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SAM asked industry veteran (and saminfo.com Breaking News editor) Tom Winter and average customer Katie Ford to take a look at dozens of resort websites and tell us what worked and what didn’t.


The Experienced Eye
By Tom Winter

What are the best websites in snow country? How do you tap into the web to improve your revenue streams? Is it important to create a community? As virtual media has exploded and resorts have rushed to catch the internet wave, there were bound to be some winners and some losers.

What makes the best sites so good? First, they cut to the chase. Skiers’ and riders’ needs are simple: They want to be able to find information—like lift ticket prices, trail maps, weather reports—and other media—like webcams—quickly and easily. And they want one-stop shopping for accommodations and lift access, so they can easily book their vacations.

Is user-generated content important? Sure, it’s important. But maybe not as important as you think. The best websites are tools to get visitors to book their trip to your resort. If you want user-generated content, consider the competition. For the youth market, you’re competing against sites like NewSchoolers.com and Teton Gravity Research’s offerings (more on them later). As a resort, it’s difficult to go up against these communities: they grew organically as the web exploded, and are highly authentic. If you are a resort, it is very tough to tap into user-generated content that builds a community. The exceptions: resorts that have a very special brand, like Silverton or Mad River Glen, both of which have huge, unrealized potential on this score.

Finally, there are the slick additions to your actual site that add value and keep skiers stoked on your resort. These include e-mail newsletters, cell-phone text messages alerting skiers when the snow hits or when the party is starting, and joint marketing programs that get clients stoked on their next ski trip. All the best sites have this kind of content. If you don’t, it’s time to check out the competition and steal some of their best ideas.


Five Great Sites To Steal From

1. It’s the snow, stupid:

Killington (killington.com)
What do skiers and snowboarders care about the most? Snow. And Killington feeds their jones by putting the weather large and in charge, right up front. The clean, easy-to-navigate home page also includes podcasts, a nice calendar of events, and makes it easy to book your vacation right now.

Whistler-Blackcomb (whistlerblackcomb.com)
You’d expect Canada’s 5,000-ton gorilla to have the resources and talent to create a very strong site and the British Columbia resort doesn’t disappoint, with an easy-to-navigate homepage that highlights the resort’s webcams and offers visitors a sweet photo gallery.


2. Keep it clean:
Aspen/Snowmass (aspensnowmass.com)

A clean, easy-to-navigate homepage with pull-down menus that lead visitors quickly and efficiently to the information they’re looking for, plus a cool “live chat” feature (that could be easier to find, in my opinion) shows that great homepages can have tons of information and not be clunky. Props to their clean design.


3. Know who you are:
Mt. Ashland (mtashland.com)

This Oregon ski area’s site proves that you don’t need to be a major player to have a strong web presence. The non-profit, community-owned resort makes it easy for locals and visitors alike to check the weather, learn about upcoming events and learn about the resort’s environmental initiatives. Good things do come in small packages.


4. The art of the deal:
Mammoth Mountain (mammothmountain.com)

Mammoth’s site puts e-commerce front and center, showcasing shopping, accommodation deals, multi-day lift ticket deals, lessons and other potential revenue streams one click away from their homepage. There’s plenty of other info, too, including weather, a blog called “Live Vibe” and everything else a potential visitor could want.


5 Things You Can Change Today

1. What Run Am I On?

How big is your trail map? I hate sites where the trail map is too small to read.


2. Got Blog?

Want to create a connection with your visitors and locals alike? Check out Ski Utah’s and Mad River Glen’s blogs. Of course, these aren’t the only blogs out there, and Mad River’s Joshua Fox is a bit fixated on the weather, but they both offer you a template on how to do it right (skiutah.com and madriverglen.com).


3. Be Yourself.

Silverton Mountain’s site (silvertonmountain.com) reflects its unassuming nature with an easy-to-use menu and an emphasis on what people want: just the facts. With cookie-cutter resort websites proliferating across the web, inject your mountain’s unique flavor into your site.


4. Give people a reason to visit your website after their vacation is over.

I love the fact that guests at Solitude can access vertical feet skied and other information by using a code on their lift tickets to chart this info. Cool, very cool (skisolitude.com).


5. Make an emotional connection.

Skiing and snowboarding create strong bonds with friends, family and the natural world. Taos’ rich homepage, filled with great images of families and friends having fun in unparalleled surroundings, is a good lesson in how to do it right (skitaos.org).


Three Consumer Sites You Should Check Out

1. It’s about the kids:
Newschoolers.com

Talk about community! Although this site’s numbers are misleading (many members have multiple screen names) and the herd mentality can reign supreme (a problem when uneducated 14-year-olds jump on the misinformation bandwagon) there are few better places to learn about what pimply-faced pipe and park riders are sussing out today.

2. See the world:
Snoweye.com

Hands-down the best webcam site for skiers. While the menu of webcams is most comprehensive for European resorts, there are plenty of others to check out, not only in North America but also in places like Korea, too. A visual feast for the eyes.

