Broomfield, CO – Vail Resorts, which operates six ski and snowboard resorts across Colorado and Lake Tahoe, today released financial results through the first portion of the 2011-12 ski season that shows a 15.3% drop in skier visits due to a lack of snowfall across the West.
The release includes ski season metrics for the comparative periods from the beginning of the ski season through January 2, 2012, and for the prior year period through January 3, 2011, with both periods including the holiday period through the Monday after New Year’s Day. The results announced today come from the company’s four Colorado resorts – Vail Mountain, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone – as well as Heavenly and Northstar, both in California. Both regions have struggled thus far this winter with a dearth of natural snow.
“We have had some very unusual weather so far this season. For the first time in 30 years, a lack of snow has not allowed us to open the back bowls in Vail as of January 6, 2012 and, for the first time since the late 1800s, it did not snow at all in Tahoe in December,” said Rob Katz, Chief Executive Officer of Vail Resorts. “Despite these conditions, we were very pleased that season to date our total lift ticket revenue was up 0.6% and ski school revenue increased 0.9% compared to the prior year when record snowfall was reported across our resorts.
“Our performance in these conditions highlights our strong season pass program, the full experience and comprehensive set of activities and amenities that we provide at our resorts, and the investments we have made across our resorts in constantly improving and broadening the guest experience,” added Katz. “This is most apparent in Tahoe, where our investment in snowmaking has allowed us to open up more terrain than all the other resorts in the area combined. At this point, with three quarters of the ski season still remaining, we are not revising the earnings guidance we issued in September 2011. However, we would acknowledge that those targets will be more difficult to achieve given the results over the holidays.”
Dining revenue at the six resorts was also down 5.6% through the period due to limited access to a number of on-mountain dining facilities.
Heavenly and Northstar California released a letter to pass holders re: this season at Tahoe.
This kind of puts Tahoe Skiing in focus… and it ain’t a pretty picture!
Dear Valued Pass Holder,
It’s no secret that natural snow has been hard to come by this year and we know that has been a disappointment for many of you. When you buy a season pass, everyone hopes it will be an amazing snow year. Last year at this time, we had more snow than many of us had seen in years and while hopefully the big powder dumps are just around the corner this season, we know the waiting can be tough.
We want to make sure all of you know that when you buy one of our season passes, it comes with a promise. Regardless of the expense, we will make as much snow and open as many trails and restaurants as we possibly can. We know our slopes are not as busy as they were last year, but we will go to the same great lengths nevertheless because our mission is to provide each and every guest their experiences of a lifetime, no matter what the conditions.
And our promise is not just about what we are doing this season – it’s about what we have done for many years. It’s about the millions of dollars of investments we make in our resorts each and every year to continually improve our snowmaking. Sure, in big snow years we know our guests don’t care too much about snowmaking and a lot of other resorts try to slide by on that. But we keep investing anyway – so when the natural snow isn’t great – we can provide the absolute best snow surface possible and give our pass holders an opportunity to strap on their skis or boards and get on the slopes with more than just a couple of trails. In a year when most resorts around the lake have fewer than 10 trails open and some as little as 4 – our two resorts have a combined 51 trails and 35 lifts open and running every day.
And it’s not just about the trails, because we also invested in enough snowmaking to get 46 features open in our terrain parks and Northstar has the only 22-foot superpipe open anywhere in the region. That’s the power of snowmaking.
It’s winters like this where a resort shows its true colors and we make sure ours are as white as possible. We don’t just pray for snow, we make it. Praise the snowmakers.
See you on the slopes,
Bill Rock, COO, Northstar California
Pete Sonntag, GM, Heavenly Mountain Resort
By: Northstar California Resort
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LOVED this comment by Rob Katz CEO of Vail Resorts
“We have had some very unusual weather so far this season…
…Despite these conditions, we were very pleased that season to date our total lift ticket revenue was up 0.6%…compared to the prior year when record snowfall was reported across our resorts”
Think that this INCREASE of revenue combined with LESS visitors could be attributed by the massive lift ticket fee–increased from last year? A single lift is now $111 at Vail. RIDICULUS.
Robbie boy, you win genius of the year. Way to be a great CEO and spin the story positive while raping tourist during a terrible economy.