Save on your next ski trip and find hidden deals with these tips to find ski resort discounts!
Every year it seems like the price of the classic ski vacation, spent at a resort, is becoming more and more expensive. In general, travel prices have increased each and every year to keep up with rising costs, but that doesn’t always mean that our vacationing budgets get larger to meet these prices.
When rooms go unrented and ski lift ticket sales are low, ski resorts do everything they can to book out the remainder of their rooms.
Ski resort discounts are often only advertised in certain circles, through specific vendors and for a limited amount of time, so here are some tips for catching them before they are gone.
Tips to Find Ski Resort Discounts
Keep Your Schedule Flexible
Before you begin looking for ski resort discounts, it is important that you keep your schedule flexible and travel dates open. Whether you can do a couple days or an entire week on the slopes, discounts often come with a lot of limitations or very specific travel dates. If you really want to take a ski vacation, but can only do so at a discounted rate, keep your travel dates fluid until something comes along.
Follow Snow Seasons
Early snow usually means less discounts for resorts in specific areas, because they can now take advantage of a longer season and ultimately book more rooms. Short snow seasons increases the need to book up entirely each and every weekend, so when there are a couple rooms still available near the end of the week managers tend to reduce the rate to get them booked. Follow snow seasons and patterns, because even though there may be earl snow, there might be a lack of it later, for various destinations that you want to vacation at, and ones that you don’t have on your list.
Book in Advance
You are always going to get a better price on ski resorts and lift tickets when you purchase in advance. This is also the best way to find discounts and deals, which will not be offered at any ticket windows wherever you end up.
Book Resort & Lift Tickets Individually
Sites like Liftopia.com offer lift tickets for hundreds of ski resorts around the country, and often times you can purchase them at discounted prices that are not offered elsewhere. Large, well skied mountains have smaller and less frequent discounts, but there are plenty of mountains nearby these popular resorts that are less expensive and might offer larger discounts. To save money, book your resort accommodations and lift tickets separately, which gives you the chance to try new hills each day if you find two or three options nearby. Liftopia offers discounts of up to 80% at resorts through the US.
Purchase a Season Pass or Multi Pass
Some ski communities have come together to combine lift ticket prices and rates through special multi passes, which allow you to use your pass for a set number of days at different resorts. These passes are often offered at a better discount than you would find on your own. Additionally, a season pass might work out to a better rate per day if you know that you can make it back to the same destination for more than one trip. When you combine a season pass with discounted hotel stays that you find, two or three weekends away run much less than a single weeklong visit.
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