New Ticket Prices Are Out Of Control

[ScoobySnack]

They were $72 for an all-mountain. So this year it is $5 more. If you ski more at least three days, the Sugar Direct gets you a price point less than last year, and you only have to go to the ticket window once.

Isn't it now $10 more? A non-holiday Saturday is now $82, no? A 14% increase. Am I missing something? I hope so.

[Xskier]

That is what i was thinking.. A non Holiday Saturday is $10 more and it will take 6 days of skiing non holiday Saturdays to get back to last years price point using the Sugarbush direct card. Less if you ski a Holiday Saturday. So either way you look at it. Any new members are facing ticket prices of at least $70 when all is said and done.

[vonski]

That is what i was thinking.. A non Holiday Saturday is $10 more and it will take 6 days of skiing non holiday Saturdays to get back to last years price point using the Sugarbush direct card. Less if you ski a Holiday Saturday. So either way you look at it. Any new members are facing ticket prices of at least $70 when all is said and done.

That is only if they ski on Saturdays!

[ScoobySnack]

That is what i was thinking.. A non Holiday Saturday is $10 more and it will take 6 days of skiing non holiday Saturdays to get back to last years price point using the Sugarbush direct card. Less if you ski a Holiday Saturday. So either way you look at it. Any new members are facing ticket prices of at least $70 when all is said and done.

That is only if they ski on Saturdays!

Many of us have no other real choice but to primarily ski on Sat. Feels like a little bit of a hosing with a 14% price bump.

I did purchase a sugarcard (prior to hearing about the 14% increase), but think I might be skiing alone a bit more this year.

[007]

THe people that join my house for the most part don't ski more than 8 days a year so a pass does not work for them and also the direct to lift pass won't work either, unless you ski at least 12 days (to get that last free ticket). Most join a ski club in CT, but those deadlines have come and gone. So any new memembers will be looking at dishing out $82 for a lift ticket. Most everyone except passholders only ski on Saturday. Killington and Sunday River has cheap pass options ($699 with black out dates for the WHOLE Mtn). I wonder who copied who but if you look at the Lift Ticket Prices for Sugarbush and Killington they are exactly the same for Saturday/Holiday and the rest of the week. Stowe is more, but if i wanted to be at Stowe, pay stowe prices, and act like a Stowe snob i would have bought a house there 12 years ago instead of Sugarbush. Now it seems like Sugarbush is trying to become Stowe. I personally wouldn't care if I was a skier renting a spot in a house because I have always bought passes, but being a home owner who needs the ski share income to keep the house this is having a huge impact.

17 people x 8 days = 136 single day passes.
Have you asked management about purchasing bulk lift tickets in advance?
Maybe you could work in the discounted cost of 8 ski days into the seasonal membership at your house.... Just a thought.

[win]

I should have also mentioned earlier that we have a number of ski stores that sell our tickets offsite at a discount to the window price and that we will also be offering this year an online option for a two day ticket purchased 48 hours prior to use and non-refundable. We will have further details as we get closer to opening. There are quite a few ways, including staying in one of our lodging options, which allow you to pay less than the window rate. All of this will be available on the website shortly.

[asland]

Although there are some ways to save a few dollars as previously mentioned...

The fact of the matter is still that Sugarbush's daily lift ticket rates have spiraled out of control. In a down economy there will be a price paid by Sugarbush as people search and find cheaper alternatives. I count Sugarbush as my favorite ski area but these consistent rate hikes, bordering on crazy, have priced me right out of skiing there. It's to bad.

asland

I should have also mentioned earlier that we have a number of ski stores that sell our tickets offsite at a discount to the window price and that we will also be offering this year an online option for a two day ticket purchased 48 hours prior to use and non-refundable. We will have further details as we get closer to opening. There are quite a few ways, including staying in one of our lodging options, which allow you to pay less than the window rate. All of this will be available on the website shortly.

[summitchallenger]

Although there are some ways to save a few dollars as previously mentioned...

