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Skiing is becoming more expensive in Switzerland and Austria. Dynamic pricing models help ski areas in particular.
Author: Philipp Schrämmli
“Electricity, oil, staff – everything has become more expensive,” says Reto Wyss, the marketing manager of the Arosa Lenzerheide ski area. Previously, the ski area had refrained from raising prices for three years, but now there is no other option.
Prices are also rising in the Zermatt-Matterhorn region, confirms communications manager Céline Meier. The argument is similar. Costs have increased and investments in infrastructure are essential.
Situation in Austria
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It’s not just in Switzerland that prices for skiing are rising. Günther Zangerl from Silvretta Bergbahnen attributes this primarily to inflation in Ischgl. Inflation was particularly high in the energy sector. Therefore, a day ticket in the ski area costs 72 euros next season, 7.5 percent more than last year.
However, the prices should not have to be increased so much every year. Zangerl is counting on a decline in high inflation so that price increases can be more moderate in the future.
There are also problems caused by climate change. Warm winters shorten the ski season, which means that ski areas have to get more out of fewer ski days. In addition, more work will be necessary, explains Meier: “The slopes have to be prepared and snow-covered. With climate change, this is becoming more and more common.”
Dynamic pricing models are booming
More and more ski areas are setting their prices dynamically. A day pass costs less in the off-season or in bad weather, but more on peak days. Around half of the large Swiss ski areas now rely on such a system.
Since this season, Adelboden-Lenk has also been relying on dynamic prices. The goal is to be able to better direct the flow of visitors, says Stefanie Inniger, media spokeswoman for Adelboden-Lenk: “On peak days we try to take a bit of countermeasure. And skiing should be priced more attractively in the off-season.”
With dynamic prices, the ski areas only have in mind the maximization of profits.
Dynamic pricing models are actually hidden price increases, criticizes Sara Stalder from the Foundation for Consumer Protection (SKS). The average price for a day ticket in these ski areas usually increases with dynamic prices.
Stalder explains this in more detail: “With dynamic prices, the ski areas only have in mind the maximization of profits. Early bird discounts with dynamic pricing models are also just a pretextual argument. Because such offers already existed before the dynamic pricing models.
External factors also influence financial income
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Three questions for SRF business editor Matthias Heim about the dynamic pricing model in the ski areas:
Are dynamic prices nothing more than hidden price increases?
It can be assumed that ski areas can earn slightly more with dynamic pricing models than with fixed prices. However, the mountain railways rarely provide detailed insight into their business figures. However, external factors such as enough snow or the weather have a much greater influence on financial income.
With dynamic prices you never really know where you stand. Do the ski areas also risk losing customers?
Yes, especially with families. The aspect of customer friendliness or customer feedback is the reason why some ski areas want to stick with fixed prices, especially smaller and medium-sized ski areas.
What differentiates dynamic pricing in the airline industry and ski resorts?
In the airline industry, prices effectively rise and fall. That’s the big difference to the ski areas. Because there is usually a starting price and from there the price increases more or less, depending on the weather, day of the week or crowds. However, the prices do not fall again, at most they even fall below the starting price. This can certainly happen in the airline industry.