Seminars

Opening Keynote Address – Kelly Pawlak, NSAA

State of the Industry – a Macro and Micro Perspective

From national to regional, sharing data and trends to help you understand where we are at and opportunities for the future.

NSAA Fall Education Series (FES)

FES Part 1: Control Your Destiny: Resort Operations in the Age of Nuclear Jury Verdicts

FES Part 2: Ski Statutes: Do You Know What’s in Yours?

FES Part 3: Regional Roundup: Claims, Trends, and Trials in your Region, and Important Operational Take-Aways

FES Part 4: Hot Takes and Key Trends—Unique Aspects of Risk Management

Reimagining Sustainable Slopes.  With Climate Change continuing to affect ski area operations, engaging your customers with NSAA’s Sustainable Slopes Program is good business.
Kelly Pawlak, NSAA

Climate Smart Snowmaking – The Role and Significance of US Snowmaking in a changing climate.  NSAA and its member resorts have been leading the charge on proactive climate action for over twenty years.  Learn about this important initiative.

Kelly Pawlak, NSAA

RFID Benefits and How to Manage the Planning Process
Regardless of the size of your resort, RFID technology can benefit and streamline your operations.

General Managers Roundtable.

For Senior Level Managers only.  Join this always lively discussion about what is affecting your operations and how others may help you with the always evolving challenges.

Rental Shop Panel.

Joe Yasis – SARA Program

This is your chance to discuss the issues that affect your rental operation. We will dive in to the challenges that can some times plague our rental operations and as a group discuss some possible solutions. 

Creative Staffing Solutions – Earl Saline, NSAA
Staffing is an ongoing issue for some areas. Culture, hiring process, and developing employee engagement are all critical to cultivate a strong workforce at any area. Our panel of area managers will share what is working for them and discuss their success stories and best practices for recruiting, onboarding, and retaining talent in the ski industry. Their valuable insights and strategies for attracting and developing top-notch employees are sure to inspire ideas of your own that you can adapt and put into place at your area. Don’t miss this opportunity learn what others are doing and find creative ways to improve your hiring and retention.

Ski Industry Jeopardy – Earl Saline, NSAA
I’ll take Lifts for $300. Combining entertainment with education, this engaging session will test your knowledge using a Jeopardy-style game show. With both ski areas and suppliers in mind (along with a little friendly competition), we will be exploring the different education offerings and free and low-cost resources available to help your areas and employees be the best they can be. The game board will include topics like human resources, safety, sustainability, operations, and lifts – all of which are available to you via your MSAA or NSAA membership. Go head-to-head with fellow industry professionals in a fast-paced, interactive format that will challenge your expertise with this unique opportunity to learn, network, and have a blast in a friendly and competitive atmosphere!

Understanding the Energy Needed to Drive your Snowmaking Success –  Ian Jarrett
There are a number of critical elements necessary to make snow successfully at your Resort.  This session will address the energy required to effectively drive your snowmaking efforts while managing efficiency and costs.  Please join us for this informative and educational presentation.

Kim Schulver, OnlySky
“Managing Change in Daily Operations- Keeping the Balance of People, Process, and Technology”

This session will take a look at the People, Process, and Technology Framework and apply it to how we run our business today. We are going to walk through how operational efficiencies can get out of balance when you change one without considering the others. I will also talk about how you need to design and develop your internal solution around the guest experience. Background- PPT framework has been around since the 60’s, before self service technology exists as it does today. This is still foundational for business efficiency but we need to adapt to the self-serve aspect of this.

Dave Gibson, Propeller   Join this panel of experts and see how AI can help you.  Any department, any level.  Its here and you need to be ready so you can take advantage of all that is available.

ChatGPT: Your AI Co-pilot in Travel and Hospitality Marketing
Mike Lannen – Eternity.

Pack your bags for a journey into the future of travel and hospitality marketing! This session is your boarding pass to exploring the power of ChatGPT. Get ready to turbocharge your marketing efforts, all while keeping your brand’s unique voice front and center. We’ll map out how ChatGPT can be trained on your own documents to replicate your brand’s voice. Imagine a digital concierge that not only enhances your marketing but does it while perfectly channeling your brand’s personality. Whether you’re a seasoned travel marketing entrepreneur or just embarking on your hospitality journey, this session will equip you with a treasure trove of insights, effective tools, and a roadmap for making ChatGPT work for you. So, come join us and discover how to create an AI that’s ready to take your brand’s voice to the next level. Don’t worry, the only thing we’ll be summoning is your brand’s potential, not Skynet!

 Three things attendees can expect to learn:

 1. Learn how to train ChatGPT in your brand voice

2. Discover how to plan your SEO, blogs, social media and ads with ChatGPT

3. Downloadable with ChatGPT prompt examples and tips to put into action

Dodie Jones- Citizens Climate Lobby –
Protecting New England Winters:  An Interactive Workshop on Sustaining Our Industry for Future Generations
As the effects of climate change become more obvious in New England winters, our industry has a unique capacity to advocate for effective and equitable climate policy. Join Laurie Manos and Peter Dugas of Citizens’ Climate Lobby for an interactive climate policy workshop using MIT’s EN-ROADS Climate Policy simulator to explore regional, national and even global policy options to protect our winter heritage and sustain our industry for future generations. We will brainstorm actions we can take to protect the winters we love. 

Kathy Brennan – PSIA-E
Snowsports: Recruiting and Retention.

Ryan Triffitt – Dirigo

A Technology Symphony: How to use your resort’s technology to improve operations, communications, marketing, and more.

 In this session, we’ll outline the way that resorts should think about their technology and data collection. We’ll outline strategies for ways to streamline technology and get all your systems to work together to create a Mission Control for all your messages. Most of the session will outline practical ways that resorts can coordinate their technology to improve their website, on-mountain signage, operational communications, and more. With so much work to be done with so little time, technology, when used properly, can be a powerful tool. You should never be fighting your technology. In this session, you’ll learn how your technology can become a powerful ally, and all your systems can make beautiful music together.

Colleen Debold – Seasonal Connect

H2B, J1 topic