Ski Resorts Industry Terminology

ADR (Average Daily Rate)

The average lodging revenue earned per occupied room per night; a core hospitality KPI for resort-owned hotels/condos.

ADR rose 6% over Presidents’ Week; Packaging lift tickets helped lift ADR; Compare ADR to RevPAR to gauge discounting impact.

Ancillary Revenue

Incremental income beyond lift tickets and rooms, such as rentals, lessons, F&B, retail, parking, tubing, and spa.

Boost ancillary revenue via pre-sold rentals; Parking fees grew ancillary revenue 12%; Lessons per visit increased ancillary mix.

Apres-Ski

Post-ski dining, drinking, music, and social experiences that extend guest spend and satisfaction.

Expand apres-ski to drive late-day F&B; The terrace DJ set anchors apres; Apres programming improved NPS.

Avalanche Control

Mitigation work (forecasting, explosives, Gazex, closures) to reduce avalanche risk inbounds.

Patrol conducted avalanche control before rope drop; We held the alpine zone for control; Control routes were extended after the storm.

Base Area

The resort’s primary guest arrival zone with parking, ticketing, rentals, F&B, retail, and beginner terrain access.

Base area congestion eased with RFID gates; Add wayfinding to simplify base navigation; Base village F&B grew per caps.

Blackout Dates

Dates when certain passes or promo tickets are not valid, typically peak holidays.

Communicate blackout dates on the e-store; Upgrade option removes holiday blackouts; We shifted demand away from blackout periods.

CapEx (Capital Expenditure)

Long-term investments in lifts, snowmaking, grooming fleets, facilities, IT, and housing.

Approve CapEx for the new gondola; Snowmaking CapEx cut energy cost per acre-foot; Stage lift CapEx over three summers.

Chairlift

Aerial lift with chairs transporting skiers/riders uphill; varies by speed and capacity.

The mid-mountain chairlift reduces base congestion; Chair 5 needs a capacity upgrade; The fixed-grip chair serves learning terrain.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

Systems and processes for guest data, segmentation, campaigns, service, and retention.

CRM nurtures first-timers into passholders; Trigger emails via CRM on storm alerts; CRM data shows lapsed family segments.

Detachable Chairlift

High-speed lift with chairs that detach at terminals for faster line speed and easier loading/unloading.

Upgrade to a detachable quad cut ride time in half; Detachables reduce liftline wait variance; The detachable adds wind sensitivity.

Dynamic Pricing

Real-time or rule-based price adjustments by date, demand, inventory, or booking window.

Advance-purchase tickets use dynamic pricing; We set price floors for peak Saturdays; Dynamic pricing smoothed visitation.

EBITDA

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization; a cash-flow proxy for operations.

Grooming fuel savings improved EBITDA; Pass sales mix lifted EBITDA margins; We benchmark EBITDA per skier visit.

Employee Housing

Employer-owned or master-leased units for seasonal and year-round staff.

On-site housing improved retention; Budget CapEx for 60 new beds; Housing shuttles reduce parking demand.

Energy Management System (EMS)

Controls and sensors that optimize electricity and heat usage across lifts, buildings, and snowmaking.

EMS lowered lodge peak demand charges; Integrate EMS with compressor VFDs; EMS alerts flagged a leaking valve.

ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance)

Framework for sustainability, community, and governance goals and reporting.

Tie exec bonuses to ESG targets; ESG report tracks Scope 1–3 emissions; ESG screens guide vendor selection.

F&B (Food & Beverage)

On-mountain and base area dining operations; a major ancillary revenue stream.

Mobile ordering boosted F&B per caps; Extend F&B hours for apres; Menu engineering reduced COGS.

Fixed-Grip Chair

Lift whose chairs remain clamped to the haul rope; slower but lower CapEx and Opex.

Fixed-grip triples are ideal for beginners; Swap to a quad for capacity; Fixed-grip lifts stay open in higher winds.

Gondola

Enclosed cabins carrying guests uphill, often from base villages; high capacity and weather protection.

The base-to-mid gondola reduces bus traffic; Gondola cabins enable night operations; Add bike racks for summer.

Grooming

Mechanical preparation of ski runs with snowcats to create an even surface (corduroy).

Grooming plan prioritizes family terrain; Winch cats handle steeps overnight; Morning grooming reports guide guests.

H2B Visa

U.S. temporary non-agricultural work visa commonly used for seasonal resort roles.

File H2B petitions early for lift ops; Housing is bundled for H2B staff; Cross-train H2B teams for shoulder season.

Intelligent Snowmaking

Automated, sensor-driven systems optimizing when/where/how much snow to make based on wet-bulb, wind, and demand.

Auto-valves shift flow by trail priority; Intelligent snowmaking cut kWh per acre-foot 25%; Real-time maps show snow depth.

KPI (Key Performance Indicator)

Quantifiable measures that track performance across departments (e.g., skier visits, NPS, RevPAR, lift uptime).

Add lift uptime to ops KPIs; Weekly dashboard shows KPIs by segment; KPIs tied to manager bonuses.

Lift Capacity (Passengers Per Hour)

The maximum number of riders a lift can carry in one hour (PPH), guiding line management and capital planning.

Expand PPH to relieve base choke points; Re-spacing chairs raised PPH 8%; Capacity modeling informed queue layout.

Mountain Operations

The integrated function covering lifts, grooming, snowmaking, patrol, trail maintenance, vehicle shop, and utilities.

Mountain ops will set storm ops plan; Coordinate ops with marketing on powder days; Ops budget prioritizes snowmaking.

