Sophia May
Colorado Ski And Snowboard Nj New Providence – Skiing has never been an easy pastime, with buying lift tickets to get there and buying and stashing equipment to drive down dangerous roads. However, a new approach to ski resort management attempts to eliminate the inconveniences that hinder widespread participation.
You ski at Club Med Resort. Reducing friction points for guests is central to the end-to-end chain.
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Carolyn Stimpson, co-owner of the 120-acre Wachusett Mountain Ski Resort 60 miles west of Boston, understands that skiing can be especially tricky when it comes to recreation.
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So when the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority expanded its Boston commuter rail line two years ago to include a Wachusett station closer to the mountain than the previous station, Stimpson and the Wachusett team were quick to seize the opportunity.
Working with the transit authority, Wachusett Mountain has redoubled its efforts to promote the morning and evening train each winter weekend as a ski train, complete with a dedicated ski car with ski and snowboard racks.
The hill also offers a free shuttle service for visitors to ride back and forth from the train for about 10 minutes, which is advertised not only on its own website but also on the website of the transport authority. And last year, Wachusett expanded its reach around the rail line to include college nights on Wednesday for a large university gathering in Boston.
The moves had a clear impact. Stimpson said about 10% of Wachusett’s weekend shoppers come by commuter rail, and many don’t have cars or other easy ways to get to the mountains. It also diversified the buyers of the hills.
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However, it’s not just the train that Wachusett Mountain is trying to alleviate the discomfort that accompanies the skiing experience.
Stimpson is also proud of her company’s simple equipment rental process, which she says allows people to pick up their gear as fast as they can walk.
She also uses Wachusett’s EZ Ski Card system, which allows customers to buy and top up lift tickets online.
“Our job is to build more skiers for the industry, and we take that very seriously,” Stimpson said, referring to Wachusett Mountain’s status as an entry-level ski area near the Boston and Providence, R.I., metro areas. “We’re trying to solve the problem of skiing, any hiccups.”
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Ski industry insiders acknowledge that no matter how passionate skiers are, the recreation is incredibly fraught with the problems Stimpson addresses.
Ski resorts are usually far from the cities where their customers live and work. Getting to the ski resort often requires air travel, as well as driving through bad weather and treacherous snow roads.
Both skiing and snowboarding require heavy winter clothing and lots of gear, which many new participants, as well as many long-time followers, will rent. Then there are hotel stays, which are not required in other games. And for beginners, skiing can be intimidating, because ziplining down a mountain is inherently intimidating for the uninitiated and because the contours of the base areas aren’t necessarily comfortable for novices.
“If you think about skiing and snowboarding, more than anything you can spend your time doing, there are barriers to entry,” said Hugh Reynolds, vice president of marketing and sales for Snow Operating, which operates Mountain Creek Resort in New Jersey. Shocked.”
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“If you think about skiing and snowboarding, compared to almost anything else you can spend your time doing, the barriers to entry are staggering. – Hugh Reynolds, Mountain Creek Resort
Snov Operating provides consultation to ski areas to streamline the visitor experience and ease the initial skiing and snowboarding process.
The many challenges and inconveniences associated with snow sports are almost certainly one of the reasons why statistics compiled by the National Ski Areas Association show that only 18% of people who try skiing and snowboarding in the United States stick with the activities long term.
Last year, when the snow was excellent across much of the country, U.S. ski areas hosted 10.2 million unique skiers and snowboarders, compared to a 20-year average of 9.7 million. In 2017-18, US ski areas attracted 9.2 million unique visitors.
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But while some of the problems associated with spending a day on the trails are inevitable, stakeholders across the industry are taking steps ranging from the mundane to the innovative to remove as much friction from the experience as possible.
“As an industry, we have to look and see opportunities. We have to create new skiers,” said Andrew Barfield, director of ski services at Snowbasin Resort in Utah.
To solve that problem, Snowbasin started offering its Learn and Earn program for beginners four years ago. For $499, first-year participants receive three lessons and equipment rental for the year. When they finish the lessons, they get a ski pass for the rest of the year at no extra charge.
During Snowbasin’s Learn & Earn summer drop-in sessions, guests gear up and become pros when moving the base so there’s less confusion in the winter.
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The Learn and Earn program actually begins before the ski season, however, when participants attend welcome sessions where they pick up rental skis, boots, poles and helmets and tour the Snowbasin base area.
After their first ski season, Learn and Earn participants can purchase a second year and possibly a third year.
Barfield said the program has been very successful. This year, 73 percent of those who enrolled in the first year of Learn and Win last year enrolled in the second year.
At Mountain Creek in New Jersey, visitors are given coded wristbands that they can use to board lifts, check in to classes and collect tickets.
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Another type of innovation for new skiers and snowboarders is field-based learning, which debuted at Mountain Creek in 2011, before the same team formed Snow Operating. The system eases the learning process, Reynolds says, by using sculpted terrain to make maneuvers like stopping and turning easier.
What’s more, ground learning takes place in its own secluded area, allowing beginners to avoid the fear of sharing lifts and slopes with the general skiing public. Snow Operating has worked with more than 50 ski areas around the world to implement onshore learning, Reynolds said.
In general, the company has also made changes in consulting to make the skiing experience easier. That means handling everything from buying lift tickets to the rental process and more.
Working with clients throughout the entire hotel experience has led to innovative solutions. As an example, Reynolds points to Sommet St. Sauveur in Quebec, where the learning zone is a 10- to 15-minute walk from the rental store. It’s a pain for a new skier wearing boots and gear. The resort took Snow Operating’s advice and now transports clients to the learning area by horse-drawn carriage.
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The latest innovations in snow work, first implemented at Mountain Creek, are in the technological world. In the summer of 2018, Snow Operating introduced a software system called SnowCloud.
As with most Disney MagicBands, customers are equipped with a coded wristband that works on RFID technology. Each band stores customer information, and Mountain Creek guests use it to board lifts, pick up rental equipment, and check in for classes.
Snov Operating is working on adding access to hotel rooms and the ability to pay in Band. However, the system has already allowed Mountain Creek to remove all eight of its ticket windows and replace them with 36 iPad stations, significantly reducing lines.
The company plans to further refine the system at Mountain Creek this winter, after which it considers offering the solution for sale at other ski resorts, Reynolds said.
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Meanwhile, a long-time leader in ski technology is online lift ticket seller Liftopia, whose cloud-based e-commerce solution enables ski resorts to sell package deals, for example, lift tickets with accommodation, rentals, lessons or meals.
“The ski industry has done a great job investing in the on-mountain experience, but there’s still a lot of friction between thinking about skiing and actually getting there.” – Evan Rees, Liftopia
“The ski industry has done a really good job of investing in the experience on the mountain,” Rees said. “But there’s still a lot of friction between going skiing and thinking about getting there.” A lot of what we do is make it easy for people to commit by showing them what they can and should buy. “
Rees said many ski resorts are still trapped by old sales systems that make it difficult and difficult to bundle purchases online. On the Liftopia website, customers can purchase package combinations. But Liftopia doesn’t stop there. The confirmation gives customers details such as where on the mountain, specifically, they should go for lessons or to rent skis.
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People who come to ski day better prepared and with fewer extra transactions will have a better experience, Rees said.
That philosophy also drives a ski rental company
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