Hello, I am Zardog. aka Ed I ran a nightclub for 20 years. about 1,000 people took advantage of a great deal over 20 years. Some were in the club the whole time. "The Core"
I am a process engineer. Think plans and SOP standard operating procedures. Boring stuff.
This is how business is run. Not by feelings but by SOP, PLAN, and Stats. Money is the Metric.
Many think I am paid by or in bed with Vail, nope. I need to have a positive relationship to hopefully have NASTAR racing nearby at Roundtop. I may when I semi-retire may want to consult in the snow industry.
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MY Stats:
In the NCC program every year I had 30% who would go 1 or 2 times a season yet know 5 times was break even.
30% Broke even 5 to 6 visits. 40% went 10 times or more. the top was 15 to 18 visits. (20 years the same)
INDUSTRY STATS
The avg visitor goes less than 6 times a year, and 25% go more than 10 times.
All the resorts have that data. Nope, they do not share.
Millennial surveys said: a multi-resort pass and about 6 visits.
START NOW If you plan to buy now is the cheapest for next season.
Perform an AAR after-action review and come up with lessons learned.
Was weather the real issue or lack of time to go or be flexible.?
The chance of a winter doe 23-24 to be like this year is slim. play the odds. even on a weather challenged winter like this, I got in 14 visits. would have been 20 if not for rebuilding the lumbar strength after surgery.
Did you not get out because of an emergency- family yourself? That is hard to plan. it happens. hong Kong flu got me in late dec and cost me 2 days of ski time.
Did you have too many obligations family etc school work? I am lucky just work and some evening grandkids babysitting.
Once you have a good overall view could you move obligations to before winter or after?
My numbers - many years at 30 visits
Neck and lumbar fusion last 2 years 15 to 17 visits. Next season back to 20+ visits.
I hope this helps people get value.
Next year I should be able to ski 2 days in a row. this year's rest days are in between. Made no sense to travel to ski.
Airfare was the Number one high-inflation item at 25% this season.
The pandemic caused a ripple or oscillation in the normal flow of life. It gets out of sync. takes a few years to normalize. The population is aging out. We see it in our race team.
Each day I wake up is a miracle - looking for another 23 years of waking up.
I am positive that negative thoughts all the time is a death spiral.
I can ski 15 times a season and the TIME effort is 80 hours.
My Budget $525 NE value pass
14 times out so far, about $35 lift cost per time out.
GAS is 12$ a trip.
$47 per day is not bad.
See you on the Slopes.
Party on, be safe and be well
Zardog
