This document summarizes pricing trends in the ski industry for the 2015-2016 season and provides predictions for 2016-2017. It finds that window rates increased an average of 9% in 2015-2016 but advance purchase rates saw more variability, increasing an average of only 3%. Search demand shifted farther in advance of the season. Top performing resorts achieved higher yields and 4 times the revenue of average resorts through efficient pricing strategies. For 2016-2017, it predicts continued increases and flattening of window rates along with more variable and efficient advance purchase pricing strategies focused on actual prices rather than just yield percentages.

1. Industry Trends for 2015-16 and 2016-17
Pricing and E-Commerce – Season Review and
Looking Ahead

2. Season in Review
2015/16

3. Liftopia Data Set
What makes us qualified to identify pricing trends?
• 70k Customer Service conversations
• 4.8m Date-specific searches on Liftopia.com this season
• 8.9m Date-specific searches on the Platform (Liftopia.com + Cloud
Store) this season
• 9.7m User sessions
• 34.2m Pageviews
• 1.4-1.6m Price points
• 110 Ski areas on Cloud Store
• 250 Ski areas on Liftopia.com

4. Trends
2015/16

5. Industry Trends: Advance Purchase YoY Details
• Window Rates: flattening and rising…+9% on average*
• Advance Purchase Rates: increasing variability both up AND
down…+3% on average
• Search Demand: Shifting farther in advance: up 72% YOY
through end of Nov
• Advance booking volume up disproportionately farther out
• Booking window increasing across entire season

6. Pricing Trends

7. Window Rates – Region by Region
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
Midwest Northeast Pacific
Northwest
Pacific
Southwest
Rocky
Mountains
Southeast Grand Total
Year over Year Window Rate Changes
At start of season, average window rates rose by 9% – As
weather in east progressed window rates pulled back to be up
only 4.7%

8. Ecommerce Prices - Nationwide
Average of all dates/resorts
• Average low/starting price: 70% of rack rate
• Average max achieved yield: 79% of rack rate
Peak Dates(X-Mas, MLK, Pres, Weekends) AVG
• Average low/starting price: 76% of rack rate
• Average max achieved yield: 86% of rack rate

9. Advance Purchase Rates By Region
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
110%
Midwest Northeast Pacific
Northwest
Pacific
Southwest
Rocky
Mountains
Southeast Grand Total
Avg Max – Peak Periods
Avg Max Price
Avg Starting Price
*As a percentage of
window rate

10. Top Performers vs. Average
50%
55%
60%
65%
70%
75%
80%
85%
90%
95%
Platform Average Top Performers
Avg Max – Peak Periods
Avg Max Price
Avg Starting Price
*As a percentage of
window rate

11. What makes a top performer?
Revenue
Uphill Capacity
=
Easy way to
compare relative
revenue
performance of
resorts of all
sizes

12. Revenue/Uphill Capacity – Top Performers
50%
55%
60%
65%
70%
75%
80%
85%
90%
95%
Platform Average Top Performers
Avg Max – Peak Periods
Avg Max Price
Avg Starting Price
*As a percentage of
window rate
$36 $144
Top performing resorts with efficient pricing strategy
achieve higher yields and 4X the revenue of average
Revenue/Uphill Capacity

13. Buying Behavior

14. Booking Window: % change YoY by Month
27.83%
5.33%
3.41%
7.22%
0.45%
4.46%
30.83%
13.41%
0.00% 5.00% 10.00% 15.00% 20.00% 25.00% 30.00% 35.00%
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep

15. Shift in Search Volume

16. 2016/17 has already started – distribution of 55k
searches for skiing into next season

17. Pricing Trends Translated for
Customers

18. How much it costs
=
How products are priced and sold

19. Example of Window Shift
100
80
60
40
20
Dec Jan Feb Mar
15/16 Rack Rate14/15 Rack Rate

20. Example of Window Shift
100
80
60
40
20
Dec Jan Feb Mar
15/16 Rack Rate14/15 Rack Rate

21. When you go skiing

22. • Basic premise: each day is priced in accordance with its
value
– All else held equal – peak dates cost more
– All else held equal – off peak dates cost less
• Based on this – customers should pay more during peak
periods – and therefore the effective ticket price (ETP)
should be highest during peak periods
When you go

23. When you buy

24. Full Season of Prices
All dates priced relative to demand
For any date– the lowest possible price is
available farthest in advance

25. Full Season of Prices
Prices for peak dates rise faster earlier

26. Full Season of Prices
By two days out – peak dates will be approaching rack rate
But off peak dates may still be a good deal if
demand hasn’t pushed the price higher

27. Full Season of Prices
Many customers still wait until the last minute to make their
plans

28. Full Season of Prices
So at midnight the night before skiing – prices rise again
significantly
Many customers still wait until the last minute to make their
plans

29. Trends for 16/17

30. • Continued increases and flattening of window rates
• More variable, highly efficient advance purchase
strategies
• Shifted focus from YIELD as a % of window rate to
actual PRICES converted on
• Consumer demand continuing to shift towards buying in
advance (when pricing strategies support this)
• Some resorts will overprice advance purchase due to a
focus on yield instead of revenue
• Quality of data and quality of interpretation of that data
applied to pricing is going to become as critical to ski
areas’ bottom line as the data and interpretation applied
to snowmaking
Trends in Advance Purchase/Ecommerce

31. Thank you!
Questions?
Email us at
partners@liftopia.com