Why/How we interviewed him: Sean and his family, which includes 3 children, love physical activities and spend most of their free time in the outdoors.
What hypothesis we tested: People who live an active lifestyle and the outdoors, enjoy skiing or snowboarding. What we really wanted to learn: If his family skis, what is their typical experience like? How do kids get involved in snow sports? What we learned from this interview: To Sean, downhill skiing doesn't provide the physical exertion that he prefers. He began doing endurance sports such as ultra marathons, century rides, and obstacle course based events in recent years, as they have gained in popularity. Cross country skiing provides a similar "burn" that he prefers. What surprised us: To Sean, downhill skiing and snowboarding isn't as fun as cross country skiing. He would cross country ski everyday if we lived in the snow. Also surprising was that the didn't want his kids to learn to ski because the risk of injury is too high. He had blown out his knee twice, skiing, and it has significantly impacted his quality of life. Other interesting outcomes: As endurance sports have gained in popularity, people may prefer cross-country skiing or snowshoeing to downhill skiing. There is more knowledge around injuries, which may be keeping people from picking up skiing or snowboarding.
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Why/How we interviewed him: Sarah has two young kids and tries to expose them to as many experiences as possible to see what they like. We were interested in seeing if parents with young kids are exposing their children to snow sports. If they have gone skiing, we are interested in their experience. If they haven't gone, we wanted to see why they haven't.
What hypothesis we tested: People who want to introduce their young children to a variety of experiences, will take them skiing, or snowboarding. Another hypothesis we tested, was that key factor in young children being introduced to skiing, is whether their parents ski. What we really wanted to learn: What is the ski experience of a family with young children. If they don't ski, why not? How do kids get involved in snow sports? What we learned from this interview: Sarah does take her children to Lake Tahoe several weekends during the winter months. However, she doesn't introduce them to skiing because she feels that it is too expensive, and the kids will have more fun just playing in the snow. She also brought in an interesting insight which is that skiing is a structured activity, and many parents are moving toward a free play model of recreation. What surprised us: Sarah was willing to take her family to Lake Tahoe, but doesn't introduce her children to skiing since she believes her kids will have more fun in an unstructured environment. Other interesting outcomes: Sarah felt that skiing and snowboarding are competitive sports and she doesn't consider them recreational. When we unpacked this statement, we found that the way that these sports have been marketed is a key factor in this point of view. These activities have been marketed as X Game & Olympic Sports, or as an extreme activity. It hasn't been marketed as a fun activity for the whole family. Why/How we interviewed him: Steve lives an active lifestyle which includes spending most of his time playing playing basketball, running, and cycling. He fits the demographic of someone who would enjoy snow sports.
What hypothesis we tested: People who live an active lifestyle enjoy skiing or snowboarding. What we really wanted to learn: If he skis, what is his typical experience like? What we learned from this interview: Steve was an avid skier growing up and was a competitive skier throughout his childhood and into college. His family went up to Lake Tahoe every weekend when he was growing up. Since college he has completely given up the sport due to the cost and the long drive up to Lake Tahoe. He has observed that the costs have gone up dramatically and the traffic has gotten worse since his childhood. What surprised us: Steve was an avid skier throughout his formative years, however he still gave it up due to inconvenience and cost. Other interesting outcomes: Steve typifies what statistics that various ski industry groups have shown, fewer people are skiing, yet revenues for the ski industry has been increasing, which means that costs for for remaining customers have been increasing. Why/How we interviewed him: Steve lives an active lifestyle which includes spending most of his free time running and cycling. He fits the demographic of someone who would enjoy snow sports. His family includes a teenage daughter is active in school sports.
