With participation in skiing, snowboarding, and XC down in 2023-24, attention is once again focused on bringing new and lapsed participants into winter sports. And that, in turn, highlights the importance of effective, efficient rental operations that help convert newcomers and returning players into regular guests.

“Who is our number one driving force in this industry?” asked Tyler Albertson, rental manager at Loveland Ski Area in Colorado. “It’s not your experienced visitors, it’s your beginners and your never evers. The better you can capture that market, the more you can grow your market base. We already have our four-or-five-times-a-year skiers and our season pass holders.”

If those beginners have a good experience, he added, they’ll come back.

“Rental gear could be the difference between someone having a great experience or a poor one,” agreed Joe Yasis, who manages the SARA rental buying program (see p. 76 for more on SARA).

To help rental operators find the best solutions for their particular situations, SAM spoke with a variety of both suppliers and resort rental managers.

The Buying Season

For many operators, January is not too late (or early) to start making decisions about the gear that will help rental shops perform smoothly and help renters enjoy their day on the hill. The process often starts with the regional rep shows, which began in the fall, and on-snow demos (such as the Winter Sports Market this month in Salt Lake City) or with a call to your local equipment reps. It may be as simple as sending an email request to obtain the latest brochures.

Whatever the starting point, operators have a limited window for making decisions. “Deadlines have moved up because we can’t get raw materials otherwise,” said Rossignol vice president of marketing and sales Kurt Hoefler. Mid-February to early March is now the main purchasing window.

Partly, this change reflects operator requests for earlier fall delivery dates. Many need time to prep gear, get it racked, and enter it into the resort’s tracking systems. “Resorts often have fewer employees than in the past, which means they need more time to prep gear,” said president of Head/Tyrolia USA Wintersports Jon Rucker. Many operators have moved delivery dates to Oct. 1 rather than Nov. 1 (the traditional date) as a result.

A lot of resorts plan for a three- or four-year replacement cycle. Some stretch that to five to seven years, and some, even longer. To some extent, “it comes down to what kind of winter it was,” said Massanutten Resort (Va.) rental manager Philip Rekitzke.

Regardless of the time span, most also switch out entire sets of gear—all skis, all snowboards, or all boots, for example—when they do. “We like having skis of all the same vintage,” said Nub’s Nob (Mich.) GM Ben Doornbos.

 Massanutten, Va., stocks 1,800 alpine sets and 900 snowboards in its rental shop, and prioritizes efficiency and performance for novices in its rental buy.

Have a Plan

Every resort approaches its rental program in its own way. “They vary widely depending on the category— alpine, snowboard, or Nordic—and the rental buyer,” said Salomon marketing director Erik Anderson. “Some buyers are still focused primarily on price; they just want to know, what’s your lowest net? Others attend their regional rep and on-snow shows” to see their options and get hands-on time with the gear.

Some are looking for comfort features like good walking soles, more adjustability, and durability features such as screwed-on buckles vs. riveted. Operators with large fleets are often looking for “improved data treatments, pre-stickering, ASNs, bulk packaging and more sustainable packaging solutions,” he added.

The process often begins with discussing your options with company reps, typically with the rep visiting the resort. “We have a great team of regional reps who are more than happy to discuss all things rentals with our potential or existing accounts,” said Nidecker rider services coordinator Brian Hankerson. 

Several other supplier reps said much the same, including Elan/Alpina U.S. director of product and marketing Ben Fresco. “Our sales reps work closely with rental buyers in their territory to meet, educate, and provide demo products for long term field testing,” he said.

The Value of Product Demos

The next step: getting hands-on with the actual products. Gear selection can make a big difference in the overall rental experience for customers and in the profits a resort makes. Therefore, many experienced operators have various stakeholders at the resort test rental product, both in the shop (to evaluate convenience for the staff, set-up ease and speed, compatibility with the shop’s space and layout, and durability) and on snow (to evaluate performance and ease of use for the customer). Many areas involve the snowsports school in the on-snow portion.

At Arizona Snowbowl, the team tests gear from a variety of vendors. “Our gear gets lots of wear and tear, so we give it a solid test,” said base area operations manager—and former rental manager—Elise Rodriguez. “We get multiple models and brands of boots and skis, snowboards, whatever we’re testing that season. I want it to go out every day so we can get a true test on it. We review what went well, what didn’t. How is it holding up? We then build our buys from what we learn.”

“Testing the product is an overlooked part of the rental buying process,” said Massanutten’s Rekitzke. The resort stocks 1,800 alpine sets and 900 snowboards, and they get rented twice on a busy Saturday. “So efficiency is key,” he said, “but as a beginner-oriented ski area, the performance from a beginner standpoint is important as well.”

At Loveland, Albertson keeps the testing simple. “I’m the number-one tester for all of our ski equipment. My assistant manager tests all of our ride equipment. We take into account what our clientele is looking for: a boot that fits, that’s comfortable, that skis well.” The approach has worked; Loveland has tripled it rental business in the past three seasons, thanks in part to new gear (Fischer for alpine, Nitro for snowboards).

