This podcast episode explores the financial impact of climate change on the ski industry and the rise of season passes as a strategy to mitigate risk. Climate change has already cost the ski industry billions of dollars over the past two decades, and if not addressed, key ski regions in the U.S. could experience significant losses in the number of ski days per season. To tackle this issue, resorts have implemented the use of season passes to shift the weather risk onto consumers. While season passes have become increasingly popular, research shows that the average pass holder does not fully utilize it. Despite this, season passes benefit resorts by stabilizing revenue and allowing them to raise prices on day passes. Additionally, resorts are adopting price discrimination strategies, introducing ticket add-ons, and diversifying into off-season activities to adapt to climate change and increase revenue. However, experts predict that resorts may need to redefine their business models in the future to focus on off-season activities and implement more blackout days and price discrimination strategies.