What hypothesis we tested: People who live an active lifestyle enjoy skiing or snowboarding. What we really wanted to learn: If he skis, what is his typical experience like? Does his daughter enjoy skiing? What we learned from this interview: Steve introduced his daughter to skiing even though he doesn't like it. After a few trips the family stopped going because they didn't find it rewarding. Digging deeper, we found that he likes the actual thrill of skiing. The cold, the travel, and the risk of injury make the activity's risk-to-reward ratio too low to justify the effort of going. What surprised us: Steve brought up virtual reality, and that he would love the trill of going downhill, without the cold, travel, or risk of injury. We had spoke about V/R when we were exploring "How might we disrupt the ski industry." It was interesting to get this prospective from an interviewee, unprompted. Other interesting outcomes: Steve's main point of concern with his daughter's involvement in skiing was her potential for injury from this "inherently dangerous activity." Advanced Skier - goes skiing 8 weekends/season on average. Usually goes with friends.
Why/How we interviewed him: Maeyce owns his own equipment and has been skiing for a long time. He changes his equipment every 4 seasons. We interviewed him to understand the challenges faced by season ticket holders. What hypothesis we tested: Advanced skiers who own their equipment need a service to help them with skiing logistics. What we really wanted to learn: How we could make skiing more fun for him and his friends. What we learned from this interview: Hauling of equipment is not that big of an issue. He uses a overhead rack for his equipment to free up space inside his car. He usually gets season passes that cover a couple of resorts and stays close to the slopes. Once he parks his car, he uses resort shuttles extensively to move around with his equipment throughout the day. He wakes up early to hit the fresh powder and carries snacks with him that last him throughout the day. He dresses up fully at his hotel room so that he has to carry less stuff in a bag and can quickly put his stuff in the locker at the resort. What surprised us: How advanced skiers have figured out logistical efficiencies that helps them save time and enjoy more on the slopes. For them hauling equipment is a non-issue. Other interesting outcomes: His skiing activity has reduced primarily because of the time it takes to reach the resorts. He would prefer to stay closer to use his season pass optimally. Advanced Skier - goes skiing 4 weekends/season on average. Usually goes with family.
Why/How we interviewed him: Jeff owns his own equipment and has been skiing for more than 10 years. We wanted to understand the challenges faced by advanced skiers. What hypothesis we tested: Advanced skiers who own their equipment need a service to help them with skiing logistics. What we really wanted to learn: How we could make skiing more fun for him and his friends. What we learned from this interview: Most advanced skiers have figured out ways to deal with logistical issues. Jeff goes to resorts with multiple slopes that keep him busy for the ski weekend so that he doesn’t have to other resorts during the same trip. The most important issue for him is to keep costs low so he tries his best to reserve inexpensive lodging close to the resort. He usually walks in his ski boots and carries his equipment from his hotel to the resort since he doesn’t want to deal with parking delays. Since he owns his equipment, he does have to spend a lot on checking-in his skis/boots with airlines when travelling for destination skiing. He tries to book on airlines that have customer friendly baggage policies. What surprised us: How advanced skiers have figured out logistical efficiencies that helps them save time and enjoy more on the slopes. For them hauling equipment is a non-issue. Other interesting outcomes: Schedule and weather have been the major reasons for the decrease in his skiing activity for the past two seasons. Intermediate Skier - goes skiing 2 weekends/season on average. Usually goes with friends.
Why/How we interviewed him: Johnny belongs to the casual skier category and has his own equipment. We wanted to understand the logistical challenges he faces when he goes skiing. What hypothesis we tested: Casual skiers who own their equipment need most help with skiing logistics. What we really wanted to learn: How we could make skiing more fun for him and his friends. What we learned from this interview: Johnny used to rent his equipment before but now owns it because of the high rental costs associated and time spent at the rental store. His biggest challenge is grouping together with his friends and starting on time from SF for the ski trip. On the day of skiing, he has to ensure all his friends wake up on time so that they can hit the slopes early and avoid the queues. He books his accommodation on AirBnb since he tends to go with a relatively larger group of friends. Proximity to the ski resorts is another concern for him. When he lived in SoCal he found it much easier to schedule ski trips since resorts were closer but nowadays he has to plan early and spend more time driving which has reduced his frequency of skiing. What surprised us: How difficult it can be for larger groups to co-ordinate and reach the venue on time. Other interesting outcomes: He feels that trying to use any sort of tech related stuff on the slopes is terrible. Beginner Skier - goes skiing 1-2 weekends/season on average. Usually goes with friends.
