Derek Thompson, senior editor at The Atlantic, breaks down the economics of big ski resorts.
“Don’t be confused by the soft powder. Ski-nomics at Vail and Whistler/Blackcomb is a hardened and savvy industry. Meet the mile-high strategies that keep America’s largest ski resorts in the black.”
Read the article HERE > No Business Like Snow Business: The Economics of Big Ski Resorts
That article was painfully amateur.
“… for the first time in more than a century, there was no snow in Tahoe, a California peak also owned by Vail Resorts.”
Do I have to read the article? That little pie chart left off lodging…that would take up a very large chunk of that ski pie…
I think lodging is lumped in with retail/rental. Interesting article despite a few incorrect facts. From the mega-resort perspective, sell lift tickets cheap then crush every other profit center. Basically, get them to the mountain and let them spend more money on $14 burgers and $25 t-shirts.
Umm… REAL ESTATE anyone? You should take this down – that article is ridiculous.
Yes, I agree with the above commenter. They are leaving out lodging and real-estate, which has become a huge piece of the pie for corporate companies that invest in ski resorts these days. Look at Vail, Interwest, KSL (Squaw Valley), even JMA Ventures plans to turn Homewood into the “corporate pie model.” They turn them into land-locked cruise ships!!!
That was a terrible article
Wow…this article is almost comical it is so bad. Incorrect facts, poorly written; is this guy really a senior editor @ the Atlantic? Like from the magazine the Atlantic Monthly or is this like a Sterling Marlin from Boiler Room. Embarrassingly bad.
Agreed it’s filled with nonsense (most annual snowfall huh? How long has whistler been hiding this from us?!) but I’ve always wondered why my pass pays for itself before thanksgiving, and it’s interesting to see why. It still seems like any frugal pass holders could make out like bandits, but I guess the resorts are absolutely killing it with tourists, because they’re doing jusssst fine. How many $15 burgers does it take to build a new high speed gondola or miles of snowmaking equipment?
I don’t think that Beaver Creek was the latest one to open, Tamarack in Idaho and Moonlight Basin in Montana? I could be wrong but I’m fairly certain those two were started from scratch.
@AKMTMN
Beaver Creek is 100% not the latest to open. Theres also Revelstoke which already has a bigger vertical drop than whistler and one day will become the biggest in north america if the plan works to perfection.
This writer has a ton of fact checking to do….