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« Previous Story | The Industry Report Home Page | Next Story » Mountain Travel Symposium Forecast: 'It's All Business This Time'By Craig Altschul 
"All we hear from registered participants is that this year's Mountain Travel Symposium is all about business," Mike Pierson, President of Michael J. Pierson Associates, Inc., told The Industry Report. Pierson is co-producer of what has become North America's largest and most important business-to-business exchange and educational forum. "I have observed a level of intensity within the mountain travel industry that I have not experienced before in my 14 years of involvement with MTS. "Our regular and new participants have already recognized it is going to be crucial that they work effectively with their partners and that trust in those relationships and connections is going to be paramount in what remains, for the moment, a rather precarious economic environment," he said. Pierson won't get any disagreement from one of the big players participating. "Everyone in our industry – suppliers, tour operators, wholesalers, ski resorts – are all feeling the weight of a terrible economy," Julian Castelli, CEO of Mountain Reservations (VacationRoost), told the IR. "Consumers are scared and, unfortunately, our product of ski vacations is one that is easy to forgo when you are looking to cut your household budget." Castelli's company closed earlier this month on a purchase of the key assets of RDM/Moguls. "This year's MTS will see a lot more discussions about business and industry best practices, and some of these will be required for survival. MTS will provide an opportunity for those of us in the industry to realize we are all in this together," Castelli said. The last time the ski industry fell into this deep, deep worry hole was after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but Pierson argues that this current economic malaise is a very different scenario. He cites an illustration some economists have used: "Think of the post-9/11 winter as a letter 'V' because we began with a high level of demand as a baseline. There was a sharp drop-off in travel initially after the attacks, but as the nation regained its economic balance, the demand for ski travel came back up just as sharply. Position that on a grid and it resembles a letter 'V.'" Conversely, Pierson notes, the current situation more closely resembles the letter "L." The demand for travel went from a high point, then dropped very steeply, almost vertically, and then leveled off to a much lower level. "So far, anyway, it has not come back up as it did following 9/11," he says. "This is a totally new ball game with a new set of rules. Everyone has a lot to learn in a short time and then make decisions based on what's best for their resort's chances for success." Chris Stagg, the veteran ski resort executive from Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico, cautions that "one size doesn't necessarily fit all" when it comes to this economy and that affects how he looks at MTS. "We've actually had a pretty good year, and are up about 15 percent at this point," he told the IR. "We know some of that comes from opening up Taos to snowboarding, but some of the smaller resorts such as ours may take a slightly different view than the larger corporate resorts where the focus might be more on real estate sales. "We've aligned our focus for next year to the passionate skier and snowboarder who will likely indulge their passion regardless of the economics. It's sort of going back to basics," Stagg said. Castelli's group is heading to MTS looking for stronger partnerships, better tools, and data. "When times are good, it's easy for everyone to get so caught up with the growth and the little things get pushed to the bottom of the priority stack," he says. "It's time we focus on seemingly little things like better resolution photos of lodging units, more thorough descriptions and property information, and more rapid sharing of special offers and deals." MTS begins with the Trade Exchange Monday and Tuesday. It is a literal business-to-business exchange (one wag called it "speed dating on steroids"). Here, individual tour operators and wholesalers book trips for next season in short session after short sessions all day long for two straight days. Pierson estimates about 8,400 substantive discussions will take place between buyers and suppliers. The middle two days (Wednesday and Thursday) are reserved for the MTS Forum, a combination of futuristic, practical, and motivational platform presentations, panels, and workshops. The expected highlight will be a session titled "The State of Mountain Destination Travel 2010: Where and How Do We Go From Here," featuring Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz and KSL Resorts CEO Mike Shannon. A Group Exchange is set for Friday along a similar format to the Trade Exchange, but trip chairman (buyers) of ski clubs will be on hand. These participants, however, will have plenty of opportunity during the week for skiing, riding, and partying. Yes, it's a buyer's market. "My main objective at MTS will be the group business this year," Stagg said. "We do OK from the Mid-Atlantic, but we will be focusing on regional club business from states like Arizona, California, Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico." Being competitive might be another watchword this time around, says Castelli. "Prices have gotten out of control. Lift tickets, condos, lessons, and restaurant prices comparable to those in New York City mean our industry is not priced consistently with what is happening in our economy. Just do the math for a family of five to go on a ski trip. There are going to be less high rollers in these times. We need to be more competitive as an industry," Castelli told us. Pierson said his team held a major planning meeting for the 2009 MTS event last fall, literally as the economy was beginning to implode. "We promptly threw those plans in the trash. We started over and made three commitments: We were going to be loyal to our attendees; we were not going to change, or modify our brand promises; and we were going to provide good value for the money our attendees invest in MTS. "We have been challenged on those commitments as the economic situation worsened the past six months, but they remained in tact. It is my hope this will be the most rewarding MTS ever for participants," he said. What It Means: No question that those of us who toil in the mountain resort and travel world know how to party hearty. But, we suspect, the bulk of the intensity at next week's Mountain Travel Symposium will be eyeball-to-eyeball across a negotiating table. Perhaps all of this angst will be a distant memory before the snow flies next winter, but no one is expecting it will be easy to climb out of this deep economic hole. « Previous Story | The Industry Report Home Page | Next Story » Comments
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Posted by: Bill Bechtold Local 3 I.B.E.W. Ski club Inc. ,Chairman | March 23, 2009 04:23 PM