3. I ski on the biggest, fattest skis:
Tetongravity.com

The yin to NewSchooler’s yang, TGR’s site has become the community forum of choice for big-mountain skiers. Sure, the homepage on this site is all about selling you TGR movies. But surf the forums and you’ll discover a vibrant community of skiers who like fat skis, deep snow and strong beer (and, unlike the kids on NewSchoolers, are old enough to purchase said beer legally).


The Consumer View
By Katie Ford

On average, I hit the slopes probably once a year. So, for me, finding a ski resort isn’t about locating the deepest powder or the highest vertical. I’m more into the whole winter wonderland experience. I want scenic trails, cozy lodging, roaring fireplaces and restaurants with atmosphere. So, as I trekked the World Wide Web in search of a winter wonderland, I began to realize what really appealed to me: crisp photography, clean designs and straightforward links with logically categorized information. And that, my resort-owner friends, is an anomaly in your industry.

When I started surfing the Internet in search of my next winter vacation, I immediately noticed something unusual—or, something rather usual, actually. Site after site was bathed in blue. It’s a logical color choice for marketing winter wonderlands, no doubt. But after the fourth or fifth visit to yet another blue website, it became increasingly difficult to distinguish one ski resort from another. In real life, I’m sure these destinations offer very unique experiences, but you certainly couldn’t decipher that from their websites.

Not all ski resorts fall victim to the cliché. Bretton Woods, N.H., boldly stands out in red, and Wildcat, N.H., favors an emerald green. Copper Mountain aptly shows off its coppertone tan. These sites aren’t particularly the best-looking URLs on the Internet (some are far from it), but at least they didn’t fall into the deep blue abyss.

Undoubtedly, ski resorts have copious amounts of information to disseminate, from special vacation deals to mountain conditions to resort amenities and prices. It’s admirable to try to post every single detail about your resort on your website (complete with streaming video and a slideshow), but the end result often looks like Vegas on Ice.

In my opinion, all those flashing links, blinking icons and scrolling headlines are a great way to send potential customers running for other hills.


What Customers Want

When I’m surfing for my next vacation spot, all I really want to know is:

• What does your resort look like?

• How much will it cost me to play on your mountain?

• Where will I sleep and eat when I’m there?

• What other activities can I enjoy in the area?

When it comes to lodging, quality photos and easy-to-find prices are key. A paragraph describing a hotel, accompanied by a company logo, just doesn’t cut it. I also don’t want to click more than twice to find anything, whether it’s contact information, lift ticket prices or photos of a hotel room.

Though it’s hard to find a resort website that doesn’t sport a busy design, there are a few exceptions. From the moment I clicked on Utah’s Park City (www.park­citymountain.com) and Michigan’s Boyne Mountain (www.boyne.com), I breathed a sigh of relief. Both greeted me with beautiful photography, open spaces, clean lines and easy-to-navigate categories. The sites also loaded quickly, which is another huge plus for a consumer who is dedicating an afternoon to comparison-shopping on the computer. I don’t care how pretty your site is, if it’s slow to load (Hellooooo, Jay Peak, Vermont!), it’s simply a waste of good photography.

Other crisply designed sites that made me want to jump through my computer and onto the mountain were Vail (http://vail.snow.com) and Lake Louise (www.skilouise.com). These sites convey luxury, comfort and good times. They’re also well-organized. I didn’t find myself clicking through a series of categories and subcategories that failed to lead to the sought-after information.

Other websites that were tidy with their information, and therefore, appealing to the eye, included Mammoth Mountain (www.mammothmountain.com), Wachusett Mountain in Massachusetts (www.wachusett.com), and Granite Peak, Wisc. (www.skigranitepeak.com). These sites have their acts together, and that conveys value and professionalism. I get the impression that these resorts have what it takes to offer an above-average vacation experience.

If I must call attention to the opposite end of the spectrum, I’m afraid Mt. Bohemia, Mich. (www.mtbohemia.com) and the emerald green Wildcat (www.skiwildcat.com) are stuck in Amateur Hour.

If you read Mt. Bohemia’s marketing copy, it’s clear the resort isn’t striving to be like Vail and, in fact, would be offended by the comparison. Case in point: Under the photo gallery, you’ll find comments posted by a Mt. Bohemia spokesperson that defend the resort’s choice to serve Ramen Noodles for a buck versus the $8 hamburgers you’ll find in Vail. But even if this is the ultimate in Bohemian winter recreation, the website leaves much to be desired. I’ve seen under-funded public school districts with better websites. I think I’ll pass.

Wildcat, where you’ll find “pure vertical fun,” is a tad better-looking, but not much. It’s hard to see anything appealing about marketing copy in 20 different font styles. And what’s going on with that green cross-hatched backdrop? It looks homemade and makes me wonder what kind of value I’ll get at the resort.

And lastly, perhaps one more little thing to avoid is posting the latest criminal activity at the resort for all the world to see. Wisp Resort in Maryland (www.skiwisp.com) is guilty as charged. It actually includes a Crime Stoppers link that offers a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of individuals involved in stealing a bunch of ski and snowboarding equipment. (Note to self: Leave valuables at home when booking that long weekend at Wisp.)