If you can’t find the time to test gear, said Snowbowl’s Rodriguez, talk to those who have. Call operators who have similar clientele and volume, she suggested. “I’ve done cold calling and said, ‘Can you chat with me for 10 minutes? You’ve got the Head BYS boot, how’s it working out for you?’ They can give you real-time information before you have to place your order.”

 A rental tech adjusts snowboard bindings at Arizona Snowbowl, which tests gear from multiple vendors before placing its purchase orders.

The Value of Service

Service is another key consideration. “Customer service is a big issue,” said Adam Stromwall, who has created the role of rental program manager at Nitro snowboards to oversee customer service. “You hear all the time that resorts don’t know who to talk to. They can’t get ahold of whoever it is, or the reps are constantly changing in their zone. In the U.S., Nitro accounts can come to me directly with a warranty problem or whatever it might be.”

While product issues are not common, Stromwall emphasized, “when things go bad you’ve got to solve the problem right away.”

Generally, the resorts we spoke with praised their company reps for their ability to respond quickly when issues arise. 

Customer service can also mean advising accounts wisely before issues crop up. “We encourage rental operators to think ahead about parts and pieces,” said Rossi’s Hoefler. “How much do I need to replace from last year’s stock? That should be part of the pre-season order, too. We can service well if we know what people need.” Alterra has been the poster child for this type of planning, he noted.

Determining the Product Mix

Aside from testing products and assessing the supplier/operator partnership, decisions about the fleet/upgrade mix loom. These decisions typically balance practicality and public perception. 

Integrated systems—like the BYS system from Head, Rossi’s Flash system, and the Elan/Alpina 4Factor—streamline the rental process, making high-volume operations efficient, and perform satisfactorily (some would say extremely well). Step-up gear typically has a more retail-oriented look and feel, and often allows for more customization—which suits programs with the time and staff to serve customers in that way.

Every area has its own mix of customers to accommodate. For example, “Premier destinations typically go with higher-end rental products, and don’t often stock straight-up fleet gear,” said Head’s Rucker. But he noted that both Palisades Tahoe and Mammoth Mountain, Calif., do. “They do such high volume that they have to process rentals quickly. That’s a big determinant,” he added. Alternately, some smaller areas opt for more premium products for their perceived performance benefits.

Resorts have plenty of choices in all categories—alpine, snowboarding, and XC. While there are no revolutionary products this year, there are lots of evolutionary updates. The biggest change is the growing adoption of Boa closure systems in alpine boots, primarily for step-up models.

“While it might appear that rental development has slowed down, equipment is still improving at the detail level,” said Elan/Alpina’s Fresco. “From performance trickling down from high-end equipment, improvements in lightweight yet durable materials, technology aimed at making skiing easier for casual skiers, to details that improve the efficiency of handling in the rental environment, rental products and renters are reaping the benefits of modern ski development.”

In snowboard gear, Burton added Step On rental boot-binding systems to the catalog in 2023 and revamped its fleet rental board last season, said senior area manager Royal White. 

Nitro and Nidecker are updating graphics to keep in step with their retail models, while retaining the usual durability adaptations for rental products.

“Everything we’re doing is first a retail model, and we then change out some materials to survive in rental,” said Nitro’s Stromwall. “The base is all black rather than a printed graphic, the edges are twice as thick, and the anchors are twice as deep. The top sheet is the same graphic as the inline product, except it’s a more durable material.” 

Nitro’s rental binding is also retail-based, with straps from the Team binding, high back and forward lean adjustment from the Team Pro, and the toe strap from the One binding. “So it’s a combo of our retail bindings put onto a quick release system,” said Stromwall.

Left to right: Burton’s new kids’ rental board; Nitro’s new mid- to upper-tier rental options, the Nova and Phase.

In alpine gear, several companies are updating their products. A few examples:

Head redesigned its Ambition models, its biggest sellers, “to be more resilient to tunes and to look better,” said Rucker. The company has softened the flex of its shorter kids skis and changed the sidecut “significantly,” so they don’t hook up so fast and offer a little more glide. “We think that will help them have more fun,” he said.

Rossignol has two new Experience rental models, with 78 mm and 80 mm waists, respectively. The new models have cap construction and 13-meter radius sidecut to make them easy to turn. “Our aim is to have better skiability in the 80 mm model and even easier turning for the beginner level in 78 mm,” said Rossi alpine category manager Jake Stevens. 

At Atomic, U.S. market director Jake Strassburger noted the brand has “some fresh all-mountain skis and Boa closure systems on some of our more premium rental boots. We’ve seen great success in the next level up from fleet rental.”

Nordica North American product manager Ethan Korpi noted that the brand’s Drive series is based on a design developed with ski teaching star Mike Rogan; it has a narrower tail that allows an easy transition from wedge to parallel turns—a concept that has also been incorporated into some retail models. Its latest rental incarnation is the All Drive X, a slightly wider design (available in 80 mm and 86 mm waist widths compared to the All Drive 76 and 84) that “borrows a bit of its unique shape from the Enforcer and Santa Ana collection,” Korpi said.

Did we mention that waist widths have expanded generally? It seems 78 is the new 74.

