Outdoor Enthusiasts: Helping Shape the Future of Ski Mountain Living

High Net Worth IndividualsLuxuryOutdoors

Aug 7

Request

A market research firm came to Zintro on behalf of a luxury ski resort and real estate development company looking to better understand the evolving preferences of high-net-worth outdoor enthusiasts. With several multi-million-dollar development concepts under consideration, the client needed to uncover what wealthy individuals truly value when it comes to owning or investing in mountain real estate. They wanted to run a survey with 125 respondents followed by interviews with 20 individuals based on their survey answers.

The objective was to uncover commonalities and differences across multiple outdoor enthusiast personas, from avid skiers to fly fishermen to golfers. The research centered around five distinct audience segments:

Group 1: Under 60, $10M+ in investible assets, ski ≥15 days/year at elite resorts (e.g. Aspen, Sun Valley, Vail), own or want a second home
Group 2: Age 60+, $25M+ in assets, prefer skiing at just 1–2 mountains, open to amenity-driven real estate
Group 3: Any age, $50M+ in assets, passionate about skiing and outdoor living (golf, fishing, hiking, hunting)
Group 4: $10M+ in assets, prioritize outdoor activities other than skiing, frequent mountains between April–November (off season)
Group 5: "Pure" outdoor enthusiasts, 75+ days/year doing mountain activities, open to full-time mountain living. Own a home valued at $500k+

The firm planned to run a quantitative survey followed by qualitative interviews with key respondents from each group.

Solution

Zintro activated its luxury lifestyle recruitment engine that successfully has helped get participants for hundreds of high net worth individual projects (read about: luxury credit cards, affluent homeowners, and luxury travelers), combining targeted outreach, proprietary expert sourcing tools, and a refined referral network approach. Using specific wealth indicators, outdoor activity signals, and lifestyle cues, Zintro identified, screened, and verified affluent participants across all five segments.

125 survey responses were gathered from individuals with $10M+ in investible assets across Groups 1–4
After reviewing survey data, the client selected their top respondents for in-depth interviews
Zintro also custom recruited Group 5, focusing on year-round outdoor dwellers and lifestyle-oriented primary home seekers

All participants were fully verified, and incentives, scheduling, and communication were handled end-to-end by Zintro’s project management team.

Results

Through 20 qualitative interviews and a tightly screened survey sample, the client uncovered a clear segmentation between "destination hoppers" and "home basers". While some enjoyed establishing a home and exploring the region outward from there, many others voiced a strong preference for global ski and adventure travel, highlighting destinations like British Columbia, Japan, and the European Alps.

Notably:

Over 90% of the interest in owning mountain real estate came from the ski-oriented groups (1–3)
Non-ski outdoor lovers (golfers, anglers, hikers) overwhelmingly preferred variety in travel, making them less ideal targets for ownership-focused strategies
The client was able to prioritize development concepts and future marketing efforts around the skiers most likely to convert on real estate investments