what other things matter. Guests recognized and appreciated helpful, friendly staff interactions and family-friendly slopes. Attentive service helped turn a challenging day into an enjoyable experience. Further, guests were entranced by beautiful scenery and found joy in being on the mountain. For example:
Loved being on snow this early, but a lot of the mountain was still closed, and you could feel the rocks under the base. The staff were incredibly friendly and tried to steer us to the best open runs.
Snow was thinner than we expected for the price we paid. We still had fun and the people working there were great, but for what we spent it felt like we only got half the mountain.
Guests also offered their solutions to the problems and disappointments they encountered:
Tell us clearly what’s open and what’s still thin so we can plan our day around it.
Please put more staff on the lifts, food, and parking during the holiday crush.
Taken together, these comments show that the challenges were less impactful when the resorts addressed them head-on.
Future Implications
Psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Barbara Fredrickson’s Peak-End Rule suggests that people judge an experience disproportionately by the experience’s peak and ending, rather than all the stops along the way. This may explain why guests are more likely to remember welcoming, engaging staff interactions and personal touches (such as staff remembering a guest’s name or that they are a season pass holder), as well as disappointing early runs. These moments can disproportionately affect loyalty, future visits, and advocacy for the resort.
In short, recovering from a poor first impression is an expensive uphill battle. Investing in making a good first impression is easier, and more cost-efficient, in the long run.
What Resorts Can Do About It
The means to make a good first impression are within your control. Recognize the challenges and plan to address them. So:
1) Collect guest feedback from opening day. Many resorts gather the least information or delay surveying during the early season. Early feedback is important, as it allows operators to identify issues before they lead to ongoing complaints.
2) Review and address common themes in previous seasons’ guest comments. Many of the early-season frustrations happen year after year. Identify opportunities for improvement and create a short punch list.
3) Approach holiday-period staffing proactively. Guest comments consistently highlight understaffing at lifts, food service, parking, restrooms, and guest services. Having enough visible staff at all pain points demonstrates the resort’s efforts to keep the guest experience top of mind.
4) Train employees in guest engagement and how to approach difficult situations. The early season will always present challenges. What guests remember is when someone stepped in, provided clear information, a laugh, or effectively helped turn a frustrating situation around.
5) Communicate early and often. Guests want timely information and details about what to expect on the hill and around the resort. Use all communication channels—website snow report, social media, signage, knowledgeable staff, etc.—to keep guests informed. This can prevent them from feeling blindsided.
Never underestimate the impact of friendly and fun staff; they remain among the strongest levers for increasing the number of returning guests, outside the mountain itself. Genuine warmth and exceptional service turn guests into advocates.
Early Season Is Not a Warmup
It’s easy to view the opening weeks as a temporary phase that improves with more snow and terrain. But the data suggest that by mid-season, many guests have already formed their impressions. This makes the start of the season especially important.
These are the weeks when expectations meet reality, the resort finds out whether its service will groove, and guest relationships either strengthen or weaken. The highest-performing resorts are not always those with the most and best snow. Rather, it’s those that communicate clearly, set realistic expectations, support their teams, and visibly deliver the best possible experience with the snow conditions they have.
Net Promoter and NPS are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, NICE Systems, and Fred Reichheld. Net Promoter ScoreSM is a service mark of Bain & Company, NICE Systems, and Fred Reichheld.