Multi-Resort Pass

Season products granting access to multiple resorts (e.g., nationwide or global networks).

Multi-resort passes shift visitation; Manage blackout dates on partner access; Partner benefits aid retention.

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Guest loyalty metric based on likelihood to recommend; correlates with retention and pricing power.

Lift maze redesign lifted NPS; NPS dips on parking constraint days; Tie staff incentives to NPS targets.

NSAA (National Ski Areas Association)

The U.S. industry association providing research, safety standards, sustainability programs, and advocacy.

Use NSAA Kottke data for benchmarking; Adopt NSAA safety campaigns; NSAA reports guide capital planning.

Occupancy Rate

Percentage of available lodging units occupied; core for resort-owned lodging.

Occupancy hit 92% during MLK; Shift demand to shoulder weeks to raise occupancy; Occupancy pacing is 5 pts ahead YOY.

OEC (Outdoor Emergency Care)

Ski patrol medical certification focusing on prehospital care in mountain environments.

Require OEC for volunteer patrollers; OEC refreshers run in November; OEC protocols updated for hypothermia.

Passholder Retention

Percentage of current season passholders who renew for next season; a key revenue driver.

Early-renewal incentives boost retention; Track retention by segment and tenure; CRM win-backs target at-risk passholders.

RevPAR (Revenue per Available Room)

Lodging metric combining occupancy and rate: ADR × occupancy.

RevPAR outperformed market comps; Lift-and-lodging bundles raised RevPAR; Watch RevPAR compression during storms.

RFID Access Control

Radio-frequency identification media and gates enabling hands-free scanning, fraud control, and data capture.

RFID reduced ticket fraud; Real-time scans improved capacity planning; RFID enables direct-to-lift products.

Season Pass

Prepaid product granting unlimited or defined access over a season; anchors pricing and loyalty.

Migrate day visitors to season passes; Offer payment plans to grow pass penetration; Passholders drive midweek demand.

Shoulder Season

Low-demand periods between peak winter and summer seasons; opportunity for events and maintenance.

Schedule lift maintenance in shoulder; Host festivals to monetize shoulder weeks; Staff cross-utilization in shoulder.

Sidecountry

Backcountry-like terrain adjacent to resort boundaries, typically accessed via gates; not controlled/avalanche-mitigated by the resort.

Signage clarifies sidecountry risks; Patrol monitors sidecountry gates; Educate guests on beacon/shovel/probe.

Ski Patrol

Professional/volunteer team responsible for safety, first aid, rescue, avalanche control support, and public education.

Patrol staffed an extra toboggan cache; Patrol closed the bowl for stability testing; Patrol helped with guest wayfinding.

Ski-In/Ski-Out

Lodging with direct on-slope access, improving convenience and rate premium.

Ski-in/ski-out units command higher ADR; Add ski lockers to enhance ski-out; Map listings as true ski-in/ski-out.

Skier Visits

Industry volume metric counting one person skiing/riding for any part of one day.

Storm cycles boosted skier visits; Track visits by pass vs day ticket; Forecast staffing from visit pacing.

Snowcat

Tracked vehicle used for grooming, winching, hauling, and park building.

Add a winch-capable snowcat for steeps; Snowcat fleet hours dropped after storms; Park cat scheduled for nightly shaping.

Snowmaking (Snow Gun)

Production of machine-made snow using water, compressed air/fans, and cold wet-bulb temperatures.

Expand hydrants to finish the white ribbon faster; Night snowmaking minimizes demand charges; Calibrate guns for drier snow.

Snow Water Equivalent (SWE)

Water content of a snowpack depth, used to estimate runoff and base durability.

SWE readings inform spring closure date; High SWE allows fewer snowmaking hours; Monitor SNOTEL SWE for marketing messaging.

Terrain Park

Designated area with jumps, rails, boxes, and features for freestyle skiing/snowboarding.

Rotate features to refresh the park; Park flow reduces conflict zones; Host a rail jam to drive midweek visits.

Trail Map

Guest-facing map of runs, lifts, and facilities; essential for navigation and marketing.

Digitize the trail map in the app; Update grooming status on the map; Sponsors underwrite the map printing.

Tree Well

Void around tree bases that can trap and suffocate fallen riders; major safety hazard.

Post tree-well safety signs on storm days; Educate guests to ride with a partner; Patrol briefed staff after an incident.

Uphill Policy

Rules governing uphill skinning/splitboarding, including hours, routes, and equipment requirements.

Update uphill policy after new grooming schedule; Require headlamps and reflective gear; Sell uphill passes online.

Vertical Drop

The elevation difference between base and summit; a performance and marketing stat.

Market the 3,000-foot vertical; Vertical affects lift sizing and grooming hours; Guests compare vertical across resorts.

Wet-Bulb Temperature

Combined effect of air temperature and humidity; the key condition for viable snowmaking.

Wet-bulb of -4°C opens the window; Automate guns by wet-bulb thresholds; Track wet-bulb to plan night shifts.

Wind Hold

Temporary lift closure due to high winds affecting safety or operations.

Summit lift on wind hold until 11 a.m.; Re-route guests to lower lifts during holds; Communicate holds via push alerts.

Yield Management

Optimizing price and inventory by segment and time to maximize total revenue (tickets, lessons, lodging).

Cap cheap advance inventory for Saturdays; Use fences to protect yield; Yield manage lessons on peak weeks.

Zero-Carbon Target

A commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across scopes by a set year.

Set a 2030 zero-carbon target; Electrify cats as tech matures; Offset residuals after efficiency and renewables.