Are the Powers In Mammoth Listening To What They Do Not Want To Hear?
John Bisnar a long time Visitor to Mammoth Wrote
You can share what I wrote with whom you want. You can use my name, just do not give them my email address. I get enough junk as it is. You can share and post the following:
Our family tradition for the last 23 years is to have two, 7-8 day trips, some mid-week trips and a few weekend trips to Mammoth each year. Before the children I skied Mammoth thirty to sixty days a year. My wife and I will usually enjoy a ski trip each month during the season. Our children started skiing and then snowboarding from the time they could walk. Over the years, friends, relatives, children's friends and then spouses have joined us.
It has become much to expensive for the family even when we are paying for accommodations and feeding them. They do not want their parents to have to pay for everything so that they can come along and have fun. Mammoth, at least for our family, is no longer a family friendly place to enjoy winter sports. It is just to expensive. During the high season, a good number of the Mammoth lodge keepers, service providers and eating establishments seem to have developed an attitude about us "flat landers" coming to "their mountain". Notice I said, "good number", some of the establishments are great no matter how busy they are.
For my wife and I, the increase is not as impactful. However, for the rest of the family it is a killer. It use to be that we all had season tickets. However, once we skipped a year of the season ticket, we could no longer purchase them in the Spring. What does it cost for a family of eight adults to ski for the day?
When you count the grueling and dangerous drive (is anyone aware of how many accidents and deaths occur to and from Mammoth each ski season), the outrageous accommodation prices (most of which are old, tired and seriously outdated), the price of lift tickets and food, the fun is seriously dissipated.
The last two seasons we have been mixing up where we ski. We found that it was less expensive and easier to get to Utah and Tahoe. We flew. We had our deposit down to purchase a half-million dollar time share in Mammoth when we seriously started investigating other resorts. We pulled our deposit and bought in Tahoe.
Especially now that some of our children are no longer in Southern California, it is much easier to fly into Reno than to try to get to them to Mammoth. With season ticket prices in Tahoe so reasonable compared to Mammoth, day tickets being less expensive, with accommodations more reasonable, with more entertainment, we have moved on. We will always love Mammoth Mountain for its varied terrain and our wonderful memories.
We have heard that the powers in Mammoth want to model Mammoth after Vail with its price exclusionary unspoken policy which caters only to the very wealthy. If it is true, they are doing a good job of it. Not everyone who can pay, will play that game however. The town's accommodations on a whole do not support the prices being charged for lodging and lift tickets.
Price gougers are the first to be hurt during weak economic times.
John Bisnar
posted by MammothResident1981 @ 3:53 PM
1 Comments:
Saw This Post & Then I Saw This Mammoth Times Article. Just wondering if the "Powers In Mammoth" Will ever Listen
Starwood and Intrawest make changes
By Lara Kirkner
Wednesday, October 25, 2006 1:47 PM CDT
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
Starwood
Intrawest and Barry Sternlicht, big stakeholders in the Mammoth Lakes area, independently made bold moves last week that change the way things are done in their worlds, therefore eventually making changes in Mammoth Lakes' world.
The Wall Street Journal Online announced on Oct. 18 that Barry Sternlicht, Chairman and Chief Executive of Starwood Capital Group, which owns a majority share of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, had taken a step back into the hotel business world with "a new luxury brand that aims to combine chic accommodations with an environmentally friendly stance."
According to the article, Sternlicht is launching a new luxury hotel company called "1" Hotels and Residences. The first "1" opening is planned for Seattle in 2008, and other hotels are expected to follow in areas throughout the country, with Mammoth Lakes designated as a location for one of the first five hotels.
"1" Hotels and Residences will be "designed to compete directly with upscale offerings like Starwood Hotels' St. Regis brand, as well as Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons brands."
Starwood Capital and a newly formed subsidiary created to operate the hotels will manage the first five hotels built, and the "1" brand hotels will be built mostly from scratch despite recent skyrocketing construction costs.
In order to set the brand apart, it is planned as "the first luxury, eco-friendly global hotel brand," and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) will serve as an environmental advisor. The hotel will be built to standards set forth by the U.S. Green Building Council.
"We wanted to do another upscale, chic hotel brand but didn't want it to be another 'me too'," Sternlicht said.
Locally, Executive Director of the High Sierra Energy Foundation Rick Phelps considers the new hotel brand is a "wonderful initiative." Phelps and HSEF are currently working on structuring a geothermal heating district for the Town of Mammoth Lakes, which, according to Phelps, will be a plus when Sternlicht's "1" hotel arrives in town.
The hotels will average 250 rooms and the company won't be targeting the lucrative group and corporate business meetings.
"While some hotel brands pay lip service to the environment by asking guests to reuse towels, and adding plants to a lobby, "1" is not using eco-friendly jargon simply as a marketing tool. Our intention with "1" is to build hotels and residences that are truly green and minimize their impact on their environment. We are excited about our partnership with the NRDC. Each property would donate 1 percent of its revenue to local environmental organizations guided by a steering committee with NRDC representation. All of our buildings will be built to LEED standards and all of our interiors will be LEED-compliant," Sternlicht stated in a press release from Starwood Capital Group.
Intrawest
Meanwhile, on Oct. 17, Intrawest announced that the proposed statutory plan of arrangement announced on Aug. 11 involving Intrawest, its shareholders and optionholders and two companies owned directly or indirectly by funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC had been approved by Intrawest securityholders by more than 99.9 percent.
According to a press release from Intrawest, "The closing of the transaction remains subject to court approval in Canada as well as satisfaction or waiver of other conditions specified in the Arrangement Agreement entered into on August 10, 2006, including approval by the Ministry of Industry under the Investment Canada Act."
The application for final court approval was to be heard by the British Columbia Supreme Court on Tuesday, Oct. 24, and if approved, the transaction was to be closed by Wednesday, Oct. 25. After approval all Intrawest shareholders will be entitled to $35 in cash for each Intrawest common share.
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