Ep.15 - Evan Kovach of Mountain Creek Resort, New Jersey
- Andrew Zwicker
- May 4
- 5 min read
The Science of Selling a Busy Ski Resort: Pre-Sell, Price Smart, and Wining the Never-Evers
Imagine a ski area that is a 90-minute drive from 20 million people. It sounds like a dream on the business side. But imagine, literally millions of those have never skied before, and there is a massive volume of competing entertainment options.
In this episode of Selling Snow, we’re heading back to the East Coast and the hills of New Jersey. Coming off one of their all-time best snow seasons (Yes, New Jersey beat out many iconic western ski areas for snow this year), we sit down with Evan Kovach, General Manager of Mountain Creek Resort, one of the highest-volume ski areas in North America, sitting just outside New York City and serving millions of potential guests.
And what’s fascinating about their model…is that it’s not built on powder days or destination travel.
It’s built on the science of selling, introducing new skiers to the sport, having an epic terrain park scene, and being the alpine backyard for the New York metro area.
We get into how they:
Pre-sell 60–70% of their business before the season even starts
Use pricing and inventory to actively shape demand
Turn night skiing into a massive growth engine
And most importantly… how they attract and serve the never-ever skier—the people who are choosing between skiing, the movies, or staying home
Because if you want to grow your ski area in today’s market, you don’t just need more skiers…
You need a better system for creating them.
Now let’s head through the Lincoln tunnel and down I -80 for a chat with Evan Kovach at Mountain Creek Resort, New Jersey.
We pulled 12 Actionable Insights from this episode.
1. Pre-Sell to Control Your Business
Quick Description: Lock in the majority of revenue before the season even starts to reduce risk and control crowding.
How Mountain Creek Uses It:
60–70% of visits are pre-sold via low-cost season passes and multi-visit products.
Day tickets are then used as a yield management lever, not the core business.
How Other Ski Areas Can Use It:
Aggressively price early-season passes to drive commitment.
Shift mindset: day tickets = margin optimization, not volume driver.
Use pre-sold data to forecast demand and cap overcrowding before it happens.
2. Use Pricing + Inventory to Shape Demand (Not Just React to It)
Quick Description: Actively push guests into different time slots (afternoon/night) instead of just accepting peak congestion.
How Mountain Creek Uses It:
Adjusts pricing and availability dynamically to shift skiers into off-peak hours.
Night skiing + flexible pricing spreads demand across the day.
How Other Ski Areas Can Use It:
Introduce cheaper PM / night products.
Cap peak inventory earlier and incentivize shoulder periods.
Think like an airline or hotel, not a traditional lift ticket seller.
3. Night Skiing = Capacity Multiplier
Quick Description: Extend operating hours to effectively “create more mountain.”
How Mountain Creek Uses It:
Night skiing allows guests to ski before AND after work.
Supports 127 after-school ski clubs, massively boosting midweek traffic.
How Other Ski Areas Can Use It:
Even partial terrain at night can unlock huge incremental revenue.
Partner with schools/youth programs to fill low-demand periods.
Treat night skiing as a core business line, not an add-on.
4. Sell the Experience, Not the Sport (For Beginners)
Quick Description: First-timers aren’t buying skiing—they’re buying a fun day out.
How Mountain Creek Uses It:
Marketing focuses on social moments (fires, drinks, smiles) instead of technical skiing.
Recognizes many beginners don’t even ski right away—they socialize first.
How Other Ski Areas Can Use It:
Stop leading with powder shots for beginners.
Build campaigns around “winter experience” vs performance skiing.
Design base areas and programming for non-ski engagement.
5. Target the “Never-Ever” Market Aggressively
Quick Description: Growth doesn’t come from core skiers—it comes from new entrants.
How Mountain Creek Uses It:
Treats beginners and non-skiers as a primary audience, not secondary.
Uses data from an indoor ski facility to understand first-timer behavior.
How Other Ski Areas Can Use It:
Build a dedicated beginner funnel, not just a lesson product.
Track and market to first-time experience segments separately.
Partner with feeder environments (urban ski centres, tubing parks, etc.).
6. Localized & Cultural Marketing Actually Matters
Quick Description: Speak to audiences in their language—literally and culturally.
How Mountain Creek Uses It:
Runs campaigns in Spanish and other targeted languages.
Tailors messaging by cultural group rather than reusing generic ads.
How Other Ski Areas Can Use It:
Don’t just translate—rebuild creative for each audience.
Hire or partner with people who understand specific communities.
Identify underserved local demographics and go deep, not broad.
7. Lean Into High-Demand Moments (Don’t Pull Back)
Quick Description: Market hardest when demand is already high.
How Mountain Creek Uses It:
Increases marketing during snow events and peak periods, not slow ones.
Believes that’s when attention and conversion are highest.
How Other Ski Areas Can Use It:
Flip the typical strategy:
Don’t just discount during bad conditions
Double down when excitement is high
Use storms/holidays as marketing accelerators, not just operational stress.
8. Real-Time, Agile Marketing Beats Seasonal Planning
Quick Description: Adapt constantly—don’t stick to a rigid marketing plan.
How Mountain Creek Uses It:
Most digital marketing is adjusted on the fly based on conditions and bookings.
Avoids “set-it-and-forget-it” seasonal campaigns.
How Other Ski Areas Can Use It:
Build workflows for daily/weekly campaign adjustments.
Tie marketing decisions directly to weather + pickup data.
Accept that rigid preseason plans are often wasted effort.
9. Out-of-Home (Billboards) Still Work—If Used Smartly
Quick Description: Old-school channels can outperform digital in the right market.
How Mountain Creek Uses It:
Heavy investment in dynamic digital billboards targeting commuters.
Changes messaging based on weather in real time.
How Other Ski Areas Can Use It:
Use billboards where you have dense drive markets.
Make them dynamic:
“Snowing now”
“Escape the rain”
Measure impact through direct guest feedback, not just ROAS.
10. Authenticity Beats Aspirational Marketing
Quick Description: Show the real experience—even if it’s busy.
How Mountain Creek Uses It:
Uses imagery with crowds and energy, not empty slopes.
Even livestreams busy beginner areas—no hiding reality.
How Other Ski Areas Can Use It:
Align expectations with reality → builds trust.
Sell vibe and energy, not perfection.
Especially effective for younger/demo markets (social proof effect).
11. Diversification Is a Survival Strategy (Not Optional)
Quick Description: Build strong non-winter revenue streams.
How Mountain Creek Uses It:
Summer (bike park, water park, weddings) = 35–40% of business.
Pre-selling + demand control
Beginner-first growth strategy
Most independent ski areas underutilize at least one of these—and that’s where the opportunity is.
Equal visitation summer vs winter, with winter higher spend.
How Other Ski Areas Can Use It:
Invest in high-volume summer attractions, not just token offerings.
Look for experience-driven products (events, weddings, adventure).
Treat year-round ops as core strategy against climate risk.
12. Think Industry-Wide, Not Just Your Hill
Quick Description: Growing skiing overall benefits everyone.
How Mountain Creek Uses It:
Encourages guests to consider Epic/Ikon passes for bigger trips.
Sees itself as an entry point to the sport, not the end destination.
How Other Ski Areas Can Use It:
Stop viewing other resorts purely as competitors.
Position your hill as part of the skier journey.
Focus on lifetime skier value, not just your hill’s revenue.
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