Indy Pass to halt 2024-25 pass sales on Monday
Chelsea Self/Post Independent
The Indy Pass will halt sales for the 2024-25 season at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, just 10 days after the pass opened up sales to the public.
It’s a repeat of the line of action the Indy Pass took last season when the pass also shut down sales less than two weeks after opening. But unlike last season, this year Indy Pass officials aren’t suggesting another selling window may open later in the season.
Last year, the Indy Pass offered two days at approximately 100 ski areas when the pass went on sale in April. During the off season, another 100 or so were added, allowing for the pass to open another selling window.
This year Entabeni Systems, which owns the Indy Pass, hasn’t revealed which resorts will be offered on the pass for 2024-25, but has in place a 200-resort guarantee with the expectation that the company will be able to retain most, if not all, of the ski areas that joined the pass in 2023-24.
Entabeni owner Erik Mogensen said the company will decide whether or not to reopen another pass-selling window in the fall depending on the number of resorts the company can pledge.
Support Local Journalism
“During the offseason, we will be working hard to exceed our 200 resort guarantee,” Mogensen said in a press release issued Friday. “Whatever we might be able to add on top of that will determine if there is any additional capacity for the 24-25 season.”
If the number of Indy Pass partner resorts is fewer than 200 by Nov. 15, Entabeni will offer pass holders a refund on any unused pass if that refund is requested by Dec. 1.
“A passholder can also request a refund for an unused pass by Dec. 1 if their favorite resort from the 23-24 season does not renew for 24-25,” according to Entabeni’s 200-resort guarantee.
Mogensen said the company keeps a target in mind that will allow for a good infusion of cash into Indy Pass’ partner resorts without causing overcrowding at those ski areas. The Indy Pass pools 85% of its revenue to be divided amongst its pass partners, paying out the funds based on the number of redemptions at those ski areas.
While he won’t make the numbers public, Mogensen said this season it became obvious within a few days of launching the 2024-25 Indy Pass that the pass-selling window would have to be short in order to not exceed what Entabeni has determined to be a comfortable number of Indy Pass sales.
“Based on our current pacing and projections, it became clear this morning that we will be near our limit on Monday and will cease all pass sales at midnight,” Mogensen said on Friday. “We could likely sell double the amount of passes that we do, but we won’t.”
The run on Indy Passes, which has occurred over the last week is also due in part, Mogensen suspects, to the fact that the Indy Pass did not increase in price this season, unlike the Epic and IKON ski passes. The Indy Pass is $349 for an adult pass or $199 for kids 12 and under, and gives users two free days at each of its partner resorts and a third day for 25% off the regular ticket price.
Indy Pass founder Doug Fish said after starting the Indy Pass six years ago and selling to Entabeni Systems last year, the pass has become the most sought-after pass in skiing.
Fish signed Sunlight Mountain Resort in Glenwood Springs in 2022 and since then the pass has went on to include four more Colorado ski areas including Echo Mountain, Granby Ranch, Howelsen Hill and Powderhorn Mountain Resort.
Fish said he was able to grow the pass so quickly due to the revenue-sharing agreement the pass has in place. That, Fish said, is what sets the Indy Pass apart from other collective ski passes, which appear similar to the Indy Pass but don’t track and share revenue with the ski areas where the passes are being redeemed.
“It dawned on me that it’d be a lot easier to sell these guys if we were writing the checks to them, as opposed to the other way around,” Fish said. “That was part of the ‘ah ha’ moment that led to the Indy Pass — what do these resorts need? They need more visits, and they need more revenue.”
But now the model has worked so well that the Indy Pass is in jeopardy of spoiling what it aims to promote — the independent, less-crowded nature of its member mountains — creating a difficult balance.
Mogensen said while the revenue from Indy Pass sales is important in helping small ski areas thrive, not spoiling the small-resort experience is the key to differentiating the Indy Pass from its competitors. This balance is what has necessitated the short selling window, Mogensen said.
“We will never put promotion ahead of preservation,” he said.
