Nearly six in 10 younger skiers and snowboarders, or 59 percent, find on-site equipment rentals extremely important on a ski/snowboard vacation, compared to 42 percent of mature travelers, according to a customer survey by Wyndham Vacation Rentals, the world's largest manager of vacation rentals.
The study's full findings are captured in the Wyndham Vacation Rentals 2014-15 Ski Trends Research Report, which explores today's ski and winter vacations. The findings reflect data collected from more than 3,000 skiers and snowboarders. The study is based on response to an opt-in, online survey conducted from Oct. 17, 2014 to Nov. 2, 2014 of people who have stayed in Wyndham properties or joined the company's mailing list. More than 3,000 of the 11,000 respondents were skiers and snowboarders.
The responses also suggest that younger participants find other outdoor activities outside of skiing more appealing when choosing a destination to visit than mature travelers. It confirms that snowboarders tend to be younger, earn less, travel more frequently to resorts and less likely to book those vacations early in the season than skiers. It also shows that younger travelers are more likely to travel with friends than older travelers.
The report breaks out behaviors and preferences of respondents, in a way that may be useful to snow sports retailers, including:
- 35 percent of ski and snowboard vacations are booked in November or December;
- February is the most popular month for ski and snowboard vacations;
- 71 percent of skiers and snowboards travel in groups of four or more and 39 percent in groups of five or more;
- Nearly twice as many, or 47 percent, are motivated to book a ski/snowboard vacation by a promotion, compared to just 24 percent who not snow conditions as a primary motivator.
