AlpineZone Killington ski area challenge 08 with Spinmaster

[RENO]

http://forums.alpinezone.com/31067-kill ... lenge.html

[JerseyGuy]

Tried to log in with a question, and got the following response:

JerseyGuy, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

1. Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?

2. If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.

3. Greg knows who you are and he also knows what side his own bread's buttered on.

OK, so I made the last one up. I just thought one of the reasons should be accurate...

[MrsG]

Thanks for the headsup Reno - will keep an eye on that one . . . good questions Dork and Tim!!

Oh by the way, goooooooooooooooo Red Sox . . . got r*ined out on the golf course only to come home and find both the Red Sox and Yanks are playing afternoon ball

[JerseyGuy]

So far, Tommy Boy's ignored the tough and/or well-written questions (coincidentally, the ones Greg himself has praised)... let's see where this goes...

[skiadikt]

So far, Tommy Boy's ignored the tough and/or well-written questions (coincidentally, the ones Greg himself has praised)... let's see where this goes...

actually i'm surprised he's wading right in. generally greg & co. like to go through all questions, edit & sanitize them before presenting them. he did get around to answering woodman's question. essentially he holding to the party line.

[Bubba]

So far, Tommy Boy's ignored the tough and/or well-written questions (coincidentally, the ones Greg himself has praised)... let's see where this goes...

actually i'm surprised he's wading right in. generally greg & co. like to go through all questions, edit & sanitize them before presenting them. he did get around to answering woodman's question. essentially he holding to the party line.

I haven't gone over to read it yet but this is no surprise. Tom is paid to hold to the party line. That's what paid flacks do. He may (empasis on "may" - we can't be sure) have independent thoughts but is forbidden to voice them publicly lest he be vaporized.

[Geoff]

So far, Tommy Boy's ignored the tough and/or well-written questions (coincidentally, the ones Greg himself has praised)... let's see where this goes...

actually i'm surprised he's wading right in. generally greg & co. like to go through all questions, edit & sanitize them before presenting them. he did get around to answering woodman's question. essentially he holding to the party line.

I haven't gone over to read it yet but this is no surprise. Tom is paid to hold to the party line. That's what paid flacks do. He may (empasis on "may" - we can't be sure) have independent thoughts but is forbidden to voice them publicly lest he be vaporized.

I refused to engage in that charade over there. It's going to be nothing but a retread of last year's story line. My opinion has been stated many times. I'm totally happy with their midwinter weekend-warrior product. I think they totally suck for closing the mountain in April with edge-to-edge cover. A Killington Q&A thread on Alpine Zone is not going to undo the public relations debacle that was the 2007-2008 season.

[Bubba]

So far, Tommy Boy's ignored the tough and/or well-written questions (coincidentally, the ones Greg himself has praised)... let's see where this goes...

actually i'm surprised he's wading right in. generally greg & co. like to go through all questions, edit & sanitize them before presenting them. he did get around to answering woodman's question. essentially he holding to the party line.

I haven't gone over to read it yet but this is no surprise. Tom is paid to hold to the party line. That's what paid flacks do. He may (empasis on "may" - we can't be sure) have independent thoughts but is forbidden to voice them publicly lest he be vaporized.

I refused to engage in that charade over there. It's going to be nothing but a retread of last year's story line. My opinion has been stated many times. I'm totally happy with their midwinter weekend-warrior product. I think they totally suck for closing the mountain in April with edge-to-edge cover. A Killington Q&A thread on Alpine Zone is not going to undo the public relations debacle that was the 2007-2008 season.

The party line from Tom is that it was in no way a PR debacle.

[sLoPeS]

HAHAHA........HS is going OFF over there on AZ!

great questions!! keep um coming!!

[skiadikt]

So far, Tommy Boy's ignored the tough and/or well-written questions (coincidentally, the ones Greg himself has praised)... let's see where this goes...

actually i'm surprised he's wading right in. generally greg & co. like to go through all questions, edit & sanitize them before presenting them. he did get around to answering woodman's question. essentially he holding to the party line.

I haven't gone over to read it yet but this is no surprise. Tom is paid to hold to the party line. That's what paid flacks do. He may (empasis on "may" - we can't be sure) have independent thoughts but is forbidden to voice them publicly lest he be vaporized.

I refused to engage in that charade over there. It's going to be nothing but a retread of last year's story line. My opinion has been stated many times. I'm totally happy with their midwinter weekend-warrior product. I think they totally suck for closing the mountain in April with edge-to-edge cover. A Killington Q&A thread on Alpine Zone is not going to undo the public relations debacle that was the 2007-2008 season.

