What’s Broken in the Ski Industry. And How We’d Build a Resort Differently

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By Daniel Kaufman

The ski industry is facing a strange contradiction.

Demand for skiing is as strong as it’s ever been. Mountain towns are booming. Real estate near ski resorts has exploded in value. Lift ticket prices have climbed to levels that would have seemed absurd twenty years ago.

And yet, the actual experience of skiing often feels worse.

Crowds are worse. Infrastructure is strained. Housing for workers is broken. And the economics of many ski towns are becoming increasingly fragile.

The truth is that most ski resorts in North America weren’t designed for the world we live in today. They were built decades ago, when skier visits were lower, travel patterns were different, and the real estate component of resorts was secondary.

Today, real estate drives the economics of ski resorts. But paradoxically, many resorts are still operating with infrastructure and planning models that belong to another era.

If we had the opportunity to develop a ski resort from scratch today, knowing what we know about real estate, urban planning, and capital markets, we would approach it very differently.

The Problem: Resorts Designed for Yesterday

Most legacy ski resorts evolved organically rather than being master-planned.

Parking lots were expanded as demand grew. Base areas were retrofitted. Condos were added where land was available rather than where they made the most sense.

The result is a pattern that many skiers know well:

• Massive morning traffic into town

• Long lift lines despite high ticket prices

• Workers commuting from an hour away

• Base areas dominated by parking lots instead of real places

In many cases, the most valuable land in the entire resort, the base area, is still used for surface parking.

From a development standpoint, that’s like putting a strip mall on Fifth Avenue.

The Housing Crisis That Resorts Created

Perhaps the biggest structural problem in the ski industry is housing for the workforce.

The same real estate appreciation that makes ski towns attractive investments has pushed out the workers who actually make the resort function.

Lift operators. Ski instructors. Restaurant staff. Maintenance crews.

Many are commuting 45–90 minutes each way.

That’s not sustainable for a service-driven industry.

If you were building a resort today, workforce housing wouldn’t be an afterthought. It would be one of the first pieces of infrastructure built.

Not because it’s charitable, but because it’s operationally essential.

The Lift Line Problem

Skiers today are paying more than ever.

At some major resorts, a single-day lift ticket can exceed $300.

Yet lift lines continue to grow.

Part of the issue is consolidation. Large operators like Vail Resorts and Alterra Mountain Company have done an excellent job building multi-mountain passes that drive visitation.

But increased visitation without corresponding infrastructure expansion leads to a predictable outcome: congestion.

A modern resort should be designed around skier flow, not just terrain.

More lifts is not the solution by itself. Smart lift placement, distributed base areas, and thoughtful mountain circulation matter just as much.

If We Built a Ski Resort Today

If we had the chance to develop a ski resort from the ground up today, we would think about it the same way we think about any successful real estate project:

Start with the place, not the product.

1. A Real Town, Not a Base Area

Most resorts have a base village.

What they should have is a real town.

Walkable streets. Schools. Grocery stores. Restaurants that locals actually go to.

Aspen succeeded because it was already a town before it was a ski resort. Aspen, Colorado works because it has a real civic identity beyond skiing.

Too many modern resorts feel like outdoor shopping malls.

People want authentic places.

2. Transit Instead of Parking Lots

Surface parking should not dominate the base of a mountain.

A new resort should prioritize transit access from day one.

Large peripheral parking areas connected by gondolas, light rail, or electric shuttles would allow the base area to function as a real village instead of a sea of cars.

This also dramatically increases the value of base-area real estate.

3. Workforce Housing Built First

The first residential project built at a new resort shouldn’t be luxury ski-in/ski-out condos.

It should be housing for the workforce.

That housing should be integrated into the town, not hidden somewhere down valley.

When employees live where they work, the resort becomes a community rather than a seasonal economy.

4. Distributed Ski Access

Many resorts funnel every skier through a single base area.

That guarantees congestion.

A modern resort should have multiple lift access points, each tied to smaller neighborhoods and villages.

This spreads demand across the mountain and improves the skier experience.

5. Four-Season Economics

Perhaps the biggest mistake ski resorts make is thinking of themselves primarily as winter businesses.

The future of mountain resorts is year-round recreation.

Mountain biking. Hiking. Festivals. Conferences. Wellness tourism.

The mountain is an asset twelve months a year. The business model should reflect that.

The Reality: Building a New Resort Is Almost Impossible

There’s a reason very few major ski resorts have been built in North America in the past several decades.

Permitting is extremely difficult. Environmental concerns are significant. And the capital requirements are enormous.

The last major resort built in the United States was Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah in 1981.

Since then, most “new” resorts have actually been expansions of existing ones.

But if the industry wants to continue growing, it will eventually need new models.

Not just new lifts.

New thinking.

The Opportunity

For real estate developers, ski resorts represent one of the most interesting intersections of hospitality, infrastructure, and place-making.

Done well, they become generational assets.

Done poorly, they become congested tourist machines that struggle to support the communities around them.

The ski industry isn’t broken.

But many of the resorts we rely on were designed for a different era.

If we were building one today, we wouldn’t start with the lifts.

We’d start with the town.

And build the mountain around it.

A Small Teaser

And here’s the part I’ll leave you with.

This isn’t just a theoretical exercise.

Behind the scenes, we’ve been working on something that reflects many of these ideas, a new approach to what a modern mountain resort could look like from both a development and community perspective.

It’s still early, and there’s a lot to figure out, but we’re excited about the possibilities. As things take shape, I’ll be sharing more details here on the blog.

Your Ideas

If you’re someone who loves skiing, mountain towns, or thoughtful development, I’d genuinely love to hear your perspective.

What do you think the ski industry gets wrong today? What would make a mountain resort better designed for the future?

Feel free to send your thoughts, ideas, or feedback to daniel@danielkaufman.info. I read every email, and the best ideas often come from people who spend the most time on the mountain.