The Business of Ski Resorts

Animation by Josh Sherrington
Thumbnail by Simon Buckmaster

Select footage courtesy the AP Archive

References:

[Wendoverproductions]

In case you're wondering why the voiceover sounds weird, I was sick, and this is what I sound like sick.

[skippydmb]

You should do one on car rental companies.

[TheDaleawesome]

As a person that was born in Vail, I can't help but point out that he forgot how the resorts make money in the summer: mountain biking and hiking.

[gabriel_wade]

Me, a ski instructor at an American ski resort: "Just got off work, let's watch Wendover!"
Wendover: "Did you know that you're poor?"

[joeyjamison]

I spent a fortune across 23 years on skiing and it was only age that finally made me stop. I loved every minute of it and don't regret 1¢. I'd do it all again!

[leolee]

As a gap year student living in employee housing at a famous ski resort, this video was fascinating and matched things I've noticed here

[MrTobiization]

Wow, it‘s expensive in the US. An expensive Austrian resort with 80+ lifts charges you ~60€ a day (for adults).
And all the people working there as liftman, are seasonal - but I see the same people every year!

[willoconnell]

Sam, this is two videos in a row without planes. We're concerned.
Sincerely,
-The viewers.

[luluzhang]

i was a ski instructor and theres no way it costs them that much for us to work there. the lessons i taught were literally $250-300 everyday and I was paid $13/hour. I literally made more money in tips than my actual paycheck.

[mkmbstudio]

this just made me so damn grateful to live in Tirol, Austria where there's a ticket for around 550€ that literally gives you access to 30+ resorts for an entire year and more.
This years season startet a few weeks ago and will continue until June '22. If you only go skiing twice a week the whole season you pay less than 10€ per day of skiing :)
edit: it also gives you free entry to museums, ice skating, swimming pools and discounts for the bikepark in summer and more 💃

[lawjef]

The cliff notes version for many of these Wendover videos would simply be "don't forget overheads and/or allocated costs" ... plus airplanes are everywhere

[pranav]

Let's see how he connects this to airplanes

[jriver]

There's no business like snow business

[stormysamreen]

"Money can overcome nature, but only for a while"
Literally the whole of international trade, diplomacy and policies in one sentence.

[andrewovery]

I feel like you forgot about a giant component here: Ski Lessons and meals. For vail at least (where I teach) over 50% of the ticket price of ski lessons goes straight to profit, and the exponential increase in cost of food without and increase in quality or worker pay over the years suggests that a decent chunk of the epicburger goes straight to profit. One thing about housing is that the issue isn't supply and demand, rather it is that Vail and Aspen explicitly cultivate a brand image of luxury and have gentrified their local towns. Finally, your analysis of public transportation systems are a bit shallow here. While the internal towns do have very good bus systems, the surrounding areas (where most employees live nowadays) are awful.

[varunshinde]

video ideas: logistics of the olympics

[tm_]

As coming from Austria prices over 100$ seem horrendous to me.. In our Ski resorts, tickets start at 25$ up to 70$, but never more than that.

[Ludix]

7:30
Actually, snow guns work even slightly above 0°C. Because some of the water droplets evaporate, the air is cooled down and the rest can freeze.

[vnb]

I was in the industry 36 years. You forgot insurance as a big expense for resorts. Of course it varies year to year and resort to resort, but during my time as much as 25-30% of the lift ticket went to all the different insurances we carried. As for snowmaking, manmade not artificial is the preferred term.

[logashov]

Great video! I disagree that Ikon and Epic passes are better for the consumer. My local hill (they call themselves a mountain but it's hardly one) got bought out a few years back and prices increased dramatically. To add insult to injury they were asking us to pay in USD (Canadian here). We got the same spin about "more choice" but what I want is a season's pass for my local hill and nothing more. If I want to, I'll do a separate trip elsewhere. I don't want to pay hundreds more for an option of resorts I may not have considered in the first place. I think you've raised an excellent point about why the consolidation is happening, but, regular skiers and snowboarders who don't travel across the continent on a whim are certainly not better off.