A number of season pass holders at Mount St. Louis Moonstone (MSLM) have taken to social media to express their frustrations with the resort for changing its refund policy three times in recent months.
On Aug. 24, season pass holders were given a pass assurance policy that stated if the Government of Ontario, Ministry of Health, and or other provincial or local public health authorities require or force the closure of regular ski resort operations at MSLM for longer than a 14-day period due to COVID-19 state of emergency guidelines, MSLM would refund their pass holders for 100% of their purchase if the shutdown happened before Dec. 1, 70% if a shutdown happened from Dec. 2 to Jan. 1, 40% from Jan 2. to Feb. 1, and 20% from Feb. 2 to March 1.
On Dec. 21, MSLM offered skiers a refund of 100% of their pass purchase, or the option to retain their pass for the remainder of the 2020/21 season and a 30% discount for a pass next season.
On Jan 18, MSLM decided to change the policy again, offering skiers a 100% refund if they had not skied before the Dec. 26 province-wide lockdown, a 70% refund if they skied one to three times, and a 40% refund if they skied four to six times, with no option to retain a pass if the resort is able to open later this winter.
A frustrated season pass holder with MSLM would only comment anonymously; he says his friends have been told that if they complain publicly they will be blacklisted.
“They were told to go to Horseshoe, or go somewhere else, and then they were told they would be banned from riding there even though they are a long-time customer,” he explained.
The man says he was willing to take a hit from his season pass this year because the resort is locally owned and operated, but he disagrees with people being penalized retroactively for using their pass.
“The real kick in the teeth is if they are able to re-open, every single season pass is invalid. Whether I have accepted the refund or not, I will have to pay full price the rest of the year,” he said.
“I don’t even care if I lost two months of the season. I don’t want to have to pay $85 a day, especially when the refund they are giving me is only worth 40% of the pass that I paid for.”
The man says he is not sure if he will be a returning customer to MSLM in the future.
“It’s hard because I enjoy the resort, the employees are great, the conditions are the best in the area, but this has been a really bad experience. It does seem out of character,” he said.
It's more than skiing and snowboarding. It's our livelihood. It's our localncommunity. It's the reason we thrive in winter. Stay home. Our season is in your hands. #skiONrideON #gowherethesnowis
— MtStLouisMoonstone (@MtStLouis) January 28, 2021
📽cred: Brian Hunt Visual Media pic.twitter.com/qVRshaRVqy
Sarah Huter, who is the assistant general manager at the Oro-Medonte ski hill, says the resort holds the right to change the refund policy without any notice.
“We are all struggling in this situation and that includes the ski resort - not just our customers. Their frustration should be taken to the Ontario government who has put us in this position,” she said.
Huter disputes that her staff threatened any customers of being blacklisted.
“My staff would have never said anything like that. Anybody is free to speak to the media. MSLM is also free to decide who our customers can be. As long as we are not violating any human rights codes, we can choose to sell or not sell anyone a season pass,” she said.
“Consumers have a right to choose where they want to ski. If they are complaining about MSLM, there are other choices for them.”
MSLM laid off 495 people just two days before Christmas, as well as all 35 year-round employees, Huter explained.
Currently, the resort is looking at $5.2 million in losses just in revenue lost from seasons passes and lift tickets. Being closed over the Christmas holidays represented a loss of 45% of their revenue for the season.
However, the resort will continue pouring money into the resort to make sure the hills are ready to go when and if the provincial government pulls their ban on alpine ski resorts later this winter, she vowed.
“We are confident that we will put the most investment into our hill than any other ski resort in the province, and as a result, we will have the best lifts, the best grooming, the best snowmaking conditions, and we hope that would be the reason consumers would choose our mountain,” Huter said.
“MSLM is trying the best that we can. We are trying to do what’s best for our customers, our staff, and for the communities in which we serve.”
Huter hopes MSLM seasons pass holders can understand the changes in their refund policy, which are direct responses to recent government lockdown announcements that continue to put this ski season more and more in doubt.
“We hope our guests can understand that at this point, we are in survival mode. We are not a large corporation, we do not have an enormous parent company in Colorado that can bail us out,” she said.
“We hope our guests know we will do what’s best for them, and best for our ski resort to ensure that it is here for future winter seasons.”
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