When you look at Vail or Alterra, they are in business to make money. The best way to do that is to have happy customers that are willing and eager to spend money. They are not pricing to IKON pass at $600 so we can ski cheap. They are doing it because they feel that is the best way to bring skiers to their mtns and spend money. We should be OK with that. If they don't make money, they will close and we will be watching TV vs skiing the trees. When it comes to making local communities happy, they certainly want to do that but not at the expense of profit. If all of their profit comes from destination skiers, the destination skiers will get the most attention (not necessarily the best deals). We need to remember that they did not purchase these ski resorts to give us a place to ski, they did it to secure their company, their investments and make money which may require change but it is usually good for the community unless you are one that doesn't like growth, change, etc. Change can be difficult to swallow and I think most of us resist it to some degree.
Making money in this business usually means catering to customers that have money - the more the better. But remember, they do want their customers to be happy. Happy customers come back and spend money. I like the ski industry growth because it gives us more and better options. So far, from a macro viewpoint, the consolidations have been good for most of us, driving prices down and providing options.
