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Who Owns Our Ski Resorts? | The Rich People, Duh?

rich people own our ski resorts

These guys probably own a couple ski resorts, right?  photo:  Mike Egerton/EMPICS Sport

This post comes directly from Mountain Riders Alliance (www.MRAblog.com). This is some extremely interesting information that will certainly make you wonder where this whole ski industry thing is going.

Written by Hunter Skyes, support from the Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition and additional information by MRA.

As we develop Mountain Rider’s Alliance, we have been examining the current ownership of ski resorts in the industry.

For Part 1, we will look at the Big Guns, then, we breakdown the Local Players.

The Big Guns:

These companies account for the majority of seasonal skier visits and gross income in North America.  The primary focus for most of the resorts owned by the Big Guns is the destination “experience” designed to derive income from amenities, lodging and real estate offered to a more affluent demographic.  Unlike the ski-centric ski area operators of the 90’s and early 2000’s, today’s ski resort owners are becoming much more diversified as they expand into all facets of the leisure market.  CNL Lifestyle Properties and KSL Resorts epitomize this trend as the Big Guns are increasingly managing their resorts as theme park attractions.

Just last week, the Senate Committee recommended the approval of the Ski Area Recreation Opportunity Enhancement Act of 2011, allowing for more year-round activities on Forest Service land.

CNL Lifestyle Properties

CNL Lifestyle Properties is a privately held real estate investment trust that invests in lifestyle-related industries such as ski areas, golf courses, retirement communities, marinas, theme parks, resort real estate and commercial retail space. CNL owns 150 properties across the United States and is by far the largest owner of ski areas and resorts in North America, with ownership of 14 ski areas and numerous lodging and retail properties located in or near ski resorts.  With ski related properties making up the majority of the company’s holdings, CNL actively seeks new opportunities for investment within the ski industry and recently purchased many of Intrawest’s “Village” developments:

CNL Ski Resort Ownership:

CNL Owned Mixed-Use Ski “Villages”:

Vail Resorts, Inc.

Vail Resorts is a publicly held company that specializes in luxury resort outdoor “experiences”. They own ski areas, golf courses and luxury lodgings in California, Colorado, Wyoming and the Caribbean. Vail Resorts also owns many of the retail and transportation brands that serve their resorts. Vail Resorts is currently offering the Epic Pass, good at all seven of their areas for $649.

Vail Resorts Owned Ski Areas:

Vail Resorts Leased Ski Areas:

Powdr Corp.

Powdr Corp is a privately held company that owns 8 ski areas in the United States.

Powdr Corp Owned Ski Areas:

Aspen Skiing Company

Aspen Skiing Company is a privately held company with a predominate focus on offering recreational opportunities and less on real estate and lodging. Amongst the Big Guns, they are widely considered the leaders in the sustainable ski movement.

Aspen Skiing Company Owned Ski Areas:

Intrawest

Once the dominant player in the ski industry and responsible for developing the faux European “Villages” that sit at the base of many North American ski resorts, Intrawest is now a privately held company more involved with managing its former properties than acquiring and developing new ones.  Intrawest currently owns 5 ski areas in North America, manages a diverse array of resort properties in Canada, Hawaii, Mexico and throughout the United States, and owns and manages a vacation timeshare operation.

Intrawest Owned Ski Areas:

Intrawest Leased Ski Areas:

Boyne Resorts

Boyne Resorts is a privately held company that owns 4 ski areas and manages an additional 6 ski areas for CNL Lifestyle Properties.  Boyne Resorts also owns or manages 3 golf courses and has a real estate component at some of their properties. Each of their resorts operate with their own local management. Boyne has had the same continuous ownership since its founding in 1948.

Boyne Resorts Owned Ski Areas:

Boyne Resorts Leased Ski Areas:

Peak Resorts, Inc.

Peak Resorts Inc. is a privately held company that owns or manages 10 ski areas in the East and Mid-West of the United States.  In April of 2011, Peak Resorts Inc. filed their registration for an initial public offering as the first step towards becoming a public company.

Peak Resorts Inc. Owned Ski Areas:

Peak Resorts Inc. Managed Ski Areas:

KSL Resorts

KSL Resorts is a newcomer to the ski industry, although some of its executive team have worked within the industry previously.  KSL Resorts is a division of KSL Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on travel and leisure businesses.  KSL Capital Partners, through KSL Resorts and KSL Management, own or are partners with more than 170 properties worldwide.  These include ski areas, golf resorts, cruise lines, spas, hotels, athletic clubs and residential and commercial real estate.  The company works with East-West Partners to develop and market resort real estate in ski resorts such as Deer Valley, Vail, Lake Tahoe and Summit County Colorado.

KSL Capital Partners recently closed a 2 billion dollar equity fund, far exceeding their original target of 1.5 billion.

There have been ongoing rumors that KSL is in negotiations to purchase neighbor, Alpine Meadows. Unofficial Networks reported on May 31, 2011 that a letter of intent was signed. KSL has pledged 50 million dollars in ski resort upgrades.

Photo courtesy of Unofficial Networks

KSL Resorts Owned Ski Areas:

 

The Local Players:

These companies own multiple ski areas, but are very localized and/or don’t compare in terms of skier visits or income.  With some exceptions, many of the Local Players are in the “uphill transportation business” with little or no lodging, real estate or amenity offerings in their operations.

Sinclair Oil Corporation (Earl Holding)

Alpine Valley Holding Co.

JMA Ventures

Snow Summit Ski Corp.

Resorts of the Canadian Rockies LTD

Mont Saint-Sauveur International Inc.

State of New York

Afton Alps Ski Area Inc.

Snow Time, Inc.

We believe this information to be accurate, as of July 26, 2011.

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