Resorts discussed ways to connect with families and enhance the family ski vacation experience. They focus on making skiing accessible and affordable for families through programs like free skiing for kids and bundled ticket/rental/lesson packages. Resorts aim to reduce hassles and provide ample family-friendly activities and events. Communicating through targeted emails, social media, blogs and word-of-mouth was emphasized as important to reach families effectively.

1. THIS IS A
PLACEHOLDER
SLIDE – MTS WILL
PROVIDE ONE WITH
SPONSOR LOGOS

3. “The family that skis together bitches at
each other.”
“The family that skis together goes broke
together.”

4. WHAT FAMILIES WANT…
 Time together
 Time to relax
 Time to make memories

5. “The family that skis
together enjoys life
together.”
Kristen Lummis
braveskimom@braveskimom.com
http://braveskimom.com/
@braveskimom

6. FAMILY SKIERS: A SNAPSHOT
 Women make the majority
of purchasing decisions for
their families, including
decisions about vacations.
 60 percent of skiers &
snowboarders are male.*
 Children aged 6-17 make
up about 30 percent of all
skiers and boarders.*
*Snowsports Industries America, 2012-13
Market Intelligence Report

7. Families who live near enough to the
mountains to ski every week throughout the
season; purchase passes for their families;
enroll kids in season-long programs
Families for whom a ski trip is a vacation taken
once or twice a year; they are looking for skiing
and lodging deals and don’t have passes.
TWO SKIING FAMILY TYPES

8. MY SKIING FAMILY
Mara Gorman
maragorman@motherofalltrips.com
www.motherofalltrips.com
www.backtoski.com
@motherofalltrip / @back2ski

9. SOME FACTS ABOUT MY SKIING FAMILY
 One parent learned to ski as an adult
 Mom grew up skiing, but stopped as a young adult and didn’t resume for
20 years
 Cost of skiing is an issue
 Time off from school is an issue
 Where we live is an issue
 WE ALL LOVE TO SKI! We’re on the mountain at least 10 – 15 days a
season.

10.  Brian Halligan, Director of Sales, Okemo Mountain
Resort
bhalligan@okemo.com/@OkemoBrian
 Jodie Silva, Vice President, Marketing and Sales,
Winter Park Resort
jsilva@winterparkresort.com
 Anne Haight, Sales and Marketing Director, Silver
Star Mountain Resort
ahaight@skisilverstar.com/@annieandretti

11.  What have you done at your
resort to connect with
families?
 What can you do better?
 In your experience, what
brings families back?

12. “We will be Vermont’s four- season mountain resort,
providing unsurpassed value while creating family
traditions.”
It all starts with a resort that is operated by a family who raised their
children on snow. Tim and Diane Mueller's reputation for creating
excellence in family experiences sets Okemo apart from other resorts.
The couple’s personal touch is everywhere and is one of the reasons
why the resort is a family favorite.
CONNECTIONS: OKEMO

13. CONNECTIONS: WINTER PARK
“Season of the Seven”
 2013/14 Brand repositioning
 Big mountain skiing with seven distinct experiences
 Changing perceptions and creating new ones

14. CONNECTIONS: WINTER PARK
Making brand connections through a
“Territory”
 A “Territory” is an experience that includes
terrain, products, services, events, etc.
 Awareness through Sof7 website and
interactive media
 Engagement through contests and events
 Instahunts
 Season of the Seven Selfies
 7 Must-do’s of each Territory
 FLAIK reward program
 Creating Brand Ambassadors by Territory

15. CONNECTIONS: SILVER STAR
 Introduced My1Pass
 My1Pass lift tickets and season passes include alpine
skiing, Nordic skiing, snowshoe trails, skating and tubing
 Engaged local families; made skiing affordable
 Inexpensive Fri. & Sat. night skiing, rentals, meals, and
lessons
 Loyalty card with an incentive to return for a full day
 Exceptional service
 Entire team plays a role: Parking attendants, waitstaff,
liftees, ticket checkers, instructors
 Make every guest feel welcome
 Still to do: Improve arrival atmosphere
 Provide a larger inside gathering area (day lodge)

16.  What do you think adds
value to a family ski
vacation?
 How can you help guests
get the most out of the
vacation experience?
 What can resorts offer to
enhance the guest
experience?