The fact of the matter is still that Sugarbush's daily lift ticket rates have spiraled out of control. In a down economy there will be a price paid by Sugarbush as people search and find cheaper alternatives. I count Sugarbush as my favorite ski area but these consistent rate hikes, bordering on crazy, have priced me right out of skiing there. It's to bad.

asland

I should have also mentioned earlier that we have a number of ski stores that sell our tickets offsite at a discount to the window price and that we will also be offering this year an online option for a two day ticket purchased 48 hours prior to use and non-refundable. We will have further details as we get closer to opening. There are quite a few ways, including staying in one of our lodging options, which allow you to pay less than the window rate. All of this will be available on the website shortly.

Well, with all of the improvements they have made to the mountain, and the increased cost of operating a business (snowmaking, electric, diesel, etc) what do you propose as a fair price?
And don't say free.

[asland]

Well, with all of the improvements they have made to the mountain, and the increased cost of operating a business (snowmaking, electric, diesel, etc) what do you propose as a fair price?
And don't say free.

1st - don't make any more improvements to the mountain unless they the improvement pays for itself. These constant improvements and then charging more to pay for the improvements is not a great business model in hard times. Also, for the general public the cost of electric and diesel has not gone up over the past year. Is that not true for Sugarbush? Cut back on the amount of snowmaking whenever possible if it is so crazy expensive.

2nd- I am not against the tiered payment where Saturday and Holiday skiers pay more. I think a good price would be $65 non-holiday and $70 for holiday. I only give this because you asked and my price only based off the fact that I can go to Austria and ski for 40 euros a day at a resort that dwarfs sugarbush (not a lot of snowmaking) or out west for consistently under $65. Again it's the constant massive increases (more than the yearly cost of living) more than the overall ticket price.

3rd - if you are going to have crazy ticket prices make it easier for regulars to get a season pass, ski daily...

If you could tier the season pass to include a non-holiday option you would get more people when the mountain is less crowded and less when it is more crowded and it would be more affordable.

Make it easier to get a deal on daily tickets including larger discounts at other ski stores, online coupons (Jay consistently have 2 for 1), more special days (bring a can and ski for ...) , VT discount days, buy tickets in advance to save, post tickets on liftopia... Make it easier for those who are looking for a deal to get one. Most people won't take advantage of it but those who need it will.

asland

[summitchallenger]

1st - don't make any more improvements to the mountain unless they the improvement pays for itself. These constant improvements and then charging more to pay for the improvements is not a great business model in hard times. Also, for the general public the cost of electric and diesel has not gone up over the past year. Is that not true for Sugarbush? Cut back on the amount of snowmaking whenever possible if it is so crazy expensive.

This point is moot because the improvements were made in 2006 and 2007 before the market tanked. The improvements this year were minimal at best. I would understand your point if they were opening the new skier services lodge, but they aren't because of your reasoning.

2nd- I am not against the tiered payment where Saturday and Holiday skiers pay more. I think a good price would be $65 non-holiday and $70 for holiday. I only give this because you asked and my price only based off the fact that I can go to Austria and ski for 40 euros a day at a resort that dwarfs sugarbush (not a lot of snowmaking) or out west for consistently under $65. Again it's the constant massive increases (more than the yearly cost of living) more than the overall ticket price.

This is an apples to oranges comparison. Austrian ski areas don't make snow, and some are public/private entities supported with government subsidies from what I have seen. When you factor in air fare to Austria, there is no comparison. Completely different markets.

As to the rest of the comments, which I can't quote because my post box is acting weird, I can only say again that the resort has a discount ticket link on it ad the pass options are tuned to what they think is appropriate. You walk a fine line because if you discount tickets too much, the passholders get mad and the value of the experience diminishes because there are too many people.

[asland]

This point is moot because the improvements were made in 2006 and 2007 before the market tanked. The improvements this year were minimal at best. I would understand your point if they were opening the new skier services lodge, but they aren't because of your reasoning.

