Located in the heart of the Rangeley Lakes Region of Maine, Saddleback Mountain is a paradise for snowsports with an average of 225 inches of natural snow each winter and 68 trails that cater to all skier levels. In the winter of ‘'20/’21, after almost five years shuttered, Saddleback reopened under new ownership and with a new partner in Spotlio. Together, our challenge was to rebuild the resort’s customer base after Saddleback’s period of dormancy. 

Saddleback was highly impressed with Spotlio’s team and Cloudstore for the ‘20/’21 and ‘21/’22 seasons. When they decided to transition to Aspenware’s e-commerce platform for the ‘'22/’23 season, they knew they wanted to maintain their relationship with Spotlio by layering Demand-Based Dynamic Pricing into their online sales strategy. With Aspenware, Saddleback has an e-commerce platform similar to its competitors and is also able to issue its RFID Flow card. Thanks to Spotlio’s seamless integration of Dynamic Pricing into the Aspenware platform, Saddleback Mountain now also enjoys a notable edge over its competition. The results speak for themselves: increased revenue, increased guest days, increased yield, improved predictability, and a clear presence that stands out from other resorts in the region. 

Building a Better Online Strategy

To entice former guests back over to Saddleback, Spotlio created a unique strategy to dynamically price 1-7 day single-day lift tickets for the ‘'22/’23 season. With Spotlio’s Dynamic Pricing integrated via API into Aspenware’s intelligent online store, Saddleback doubled online sales revenue year-over-year. Furthermore, Spotlio’s successful pricing strategy has catapulted re-engagement with Saddleback’s customer base, resulting in a doubling of total guest days. In combination, with offering flexible dated pricing options and attractive pricing models, visitors are now more motivated than ever to purchase in advance and return for more. 

What makes this partnership so successful is that Saddleback is an incredibly proactive client, intelligently leveraging reporting and regular meetings with Spotlio to evolve its pricing strategy along with its increasing customer base. For instance, one of Saddleback Mountain’s objectives was to increase yield. When investigating past sales trends, we found that tickets had sold well in higher price tiers during the previous season and, thus, made nimble improvements to the pricing strategy. As a testament to the effectiveness of our collaborative efforts, Saddleback was able to increase ETP year-over-year.

Moreover, with Aspenware and Spotlio, Saddleback has increased predictability by capturing more ticket sales in advance. Their average booking window increased by nearly five days in comparison to the season prior. With expanded advanced notice, Saddleback is better prepared to welcome new and returning guests for an amazing and memorable experience. 

What’s next for this powerful partnership

Having established a solid strategic foundation with Aspenware and Spotlio, Saddleback Mountain is now focused on achieving its long-term goals, which include ongoing growth in overall skier days and a managed ETP. With our collaborative approach and data-driven insights, we are confident that we can help Saddleback Mountain surpass its previous achievements in the upcoming seasons and realize the full potential of our partnership. The future is bright, and we are thrilled to be a part of Saddleback and Aspenware’s journey toward continued success.