Where do you draw the line with resort entry $
Really? Which resort is the furthest from Melb CBD? Isn’t it closer to 4 hours? And I think the extra time we spend on the road is at higher speed and doesn’t that usually equate to better fuel economy?
Hotham and Falls are about the same distance - about 4-5 hours from Melbourne (google says it’s 4 hours from my place but it always takes me more like 5 with various stops etc). Buller is closer to 3 hours so it’s the day-tip/weekender of choice for many, which is probably why they can get away with asshole management and various other gouges. On the other hand, I think they dropped their early-bird ticket price this year?
As a local, I would be pissed off and it would probably sway my decision to ride there or not.
We are edging closer to entering the only ride OS crew, sad when such an awesome place is only two hours away.
If prices continue to climb, Australian snow will most likely be in NSW, its only 5 hours to Thredbo or Perisher from here…...
What a rip off!!!!!
And they wonder why people are savin their dollars and goin overseas!!!!!
You might be… but there is still massive amounts of people who can’t do that, want to do both or want to be a weekend warrior.
I love riding overseas but I can’t always just drop 2 weeks annual leave to go to Japan when there is snow 4 hours away with a group of friends who are willing to go every few weeks.
I’ve asked the question on FB as well, directly to Hotham, and their reply leaves something to be desired….
quote “The resort entry fees are paid for access to the Mount Hotham Resort help fund a wide range of visitor services provided to you by the Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board..
Did you know Resort Entry Fees help cover such things as:
•Mount Hotham ski patrol
•Village snow clearing
•FREE VILLAGE TRANSPORT •Traffic and car parking management
•Cross country trail grooming
•Waste management
•Environmental management
•And a variety of services provided by the Resort Management Board.
Now I’m pretty sure that most resorts have to pay for most of those things too. We get to go to the stakeholders meeting with the RMB, and once again, there will be some hard questions asked and some dodgy answers given, I have no doubt.
That is def a load of BS Tambo!!
Its Crazy!
Perisher and Thredbo have all those overheads and they don’t see a penny of the NP $$$ (someone correct me if I am wrong!)
I honestly didn’t realise the prices were that steep… makes flying to Albury a much better idea for Sept!
Anyone know how much the bus is from Albury to Hotham? and the distance/timing?
Pretty sure that Lift Tickets would cover those things?????
Resorts around the world all have to cover the same things with cheaper tickets!!!!!
Government Charges are the thing that makes it so expensive, along with liability insurances, and top heavy management that we have in every sector here in Australia!!!!!
Pretty sure that Lift Tickets would cover those things?????
Exactly!!!
Thats why i say BS to Hotham explanation!
Perisher; Paid for by business lease holders (not Perisher). Thredbo; paid for by KT (or maybe community center).
•Village snow clearing
•FREE VILLAGE TRANSPORT
•Traffic and car parking management
•Cross country trail grooming (excl. Thredbo -maybe Kosci walk-)
•Waste management
•Environmental management
Stuffed if I know who pays SkiPatrol.
Perisher Pro Patrol wages is paid for by the company.
Everything else (including equipment) is paid for by the raffle tickets sold by voli patrol!
Ah, there’s a misunderstanding.
In Vic, there are resort Management Boards for each resort, kind of like a shire council, who are responsible for those things quoted above.
Ski Companies are the major stakeholder/lessee at each resort. So they pay lease fees site rental, service charges etc, as do lodges, to the RMB’s.
I think the reply on FB came from ski company on behalf of RMB. Maybe.
Buller ski patrol is funded differently.
Hotham ski patrol, and cross country trail groomers all got a shake up 12 months ago, and there are fewer of them now. And like ozzy, there a quite a few volunteers.
And yes, staff pay to park vehicles, down near the biathalon area.
Perisher; Paid for by business lease holders (not Perisher). Thredbo; paid for by KT (or maybe community center).
Can you please explain this further - i am confused!
Business and Property Leasing Funds go to the Government!!!!!
Pretty sure even KT/Perisher have to pay the Government, as a part of their Lease Contract!!!!!
They then raise the funds from Bed Licences & Lift Passes!!!!!
KT sub let to the owners, and Perisher owners pay the NPWS direct!!!!! So maybe KT take a cut, I don’t know?????
I would’ve thought that all of the infrastructure came from the sale of Lift Passes, and other businesses owned by the Resorts!!!!! ie Shops etc!!!!!
Yeah - if i interpret what Spaz is saying then that means the Hotham lease holders pay significantly less??
ie to lease a restaurant space or cafe at Hotham must be cheaper than to do the same at Thredbo?
Not matter which way you look at it (since lift tix are relatively the same)
Someone some where is getting royally screwed!
I don’t know about th Perisher costs. I know that in the last few years, the costs of leases (ie site rental) has gone down, as land valuations have gone down. You pay on FECA (fully enclosed covered area). So if your FECA is 50square metres, it’s 50 times the base rate. To offset the decrease in funding from site rental, the service charges has gone up. My understanding is that rises should be in line with Melbourne CBD CPI (whatever that index is called), and is about 3-4%. Well the increases are more in the range of 12-16%, because of “unforeseen” costs. In a poor snow year, there’s the cost of farming snow. In a good snow year, there’s the cost of clearing snow.
To go back to Ozzy’s point about costing less at Hotham to lease than Thredbo, the Ski Company (not the RMB) has a monopoly on the place. There are very few establishments not owned and run by the ski company, and even if they are, they are usually in a building owned by the ski company.
I’m not really complaining about the day to day (well I am, but at least the daily cost is comparable) costs of resort entry, just why these 2 resorts, where the ski company is owned by the same parent company, ie Merlin, have such different Early Bird pricing on their Resort Entry product.
Its interesting though!
Because lifts tickets have always argued the have the same costs (and okay in principle lets agree with them)
On snow accom generally is the same
Eating on the hill is generally the same.
But with the entrance fess being the way they are I wonder at what point Victorians will travel to NSW (or overseas only - which will never be an option for me!)