Comments on: Editorial: How Will Consolidations And Collaborations Impact Senior Skiers?

By: Alan Cort

Alan Cort — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 19:58:38 +0000

Just finished reading Ski, Inc. by Chris Diamond (pretty sure I saw it recommended here in Senior Skiing), A very good look at the ski business from the management side over the last 40 years or so. Some really good insights into the big players and the impact of multi-resort passes. I highly recommend it to all Senior Skiing readers, especially in light of this editorial and the comments it is generating.

By: David

David — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 13:19:47 +0000

We have been using various versions on the Epic Pass now for 7 years and it has been an absolute boon for us. $300 for a Keystone Pass, ski $18 days and you are under $20 a day. Ski as much or as little as you want, ski the best times of the day are a huge benefit for us. At $100 a day, we would be skiing 7 days a year, now we can stay for a month and ski as we please. As a retired person, these passes are fantastic!!

By: mike cahn

mike cahn — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 20:36:57 +0000

There are still some great Sr. Colorado deals out there. If you are 70+ Loveland has a $99 season pass which also includes three days each at Purgatory, Crested Butte, Monarch and Snow Basin in Utah. A-Basin has a $75.00 season pass for 70+ skiers and Monarch has a $20.00 season pass for 70+ skiers. Yes there are still some areas that take care of their seniors.

By: Don Burch

Don Burch — Sun, 23 Apr 2017 14:17:18 +0000

While not advertised as such, midweek passes are to some extent senior passes. While most individual mountains and the Peak Pass offer less expensive midweek passes the Max Pass doesn’t. I think it would be in their best interest to boost midweek visits by offering a midweek pass. I have the Max Pass but feel I’m paying a premium for days I won’t ski; weekends, holidays and vacation weeks. While this didn’t keep me from getting the pass it will keep me looking for better deals.

By: Rod

Rod — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 20:56:23 +0000

Well, Steamboat has raised its senior pass (70+) from $500 to $700 over the past 2 years but has at least added Winter Park to the mix next year. Aspen has a lower senior pass age and offers great deals for senior tickets. With the consolidation, it will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

By: roger lohr

roger lohr — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 18:34:12 +0000

It is unlikely that resorts offer discounts because older skiers “have earned it.” The senior discounts are trying to encourage more visitation or midweek visitation associated with older skiers. If older skiers identify a resort as their favorite, there is a good chance they’ll bring their extended family skiing there. It would be interesting to know the %age of older skiers among those who purchase the EPIC Pass or season passes at ski resorts. While surveys tell us that seniors skiers love discounts, can we imagine any age group that does not love discounts?

By: Bill Hettich

Bill Hettich — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 14:06:49 +0000

In reply to Michael Maginn. Michael: Private ownership. Crystal has been purchased by John Kircher. Boyne Resorts has owned the property for many years. John is the son of the founder of Michigan based Boyne Resorts and lives at Crystal, he loves the place. He plans to invest 5 million on upgrades in preparation for next season. This has been a good year for Crystal; Mother Nature has supplied abundant snow and cool weather.

By: marc liebman

marc liebman — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 13:44:15 +0000

Great editorial…. My gut tells me that more consolidation will lead to fewer benefits to seniors unless we can prove to ski area management companies that we are an economic force to be reckoned with.

By: David Hoffman

David Hoffman — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 11:52:21 +0000

I am 74 and have bought the Epic local pass for the past 5 years. I live in NY but I ski Breck, Keystone and Beaver Creek a total of12 to 15 days. The Epic pass pays for itself after 4 days. The pass now costs $640. When I asked Vail Resorts Mgmt if they would offer a Senior discount on this pass, they said I am already getting a discount by multiple days of skiing.

By: Roger

Roger — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 11:51:45 +0000

Resorts are gravitating from lodging to season passes as the king of revenue. The Epic reportedly sold 650,000? What will season pass revenue be after adding all those areas? I’ve heard that some areas have a million dollars of season pass sales on the books that account for the people who purchase season passes but never even show up to the area. Yes, there is no incremental income from people who never visit the resort, but there’s Not much extra expense associated with the sale of season passes compared to running a lodging operation.