Swiss Consumer Protection Criticizes Snowsport Dynamic Pricing

Swiss consumer protection criticizes dynamic prices. Ski areas with dynamic prices: movement primarily upwards

Swiss consumer protection says:

"Dynamic prices in ski areas annoy consumers - because you often have the impression that they are highest exactly when you want to hit the slopes yourself. The consumer protection survey shows - unsurprisingly - that ski passes are actually most expensive on weekends, public holidays and school sports holidays. In addition, they are also very non-transparent when it comes to ski areas without a maximum price.

If you want to go into the mountains and onto the slopes again at Easter, you would do well to take care of your ski passes now. At least if the destination of the ski day is an area where dynamic ticket prices have been introduced. You can usually get away cheaper during the week and in less than ideal weather conditions, but you pay significantly more during busy days. Easter is probably one of the latter.

Consumer protection monitored the prices of nine Swiss ski resorts with a dynamic pricing model in winter for two months and found the following:

• Around two or three weeks before the ski day, prices begin to rise more quickly, with the biggest price increase occurring in the last six or seven days. This particularly applies to public holidays, school sports holidays and weekends. The price increase is often smaller on weekdays.
• The price level for Christmas/New Year, the school sports holidays and weekends is usually set higher before the start of the season.

It is helpful if the ski areas have at least set a maximum price. Anyone who wants to buy a ticket will at least know whether they have to pay close to the pain threshold. Five of the ski areas observed do not communicate such a maximum price for their tickets.

So consumers cannot really win or save. If you buy your tickets early, bad weather can still throw a wrench in your plans. In most cases, approximate trends can only be identified a week in advance.

For consumer protection, fixed prices are still the best choice: They are reliable, transparent, can be compared and do not penalize those who do not have the opportunity to hit the slopes, ski or board during the week in January stand - i.e. most people who do sports.

Consumer protection calls on ski areas to forego dynamic pricing models and not to abuse them for hidden price increases. Consumer protection requires ski areas with dynamic pricing models to make price developments transparent across all seasons."