The Langston Co.’s Post

The economics of ski resorts have become a hot topic this season, with prices reaching new heights. A recent trip to Europe revealed some staggering numbers for day passes and ski rentals. While Flims-Laax charged $103 for a day pass and $85 for rental, the slopes were icy due to rain. On the other hand, Gstaad provided a more affordable option at $61 per day pass with senior discount, just $45 for the ski rental and great snow conditions. Check out this interesting piece on the ski business and the factors driving prices up. #skiing #economics #travel

Sometimes, the unconventional path leads to the most unforgettable experiences. 🌍⛷️ Ever find yourself following the crowd without questioning why? Take skiing, for instance – a passion for many, but often a hefty expense. I reminisced about past trips to Utah and Colorado, where flights from Houston during spring break easily touched $700. Add in daily lift ticket costs and ski school fees for the kids, and you're looking at things getting expensive pretty fast! Consider trading the familiar for the awe-inspiring slopes of Europe. While airfare expenses may lean slightly higher, the holistic experience proves incomparable. The beauty lies in the balance – even with increased flight costs, the substantially more affordable lift tickets may level the playing field. This means you might end up spending about the same amount but with access to breathtaking slopes that redefine your skiing adventure. https://lnkd.in/grBS_6Fk

Peak ski season is here, which means it’s time to plan that snowy getaway you’ve been contemplating! There are plenty of stunning alpine escapes throughout the U.S., but the best ski resorts aren’t just about time spent racing down the slopes. Yes, you want to make sure you’ve chosen a spot with great runs, and you’ll want to ensure there are level-appropriate options for you and the other travelers in your group, depending on your ski level. The top ski resorts, however, should also offer lots to do when you’re not wearing skis, whether it’s other snowy activities like snowshoeing or snowmobiling, or perhaps just a lovely gondola ride to take in the dreamy scenery. And, of course, you want a good après scene, as well as great restaurants and maybe a relaxing spa moment. While good trails are nonnegotiable, the rest all depends on your individual tastes; certain snowbirds might want a more glamorous and elevated getaway, while others prefer a laidback atmosphere. Luckily, there are tons of wanderlust-worthy, world-class ski getaways all over the country, from Aspen and Vail to Tahoe and Jackson Hole. To learn more and help planning your ski vacation, contact #TravelLeadersMemphis or #TravelLeadersCollierville at 901-377-6600 or 901-853-6200.

I stayed in Whistler, Canada, last week to indulge in my passion for skiing. My stay coincided with an Economist article about how the ski industry in North America has changed in recent years. Vail Resorts, the market leader, has been expanding and now owns 41 resorts across North America, Europe, and Australia.  Whistler-Blackcomb has been part of the group since 2016. Back in 2008, Vail Resorts introduced the Epic Ski Pass, reshaping how skiers engage with the slopes. Effectively it entices skiers to buy a pass earlier for longer. It penalises short-term, short-duration purchases. During our week in Whistler, a day pass set you back CAD 260 (£152). Compare that with EURO 75 (£64) for a top resort in my native Austria in peak season. The Epic Pass is a masterpiece of revenue management. It has helped make the industry - or at least Vail Resorts - profitable in North America. It's remarkable how a pricing strategy can have such a profound influence over an entire industry because the ‘product’ itself hasn’t changed that much. This underscores the importance of pricing. In B2B sales, we often view pricing as a barrier, not as an opportunity. I had two clients in the revenue management space (FLYR for Hospitality and Liftopia). It was then that I realised that (consumer) revenue management is miles ahead of how B2B products and services are priced. Granted, B2B has fewer transactions, but the bigger issue is the lack of expertise. There are just not enough B2B pricing experts (and software) in my opinion. I am optimistic that’ll change. The success of the Epic Ski Pass should provide extra motivation. 

Over the past few years, ski resorts have absolutely exploded with new investments. And this upcoming season is perhaps the craziest one yet—across the North American ski scene, more than 30 major ski resorts are in for some sort of serious upgrade. But not all upgrades are created equal. So which ones are solely “nice-to-haves”, and which ones are true game changers? Our analysis: https://lnkd.in/eWBJTHTt

Though not quite up to the level of last year’s epic ski season, Utah ski resorts this year, some of which will again stay open into May, have put up some impressive snow totals. And snow on the slopes translates into money in the bank. A new report from the The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute shows that Utah’s ski industry contributed $1.94 billion in nonresident visitor spending during the 2022-23 ski/snowboard season, generating $197.9 million in state and local tax revenue. Skiing and snowboarding directly supported 25,980 statewide jobs and boasted a record 7.1 million skier days during that season. “The 2022-23 ski season was unprecedented for Utah,” said Jennifer Leaver, senior tourism analyst at the Gardner Institute. “The data show several economic measures at an all-time high, fueled by a historic, record-setting snowfall at nearly every Utah ski area.” | By Dennis Romboy #skiing #utah #tourism #snowboarding

