This was the situation that the new owners of Ski Brule, Iron River, Mich., faced three years ago. Today, however, going into their fourth season, they look with satisfaction at the “Sold Out” sign on the 46-lot subdivision and a skier count that has almost quadrupled since their take over.
Back in 1976 when the seven investors, including the three current owners, George and Steve Polish and Larry Hutchinson, surveyed their new acquisition they saw a small ski area in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula about 135 miles from its major day skier market of Green Bay, Wis., and almost 300 miles from the major destination markets of Milwaukee and Chicago. Ski Brule had no at-the-site lodging and very few accommodations to draw on in a community isolated between Michigan’s Ottawa National Forest and Wisconsin’s Nicolet National Forest. Its competition included such popular Upper Peninsula resorts as Indianhead and Big Powderhorn which could accommodate approximately 2,500 skiers between them on any given night.
Besides lack of lodging, the ski area suffered from one of the lowest profiles in the Midwest. From its auspicious opening day in 1956 when 1,700 skiers flocked to the slopes, Brule, without proper marketing, had sunk into oblivion. Skier attendance has shrunk to 7,000 the season before the ski area changed hands.
The first step on the comeback trail was the construction of a chalet in Ski Brule Village by the new owners who opted to pursue the real estate development plan rather than sink capital into an at-the-site lodge or motel. Although it could only accommodate nine overnight guests, the chalet did provide housing for about 160 skiers during that first season and served as a model for prospective investors. To further impress those prospective villagers with the idea that the ski area was a viable enterprise that would enhance their investment, $200,000 was invested in a facelift at the ski area.
The three-story day lodge located at the base of the slopes was remodeled and refurbished. The chairlift was rebuilt, the parking lot enlarged and a new permanent snowmaking system installed which enabled Ski Brule to open as early as areas farther north.
The third step was to tackle the area’s identity problem. With a clear-eyed look at what he had to work with, Larry Hutchinson, who also serves as general manager and operational vice-president, decided the ski area had to be sold as a family area.
The vertical drop of the ski hill is only 420 feet, but its eight runs are varied with a nice selection of steep and gentle terrain. All runs are served by two side-by-side lifts—a double chair and a T-bar—so parents and kids can meet back at one place. There are also about 15 km of cross-country trails for non-downhillers. Facilities don’t include any fancy amenities, although some of the cottages have saunas and there’s occasional live entertainment in the bar, but dinner is served only two nights a week in the lodge. Ski Brule regulars usually prepare their own meals in their cottages, sometimes travel into Iron River for pizza at the Riverside Pizzeria, read, play chess or Scrabble and turn in early.
“We try to maximize what we have and market to the people who are looking for our type of area,” says Hutchinson who spends seven to eight percent of his budget on advertising, much of that invested in billboards on major highways leading to the U.P. Ski shows, publicity releases and direct mail to ski clubs are also used to reach Ski Brule’s family market, and as business improves word-of-mouth plays an increasingly important role, according to Hutchinson. “One family visits us and then returns bringing two or three other families.”
The Michigan area’s primary package is also aimed at families. Billed as the Budget Family Package, it provides five nights’ lodging and five days of unlimited skiing for two adults and any number of children under 18 for $250.
To make it easy for skiers from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin to book reservations and check ski conditions, Ski Brule offers an incoming WATS line in season. Use rate has increased steadily from two or three calls a day the first season to about 80 WATS calls a day last season. “I think with everything else identical at two ski areas,” says Hutchinson, “if you can call one free that’s the one you’ll call.”
Hutchinson’s final marketing tool is his own brand of customer relations. Ticket sellers at Ski Brule take names and addresses of skiers and Hutchinson sends out personalized thank you letters and asks for suggestions. He gets about a five percent response and thinks the letters not only provide good input but create a positive image.
“It has become obvious to me that the customer wants two things,” says Hutchinson. “He likes to see change and improvements throughout the season and he wants the person in charge to be highly visible, to listen to constructive criticism and to be available. You don’t get a lot done during the day solving problems, but it’s worth it.”
Even with all of the improvements at the ski area and an active campaign underway to get the word out about the new developments at Ski Brule, the new owners had still sold no lots in the village at the end of their first season. However, skier attendance was up about 85 percent.
That summer they forged ahead, building two more duplexes in the village for a total of five rental units and then things started falling into place. Seventeen lots were sold during the 1977-78 ski season and today all 46 lots in Ski Brule Village have been sold and 30 chalets stand ready for the 1979-80 season. The 1978-79 skier count came in at 25,000, up more than 257 percent since the area changed hands.
“I believe everything we’ve done was essential to the outcome of the project,” says Hutchinson, “but I think our obvious commitment to Ski Brule may have been the overriding factor. Building the first few chalets ourselves is a good example,” continues Hutchinson who built a home for his wife and two young sons in Ski Brule Village in 1978. “Any salesman will tell you that you should own some of whatever you’re selling. I think it’s obvious to our customers that a major part of my life is invested in Ski Brule and that creates confidence.”
