Plattekill Conditions

[Low Angle Life]

From what I could dig up from Magic there appears to be a 27% increase from "early bird" pricing to standard pricing with only one increase in their pricing schedule. Both Catamount and Berkshire East don't seem to advertise their pricing schedule and Holiday isn't selling passes yet but I still would imagine Plattekill is the outlier in the format of their pricing schedule.

 

[tirolski]

Plattekill is the outlier in the format of their pricing schedule.

Is Platty the only place having both "Mountain Rental" & "Powder Day" for possible Monday-Thursday skiing?
Seems to be unique.

 

[Ripitz]

I agree Magic is probably the best comparison. Two fixed grip lifts, (now three) both are fairly dependent on natural snow. Both closed midweek. Similar pricing although Magic saves you $200 on the early bird and has the benefit of an Indy Pass add-on if you choose.

Berkshire East and Catamount are open 7 days a week and have night skiing although sometimes that’s weekends only. The Summit Pass also gets you Bosquet. That’s 3 mountains with night skiing and an Indy Pass add-on option for similar pricing to Magic and Platty. I’m nervous hearing Schaefer talk about shopping for Burke when Catamount still hasn’t seemingly benefited from the massive upgrades.

Bromley and Jiminy are both on the expensive side but they are open 7 days a week and Jiminy has nights. By a pass at one and get a free day at the other plus one at Cranmore.

The 2 beers at the bar Abyss was talking about is interesting. Might as well keep season tickets the same price. Just get the people there and make up for it in other ways. Bar tabs can go over $100 in a blink of an eye.

 

[gregmarx]

I can't seem to come up with either of the MegaPass pricing schedules, if anyone can find it I'd be curious to see their percentage increase.

Storm Skiing does a good job tracking this. I won't cut/paste Stuart's whole chart here but Epic increases are negligible, last year on the order of 2ish percent at each deadline, and total about 6.5-7% between spring and November. So pretty similar to Plattekill actually. Ikon follows a much steeper gradient, $100 increase in the spring maybe a month after passes first go on sale (so 10% plus or minus depending on the pass level) and another $50 jump later on.

To me the main thing that stands out about the Plattekill pass price structure is just that it's pretty expensive relative to current industry norms, especially given the operating calendar. I don't mean that as a criticism or a claim that I know a better way to price it -- their ability to maintain operations and make regular infrastructure upgrades in a challenging environment is pretty good evidence that they have a business/pricing model that works on its own terms. But it suggests that the typical Plattekill pass holder is maybe motivated more by loyalty to the place than a strict expected-value calculation. And maybe ownership's focus is more on trying to deliver value to loyal return pass holders (eg through the growing reciprocal network) than by attracting new ones through price incentives.

 

[MarzNC]

I can't seem to come up with either of the MegaPass pricing schedules, if anyone can find it I'd be curious to see their percentage increase.

Here's what happened for Ikon for the 2023-24 season. I've been tracking Ikon in my own way since the first season. If you looked up Stuart's articles about multi-resort passes for the last couple years, he may mention the timing for price increases.

IKON SALES NOTES IN 2023
Early Mar: prices announced
~13Mar: sales begin
21Apr: deadline for renewal discount, lowest prices
??May: 2nd stage prices
13Oct: last price increase, $1309 Full, $979 Base, $1199 Base Plus (+150, 50, 50)
14Dec: last day to buy or defer to 2024-25

2023-24 IKON PRICES - renewal discount $100/$50
Full $1059->1159->1309,
Base Plus $1049->1149->1199,
Base $829->929->979;
Session 4-day ??->$469->539

 

[Campgottagopee]

Bar tabs can go over $100 in a blink of an eye.

For sure! And depending on the company one keeps, it can happen quick!

Reading through this just reminds me of what a deal GP is at 495, which includes DH mountain biking in the summer.

 

[MarzNC]

I agree Magic is probably the best comparison. Two fixed grip lifts, (now three) both are fairly dependent on natural snow. Both closed midweek. Similar pricing although Magic saves you $200 on the early bird and has the benefit of an Indy Pass add-on if you choose.

Berkshire East and Catamount are open 7 days a week and have night skiing although sometimes that’s weekends only. The Summit Pass also gets you Bosquet. That’s 3 mountains with night skiing and an Indy Pass add-on option for similar pricing to Magic and Platty. I’m nervous hearing Schaefer talk about shopping for Burke when Catamount still hasn’t seemingly benefited from the massive upgrades.

Bromley and Jiminy are both on the expensive side but they are open 7 days a week and Jiminy has nights. By a pass at one and get a free day at the other plus one at Cranmore.

The 2 beers at the bar Abyss was talking about is interesting. Might as well keep season tickets the same price. Just get the people there and make up for it in other ways. Bar tabs can go over $100 in a blink of an eye.

BEast and Magic match up the best to me. The driving required to get to a mountain is a factor, as well as whether or not there is lodging close to the slopes.

The vibe at Jiminy is very different from Plattekill. It's a mix of locals and people who drive up from NYC on weekends. As is the season pass pricing. Having a Twilight pass that starts at 3pm every day is unique.

 

[Harvey]

I personally LOVE the fact that Gore's first deadline is August 8.

At the end of ski season I am broke.

 

[TheGreatAbyss]

Laz LOVES selling day tickets. Highest yield of all.

I think it's because he has to considering he's closed mid week. I guess the original calculation was:

1. We have a dedicated core skier base who own (or rent) in the area, and we don't want to give them much of a discount because they get the value prop and are going to buy anyway

2. To make a season pass attractive to everyone else while only being open 3 days a week, we'd have to discount it so much that it would negatively impact our revenue from the above group. Better to just sell them reasonably priced (and often discounted) lift tickets when they want to come.

The new partner network does change the calculation though. It's the only reason I'm considering a season pass, especially with a young kid where I'd rather take them closer afield then an almost 3 hour drive to Platty. I haven't done the math but I'd probably only have to actually go to Platty like 4 or 5 days to break even if I also get 4 or 5 days at Shawnee / Creek/ Big Snow / Mount Peter etc..

 

[Brownski]

The vibe at Jiminy is very different from Plattekill

The old Jiminy was a lot more like Plattekill. That six pac ruined the place.