Top to bottom: Rossignol’s Experience 78 and 80; the Nordica AllDrive X; Elan’s Element 76 RS; the Head Ambition R Track and Ambition Pro R.

In alpine boots, there’s a trend toward easy entry, as well as Boa closures.

Rossi introduced its Vizion series of step-in boots at retail last year, and is bringing that to the rental market. The rear spoiler of the Vizion models opens wide, but when closed, it acts like a typical alpine boot. 

In a similar vein, Salomon is offering its Sense series, which Anderson called a “modern leisure/sport rental boot with a new attachment mechanism that is more convenient and improves fit while being approachable and easy to enter.”

Head is one of several companies bringing Boa closure to its rental boots. “The system works well, we’ll see how it’s embraced in fleet situations,” said Rucker. 

Other companies adding Boa to more rental models include Fischer and Nordica. The latter will offer Boa in both the 100 mm Speedmachine and 102 mm Sportmachine models. “It’s really easy to close and really comfortable,” Korpi said of Boa.

On the bindings front, Salomon is offering two new demo bindings: a hot pink Strive 11 “that will turn some heads for sure,” said Anderson, and a new multi-norm Strive 14MN, compatible with Gripwalk, older alpine norm 5355, and alpine touring boots.

Left to right: Nitro youth rental binding with updated straps; Burton Step On boot and binding; Head Edge Boa boot; Nordica Speedmachine Boa 100R.

In XC gear, no huge surprises here. Classic remains the largest category, but both skate and off-track options are growing, according to suppliers.

Rossi sees the basic fleet gear remaining an in-track 55 mm waisted waxless ski and touring boot, augmented by skate models and a performance ski with skins or honeycomb base. 

Atomic’s Strassburger said the brand will have a new Pro Gen S skate ski and new Savor BC metal-edge touring model, along with boots that have been refined over the past few seasons.

Fischer introduced a new Aeroguide skating ski for 2024-25 and is offering another model for next season at a lower price point. It comes in three sizes (handy for rental operations) and is aimed at those new to skate skiing.

 Fischer is also introducing a new classic ski, the Adventure 56, a slimmed version of the Adventure 62, well suited to groomed tracks. Its reduced length sizing (four sizes) is rental friendly. A new classic Pro+ boot has a supportive inner boot and a walk-friendly sole.

Inline Appeal 

Across all categories, rental products are looking more and more like retail models. “The rental customer, especially the returning rental customer, does not want to look like a rental customer,” said Burton’s White. “They want their gear to look like what they see on social media, on the hill, and in the magazines.”

Rental operators appreciate this trend. “We like keeping rental as close to the retail experience as we can,” said Nub’s Nob’s Doornbos, adding, “Safety is part of that.” 

Similarly, Loveland’s Albertson said that with Fischer and Nitro, “We noticed they actually move a lot of their retail technology into rental. We have had many, many customers come back with great reviews.”

Back to the Future 

After the 2023-24 season, in which visits dropped 7.5 percent nationally and the number of active skiers and riders declined 8.6 percent, both equipment manufacturers and resorts have a renewed focus on participant growth. And rental operations are a key part of that, since they are often the first major touchpoint for new and lapsed guests.

“We need to work together as an industry for modernization in the rental process,” said Salomon’s Anderson, including “touchless rental, hassle reduction, increasing the efficiency and convenience for rental delivery.”

Added Atomic’s Strassburger, “We all need to help drive participation and retention. We got a ton of tailwinds with Covid, and we should do everything we can to keep people coming back and continue to drive curiosity in potential new participants.

SARA Program

If rental decisions and investment seem overwhelming, the SARA program might be able to help. The program is open to more than 250 resorts from coast to coast and managed by the Midwest Ski Areas Association (MSAA). It provides competitive pricing on rental gear (on par with larger resort rental buyers) along with a testing program for skis, snowboards, bindings, boots, helmets, and poles. It also provides an accessories buying program.

Alpine supplier members are Rossignol, Lange/Dynastar, Head, Elan/Alpina, and Atomic. SARA includes snowboarding as well, with Rossignol, Head, Elan, Atomic, and Nitro offering gear through the program. Both Rossignol and Atomic also offer XC gear. Pole and accessories suppliers include Swix, Goode, WSI, Auclair, Richardson, and Winter’s Edge.

Program administrator Joe Yasis told SAM many resorts don’t realize they can draw on the program for purchasing and support. Aside from MSAA, members of PNSAA, Ski Southeast, Ski Maine, Ski NH, SANY, and PORA (formerly Pennsylvania Ski Areas Association) as well as Idaho ski areas are eligible. In the past, other resorts were also allowed to join, and they remain as members. 

Beyond its purchasing power, SARA does season-long testing at a couple of areas, and the information gained is available to all SARA members. SARA can also help resorts access demo rental equipment through their local rep, answer questions about obtaining gear, and help remove roadblocks resorts encounter. 

Additionally, SARA returns a portion of the purchase price to the resort’s state ski association, to support initiatives that help grow the sports.

For more information, contact Yasis at joe@saraprogram.com or call (715) 417-0164.