The hottest topic in the survey to date is the entry costs! HAHA! I knew this would be the most controversial question. Well, to be honest it is quite hard to make the costs any lower than what they are. I can juggle it round so that the price for ski/snowboard entry is lower BUT the cost of lessons higher........ But is that really solving the issue? Perhaps, cause you should be able to ski proficiently enough to go on your own after one (maybe two) lessons. So, make the cost of entry lower and lesson costs higher? What do you guys (and gals) think?
How about the cost of snow play entry? This is another whole different "can of worms".
I will have to rework the cost spreadsheet and see what I can do about the pricing. Feel free to leave comments on this blog entry about what your thoughts are on costing. Hopefully, some reasonable ideas can come from you guys and I can get something that works for 90% of people.
In terms of the costs for frequent usage, yes, this will come into it. I will definitely reward the people who come several times a year. There are several options:
1) Buy 9 get the 10th free,
2) Season pass (even could have different levels of season passes),
3) "subsidised" season pass (ie you pay for a season pass and get half price off the entry)
Plus other similar types of deals...
OH!!! For the parents out there - Children under 13 will have cheaper entry costs. Sorry for leaving that out of the survey (see, if the market survey was done by a professional company they would have picked that up! - HAHA!!!)
So anyways... feel free to comment (hopefully constructively) and I will see if we can get the price down somehow.
Thanks.
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well eric, i dunno what the entry cost is going to be exctly or the ski lessons cost (or i might have forgotten if it's ever been mentioned)...
ReplyDeletebut let's put that aside and look at your options for pricing structure. based on experience / observation from ski trips / amusement parks entries / etc basically there are a few costs involved (and some can be further broken down into individual components):
1. entry to the venue itself
2. essential gear rental
3. optional gear rental
4. protective gear rental (if applicable)
5. zones / specific attractions entry fees
you could add everything in or break them down, or mix n match any or all of the above components ... so actually that gives you a lot of options to play with. just need to get the optimum mix for maximum acceptance and maximum returns ;)
of course, as you've already mentioned there are also various optional components that could be packaged, either ongoing or for seasonal promotion:
1. lessons
2. group discounts
3. frequent visitors discounts
4. membership packages / season passes
5. family passes
6. access all areas VIP passes
7. school or clubs or community group packages
8. special booking rates
and then there's your community friendly children rates and senior citizen rates
not to mention perhaps a small shop for selling related gears, accessories, clothings, etc for the hard-core enthusiasts who would like to use their own gear - where you could also throw in membership benefits with purchase OR discounted purchase with membership ... the possibilities are endless ;)
my thoughts for entry passes - it should be as low as possible to make it attractive for people to "let's go take a look" as a ski field is something very new to the majority of the malaysian public, and make it attractive for them to want to come back for more. Your first task is AWARENESS at this point - and that means mass market. Give it away for almost next to nothing and they will come, even if just to take a look - and you do have an advantage here being the first and only operator in this country :)
i can go on for pages with the pricing structure and all the options you can possibly think of... but i think it'll be better if you don't mind sitting down with me to go over it - i do want to see this project take off and to be around for as long as possible :D
u know how to reach me...
cheers,
khai
TIPS: if you don't know where to start or just need some reference you might want to check out the pricing structure at places like the Sunway Pyramid Ice-Skating Rink and the Genting Indoor Snow Park for starters. That will give you an idea at least for acceptable ticket pricing for similar activities.
Thanks Khai.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I have set the prices at half that of the NZ indoor ski field and less than half of the Dubai one. However, I acknowledge that Malaysian incomes aren't as high as these countries. I think the general comments to lower the price can be revisited and like you said, there are several other pricing options to take. I will update everyone on the pricing in this blog at a later stage. But again, if I get more input like yours then I will be able to assess the price better.
Thanks,
Eric
PS Price in the survey is as follows:
65 for general snow play (likely to be reduced)
120 for skiing/snowboarding
80 for lessons
All of the above is inclusive of jacket, pants, ski/snowboard, and boots. As, I expect that no one has these in the early stages.
eric,
ReplyDeletethe prices u listed sound very reasonable :)
BUT... it will be a deterrent to a lot of people when packaged like that...
i'd suggest to at least separate the jacket/pants rental as some people actually do have warm clothing... plus the entry fees won't look as expensive.
how about something like this:
VENUE ENTRY, inclusive of general snow play - RM5 (concession rate - kids/students/senior citizens)/RM10 (normal price)
families, and students will find this rate very attractive, so you can maximise on people who just want to have an affordable day of doing something different. furthermore you're not likely to make any money from people who just wants to snowplay, so give it away next to nothing to attract them to come fill up the place, and get some additional revenue. ALSO there are a lot of people who are undecided yet whether they want to ski/snowboard so a low entry fee can entice them to hang around while their other friends have fun, and they might just change their mind :P i'm thinking along the lines of group of friends, let's say 5 wants to ski, 1 doesn't - if entry fee is high, you lose one potential customer who might change his mind or might rent or purchase other stuff while within the premises. Peer pressure and/or waiting too long / seeing others have fun can work to your advantage! If entry fee is high, that 1 person might not even enter the venue, whereas if entry fee is low, he might enter to wait for his friends because he has nothing else better to do anyways.
based on your RM65 general snow play price, i cannot imagine a family of 3, say parents and 1 kid paying UPFRONT RM160 (RM130 for parents + RM30 kid concession) for a day's outing... can u? whereas RM20 + RM5... for the price of a regular movie outing, that's attractive enough (and worry about warm clothing only when they get inside :P and if they want to scrimp on future outings they can always bring/wear their own warm clothings)
SKI FIELD PASS - RM30 (concession) / RM50
cheap enough for hard-core skiers / snowboarders who have all the gear to make it a regular activity - all they need is a ski pass
LESSONS - RM50 (concession) / RM80
lessons should be more expensive than ski field passes ... lessons don't come cheap these days! just ask around what the rates are for piano classes / music classes / art classes / tuition classes and you'll have a better idea how much people are willing to pay for lessons ;)
RENTALS
jacket RM15
pants RM15
gloves RM5
beanie RM5
ski mask RM10
ski + boots RM50
snowboard + binding RM50
this is where you off-set affordable entry / access fees with gear rentals - regulars WILL get their own gear eventually so your main market here are those who come to have a look or come once in a blue moon. It has to be cheap enough to not raise the total spending to unaffordable levels, but still enough to cover maintenance / cleaning costs plus make a few bucks per piece.
you're also giving people the option to scrimp on protective clothing (at their own peril!) ;)
my 2cents input based on the price u listed, which i think will give a balanced option package to attract everyone.
actually, what i've suggested would bump up the total spending a little FOR THOSE WHO NEED TO RENT EVERYTHING, compared to what you've listed... but because gear rental is optional, people are not likely to complain much, as they don't perceive it as being "forced" to pay that much, but rather as an inevitable cost of not owning those gear.
ReplyDeleteseparating gear rental cost also makes the figure look less astronomical at first glance.
and most importantly, once u get them in the door, most people will have the "oh what the heck, i'm already here" thinking ... rather than on the outside saying "that's too expensive, forget it!"
:)