Why/How we interviewed him: Sumit belongs to the casual skier category and rents his equipment. We wanted to understand the logistical challenges he faces when he goes skiing. What hypothesis we tested: The casual skier group is the one that needs the most help with skiing logistics. What we really wanted to learn: How we could make skiing more fun for him and his friends. What we learned from this interview: He has made a conscious decision of not purchasing his equipment because of space constraints when carpooling with his friends. He rents from the ski resort and usually goes for discounted deals from resorts that provide both lift tickets and equipment together. He books his stay close to the resort. His skiing trips have declined in the last few years because of constant travel for work. His biggest challenge is around finding bundled deals and booking accommodation close to the resort. What surprised us: How beginners have got around the issue of hauling equipment and other skiing logistics by renting from the resorts and staying close to the slopes. Other interesting outcomes: Since he doesn’t plan his trip very carefully, he tends to miss some of the accessories and would like a service at the resort that fulfills that need for a day on the slopes. Katsuki is a beginner snowboarder that has gone up less often then he used to.
Why we interviewed this person: To find out why he has stopped going/goes up less often then before. What hypothesis did we test: Snowboarders go up less often because of a pain point in the process, not for liking the sport less. We really wanted to learn about this: Would their be a point that he changed his behavior and started going up more again? We learned this from the interview: Katsuki lives in Japan now. Snowboard trips are much more difficult to plan and manage because fewer people have cars and must either go up in shuttles, train, or rent cars. This creates even more logistical issues that he did not have to go through when in the US. We were surprised by: Katsuki is recently married, and as a result has much less time than he used to. Weekends and free time must now be divided between his friends and her friends, and so much holidays and any other personal activity. Lack of time is one of the main reasons he is unable to go up. Other interesting outcomes: Cost is not really a concern, and is hardly ever mentioned. Most are around logistics and having the time to go up. Beginner snowboarder. Goes up 0-1 times per year.
Why/How we interviewed him: Lawrence is a beginner but finds the sport to be fun. We wanted to know why he doesn't go up more often and what could potentially change that would allow him to go. What hypothesis we tested: That most beginners actually want to snowboard more, but due to some pain point are unable to. What we really wanted to learn: If we removed some of those obstacles to snowboarding, would they go more often? What we learned from this interview: He only talked about the experience of snowboarding from the perspective of a group. Mostly about the bonding and socializing aspect that comes during the entire snowboard trip, and not really about enjoying snowboarding down the mountain itself. What surprised us: All of Lawrence's pain points related to group problems. Who's driving, who's car, how many people, size of the cabin, other activities, etc. Other interesting outcomes: Mostly other time commitments are the reason why he doesn't go more often. Avid snowboarder - Goes up every year, has her own gear, and tries to go every other weekend
Why/How we interviewed him: To understand how avid snowboarders view and plan a trip What hypothesis we tested: Do avid snowboarders find logistics to be a pain point What we really wanted to learn: How can the experience be improved for avid snowboarders? What we learned from this interview: Biggest pain point is that people do not commit until last minute if they can go on a ski trip or not. Not much concern with logistics which is likely because, as avid snowboarders, most logistic issues have been worked out already. What surprised us: After years of experience, avid snowboarders are not too bothered by logistics as a pain point, it is just normal for them now. Other interesting outcomes: She likes to explore different locations for snowboarding. This includes traveling to Washington, Oregon, Colorado, etc. to try out different resorts. Beginner Snowboarder - Goes up exclusively with friends and in groups. Always carpools.
