Mammoth Real Estate News Blog

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Mr. Manduke has come from Mammoth Mountain Ski Area to share his plan as the new Chief Marketing Officer in branding Mammoth Mountain. What follows are brief statements made by Noah Manduke at the March 27, 2007 Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce Luncheon.

* Growth will come from driving the mid-week visitor, the destination traveler, not the Southern California weekend warrior. The luxury market strategy is focused on luxury meaning that as the visitor, you are asked for nothing.
* The process of branding will occur in 3 steps: Define, Dramatize and Deliver.
* DEFINE: There are focus groups being conducted to get a feel of Mammoth from locals and visitors alike. By early summer, it is expected that MMSA can answer the questions “Who is Mammoth?”.
* As resorts become more homogenized, it is more important to identify what makes Mammoth different from other ski resorts. If everything is the same, the consumer will go to the cheapest option.
* DRAMATIZE: Over the summer, there will be a visual system development and alignment work using the brand. This will be the bells and whistles that will publicize the definition.
* DELIVER: How do we interact with customers and deliver the Mammoth experience? It’s about how we make people feel when they come here.
* This branding will rely on cooperation from local businesses to present a consistent and pleasant experience. Each business must figure out how to implement the brand into their own daily routine to deliver a memorable experience to the visitor.
* One little known fact is that the household income of the Mammoth visitor is 50% higher than that of Aspen/Vail. The affluent market is not being served and that is what Starwood is here to provide.
* The airport, again, is a major factor and once operational, will enable the Mammoth story to be told to a much wider audience.

(In Grand Sierra Conference Room - Prelude to Tanavista Presentation by S&P Properties)

• Intent to begin construction on “1″ this summer (50/50 chance - has to do with construction costs and town fees)

• Per Barry Sternlict, “1″ will be like the “W” on steroids.

• Intent to begin construction of Eagle Base Facility next summer.

• There has been a 400% increase in water hook up fees.

• DIF fees continue to be a problem: Went from $8,000 per unit to $38,000 per unit. Group has worked to get fees down to $31k now and hope to get to $29k. Starwoods ideal would be $21k to make all things work for them. He mentioned this continues to be a problem because if the mountain can’t afford to develop in this town, who can?

• The hotel platform Crillion (pronounced Cree-Ahn) for Mammoth in site but many years down the road. Mammoth is not nearly ready for six star accommodations.

• Airport is not a question of if, but when. FAA schedule will not permit air service to begin until 08/09 season (December). They are preparing full EIS for the reinstitution of airservice. No expansion of runway necessary and maintenance building is being converted to terminal. Begin with 3 flights a day from LA (maybe Las Vegas and San Francisco). Should have definate answer in next 6 months.

• EIS issue is a national one. It is controversial specifically with the tour operators who fly sightseeing tours over YellowStone and the Grand Canyon. Yosemite being a national park is what has included our flights near the park in the controversy. It is the Park Service vs. commercial aircraft operators. They are trying to figure out how to identify and mitigate the issues.

• MMSA is weeks away from a LOI for the operator of the Sierra Star projects planned. The operator requires airservice to be running before they will step in.

• MMSA is days away from a joint venture with a partner to take over all of MMSA’s food service and catering

• MMSA has hired Temp CMO (Noah) to head up the rebranding of Mammoth. He is responsible for such rebranding campaigns as Lexus and Matel’s “Barbie”. Growth in ambience and culture is the theme.

• Liquor licenses are an issue if we want big hotels to come to Mammoth. There are not enough liquor licenses. MMSA holds 7 but says they can combine the whole mountain under 1 to allow the extras to go to their future developments but that does not help the local start up a pub/bar. Last liquor license sold for $378,000. Senator Cox recognizes the problem and is proposing an additional 10 liquor licenses for Mono County. Town Council will need to support. Kirk Stapp was not familiar with the issue but tabled the topic until he could do some research. Governor is expected to support the bill if proposed correctly.