The concept at Andermatt can be summed up as cheap pass, expensive everything on the slopes. I just skied there for the first time last weekend, and you could really feel the corporate atmosphere.
Vail owns Crans-Montana and Andermatt-Sedrun. Another company offers a similar concept with the Magic pass, mostly in western Switzerland, presumably with the same business model. It would be a shame if skiing in Switzerland ended up being a duopoly like in the US.
Edit: word order for clarity
Only if they beat global warming to it!
Tbh skiing in big resorts in Switzerland already feels like a soulless, pre-packaged, mass commercial experience most of the time… PE or not
Most of these issues exist already in the Alps without having the corporate duopoly. Day passes are becoming more and more expensive, a season pass for one single bigger resort is about equally expensive as an ikon or epic pass that counts for plenty of resorts, housing is basically non-existent, resort workers are coming from eastern Europe because they accept lower wages, etc.
Vail just bought Crans Montana. Granted it was already terribly managed before, but this could be a slippery slope, especially when you see the prices in the US. The owner of a station in the Grisons (i don’t remember which one) recently spoke out about pricing, mentionning that in 10 years we could see daily tickets around 200-300 francs, like in the USA (source: Tribune de Geneve). Although he didn’t say anything about the cause of the price increase, my guess is the incorporation of the EPIC or ICON pass systems. The even bigger problem is that Vail will own the restaurants, bars, and everything else, trully making the vibe more and more corporate!
“Capitalism brings innovation!”
The innovation:
In many ways, yes. But the ski resorts have a way bigger issue in their hands with the climate warming up. And they don’t own the towns like they do in the US.
Meh. Let it be ruined.
Private equity tends to ruin everything it touches, no matter what. So, yes.
Climate change ruins the first 80%, what’s left will be ruined by PE
All those times you wonder why something that used to be good sucks now, the answer is almost always Private Equity.
My main concern is what kind of commitments are made by municipalities. Swiss resorts rely heavily on municipalities granting them subsidies, letting them use water for snow making etc. Big US corporations are ruthless in contracts and litigation and will eat any alpine municipal council for breakfast.
I don’t trust any of these elected municipal representatives or even the cantonal ones to not sign clauses saying the government needs to pay for lost revenue if they decide something that goes against the corporation’s business (new water lease, waste management, closing a road etc.). Those are farmers giving plowing contracts to their cousin or themselves not shrewd legal negotiators.
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The concept at Andermatt can be summed up as cheap pass, expensive everything on the slopes. I just skied there for the first time last weekend, and you could really feel the corporate atmosphere.
Vail owns Crans-Montana and Andermatt-Sedrun. Another company offers a similar concept with the Magic pass, mostly in western Switzerland, presumably with the same business model. It would be a shame if skiing in Switzerland ended up being a duopoly like in the US.
Edit: word order for clarity
Only if they beat global warming to it!
Tbh skiing in big resorts in Switzerland already feels like a soulless, pre-packaged, mass commercial experience most of the time… PE or not
Most of these issues exist already in the Alps without having the corporate duopoly. Day passes are becoming more and more expensive, a season pass for one single bigger resort is about equally expensive as an ikon or epic pass that counts for plenty of resorts, housing is basically non-existent, resort workers are coming from eastern Europe because they accept lower wages, etc.
Vail just bought Crans Montana. Granted it was already terribly managed before, but this could be a slippery slope, especially when you see the prices in the US. The owner of a station in the Grisons (i don’t remember which one) recently spoke out about pricing, mentionning that in 10 years we could see daily tickets around 200-300 francs, like in the USA (source: Tribune de Geneve). Although he didn’t say anything about the cause of the price increase, my guess is the incorporation of the EPIC or ICON pass systems. The even bigger problem is that Vail will own the restaurants, bars, and everything else, trully making the vibe more and more corporate!
“Capitalism brings innovation!”
The innovation:
In many ways, yes. But the ski resorts have a way bigger issue in their hands with the climate warming up. And they don’t own the towns like they do in the US.
Meh. Let it be ruined.
Private equity tends to ruin everything it touches, no matter what. So, yes.
Climate change ruins the first 80%, what’s left will be ruined by PE
All those times you wonder why something that used to be good sucks now, the answer is almost always Private Equity.
My main concern is what kind of commitments are made by municipalities. Swiss resorts rely heavily on municipalities granting them subsidies, letting them use water for snow making etc. Big US corporations are ruthless in contracts and litigation and will eat any alpine municipal council for breakfast.
I don’t trust any of these elected municipal representatives or even the cantonal ones to not sign clauses saying the government needs to pay for lost revenue if they decide something that goes against the corporation’s business (new water lease, waste management, closing a road etc.). Those are farmers giving plowing contracts to their cousin or themselves not shrewd legal negotiators.
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