Inside RAVEL "-1 a 1 D-12 Contact Assistant Life Editor Steve Kirchman at (920) 431 -8389 or skirchmagreenbaypressgazette.com Green Bay Press-Gazette Sunday, November 11, 2001 Bucking broncos on prison farm Annual fall event in Louisiana pits convicts against animals in prison rodeo. D-1 1 Taking off New York rolls out hot deals J. i V. 7 -V. Tourists heeding the urging of New York City Mayor Rudolph W.
Giuliani to come visit are finding bargains at more than 350 of New York City's best hotels, muse ums, restaurants, stores, Broadway shows and other businesses. They are participating in a promotion called "Paint the Town Red wnite Blue, a new version of the popular JJ MOD Photos special to the Press-Gazette Prices tumble as deals heat up on ski slopes in the Rockies Sliding prices Among ski areas where prices are on a downward slope: Steamboat, The cost of a five-night Rocky Mountain Vacations package for Christmas week, includinglpclaing at the Shad- ow Run condominiums, airfare from New York, lift tickets and airport "transfers, tias dropped 18 percent since the attacks td $1,037 person. Information: (800) 733-4028. Whistler, B.C.: A five-night Sportours package for the pre-Christ-mas period (Nov. 22-Dec.
20), including lift tickets and airport transfers but not airfare, is $552 per person, down 30 percent from $791 before the attack. Information: (800) 660-2754. Park City, Ski the Rockies, a Chicago-based tour wholesaler, is offering five-night stays in two bedroom condominiums during the regular season, including airfare from Chicago, for $755 per person, down from $905 before the attack. On a percentage the price for the premium weeks of Christmas and New Year's Day has dropped even more: from $1,200 to $831 per person. Information: (800)291-2588.
Vail, A Rocky Mountain Vaca- BY GENE SLOAN Gannett News Service Paint the Town Red winter celebration. For the first time, consumers are able to choose from "do it yourself" Paint the Town Red, White Blue discounts at businesses throughout the city, or they can opt for NYC Freedom Packages that combine a hotel stay with a Broadway show, dining, cultural and sightseeing options and parking discounts. NYC Freedom Packages begin as low as $157 per person for a one-night hotel stay, a Broadway show, dinner, discounted parking and discounts all over town. Salt Lake City rules on booze Olympics revelers who will gather at Salt Lake City's downtown 2002 Olympic Downtown Festival have been told what alcoholic beverages they will be allowed to drink and what is forbidden. Hot buttered rum is in, but Irish coffee and hot chocolate laced with schnapps are out.
The state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission also approved brandy in specially labeled cups, spiced wine and the 3.2 percent beer that is sold in Mormon-dominated Utah. Three special permits to serve the limited drink list were approved by the commission after city officials agreed to pare their list of proposed libations. Critics had feared many of the drinks would be too tempting to underage drinkers. BWI ranks as worst for delays BaltimoreWashington International Airport has the nation's worst delays for passengers waiting for security screenings, according to a survey by Travelocity. com.
The unscientific survey of more than 2,800 travelers since Sept. 11 found that nearly 60 percent of those using the airport reported a delay of an hour or more. The other top 10 airports for delays are San Francisco, Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, St. Louis, Washington-Dulles, Seattle-Tacoma and Atlanta. Wire service reports now isn't the only thing starting to fall at the nation's ski areas.
So are prices. While the ski season is just starting, worries about a downturn in bookings in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Washington and New York already are prompting some ski lodges to slash rates by 20 percent or more. I've never seen rates come down this far this early in the (booking) season," says David Tanner, president of Rocky Mountain Vacations, a ski tour wholesaler that buys lodging at bulk rates and bundles it with airfare, lift tickets and tions package that includes five nights at the Landmark Townhomes, airfare from Los Angeles, lift tickets and ground transfers now costs $1 ,120, nearly 20 percent less than before the attacks. The price is 1 based on six people staying in a two-bedroom condominium. Information: (800) 733-4028.
Gannett News Service was upbeat and booming. "Everybody is holding their breath waiting to see what happens when the snow starts to fall," Rosard says. "Snow is always the great equalizer in this industry" Still, some say the biggest factor as to whether a resort fills up or not and, thus, whether it discounts heavily or not is how reliant it is on airlines to deliver vacationers to its slopes. Industry watchers expect fear of flying and a desire to stay closer to home to keep people from booking trips to the most remote resorts. And even if people want to go, getting a flight to some resorts has gotten more complicated by the massive cutbacks in airline schedules in recent weeks.