Why/How we interviewed him: Joyce belongs to the casual skier/boarder category and we wanted to understand her pain-points and needs related to skiing and snowboarding. What hypothesis we tested: That logistics are a barrier to owning ski/snowboard equipment What we really wanted to learn: The behavior of those who don't own ski equipment and what's stopping them. What we learned from this interview: Carpooling is a standard of ski trips, particularly for college students What surprised us: As skiers become more affluent and able to afford ski expenses, (ie graduate college and get a job) they actually go less because of other constraints. Other interesting outcomes: People in the city who do not own cars are thus limited from owning equipment too, because they do not have easy transportation to the ski resorts Intermediate snowboarder - goes to Tahoe 2 weekends/season on average. Usually goes with family
Why/How we interviewed him: Jeff belongs to the casual skier/boarder category and we wanted to understand his pain-points and needs related to skiing. What hypothesis we tested: The casual skier group with own equipment is the one that needs the most help with skiing logistics. What we really wanted to learn: How we could make skiing more fun for him and his family. What we learned from this interview: His skiing activity had increased as his family became more proficient at skiing and felt more comfortable on the slopes. He loves getting away from his daily life and spending quality time with his family on an activity they all can enjoy. He would love to go more often but doesn’t have the time. His least favorite part is going through the checklist of several items he needs to carry for himself and his family. Besides the equipment he has to carry other paraphernalia like gloves, goggles, snow pants, sunblock, helmets, hand warmers, snow chains etc. and keeping track of everything becomes overwhelming. He replaces his equipment once every 10 years. For his son, most resorts have a trade-in policy in place once his son outgrows his. What surprised us: The amount of planning he does for every trip and the long list of items he carries along with his equipment. It was also interesting to learn that social dynamics had a big influence on the increase in his skiing the last few years. As his family got experienced, he wanted to go more often. Other interesting outcomes: He usually skis just at one resort and books his stay close to that. Intermediate Snowboarder - Hasn't been to Tahoe in the past year. In the past has gone with 2-3 friends.
Why/How we interviewed him: Samik used to go to Tahoe more - in fact 2 years ago he even bought his own new equipment, but hasn't been since. What prevents him from going despite obvious financial investment? What hypothesis we tested: Logistical issues are preventing Samik from going more frequently to the mountians. What we really wanted to learn: What would make him go back to snowboard this winter. What we learned from this interview: Samik helped us identify a potential competitor for a transportation company (Nacski - costs $55 for a day trip). He used to use this as a way to get to Tahoe more conveniently. HIs biggest complaint is how far away the mountains are from San Francisco and how long the drive is. He used to live in LA and mountains were a lot closer there. Scheduling time between his other activities is the biggest thing preventing him from going. What surprised us: Despite buying new equipment a few years ago, the amount of snowboarding Samik has done is declining. He's partially committed, but doesn't consider this a lifelong hobby. Other interesting outcomes: He feels attached to his equipment and wouldn't want to rent it to anyone else. Intermediate snowboarder - goes to Tahoe 3 weekends/year on average. Usually goes with friends.
Why/How we interviewed him: Branden is in what we guess our target market might be - the casual skier/boarder group. What hypothesis we tested: The customer segment that needs the most help with skiing logistics is the casual skiers (not the avid skiers). What we really wanted to learn: Are there needs in the casual skier segment that we could meet? What we learned from this interview: His favorite part about ski trips is getting away from it all and into the wilderness. He doesn't usually like to check his phone or use resort apps. He would still like to go more frequently but the main thing stopping him is the time involved with getting there. He owns his own equipment but it is about 10 years old and he isn't very attached to it. He might be willing to rent it out to others if he made enough to replace it after 2-3 seasons. What surprised us: Branden was one of the first people I talked to who didn't have a laundry list of different logistical issues he noticed while planning a trip or being on the mountain. He was lucky to have access to cars that can drive in the mountains Other interesting outcomes: He usually skis just one resort for one day in a weekend. This is common to others we've interviewed too. Intermediate skier - goes 1 weekend/year on average and wants to go more. No children.
