There was a time, not so long ago, that Labor Day was the unofficial reminder for me to buy my season pass for the upcoming winter. I’d set aside some cash throughout summer with this goal in mind. Slowly, the dates to “lock in the best price” crept up earlier and earlier, until we arrived at our current situation. If you wanted to get the best possible price, chances are you bought your pass months ago, quite possibly when the resorts were still open.
Why did this change? Why are resorts moving the dates up sooner and sooner? Why would you buy a season pass in May? These questions were burning up my brain this summer, so I contacted numerous Utah resorts to get some answers. Not every mountain responded, but the ones that did helped shed some light on the changing landscape of ski resort season passes.
The early bird gets the deals
You’ve seen the ads and email blasts: Purchase NOW to lock in the lowest price of the season. Every year I get that email earlier, and this year it came at an almost comical time: while I was still taking spring laps at Snowbird. I don’t know about you, but the furthest thing from my mind in April is buying next year’s pass. However, if you didn’t want to get stuck with a higher price with less benefits, you had to pull the trigger in spring.
What do I mean by “less benefits”? Consider that many resorts offer their best prices and perks in the first wave of pass sales. For example, Snowbird offers the “Wasatch Benefit” perk (2 day passes to Alta, Deer Valley and Solitude) with their top-tier Summit Pass. But you better believe that it’s sold out already. Snowbird is clear in mentioning that quantities are limited, but come on, it’s not even Labor Day!
The pricing structure seems to take a jump of $50-100 or more with each new “purchase by” date. The dates vary for each resort, but one thing is certain: if you wait, you pay for it. For example, if you wanted the best deal at Snowbasin, you had to purchase a pass before July 4th. Discounted rates at Powder Mountain ended on the 1st of May. Failing to buy a pass before 5/1/18 would have cost you $220 at PowMow. Ouch.
Is there an upside?
So why do skiers and boarders need to fork over their money before summer even begins? Brian Brown is the Communications Manager at Snowbird Resort, and he laid out the logic behind moving up the date. He was quick to point out that a season pass will always be a great value for riders, as many resorts around the country now sell day tickets well in excess of $100. Most of us probably “pay off” our season pass before Christmas Eve (if your pass cost $800 and a day ticket costs $100, you only need to ride 8 days before realizing the value).
If you buy a pass for the next season while the current season is still going on, you get to ride until closing day. At mountains like Snowbird this is a pretty sweet deal as the season could last until June (or even later). Brown also mentioned that customers who lock in their pass before summer begins get perks such as free lift/tram rides and access to mountain biking.
Of course, the resorts are benefiting from this new pass selling structure. Solitude Marketing Director, Jeff Carroll, points out that it’s an advantage for ski areas to have some capital on hand as summer approaches. This is the time of year that resorts make upgrades to lodges and lifts, and handle routine maintenance. Carroll emphasized that customers are getting perks such as free ski bus rides, discounted food and lodging, and free passes to other resorts as incentives to purchase early.
Easing the pain
Not everyone is ready to buy a season pass in spring. Some of us are planning summer trips, or might be broke from a long winter of snow bumming. Seasonal jobs may be about to end, or about to begin. So what are we to do if we just don’t have the cash on hand for a pass? Brown points to one exciting development in all this: payment plans. He says that this new option helps alleviate the pain of buying a pass early, and often the final payment is due in October which is when you might have shelled out the money anyway. I agree that this is a great addition to the season pass game, and an overdue one at that. I took advantage of a payment plan this year, and probably will in the future.
Paying in installments isn’t the only measure resorts have taken to curb the backlash over new pass sale policies. There are also a myriad of pass options to choose from. Brown walked me through several of the options that Snowbird now offers, and it is clear that there are more choices today than several years ago.
Get used to it
The cold, hard reality is that if you want a season pass for next year at the best price possible, you’ll need to buy it early. Carroll made it clear that this is not just a Utah phenomenon, but a sea change from coast to coast. Currently, Solitude has not adopted the policy of selling passes so early in the year, but Carroll says they weigh that option after every ski season, and mentioned that it could change as early as next year. Snowbird’s Brown echoed that sentiment, telling me that this is an industry-wide shift that is here to stay.
Personally, I’m not in love with the idea of throwing down money for a pass in May or June. But because I do enjoy riding Utah’s resorts, I, like many of us, have to accept these changes or get fleeced. Get used to buying your pass in early to mid spring, lest ye be paying a higher price for less benefits. Drop the dough early on, and you could get some return on your investment in the form of free days at other resorts amongst other goodies. A few years ago, this might have seemed odd, but it’s now the new normal.
*UPDATE
After we published this article, Snowbird made a big announcement regarding the Wasatch Benefit pass perk. Here is the statement sent via email:
“Remember that time when the Wasatch Benefit was sold out? The powers that be have decided to remove the limitations and now all premium passes qualify. In addition to all the perks of year-round fun at Snowbird, buy your 2018-19 Snowbird Season Pass and you’ll also get: 2 Free Tickets To Alta, 2 Free Tickets to Deer Valley, 2 Free Tickets to Solitude.”
If you were planning on riding at the Bird this season, it looks as though you will be in luck if you’re purchasing one of the premium passes (the Summit Pass or Alta-Bird Pass will come with the Wasatch Benefit). This should be welcome news for those who haven’t pulled the trigger on their pass yet.
Vail