🚠 Have you ever wondered if Norwegian alpine skiers would appreciate a fast-track ticket option to avoid lift queues at ski resorts? ❄️ The IPAASKI project reveals some insights. 🔎 Our research focused on the price-response functions, optimal pricing, and skier demographics interested in fast-track tickets. 🌟 Key Findings: - The willingness to pay for a fast-track ticket ranges from 4% (1-minute wait) to 13% (20-minute wait) over the standard NOK 455 day-pass. - High demand comes from single men living near the resort, primarily skiing on weekends. - Optimal fast-track ticket prices range from NOK 18 (1-minute wait) to NOK 59 (20-minute wait) compared to the standard NOK 455 day-pass. 🫷However, not all skiers are on board. Of the 515 skiers surveyed, 29% were unwilling to pay anything for a fast-track ticket, raising ethical concerns and challenges around customer acceptance. 📝Feedback from skiers included: - Concerns about fairness and ethics - Resistance to paying extra to avoid queues - Threats to visit on different days or not at all if such a system is introduced. 🔑 In conclusion, understanding and balancing the needs and wants of all stakeholders is crucial. Ski resorts must consider both advantages and ethical concerns before introducing fast-track tickets. ⛓️💥While our study provides valuable insights, it is important to acknowledge its limitations. Data was collected from a single ski resort in Norway, which may limit the generalization of our empirical estimates to other ski resorts. Additionally, the availability of alternative activities such as ski touring and cross-country skiing in Norway may influence willingness to pay compared to regions like the European Alps or the USA. 📖Full article: https://lnkd.in/dv6X-Zdy 📚Co-authors:Per Alnes, Gudbrand Lien, Erik Haugom, Iveta Malasevska, Ørjan Mydland #AlpineSkiing #FastTrackTickets #SkiResorts #MarketResearch #CustomerExperience #SkiingIndustry

How much desire do buyers have to be in the largest ski resorts or is there enough terrain to own a property in the smaller ski resorts? Is the size of a ski resort a deciding factor in where you buy? I would love to hear your experience as buyers or agents as to where there is more demand.

I am a skiing fan and I am currently skiing in one of Frances highest resorts, Les Arcs: a massive, purpose #-built theme park for ski buffs. More than 171 lift systems, hacked into the mountain side, serving four ‘villages’, all built on virgin mountainside in last 50 years. With a skiing terrain sitting between 1,600 metres and 3,200 metres, Les Arcs is still operating a full season, helped by 470 artificial snow ‘cannons’. But for many ski resorts across Europe, climate change is destroying their business. Shorter seasons for everyone and lower resorts with no snow week after week. There is definitely some irony here, because pretty much everything about skiing – from the lift systems through to artificially creating snow – seems to be a full frontal attack on the environment and an insult to the idea of sustainability. But all that development was in the past when, maybe, we did not know what we know today. And, today, the ski industry in France allows 50 million people a year, like me, to come and enjoy the spectacular and beutiful mountains (I took this photo yesterday). It also provides 120,000 direct jobs as well as many secondary jobs. Here in Les Arcs this week and I really positively surprised by how many of the operators are making positive actions to rebalance the impact. The hotel I am in promote their carbon-neutral credentials, the local supermarket talks about sustainable sourcing and the mountain restaurant boasts about supporting local farmers and producers. It is easy, of course, to make sustainable claims, but all those examples back it up with B Corp certification. In fact, Paradiski, the vast company that operates Les Arcs and several other ski resorts and theme parks, become a B Corp last year. After my failed attempt to get to Les Arcs this year by the environmentally right option of train (see my previous post), I am actually heartened to see the efforts being made by the ski industry to reverse the impact and forge a better future. You can argue that this is all self-interest, but there is nothing wrong with that if it is also maintaining jobs, providing pleasure for so many and reducing negative impact.

"... But no amount of wishing and hoping will overcome what is an existential threat to skiing in the Alps, an industry worth $30bn (£23.8bn) that provides the most popular ski destination in the world. The science is clear, and is spelled out in carefully weighed-up peer reviewed reports. The most recent, this year, warned that at 2C of global heating above pre-industrial levels, 53% of the 28 European resorts examined would be at very high risk of a scarce amount of snow. Scarce snow has been defined as the poorest coverage seen on average every five years between 1961 and 1990. If the world were to hit 4C of heating, 98% of the resorts would be at very high risk of scarce snow cover. Another study has revealed the way in which snow cover in the Alps has had an “unprecedented” decline over the past 600 years, with the duration of the cover now shorter by 36 days. ... But rumblings of discontent at the lack of action to ensure the survival of the sport by the International Ski Federation (FIS) broke into the open this year. The FIS was at the centre of a climate row in 2019 when Gian Franco Kasper, its president at the time, revealed himself as a climate denier in an interview, arguing that he would rather mingle with dictators than have to deal with environmentalists. He subsequently left and was replaced by Johan Eliasch. But that has not taken the heat off the federation. This year 500 professional winter sports athletes published a letter calling for greater climate action by FIS. They highlighted a competition schedule that forced skiers to take air flights backwards and forwards over the Atlantic from week to week, creating unnecessarily large carbon footprints, and called on the federation to open the season later and end it earlier to respect the changing climate. This was followed in October by a petition calling for the federation to do more to tackle climate change, which has attracted more than 35,000 signatures. The campaign wants the FIS to publish its own environmental impact with full transparency, move the race calendar by at least one month to respect the changing climate, reduce the requirement for air travel, and use its political influence to advocate for climate action at a governmental level. ... Dom Winter, of Protect our Winters UK, which is behind the petition, said the science showed the death of skiing was not inevitable if global emissions were reduced and that was motivating climate action in the winter sports community. “The future of winter sport relies on how well we reduce emissions in the coming decades,” said Winter. He added: “Certainly at 2C the lower elevation resorts would be in big trouble. But there will still be places with natural snow in the Alps, so higher elevation resorts could survive. The concern is how expensive and elitist they might become.” ..."