Skift Take

Climate change is forcing ski resorts to get creative to keep high-end travelers on the slopes — and pull in a new wave of customers. Now with the coronavirus epidemic impacting the end of this season, and potentially future seasons, the industry needs to do even more problem solving.

To say it’s a challenging time to be in ski-related hospitality is a complete understatement. Not only are resorts struggling with coronavirus closures, but they also must deal with a problem that will have an impact on the industry for decades to come — climate change.

In this week’s newsletter, Skift contributor Samantha Shankman talks about how the industry is trying to cope with warmer winter weather. Some players, like Keystone Resorts and Vail Resorts, are investing in energy-efficient snow-making machinery.

Other resorts hope to keep numbers up by appealing to a larger set of travelers — including millennials and Gen Z — to maximize the shorter ski season. That means opening more properties like Anvil Hotel and Cache House in Jackson, Wyoming, which have design and style elements akin to luxury properties, but at a lower price point.

And one of the best strategies to stay afloat? Position yourself as a year-round destination, marketing to hikers and other wellness travelers who want to relax among the mountains, whether there’s snow or not. Many resorts want to attract summer travelers this year — but with the number of coronavirus cases on the rise globally, whether they can is a big unknown.

For feedback or news tips, reach out via email at [email protected] or tweet me @lesliebarrie.

Leslie Barrie, Luxury & Wellness Editor

For updates on the outbreak, see the Skift LiveBlog: Coronavirus and the Travel Industry

6 Looks at Luxury & Wellness

Ski Resorts Cache HouseAre Ski Resorts Ready for a Warmer World? Climate change is more than an existential threat to the outdoor ski economy. It will take a combination of greener operations and smarter business practices to ensure its viability for decades to come.

How a Women-Led Hospitality Team Is Paving a Path for Africa’s Next Generation: For Africa to realize a lot of its economic potential, especially within hospitality, elevating women to positions of leadership will help power and accelerate growth. Asilia’s Dunia Camp in Tanzania, run by General Manager Angel Vendeline Namshali and her team of all women, is an example of this positive change.

Up All Night, Searching for the Lights: A Finnish Hotel’s Aurora Watcher: Overnight shifts are usually bemoaned by those who work them, but that’s not the case for Mikko Anetjärvi. He spends his nights on the lookout for something many of us only dream of seeing.

Relaxed Rules on Medicinal Marijuana Could Create a Buzz for Thailand Tourism: Southeast Asia’s biggest changes toward cannabis liberalization continue to unfold in Thailand. Some speculate boom times are ahead for Thailand tourism with medical cannabis now legal. But don’t expect ailing patients to flock there for cannabis treatments anytime soon.

Are Singapore’s Tourism Players Creating a Model for a Post-Virus World? There’s no fixed playbook in responding to an unprecedented global health crisis like coronavirus, but Singapore is a good one to watch when it comes to crisis management and tourism recovery.

Yonder Raises $4 Million for Nature Travel: Travel Startup Funding: Yonder, Airside, GogoBus, and TPConnects announced investments, showing that startup funding continued despite the recent global coronavirus crisis.

Subscribe to the Skift Luxury & Wellness Travel Report

Leslie Barrie [[email protected]] curates the Skift Luxury & Wellness Travel Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Thursday.

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Tags: climate change, luxury, ski, wellness

Photo credit: The luxury ski industry must adapt now that they face fewer snow days due to climate change. Mikael Kennedy / Cache House

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