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At Ski Butlers we could never quite understand how skiers and golfers could check their equipment for free.  Our lightweight bike, windsurf and surf boards have always been charged a $75 fee each way.  Forget about the good old days, fees for skis are here and they’re here to stay.  Over the past year, the troubled airline industry has been looking for ways to increase revenues, leading them to start charging for every service they can think of; meals, snacks, curbside check-in, etc.  You name it, you pay for it.  We knew it would come and it has now arrived.

With the cost of ski and snowboard equipment going up, skiers have debated whether to buy, lease or rent.  With the escalating fee for each bag checked, it now makes more sense than ever to rent.  If you can’t fit your ski boots in your suitcase with your ski and street apparel, you will end up with at least three bags; one for clothes, another for skis/snowboard and a third for ski boots.  The first bag will cost between $15 and $25 each way, the second bag will cost between $25 and $50 and the third bag will cost between $100 and $125.

Don’t worry about renting; it isn’t like it used to be.  Ski Butlers new in-room fitting service is the thing to do now.  No more trips to the overcrowded, dark and smelly rental shop.  Instead of wasting time standing in line, Ski Butlers will come to your accommodations.  While in the comfort of your lodging, Ski Butlers will fit you for all of your equipment needs. With extended hours of operation, you can be fitted at your convenience from early morning (7 a.m.) to as late as 9 p.m., seven days a week.  “It’s hassle-free,” explained Bryn Carey, President of Ski Butlers.  “Ski Butlers is in the business of making it easy to rent.  We are focused on customer service,” he added.  "Our goal is to take the stress out of renting skis and boards in addition to all of the hassles associated with going to a rental shop; standing in line, and lugging all of the equipment back to your lodging, especially if you have kids."

Let’s look at the numbers.  The cost of buying new high performance skis and boots at a ski shop is between $1100 to $1500.  The one way cost of checking three bags (clothing, boots and skis) is between $140 and $160.  While flying on Delta Airlines, the round trip cost will skyrocket to $380.  The cost of renting top performance demo equipment for four days is $236, so it makes sense to rent.  Under this scenario you could rent for five to seven years if you ski or ride only a few times per year for about the same price as buying or paying baggage fees.  Plus, you will have the latest and greatest equipment on the market and less hassles.