United, which dominates flights into Denver, the hub for Colorado resorts, as well as many smaller ski area airports, plans to reduce its schedule for winter by 27 percent bad news that is only tempered by the fact that the airlines haven't cut back as drastically at many smaller airports. In many cases, resorts have longstanding "revenue guarantee" agreements with airlines that make them whole if people don't book. "It doesn't make sense to cancel these," Cygielman notes. "The airlines have very little to lose." Some say the desire to stay closer to home actually could boost business at resorts that cater to the "drive-in" market, such as those in New England. "The big question is, will we see greater demand as a result of this environment," says Michael Cobb, a vice president at Stratton in Vermont, which is 3 hours by car from Boston and 4 hours from New York City.
Already, bookings are running "slightly ahead" of this time last year, Cobb says, and so the resort isn't discounting any more than usual for this time of year. "You certainly could make the case that there are some people who typically fly on vacation who are deciding to stay on the East Coast." For some resorts, the situation is a mixed blessing. At Vail's four resorts, for instance, 52 percent of customers come by airplane; 48 percent by car. "Clearly, the business we're trying to put some life into is the business that is at risk, which is the fly-in business," Aron says. "If anything, Sept.
11 should increase the number of people driving in to our resorts, because these people won't be flying elsewhere as much." ground transportation to sell to cus tomers. Tanner and other wholesalers say ski lodges are faxing their offices daily offer ing last-minute price reductions, particu larly for the early part of the season. And in what some say is a sign of growing panic over large blocks of unfilled rooms, some lodges even are offering deals for the period around Christmas, which normally sells at a premium. We usually don promote Christmas at all because it always sells out," says Bruce Rosard, president of Moguls Mountain Travel, a Boulder, wholesaler that sells trips to more than 80 resorts. "But this year we're really promoting it hard." before the ski season got going.
But some say it's becoming increasingly clear that discounting of the sort being seen in the cruise business and at warm-weather resorts will be needed to keep the slopes humming this winter. Adam Aron, CEO of Vail Resorts, the nation's largest ski company, says many are waiting to see if bookings pick up in the next few weeks before dropping prices. By this time of year, Vail normally has about a third of its business for the coming season on the books. But advance bookings for the season are about 15 percent to 20 percent below last year's pace, he says. "In the last few weeks, (the bookings pace) has started to build back," says Aron.
"The fact that things have started getting better has made people want to hang on a few more' weeks" before price slashing. Aron says the company, which operates four of the industry's most visited re sorts, all in Colorado Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone and Breckenridge has stepped up promotion of a 10-day ticket package that costs $32 a day (more than 50 percent off the regular price of $67). The deal existed before the attacks but was not widely promoted. Lance Cygielman, president of Ski Vacation Planners, a Jackson, tour wholesaler, says some ski areas "are waiting on the sidelines to see how their snow develops" before discounting, hoping that banner snows will cause a rush of last-minute bookings. Wholesalers note that the ski industry historically has been far more affected by weather, particularly early season snowfall totals, than other segments of the vacation industry such as cruise lines and beach resorts.
Heavy snowfalls at the right time haVe caused booking booms even during the worst of economic times. Lousy snow years, by contrast, have caused downturns even when the nation Tanner says many ski lodges also are loosening up minimum stay requirements that are common for major holidays such as Christmas. "Where previously a lodge would have required seven nights at Christmas, they're willing to entertain five or even four nights." Ski resorts, of course, were closed for the season during the terrorist attacks and subsequent decline in travel, and many executives had hoped that Ameri cans would regain their appetite for trips TM (APPLE VACATIONS Best Prices for Winter vacations IAST WEEK! Book by Nov. 17 Save Hundreds! Since I'thO A 'mi You an rust 1 WORLD TR AVE Blue Bav flub Puerto Vallarta 4 AU-MCUISIVEI Includn I dnnM. irttviporta PLUS savaMM par couplal Ocean-view room! Renaissance Jamaica Grande Resort 5 OchoRioiAU-INCLUJIVEl This resort features five restaurants, eight bars, three poors, swinvup bar ft more! Includes Iberostar Punta Canas ALMNCLUSIVEI Th mot featum restauranti.
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