17. VALUE: WINTER PARK
 Kid’s COMP
 Get a FREE Kid’s Winter Park pass (12 and under)
with the purchase of an Adult Winter Park pass
(Value up to $219)
 Kid’s ski free with the purchase of a night’s
lodging
 Bundle lift, lesson, and rentals at a discounted
rate
 Galloping Goose Lift ($10)
 Sorrenson Park ($10)
 Ruby Hill (Free terrain park for city of Denver)

18. VALUE: SILVER STAR
All-inclusive products offer the BEST value.
 In various destination markets, we extend various EB offers to our
wholesale partners
 Kids 12 and under SKI FREE.
 Kids 18 and under STAY FREE.
 FREE rentals and group lessons, in conjunction with FREE nights/days: “Buy
10, get 4 FREE”
 For 2014-15 day tickets and season passes, maintained child (6-12 yrs)
and youth (13-18 yrs) pricing (sustain future growth).
 Offer more activities
 For the coming winter season, we have negotiated one FREE bowling game (3rd
party ownership) for all My1Pass season pass holders.

19. VALUE: OKEMO
• Free skiing and riding for children ages 6 and under.
• Six free beginner surface lifts - three at the Okemo base and three at the
Jackson Gore base (available when Snow Stars is not in session).
• Free lodging for all children ages 12 and under at Okemo Mountain's
deluxe slopeside condominium accommodations and the Jackson Gore
Inn when sharing a unit with their parents.
• Young Adult lift ticket category for ages 13-18 that offers a significant
savings compared to adult ticket pricing. Okemo was the very first resort
to offer this innovative pricing model.

20.  What can resorts do to
lower the “hassle factor”
and simplify family
skiing?
 What can resorts do to
make the family ski
vacation more
enjoyable?

21. FUN: SILVER STAR
 Make having fun easy!
 All-inclusive ticket alleviates the “reaching
for the wallet” syndrome.
 Make getting around easy!
 Effective in-resort signage; knowledgeable
and friendly staff. Easy to travel village (i.e.
flat).
 Complimentary snow host tours (alpine,
Nordic, and snowshoe).
 Offer lots to do!
 Mini Z’s, bowling, tube park, skating,
snowmobiling, sleigh rides, nightly activities
for the kids – movie nights, climbing wall,
craft making.
Happy kids = happy holiday for all

22. FUN: OKEMO
• Hot Dog Hill terrain park
• Mountain Coaster
• Tubing Park
• Ice House
• Snow Fun Playground
• Pools
• S’mores

23. FUN: WINTER PARK
Less Hassle
 Custom rental measurement and delivery
 Advance pick-up of rental equipment
 Max 4 – half-day ski lessons that start at
11:45 am
 Family Easy Start – lift, lesson and rentals for
a family of 4
 Willie’s Cab – picks up at gondola and drops
off at Kid’s Center
 Red Ryder wagons for easy towing

24. FUN: WINTER PARK
Less Hassle = More Fun
 Ski School
 Coca Cola Tubing Hill
 Sorenson/Discovery Park
 Mini Rail Jams
 Ice skating
 S’mores by the fire
 Kid’s Night Out
 Winter Park Willie
 Resort Animation
 Holiday/special events

25. How can resorts
reach families and
communicate
effectively with
them?

26. COMMUNICATE: OKEMO
 Continually review our guest profiles
 Target specific email to families
 Radio ads targeted to moms

27. Digital
 Householding – Target household
members based on one users’
cookie. Since skiing is such a
group activity, often it takes
multiple members of a household
to come together on a decision on
where to ski
 Affinity Groups – Target guests
based on a multitude of data
points: Past behavior, age and
gender, location, and interests –
both self identified and inferred.
 High school targeting – Target
high school sports websites that
both teens and parents visit to
find directions to games and
check schedules and scores.
Radio
 Younger skewing stations – utilized a
mix of stations to target both adult
contemporary (parents) and
alternative (teens) stations in the
market. Co-sponsored a large concert
with over 8 bands that held 20,000+
people in the 13-24 crowd.
Sales Channels
 Denver Public Schools
 City of Denver owned venues
 Snowball events
Public Relations
 Family blogs
COMMUNICATE: WINTER PARK

