Ski resort defends season pass price

Whitefish Mountain Resort took a little heat this week after an online debate about their increasing winter season pass prices went viral and prompted a detailed response from their marketing department.

Big Mountain’s adult season passes are on sale for $580 until the end of September — a price that some say is getting too expensive for many locals. A critical comment regarding pass prices was posted on Whitefish Mountain Resort’s Facebook page Sunday, which set off an online fire of more than 110 responses and 700 “likes” as of press time. The resort has more than 13,000 followers on Facebook.

Online comments took shots at resort majority shareholder Bill Foley and resort management, while asking why there isn’t a discounted price for locals.

The resort’s early purchase pass price of $580 is up $20 over last season. The price was $550 in 2010, and stayed steady at $535 in 2009 and 2008. The last time the price dipped below the $500 mark was in 2007 when they were $499.

Resort officials note that of the nearly 8,000 season passes sold annually, most are purchased by Flathead Valley residents.

Resort marketing director Nick Polumbus responded to the online criticism with a lengthy note explaining and defending this year’s price point.

“I’m actually encouraged to see the amount of people out here concerned about our resort and our season pass,” Polumbus wrote. “I think there are some issues from the resort side that many of you are probably not aware of that can address those concerns.”

He compared Whitefish’s pass to the ultra-cheap multi-resort passes in Colorado and Lake Tahoe, noting that those areas have larger skier volume than Whitefish. He compared Vail’s 1.6 million skiers per year to Big Mountain’s 290,000.

“To get real low on price you need a lot of volume to make up for it, and up here we don’t have a prayer for the kind of volume that those areas that have, say, an Epic Pass to offer and thus we need to maintain a certain price,” Polumbus said.

He said more realistic comparisons of early-purchase pass prices should be between other similarly situated resorts such as Bridger Bowl ($580) and Big Sky ($999) in Montana, and Durango ($819) and Crested Butte ($999) in Colorado.

Polumbus said operating costs go up annually and that even through the current recession, the resort has maintained both benefits and annual pay increases for employees.

“We didn’t lay anyone off in those difficult times, we didn’t eliminate or reduce health benefits or 401k contributions,” he said. “Beyond that, with our summer expansion, we have added to the number of jobs available in the valley.”

He argued that Foley and the other stock holders, through investment, likely saved the resort from closing or being sold off to larger ski resort management companies like Vail Associates or Boyne.

“We are better off for being independently owned,” he said.

“We are a part of this community. We work hard to contribute positively to the community both culturally and economically. In the end, we genuinely want to provide the best ski and snowboard experience for the best value for the people who we think are the best ski community members in the world.”

 As for a local’s rate, the resort’s permit with the U.S. Forest Service prohibits discounted pricing based on where someone lives.

“It goes against the discriminatory pricing clause,” Polumbus wrote.

The early-purchase pass prices at Whitefish Resort are available through Sept. 30. Senior passes are priced at $480, teens at $325, juniors at $165 and college at $480. Children 6 and under ski free, as do super seniors 70 and older.