The usage economy will redefine the way we ski

Armed with their passes and their gear, skiers respond to the call of snowy tracks in the same way year after year. But the ski business might undergo a shift in the next 10 years. 

Today more than ever, a skier would prefer renting the equipment for use instead of owning it. What Parisian today would be willing to buy his Vélib for 150 euros instead of simply renting it for use?

At a time when most of the people will be striding across the snowy slopes of ski resorts, an underground revolution will slowly take over the white gold: the usage economy.

The majority of skiers already rent their skis and shoes and some resorts are trying time-based ski passes. The grooming machines are now financed in leasing mode and no longer in the form of credit.

There is no reason that in a few years the usage economy will attain new heights.

So tomorrow, people will have the option to pay for their ski pass according to the usage, at a rate that will vary according to the nature of the ski lift, its altitude, thus avoiding to be charged in case of snowstorm or days when they do not want to ski. The one who strides across the kiddy tracks will end up paying less than the expert skiing at higher altitudes. Vacationers will rent skis and shoes at a cost that will take into account the kilometers covered thanks to a GPS chip and therefore will be charged to the actual wear and tear incurred. The tracks will be groomed by machines that can come from low altitude resorts where snow is insufficient thanks to a market place allowing professionals to rent their machines punctually on short-term basis. Same goes for the drones that intervene during avalanches to search for survivors, because farmers’ drones are by default out of use when the fields are covered with snow. Even the bus that brought them from the bus station can have a second use during the summer…
In the end, the only thing the skier will still own are his memories of a wonderful week spent in the snowy mountains, glasses of mulled wine and gourmet evenings.