Vail Resorts, Inc. reported strong gains in skier visitation at its Colorado and Utah resorts, but said visitation plummeted at its three resorts in the Tahoe area, which is in the grip of a drought.
Vail Resorts reported certain ski season metrics for the comparative periods from the beginning of the ski season through January 5, 2014, and for the prior year period through January 6, 2013, adjusted as if it had owned the Canyons Resort in Utah in both periods. The reported ski season metrics do not incorporate the urban ski areas of Afton Alps and Mt. Brighton, which Vail Resorts acquired in 2013. The data mentioned in this release is interim period data and subject to fiscal quarter end review and adjustments.
Season-to-date total lift ticket revenue at the company’s eight mountain resorts, including an allocated portion of season pass revenue for each applicable period, was up approximately 3.9 percent compared to the prior year season-to-date period. Season-to-date- lift ticket revenue at the company’s five mountain resorts in Colorado and Utah (calculated on the same basis) was up 11.7 percent. Season-to-date ancillary spending outpaced skier visitation, with ski school revenue up 4.5 percent and dining revenue up 2.3 percent at the company’s eight mountain resorts. Additionally, retail/rental revenue for resort store locations was up 2.1 percent. For the company’s Colorado and Utah resorts, season-to-date ski school revenue was up 7.5 percent, dining revenue was up 13.1 percent and retail/rental revenue for resort store locations was up 7.7 percent. Season-to-date total skier visits for the company’s eight mountain resorts were down 0.7 percent compared to the prior year season-to-date period. Total skier visits at our Colorado and Utah resorts grew at 7.4 percent compared to the prior year season-to-date period, while total skier visits at our Tahoe resorts declined approximately 23.4 percent, compared to the prior year season-to-date period.
“We are pleased that, in addition to the strong 16 percent increase in season pass sales we discussed in early December, we saw very strong performance at our five destination resorts in Colorado and Utah in both lift ticket sales and in capturing ancillary guest spending in our ski school, food and beverage and resort retail/rental operations,” said Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz. “Unfortunately, conditions in Tahoe have been very poor with snowfall down approximately 85 percent relative to prior year resulting in visitation and guest spending well below our expectations which negatively impacted our overall revenue growth. Although results in Tahoe have been challenging, the strength of our season pass sales and season-to-date results in Colorado and Utah gives us confidence that we can remain within our fiscal year 2014 guidance range, as we incorporated the potential for challenging weather in our estimates. However, our confidence is predicated on more normalized conditions returning to Tahoe by our third quarter.”