Vermont resort improvements

Admin":2a2xu7be said:
Thoughts? Comments?
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Is the Ski Model dead? IF it's dead, Jay didn't read the obituary. :roll: How many years until this becomes a White Elephant?

Jay Peak Resort ... an indoor ice arena, a parking garage, a state-of-the-art ticketing system, and a new groomer. The enhancements are part of the resort's ongoing $120 million revitalization effort.

A total of 57 luxury suites in the Tram Haus lodge, and three deluxe condominium suites at the Golf Clubhouse have been added to Jay Peak's bed base thus far.

Jay Peak's new Ice Haus arena features an NHL-sized rink with room for 700 spectators, and offers skating lessons, hockey games and curling tournaments. The Golf Clubhouse is available for golfers in the summer and serves as a Nordic Ski Center during the winter. The Taiga Spa & Fitness Center at the Tram Haus Lodge is available for massage therapy and spa treatments, as well as fitness and yoga classes.

Jay Peak has also broken ground for the next phase of expansion – the “new” Hotel Jay, which will feature 170 rooms, offer three additional restaurant options, and an indoor water park, expected to open in early 2012. The water park will feature a state-of-the-art retractable roof for year-round access. It will have one of the longest indoor rivers in North America, a kamikaze straight drop (the first indoor of its kind in North America) and a double Flow Rider surf machine.
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Patrick":1vgfwu5r said:
Is the Ski Model dead? IF it's dead, Jay didn't read the obituary. :roll: How many years until this becomes a White Elephant?
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But this is not a ski model. This is a captive vacation audience staying on mountain with something to do when they are NOT skiing. And it is four season in giving folks a reason to visit Jay when they are not there for skiing. This is a resort model but it is a resort model based on captive audience and non-skiing activities rather than building condos and selling real estate. Jay is saying "come here for the skiing, but there is plenty of other things for you and your family to do, around the year and on wind hold days"). Will it work? I think it might, we'll see. It is a lot of money being invested all at once. Gotta love those foreign dollars! Thank you and here is your Green Card! =D>
 
riverc0il":2ojsnhvv said:
Patrick":2ojsnhvv said:
Is the Ski Model dead? IF it's dead, Jay didn't read the obituary. :roll: How many years until this becomes a White Elephant?
Click to expand...
But this is not a ski model. This is a captive vacation audience staying on mountain with something to do when they are NOT skiing. And it is four season in giving folks a reason to visit Jay when they are not there for skiing.
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Agree on that...

riverc0il":2ojsnhvv said:
This is a resort model but it is a resort model based on captive audience and non-skiing activities rather than building condos and selling real estate. Jay is saying "come here for the skiing, but there is plenty of other things for you and your family to do, around the year and on wind hold days"). Will it work? I think it might, we'll see. It is a lot of money being invested all at once.
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Jay Peak's new Ice Haus arena features an NHL-sized rink with room for 700 spectators, and offers skating lessons, hockey games and curling tournaments.
(...)
The water park will feature a state-of-the-art retractable roof for year-round access. It will have one of the longest indoor rivers in North America, a kamikaze straight drop (the first indoor of its kind in North America) and a double Flow Rider surf machine.
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Yeah, but how many NHL-sized rink with room for 700 spectators plus with water park with surf pool etc with a retractable roof with no major population base? Jay isn't Stowe in term of local base and population. Jay might be going after the Montreal market, but that market is already very competitive. As for the other major US cities from the North-East, Jay is pretty far.
 
The obligatory Killington comment:

Killington built a wood walkway from the top of the Canyon Quad up what used to be Heavenly Traverse to the top. This enables downloading from the K1 gondola when they can't make snow all the way to the bottom. Killington was closed last Thanksgiving and I think they built the walkway as insurance. Many of the regulars think the walkway means Killington will open earlier this year. After their behavior last April when they closed a week early due to an iffy long range forecast only to see a foot of snow and edge-to-edge cover on Superstar, I'm dubious. In other news, they gave all last year's season pass holders a comp ticket good through just before Xmas as attonement for closing a week early after selling all their passes last year promising "May, weather permitting". I imagine the attorney general's office fielded some complaints since the POWDR incarnation of Killington never gives anything away.

The other Killington "improvements" are mostly invisible ops items. Another year fixing leaks in the snowmaking system that had been neglected under ASC. More low-E snow guns. Another fan gun or two for the problem areas on the hill. Anything to improve energy efficiency. They have regraded some terrain where they have the worst of their skier traffic problems. No opinion on that until I ski it.

I still don't see them doing anything to regain the market share they lost in their first year. They've unwound the worst of their decisions that chased the people away but it takes much more to get a new customer than it does to retain an existing one. They've churned their marketing and sales exec once again. It's a thankless job to be blamed for bad decisions by the people who sign your pay check.
 
Sugarbush's two new lodges and new snowmaking trunk lines should be something of a game changer for them. For the first time since maybe the 50s, they'll have a full complement of world class base area facilities. Unfortunately, day care will still be next door in the Sugarbush Village (not to be confused with Lincoln Peak Village at the base with SB owns), so not as convenient as it could be for parents with young kids. Still, the village is now starting to round into shape, and it will hopefully help to reduce the perceived mass of Claybrook while adding some real utility for skiers and riders.

The snowmaking improvements will be very much welcomed. They still have a ways to go in catching up with their competition, but they've been operating with one arm behind their back in the form of a leaky set of trunk lines made with lousy pipe courtesy of Les Otten.
 
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