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Resort operators don't care whether skiers can burn up the slopes, as long as they can keep the beds warm.

One of the primary goals of redeveloping a ski area's base is the avoidance of "cold," or empty, beds. Hot beds, those that have a high occupancy rate, are good -- and if it's hot beds that Steamboat is after, Bill Kane has some advice.

"If you encourage two-bedroom units of about 800 square feet, it sends a message," said Kane, who is the vice president of planning for the Aspen Skiing Company. "It says, 'This is a place for a getaway. This is not a residence.'"

Development officials from Aspen and Vail told a Steamboat audience this week that they took specific steps to ensure the ambitious redevelopment projects at their ski areas would result in hot beds.

Hot beds bring the economic vitality that is the goal of redevelopment efforts. Large condominiums that aren't in the rental pool are likely to result in cold beds that don't do as much as they could to pump new dollars into the resort economy.

Kane said his company partnered with ubiquitous ski village developer Intrawest to revitalize the base of the Snowmass ski area. Snowmass was losing its competitive edge in the family vacation market. In revamping the base area, Aspen Ski Co. and Intrawest deliberately avoided adding large condominium units that function more like private vacation homes than busy resort hotels.

Russ Forrest, community development director for the town of Vail, said his office and Vail's urban renewal authority are offering incentives to developers to build projects that are likely to result in hot beds.

Kane and Forrest were speaking to more than 80 people attending an open house kicking off the city of Steamboat Springs' effort to update its Mountain Base Area Master Plan.

"What specific strategies did you employ to encourage hot beds?" City Councilman Ken Brenner asked.

Forrest said his community generally regarded hotels as being more desirable than condominium projects but realized it would have to accept some condos. He said the town of Vail will allow developers more square feet and a taller building on a lot in exchange for building a project that has some of the qualities that tend to result in hot beds.

Kane said there are a half-dozen attributes that tend to result in hot beds. In addition to holding the line on the size of individual units, he said, delivering resort units at relatively modest price points can help.

"Cash buyers are attractive," Kane said, but targeting buyers who are in an income bracket that means they would benefit from the cash flow of nightly rentals is more likely to keep their beds hot.

Experience has taught Kane that offering fully furnished units for sale attracts buyers who are more willing to rent their unit. Unfurnished units are more likely to be filled with personal treasures and expensive art that make owners reluctant to rent, he said.

Owners also are more likely to rent if the condo project is managed in a fashion that is similar to a full-service hotel.

"You need to have highly visible, highly competent on-site management so the property walks and talks like a hotel," Kane said.