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Steamboat Springs — The deadline is bearing down for businesses that want to participate in the Fly Steamboat program and get the lowest merchant ski pass price for the 2009-10 season.

The cutoff is June 1, and it's non-negotiable, said Molly Killien, spokeswoman for thr Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association. The program is open to Chamber members in good standing, Finance Director Marion Ayer said. The Chamber administers the Fly Steamboat program, and participants must submit forms before they can sign up for passes.

The Chamber is sending letters to get the word out about the June 1 deadline. In past years, businesses have had to sign up for passes in mid-August.

"It is a drop-dead deadline," Killien said. "There is no wavering with it whatsoever."

For Fly Steamboat members who sign up by June 1, season passes for the Steamboat Ski Area cost $879, 20-day passes cost $819, and Rocky Mountain Ultimate Passes cost $919. The Ultimate Pass includes unlimited skiing and riding at Winter Park and Copper Mountain.

Passes purchased by June 1 come with the opportunity for holders to buy two $50 day passes this season. Businesses must pay $100 per pass by June 1, and full payment is due in January.

Businesses that participate in Fly Steamboat contribute a fraction of their sales revenue to the program. That money goes into the fund that guarantees revenues for some airlines that fly to Yampa Valley Regional Airport in Hayden. Businesses that pay Colorado taxes also are eligible for an Enterprise Zone credit for the Fly Steamboat program because it supports a business in Hayden, which is in an Enterprise Zone.

If the airlines don't earn a set amount of revenue, they get the difference from Fly Steamboat, the Local Marketing District and Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp.

"This is kind of the businesses' chance to secure people coming into the Yampa Valley over the winter," Ayer said.

Andy Wirth is chief marketing officer for Intrawest, Ski Corp.'s parent company, and will take over as Ski Corp.'s senior vice president of marketing next month. Wirth noted the urgency of the June 1 merchant pass deadline.

If they sign up for passes by then, businesses can lock in the lower prices with a $100 deposit and snag the $50 friends and family passes. Businesses that sign up after June 1 can't access the prices or the $50 passes, he said.

"This season pass is one of the most coveted employee benefits," Wirth said. "The ski area, we want everybody enjoying that benefit."

After June 1, prices increase. Season passes will cost $999, 20-day passes still cost $819, and Ultimate Passes will cost $1,059. Prices increase again after Aug. 14.

"The last thing we want to do is have conversations with businesses and business owners in mid-August that they missed the optimal deal," Wirth said.

He stressed the importance of the air program to winter tourism.

"We will make it through these tough times as a valley and as a resort destination," Wirth said. "How we make it through those tough times is remaining accessible to those thankfully resilient customers who want to come here and enjoy this place."