‘We listened’: Mt. Bachelor revises disputed parking reservation system

Four weeks of parking available; more spots opened for afternoon arrivals

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Less than two weeks after Mt. Bachelor opened for the season, the resort announced several changes and refinements to its new parking reservation system, which was designed to limit skiers and snowboarders amid the COVID-19 pandemic and has sparked criticism.

Among the criticisms raised is one in a petition signed by some 1,600 people that calls for Outplay 365 pass-holders to not have unlimited parking, while other season pass-holders have to use the reservation system.

Here's the text of an email sent Saturday to passholders:

With over 115 inches of snowfall so far this season and a great forecast in store for the holidays, Mother Nature has kicked off the winter with a bang! Lifts are spinning from Cloudchaser to Northwest and we are grooming 56 km of Nordic trails daily. Guests have embraced our "Back to Basics" safe operating plan by coming prepared, using cars as a home base, and staying masked up at all times. If every guest continues to do their part and stay safe, we will be skiing and riding straight through until May. We spent 10 months planning and we’ve now successfully been open for 12 days….we opened, we monitored, we listened, and we have updates!

1. More 'Advance Day' Parking Available — Starting Monday, December 21 at 6:00 p.m we will release additional inventory for 28 days (4 weeks) out, so you can plan ahead! We will follow this cadence each Monday at 6:00 p.m. by adding one additional week of inventory to the previously released three weeks. Each Monday we'll release inventory for the 28 days ahead.

2. Continuous Rolling Inventory — What does this mean? As we approach any given ski day we will release additional parking inventory, as early as a few days prior up until the morning of your intended ski day, based on weather, wind, terrain footprint and a handful of other variables that will affect skier volume at the mountain. If we are open from Cloudchaser to Northwest and lifts are running at full speed, we will be able to host more guests (more availability) while still enabling proper physical distancing across the resort. 

3. Keep the Karma Coming — Guests have been awesome about cancelling for karma! We are seeing hundreds of reservations turn over each day with the most common window for cancellations being between 6:30 p.m. the night before to 7:00 a.m. on the day-of. Keep checking the ParkWhiz app or the Mt. Bachelor parking page to grab one of these open spaces! 

4. NEW! Afternoon Inventory Release — Based on the number of guests departing the resort and other variables, such as weather and wind forecast, we will be releasing additional inventory for afternoon arrivals. For example, if it's bluebird with light winds, we’ll open more spaces, but increasing wind, weather, or potential rain throughout the day means we may not release spaces for that afternoon. Check daily starting late morning to lock in those post-lunch laps!

5. No-Show Policy — The first time you no-show on a reservation we'll send you a courtesy warning; the second time you'll lose your next reservation, and three or more no-shows will result in the loss of all future bookings. If you are sick — stay home! But like work, be sure to “call in sick” by cancelling your reservation by 7:00 a.m. If you miss that window, please email parking@mtbachelor.com within 24 hours so you do not receive a no-show penalty. Learn more about our No-Show Policy on our website.

6. Monitoring System Abuse — We are actively cross-referencing data sources on a daily basis and identifying guests that have bookings well beyond the allowed reservations per guest. These guests will be followed up with directly and advised to self-manage their reservations. In blatant abuse cases, future reservations will be cancelled or pass privileges may be removed. 

7. Reservation Reminders — We recommend booking on the Mt. Bachelor website for your first reservation and then using the ParkWhiz app thereafter as the tool of choice for self-managing and cancelling reservations. All guests are now receiving reservation reminders 48 hours in advance of their scheduled booking.

Thank you for your patience and support of Mt. Bachelor. Keep doing your snow dances and we'll see you on the mountain.