Season Pass Marketing: Inside Mt Bachelor’s (Smart) New Passholder Report

Mt Bachelor did something very simple last year with their season pass sales. They created a 2012/13 Season Passholder Report. The report is still up this year and, as many resorts’ season pass sales ramp up, wanted to dig a little deeper on what they did. It’s a PDF (which I’ll talk about at the [...]

POWDR Launches the License to Ride Pass, a Sign of Things to Come?

POWDR has a pretty solid line-up of resorts: Park City, Boreal, Killington, and Copper are just a few. So with more multi-resort passes on the table, I had wondered why POWDR hadn’t joined the club. Well, they did. It’s called the License 2 Ride and, new for this year, it’s only available for youth. The [...]

The Value of Marketing Hiding: Klout Gets it, Most Resorts Don’t

Ten bucks says you played “hide and seek” when you were a wee lad or lass. The game only works because you can’t see everyone from the beginning. Spot a toe poking out from behind a tree or a toosh to the side of the sofa, and the game (and fun) is up. Before spoiling [...]

Three Charts to Keep in Mind When You Plan a Season Pass Deadline

We’re right in the middle of Spring pass sales. And with pass sales come deadlines. There are a handful of things to keep in mind with deadlines, but let me share three (actually four charts total) that I’ve been digging through data on. #1) First Day vs Last Day The first day of a season [...]

Should Resorts Take a Page from the Signal 6 Marketing Playbook?

The $49 down route is becoming more and more commonplace in skiing. Lock in a discounted rate with a non-refundable deposit. If they pay the rest, they win and you win. If they don’t pay the rest. They lose and you sorta win. The only problem with this scenario isn’t it’s logical, pay-later side, it’s [...]

Maybe, Just Maybe, Monarch is Sitting on Something That Could Crush the Epic Pass

I sometimes feel I do too much critiquing and too little suggesting. Like, somehow, I’m the 400 pound, mullet-sporting guy on his 3rd beer at the baseball game yelling at the 2nd baseman to hustle. So, every once in a while on a Wednesday I’ll try to balance the scales a bit and put my [...]

If Your Skiers Love You, Let Them Say it…Like Vail Did

“As a lover of simplicity, I like to highlight resort marketing that is both effective but incredibly simple in execution. This is one of those examples.” Epic Passes are once again on sale. I’m sure the higher-ups are carefully watching sales stats for the midwest after purchase of Afton Alps and Mt Brighton, but the [...]

Should We Be Worried About This Skier’s Frustrations with First Tracks Passes?

Recently, on the Crested Butte Facebook page, a skier posted a thought provoking comment: “Hey CBMR, I have a quick question, ill just start by saying I have a ton of fun on the mountain and im up there almost 3 days a week, anyway my question is about this new “first tracks” ticket you [...]