It was a terrible ski season for much of the West with below average snowfall from California to Colorado. Due to the drought, skier visits to Vail’s nine mountain resorts was down by 2.8 percent. However, Vail Resorts still was able to report a modest increase in revenue over last season.
Vail was able to achieve this impressive feat thanks to three main factors.
1) Revenue from lift tickets at Vail’s nine mountain resorts (including some season pass revenue) was up 8.5 percent compared to the prior year. Not totally surprising since Vail now charges over $140 for a day ticket to it’s flagship resort.
2) The skiers who did show up this season spent more money. Vail Resorts’ ski school revenue was up 3.4 percent, dining revenue was up 3.3 percent, and retail/rental revenue was up 3.8 percent.
3) Vail Resorts was able to secure much of its profits before the start of the season through it’s season pass sales.
Here is what Vail Resorts CEO, Rob Katz, had to say about Vail’s success this season, “We were able to overcome these challenges through the strength of our season pass program and data-driven marketing efforts, by providing a comprehensive world-class destination experience, by attracting high-income guests from around the world and through growth in our ski school, dining and retail businesses.”
Vail has no plans on slowing down its dominance of the ski industry. This season Vail Resorts announced that it had completed it’s first international acquisition (Breaking News: Vail Resorts Buys Largest Ski Resort in Australia) and that it will be creating the largest ski resort in the United States (Vail Resorts Announces Plan To Create Largest Ski Resort in America).