28. COMMUNICATE: SILVER STAR
 Word of mouth is paramount.
Make it easy for families to find
unbiased reviews and information
(Trip Advisor, Yelp, etc.)
 Provide easy-to-find key
information on your website.
 Engage your social media
audience and bloggers via
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and
YouTube.

29. Bloggers who write
about family skiing:
 Mother of all Trips:
motherofalltrips.com
 Brave Ski Mom:
braveskimom.com
 Pit Stops for Kids:
pitstopsforkids.com
 The Vacation Gals:
thevacationgals.com
 Ciao Bambino:
ciaobambino.com
 The Kid Project:
kidproject.org
 The Travelling Mom:
travellingmom.ca
Additional online resources that
reach families:
 Back to Ski: backtoski.com
 Trekaroo: trekaroo.com
 Epic Moms: epicmoms.com
 Snowmamas: snowmamas.com
 All Mountain Mamas:
allmountainmamas.skivermont.com
 Find & Go Seek: findandgoseek.net/

30. Additional information from
John McColly, Chief Marketing
Officer, Mountain High/Stevens
Pass

31.  What have you done at your
resort to connect with
families?
 What can you do better?
 In your experience, what
brings families back?

32. CONNECTIONS: MOUNTAIN HIGH
 Mountain High made a strategic decision to attract families in Southern
California.
 Started by trying to “think like a mom.” Asked “what would this
experience be like if I had a four-year-old with me?”
 Made it easier for parents and kids to get on the hill.
 Enlarged the Childrens’ Learning Center.
 Initiated a Burton Learn to Ride program

33.  What do you think adds
value to a family ski
vacation?
 How can you help guests
get the most out of their
vacation experience?
 What can resorts offer to
enhance the guest
experience?

34. VALUE: MOUNTAIN HIGH
 Flex Tickets. Can be purchased in blocks of 4 or 8 hours. The time
doesn’t start until you hit the turnstile. Includes night skiing. Key: Users
always get the full value of their ticket, even if the family arrives late.
 Point Tickets. Work like a debit card. Buy a certain number of points
(200, 500 or 1,000 point increments. Each time you board a lift, points
are deducted. Key: Point tickets are fully transferrable so parents can
share a single ticket. Unused points carry over throughout the season.
 Kids 6 & under are Free. Free season pass for 5th Graders. Family lesson
packages. A free ticket on your actual birthday. Discounts for Police, Fire
and Military.

35.  What can resorts do to
reduce the “hassle
factor” and simplify
congestion points such
as tickets, rentals, &
lessons?
 What can resorts do to
make the family ski
vacation more
enjoyable?

36. FUN: MOUNTAIN HIGH
Alternative activities to keep everyone active and involved: snow forts,
tubing, etc.
Kid-oriented activities and events: Arts & crafts, safety videos, hot chocolate
Burton Youth Learn-to-Ride for ages 4 and up.
Childrens’ Academy for kids ages 4 to 9.
Freestyle camps for kids ages 10 to 12.
Blue Angels Youth Ski and Snowboard Winter Camp.

37. How can resorts
reach families and
communicate
effectively with
them?

38. COMMUNICATE: MOUNTAIN HIGH
 Built a campaign to attract families. This included emphasizing family-
friendly upgrades through traditional advertising, family-oriented press
releases, and a social media campaign.
 Worked with key bloggers to spread the “family-friendly” word. Provided
season passes to give away. This campaign made an impact with lots of
social media activity and immediate feedback and comments.
 Grassroots promotion, utilizing social media and word-of-mouth, has a
big impact.

39. John McColly, Chief Marketing
Officer, Mountain High/Stevens
Pass. john@mthigh.com