The party line from Tom is that it was in no way a PR debacle.

yeah and in one answer he claims "paid" visits were up and that their cost cutting measures are why they've been able to re-invest $8.4 million this summer. i'm kinda overdosing on salt over here ...

[skiadikt]

HAHAHA........HS is going OFF over there on AZ!

great questions!! keep um coming!!

yeah it's pretty comical. that should send tommy boy back into hiding.

[Bubba]

yeah and in one answer he claims "paid" visits were up and that their cost cutting measures are why they've been able to re-invest $8.4 million this summer. i'm kinda overdosing on salt over here ...

I've been told that as well, although I think I was told that the number was up slightly. That includes scanned passes and day ticket sales. I don't think the past years' numbers included bulk sales such as Ski Council tickets and I don't think they count comps handed out for working ski races, etc.

[Highway Star]

I miss Tom and the Ask-K forum.....just making up for lost time....

[andyzee]

I miss Tom and the Ask-K forum.....just making up for lost time....

Keep up the good work!

[Coydog]

I'm taking the liberty of posting Tin Woodsman's questions and SpinmasterK's replies:

1) When POWDR took over prior to the 07-08 season, it implemented a number of fairly drastic changes aimed at enhancing profitability of Killington. As I'm sure you well know, these moves (among others) precipitated a firestorm of criticism from many stakeholders which has yet to abate. Yet in the last 3-4 months, we've seen signs that POWDR realizes they may have gone "a bridge too far" with many of the changes. These signs include extending the 07-08 season by a week due to weather conditions, extending the 08-09 season by that same week and reinstating 7 day operations on Skyeship Stage 1. In light of the acrimony and ill-will that still permeates Killington's relationship with the local community and other key stakeholders, would it not have been more advisable to operate the business for a year with some less drastic changes in order to better understand where the pressure points would be?

When Killington/Pico Ski Resort Partners took over the resorts on May 11 of 2007 we implemented our business plan, which was completely different than the operational model used by the former owners. In order for the resort to be profitable over the long term, and to allow us to reinvest in the mountain, facilities and improve the overall guest experience, we needed to make some changes. Some of those changes, including a five-day operating schedule for the Skyeship Gondola, limited services at the K-1 Lodge and closing in April did cause some discontent among our guests and members of the community. However, we needed to make those modifications in our operations in order to operate a fiscally responsible business.

Throughout the season, however, we did modify some changes, including, offering bar service daily at the K-1 Lodge, opening Bear Mountain and the Skyeship base area a week ahead of schedule and extending the season a week beyond our scheduled closing date.

Overall, these changes did result in increased profitability for us and as a result we are now spending $8.4 million on upgrades this summer.

2) Killington has publically stated that they are focusing on a quality approach vs. quantity. In other words, skier visits don't matter as much as the yield from each of those customers and, of course, the experience those customers have at the resort. While this may or may not be true (time will tell), what is certainly true is that there is a direct link between the number of skiers and the health of the local business community. Local businesses are geared for years featuring 800k to as many as 1 million skier visits, as it's what they've experienced for over 20 years now. So what they are seeing is a new owner coming in and trying to shrink skier visits (at least in the short-term) while seeking approval to build a Village featuring a significant amount of extra retail with which they'll need to compete. In light of this, how can Killington and its partners profes to be surprised at the opposition they've encountered on the Village PUD issue and what do you plan to do, if anything, to mollify what appear to be valid concerns on this matter?

It is true that last season we did eliminate a number of complementary tickets and deeply discounted ticket programs, including those that allowed ski clubs and councils deeply discounted bulk ticket opportunities. However our paid visits were not only on par with where we budgeted, but also showed an increase over the 06/07 season. For the upcoming season, we will be offering a new discounted ski club/council product.

In regards to the Village PUD, the town of Killington is currently undergoing a number of different processes to gauge the economic impact of the proposed village. Once the studies are complete, SP Land and the town will have the opportunity to address the development concerns in an open public forum through the planning and Select Board process.

3) Killington has taken a number of actions which, to be charitable, have strained its credibility with the local community and longtime Killington fans. These include misleading pronouncements on capital improvements for last year, trying to blame the State of VT for the (incredibly unsuccessful) changes in the BMMC alcohol policies, and the consistent refusal to release skier visit numbers for the 07-08 season. Do you recognize that there has been a communications problem and, if so, what do you plan to do about it?

Participating in this forum, which we have done for the past few years, is another example of how we are communicating. In addition, we address the many local property owner’s association, town meetings (the minutes of which are available on the town’s website) and through community activities such as the Killington Chamber. As for the BMMC, the policy put in place last season regarding the alcohol issue will remain the same moving forward. In regards to skier numbers, as a privately held company, we do not release that information. In addition, other than one other Vermont resort, I have not heard of any other privately held resorts releasing their skier number information.