If all these improvements were made during the 2006 and 2007 year why does Sugarbush need to implement a large increase in ticket sales this year?

This is an apples to oranges comparison. Austrian ski areas don't make snow, and some are public/private entities supported with government subsidies from what I have seen. When you factor in air fare to Austria, there is no comparison. Completely different markets.

Again, my point is the consistent massive increases and my hope is that Sugarbush can implement some lower priced season pass options that meet all of our needs...

but let's take a look at some other ski passes-

epic ski pass - $500
whiteface - $400 (non-holiday)
New England Pass - was something like $450???

again, they may be different markets, and some get funding differently, but all are making money with their models. Is sugarbush loosing money?

As to the rest of the comments, which I can't quote because my post box is acting weird, I can only say again that the resort has a discount ticket link on it ad the pass options are tuned to what they think is appropriate. You walk a fine line because if you discount tickets too much, the passholders get mad and the value of the experience diminishes because there are too many people.

http://www.sugarbush.com/vermont-skiing-snowboarding/discount-lift-ticketsjavascript:emoticon('') great discounts. (Just joking - I know they will be there soon.) but I hope Sugarbush can take some lessons for discounting tickets from some of it's neighbor ski areas.

[jwt]

There is a relationship between price and quality. $450 might get you on the mountain for less, but with far more people. All are closer to urban areas which all ski areas draw from. Competition between areas here are for more intense than from areas where there are fewr choices.

if you facter on the experience of snow, crowds, lifts, varied terrain - any any price, how soon is one bored from the backside of say, Mt Snow. Compare than to both North and South and the varied areas of expert terrain.

If the skier visits go down, as compared to indutry averages, then you can expect some adjustments. Beleieve it or not, most destination ski areas count on week long stays and rentals of units, food, etc far more than day trippers. Day trippers tend to ( generalization here)bag the lunch, get in the car and eat on the way home instead of a dinner at Timbers.

The operations themselves ( snow making lifts service, attendants, energy, etc) rarely pay for the investment or 'make money'. It is the r/e, food, and ancilary services that make or break a resort.

A resort is a minimal margin business in general. Look at ASC publically traded stock. If it were more profitable, there would be a lot more of those.

Some one once said if you own a sports team to make money, you're in the wrong business -look what the Red Sox did - sell tours of Green Monster' make higher end seating, and cater to wealthier customers, rent space for concerts ( no revenue sharing with the freakin labor unions of players) and did what it could to maximize cash flow. We have choices. Choices are good. Free markets work well when left to their own devices

[aejkb]

We are season ticket holders and that is clearly the best way to save on lift tickets prices, but where can I get lift ticket coupons/discounts to give to our many weekend guests?

[bill-now]

We are season ticket holders and that is clearly the best way to save on lift tickets prices, but where can I get lift ticket coupons/discounts to give to our many weekend guests?

Find someone who works for a company that is a member of http://www.workingadvantage.com I've bought lift tickets from them in the past; however they have not yet posted prices for this year.

Also http://perks.dell.com/offer/index/of...68/uSource/SHC

[Xskier]

Well, with all of the improvements they have made to the mountain, and the increased cost of operating a business (snowmaking, electric, diesel, etc) what do you propose as a fair price?
And don't say free.

First, if my memory serves me right, pass prices are about the same as they were 10 years ago and I thank Win for taking care of the regular hardcore skiers. But for the skier who likes to ski and do apre ski, where are the improvements? There is no more snowmaking than there was 10 years ago. I remember skiing Jester Oct 30th and throughout the season the ski area making snow on no less trails at the same time as they do now. As bad as the castle rock pub was back then at least it wasn't in a basement and the Blue Tooth still lived and Gallaghers and MMT! The are few places in the valley were the good old days still live on. I know that the Blue Tooth needed a lot of work but I still think it was a sin to replace it with brand new 80's lodging..