Why/How we interviewed her: Amy is someone who only goes skiing once in a while but would like to go more frequently if her schedule allowed for it. What hypothesis we tested: The customer segment that needs the most help with skiing logistics is the casual skiers (not the avid skiers). What we really wanted to learn: Are there needs in the casual skier segment that we could meet? What surprised us: The number one issue that kept coming up for Amy was scheduling a weekend when she and all of her friends could go. They all have busy and conflicting schedules and it is hard to find a date that works for everyone. Socializing is a big part of why she skis. In general she has been lucky that she has stayed at the mountain in her cousin's time share so logistics have been pretty easy, but she realizes going it on her own would be a bit more challenging. Other interesting outcomes: Finances are also a slight concern for her and she's not willing to spend a lot of extra money if she doesn't need to. Her other main logistical issue on the mountain is when she or someone in her group gets hungry or cold and the rest of the group wants to continue skiing. Intermediate snowboarder who typically goes to Tahoe 2-3 times per year. Would like to go more often. No children.
Why/How we interviewed her: She is an experienced snowboarder and really enjoys it but despite having friends with a ski lease she has decided not to join in. What hypothesis we tested: Logistical concerns are preventing her from snowboarding more frequently. What we really wanted to learn: What is preventing her from going more often? We learned this from the interview: Megan's biggest frustrations around skiing are the traffic from SF to Tahoe, the cost involved with the activity and going with people who need to rent equipment because that takes an extra hour. She also has trouble storing her stuff at her apartment because they don't have enough space. She also doesn't have a lot of time between work and school. What surprised us: Megan doesn't have any emotional connection to her snowboard. She might still have some hesitancy around renting it to someone else though. It would depend on the risk vs. reward. And she's not sure there would even be demand for this. Other interesting outcomes: Megan said in her ideal world she'd just park her car at the resort and the equipment would already be there for her. Advanced snowboarder - goes to Tahoe 8-10 weekends/year on average. Usually goes with friends.
Why/How we interviewed him: Jameson is an avid snowboarder who has had a seasonal rental in Tahoe for the last 4 seasons. He has a lot of insight about what it takes to plan a visit to the mountain. What hypothesis we tested: People who ski/board frequently could be a good demographic to serve because they're spending a lot and dedicated to the sport. What we really wanted to learn: What needs can we meet for an avid skier? What we learned from this interview: Jameson doesn't really need the type of service we were initially thinking about offering. What surprised us: Jameson doesn't really believe that the logistics of skiing are that complicated. He has his system down - Getting a rental each year, leaving his gear there all season, driving with people every weekend after work and getting a season pass to the same resort. Other interesting outcomes: The one thing he said he would be willing to pay for is some sort of guaranteed rescue package. He's heard a lot of stories about there being incidents on the mountain where ski patrols can't find the people due to bad GPS signal. If there was some insurance like thing that he could purchase for the season that would offer him premium service in that respect he'd be excited about it. Intermediate snowboarder - goes 2-3 weekends/year on average. No children - usually skis with a group of friends.
Why/How we interviewed him: Kyle has been snowboarding for a long time, but has never entered the "avid" category. What hypothesis we tested: Taking a trip with a large group of people adds to the logistical concerns associated with getting on the mountain. What we really wanted to learn: Is there something preventing him from becoming more avid? Do snowboarders' needs align with skiers? What surprised us: How to get all the gear in the car with all the people is a big issue for Kyle. He usually carpools to Tahoe with at least 3 other people and he has an SUV but there's still not enough room. Kyle hasn't purchased a new snowboard in ~10 years. He'd actually be willing to leave his board at the mountain between trips and rent it to other users if he could make some money off of it. "My stuff is crappy anyways." Other interesting outcomes: Not having cell service also creates hassles when trying to find his group at the end of the day. |
AuthorThe Orca team is a group of second year Haas MBAs dedicated to bringing fun back to the logistics of group travel Archives
November 2016
Link to Full Interview Notes |