Yup, day tickets bought at the ticket window are expensive. Skiers at WB have been saying that since the dawn of time.
Here’s the thing, Vail Resorts strategy is to drive pre-commitment, 49% of the lift revenue is in the bank before the snow flies. That goes a long way towards smoothing out the financial ups and downs of a business that relies on the whims of the weather. That is why Vail has the ability to invest capital in the resorts they own:
Commit in advance and tickets are not expensive. A 2 day Edge card costs $209 (that’s $104.50/day). I totally get it, casual skiers don’t want to drop $1100-$1200 on a season pass, committing to 2 days isn’t a huge risk. A casual skier can put down a $49 deposit in the spring and the pay the rest in the fall.
VR brought in Epic schoolkids, 5 free days (yes FREE) for any kid Kindergarten - grade 5, no other purchase required, how is that making skiing expensive? If Mum and dad want to ski with the kids, buy 5 day edge cards ($96/day) a family of 4 could ski for 5 days for $192/day (for the entire family). Again, the key is you have to pre-commit. What Vail is not doing well enough is getting out the message on these things.
How many people when they are going on holiday walk up to the airline check in counter (the “ticket window”) and buy their plane ticket? Nobody, because they know it will be ridiculously expensive, they buy in advance. The more people figure this out about lift tickets, the better.
To answer OP’s question. If Vail buys your local resort, they would spend money on infrastructure (people will like that), they will put in place their systems, processes and business strategies (people will not like that). They will not fix your communities housing crisis or parking problem but they also will not make it worse. Skiers seem to be largely anti corporate and the community will have a field day bashing Vail. Change is difficult and there will be angst and bitching but overall, the lifts will run, burgers will get sold and the snow will fall. All the things that people in your community complain about today, they’ll continue to complain about if Vail buys your local resort, and they will be all misty about the “good old days” before Vail came to town and ruined the place (except for all those new lifts).