My ski club actually does give free lessons. Every member gets a lesson on every day trip. The member just pays for the bus up (around $30CAD or $20USD), and a discounted ticket from the resort (around $55CAD or $40USD). A $150 membership fee subsidizes the costs of the instructors. We are a non-profit, but we have to pay for the instructor tickets, bus, and a small remuneration. Resorts appreciate us because we bring buses of customers, plus they get revenue from the instructors lift tickets.For beginners it should be free. Not just one clas like the Discovery, but free. You buy a ticket, rent the boots and you can have lessons all day, every day until your comfortable. No one should have to pay until they understand things like a good skiers stance and how the gear works, and how to pressure the ski. The basics.
Resorts, especially the big ones, could easily bake a lesson into each low level class. The more beginner-y the skier, the less time they're on the lifts (the real cost of business). They're only using a fraction of the lift infrastructure, often the slower cheap stuff over a small area of the mountain (magic carpets, rope tows, and fixed grip quads). Good lessons will convert the beginners into lifelong skiers, meaning more repeat business. It's a no-brainer to throw at least a 1.5h lesson into each beginner rental package.