OK here goes. Apologies in advance for being too long.
So 'aspiring to an ASC/Booth Creek style resort.' Well, I guess I could potentially come up with something that would be further from the truth, but I'd have to think a while..
Seriously, that 'aint where we're headed. I'm more interested in the evidence that you're witnessing than in the actual statement. I realize that your perception is my reality, but I'd like more info to support your claim. To my end, I can offer the following points of interest that show a departure from what you suggest (in the interest of full disclosure I've worked for a Vail Resort and an ASC resort company so I know a bit about the corporate pepper mill).
First of all, Jay Peak's lack of 'black out days'. Corporates love em. They think that by blacking out the popular times, folks will just line up to ski random wind-scoured Tuesdays in January. Not here. Our Vermonter rate lift ticket of $39, is good all year. Holidays, Saturdays and Anydays included. Same goes with our 'Show your season pass from another resort' program. Bring it and you get a $39 ticket. Period. I'd also offer our College Season Pass (with Bolton just $229) as evidence of a non-corporate approach to market-segment pricing. There are plenty of corporately driven Resorts in-state that are charging 2 and 3 times this for *restrcited* passes. They do this because yield is king, not market share. Something I not only disagree with, but have a problem even understanding. Honestly.
Ok, so aside from pricing what's the drive here? Trial and retention. Our pricing supports this. Get people here so we can show them what we're about (and recognizing that many commutes to this place can take on Donner-Party like dimensions), then make it very easy for them to come back. The numbers, in the last few years, bear that this is working. 35-45% of the people here on any given day
have never been here before. While to some that may feel like the reason there can be cheek-to-jowl days here on a Saturday after a dump, it verifies (to me at least) that a trial-based approach is working. To a lesser extent, retention too.
Markets? Well I can tell you this, part of our overall brand strategy is to be the diametrical opposite of 'Let's be everything to everyone.'. To that end, we're trying, actually, to be exlusionary. Look at our print advertising from last and this year. Some of our ad copy headers.
"We don't groom much, so why should you?" (from Backcountry Feb 06--supporting image was the interior of a bathroom with this note scrawled on the mirror)
"Anyone can ride to the top, Getting back down is the real challenege" (Ski, Dec 06).
"Some people just know where to find the best seats. And the best come here each winter to find theirs" (Powder Nov 06).
Point here? We're positioning this place as a mountain where great skiers and snowboarders congregate. In doing that, we're appealing to mavericks and expecting that they will virally elevate our brand. Basically a bullshit way of saying when good skiers and riders tell folks that Jay Peak is where to be, then the entire spectrum of skiers (struggling intermediates, aspiring beginners, etc...) are affected. Maybe they won't make it here for a year or two--until their skills improve--but they'll
aspire to ski and ride here even as their skills are improving. Now many in the business think that this is a limiting approach and we're ruling out families, real estate, etc, etc, but we (at least I) feel that they're missing it. We'll get those families, but only the ones who place skiing and riding as a priority and not something else. We'll sell plenty of real estate, but we'll sell homes of families who understand that the mountain comes first and gas-lamps and faux-brick second.
Sorry this was long-winded, but we really feel like we're onto something with the way we present this place. Every single ski resort is doing something different (but variations on the same theme of let's be everything to everyone). In the end, heading down this road dilutes your message so that you're 'sort of ok' to every market segment. I can't imagine a worse place to be.
Thanks again for your questions. I'm glad to talk about this stuff, especially with folks who get what we're about. We're a far ways from doing everything right all the time, believe me. Our lack of resources here make it challenging to do all we want to do (in the timeframe that we want to do it), but we're trying. Keep the input, good and bad, coming--I appreciate it.
steve
TroutBum":3v2ojawt said:
Steve (@jpr that is..)--
Thank you for acknowledging that input from forums such as FTO may/could influence marketing decisions.
Jay certainly appears to be 'aspiring' to an ASC/Booth Creek style resort. 'More of the same' a la Killington, Sunday River, Mt. Snow, Loon, Stratton, etc... it only drives away the most hardcore and passionate skiers, IMO. Not that those areas don't have great terrain to offer, but the Corporate Experience gets old quickly.
Would you mind, if you can, disclosing Jay's policies regarding what markets they're 'actively' marketing to? Is the focus on 'attracting families likely to purchase real estate' or 'getting as many skiers on the hill as possible'? Obviously the answer is 'Yes... both!' to any marketer worth their salt, but I'm asking for more specificity... I think we all understand that investors need to get their return, and that growth is necessary, etc... But could you break down the marketing-ese?
Please provide any detail you can on the marketing goals of Jay Peak... Can you, say, provide percentages of budget related to marketing efforts? Would Jay prefer a family of four from Wellesley, MA (a generalization... i mean with 'copious amounts of disposible income') over a carload of four single men in their early twenties? Are we seen as multiple categories of 'skiers', 'skiers with potential to buy', etc? How does Jay categorize known customers? Is the 'Jay Peak ski mountain' marketing staff separate from the 'Jay Peak Resort Area' marketing staff?
I certainly do not 'hate' Jay. I have been a Jay evangelist in the past, however, knowing the goals of the organization's efforts will color my recommendations to others to come up there. I'd much rather spend my money an organization whose goals align with my own. Providing the best skiing experience possible rather than 'getting folks up here at all costs to see the real estate.' If that means I spend the rest of my skiing career on MRG's single chair, well, maybe that'll be the case...
OK.. Enough on my rant/challenge for information.. Apologies to others if it's not as coherent as I'd hoped.. Steve, I do mean to put you on the spot, but hopefully in a creative manner. I'm all ears and want to listen in an open minded manner.
And on that note, just got the call to go troutin' in December! Who knew that December would mean laying down casts for rainbows and brookies instead of chasing pow up north...
M
