Skiers planning a trip to select New England resorts this winter can now buy cheap lift tickets in advance at
Best known for selling low-priced bulk quantities of items like ketchup, Cheerios, and canned tuna, Costco recently began selling packages of lift tickets and lunch vouchers to the Booth Creek Resorts ski areas, including Waterville Valley, Loon Mountain, and Cranmore Mountain Resort.
''If you used the tickets for February vacation week, it would be big savings," said Kathleen Bennett, database marketing director for Booth Creek Resorts.
The Costco packages represent one of the first forays by ski resorts into traditional retail stores. Most lift tickets are sold at resorts, with a small percentage purchased online or at hotels near the resorts. The Costco packages not only extend the sales reach of the resorts, they also work as advertising, effectively reminding shoppers buying groceries that the slopes are just a couple of hours away.
For Costco, headquartered in Issaquah, Wash., with stores locally in Dedham, Avon, Everett, Waltham, Danvers, and Nashua, N.H., the lift ticket packages are another way to offer savings to members, who pay an annual membership fee of at least $45.
Ticket sales appear to be a growing business for Costco. Locally, the warehouse club chain already sells AMC movie tickets, charging $18.99 for two adult movie tickets and two popcorns. On www.costco.com, Costco sells tickets to theme parks in the Western states as well as tourist, golf, and dining passes.
Of the local ski offerings, the Loon and Waterville packages offer the greatest savings. The Waterville Valley package features two lift tickets and two $10 lunch vouchers for $84.99. Two lift tickets alone at Waterville would cost $88 most days and $98 on holidays.
The third package available at Costco features four passes for the tubing park at Cranmore along with four $10 lunch vouchers for $89.99. The tubing passes alone would cost $76 at the resort or online.
One thing to remember about the Costco ski packages is that they don't save the user any time at the resort. The packages are basically vouchers that must still be redeemed for ski lift passes upon arrival, so you can't just pull up and start skiing.