UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||
For the fiscal year ended July 31 , 2024
or
| TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||
For the transition period from to
Commission File Number: 001-09614
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
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Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. ☒ Yes ☐ No
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. ☐ Yes ☒ No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
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Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).
The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant, based on the closing price of $222.00 per share as reported on the New York Stock Exchange Composite Tape on January 31, 2024 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter) was $8,336,162,160 .
As of September 23, 2024, 37,485,473 shares of the registrant’s common stock were outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for its 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of July 31, 2024 are incorporated by reference herein into Part III, Items 10 through 14, of this Annual Report.
Table of Contents
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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Except for any historical information contained herein, the matters discussed or incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Form 10-K”) contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements relate to analyses and other information, available as of the date hereof which are based on forecasts of future results and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. These statements also relate to our contemplated future prospects, developments and business strategies.
These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “will” and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions. Although we believe that our plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that such plans, intentions or expectations will be achieved. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
•prolonged weakness in general economic conditions, including adverse effects on the overall travel and leisure related industries and our business and results of operations;
•risks associated with the effects of high or prolonged inflation, elevated interest rates and financial institution disruptions;
•unfavorable weather conditions or the impact of natural disasters or other unexpected events;
•the ultimate amount of refunds that we could be required to refund to our pass product holders for qualifying circumstances under our Epic Coverage program;
•the willingness or ability of our guests to travel due to terrorism, the uncertainty of military conflicts or public health emergencies, and the cost and availability of travel options and changing consumer preferences or discretionary spending habits;
•risks related to travel and airline disruptions, and other adverse impacts on the ability of our guests to travel;
•risks related to interruptions or disruptions of our information technology systems, data security or cyberattacks;
•risks related to our reliance on information technology, including our failure to maintain the integrity of our customer or employee data and our ability to adapt to technological developments or industry trends;
•our ability to acquire, develop and implement relevant technology offerings for customers and partners;
•the seasonality of our business combined with adverse events that may occur during our peak operating periods;
•competition in our mountain and lodging businesses or with other recreational and leisure activities;
•risks related to the high fixed cost structure of our business;
•our ability to fund resort capital expenditures, or accurately identify the need for, or anticipate the timing of certain capital expenditures;
•risks related to a disruption in our water supply that would impact our snowmaking capabilities and operations;
•our reliance on government permits or approvals for our use of public land or to make operational and capital improvements;
•risks related to resource efficiency transformation initiatives;
•risks related to federal, state, local and foreign government laws, rules and regulations, including environmental and health and safety laws and regulations;
•risks related to changes in security and privacy laws and regulations which could increase our operating costs and adversely affect our ability to market our products, properties and services effectively;
•potential failure to adapt to technological developments or industry trends regarding information technology;
•our ability to successfully launch and promote adoption of new products, technology, services and programs;
•risks related to our workforce, including increased labor costs, loss of key personnel and our ability to maintain adequate staffing, including hiring and retaining a sufficient seasonal workforce;
•our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses, including their integration into our internal controls and infrastructure; our ability to successfully navigate new markets, including Europe; or that acquired businesses may fail to perform in accordance with expectations;
•a deterioration in the quality or reputation of our brands, including our ability to protect our intellectual property and the risk of accidents at our mountain resorts;
•risks related to scrutiny and changing expectations regarding our environmental, social and governance practices and reporting;
•risks associated with international operations, including fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates where the Company has foreign currency exposure, primarily the Canadian and Australian dollars and the Swiss franc, as compared to the U.S. dollar;
•changes in tax laws, regulations or interpretations, or adverse determinations by taxing authorities;
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•risks related to our indebtedness and our ability to satisfy our debt service requirements under our outstanding debt including our unsecured senior notes, which could reduce our ability to use our cash flow to fund our operations, capital expenditures, future business opportunities and other purposes;
•a materially adverse change in our financial condition;
•adverse consequences of current or future litigation and legal claims;
•changes in accounting judgments and estimates, accounting principles, policies or guidelines; and
•other risks and uncertainties included under Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in this document.
All forward-looking statements attributable to us or any persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements.
If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those expected, estimated or projected. Given these uncertainties, users of the information included or incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K, including investors and prospective investors, are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements that we make for a number of reasons including those described above and in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of this Form 10-K. All forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof. Except as may be required by law, we do not intend to update these forward-looking statements, even if new information, future events or other circumstances have made them incorrect or misleading.
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PART I
ITEM 1.BUSINESS.
General
Vail Resorts, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, is referred to throughout this document as “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company.”
Vail Resorts, Inc., a Delaware corporation, was organized as a holding company in 1997 and operates through various subsidiaries. Our operations are grouped into three reportable segments: Mountain, Lodging and Real Estate, which represented approximately 88%, 12% and 0%, respectively, of our net revenue for our fiscal year ended July 31, 2024 (“Fiscal 2024”).
Our Mountain segment operates 42 world-class destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas (collectively, our “Resorts”). Additionally, the Mountain segment includes ancillary services, primarily including ski school, dining and retail/rental operations.
In the Lodging segment, we own and/or manage a collection of luxury hotels and condominiums under our RockResorts brand, other strategic lodging properties and a large number of condominiums located in proximity to our North American mountain resorts, National Park Service (“NPS”) concessioner properties including the Grand Teton Lodge Company (“GTLC”), which operates destination resorts in Grand Teton National Park, a Colorado resort ground transportation company and mountain resort golf courses.
We refer to “Resort” as the combination of the Mountain and Lodging segments. Our Real Estate segment owns, develops and sells real estate in and around our resort communities.
For financial information and other information about the Company’s segments and geographic areas, see Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”
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Mountain Segment
In the Mountain segment, the Company operates the following 42 destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas, including four resorts within the top ten most visited resorts in the United States for the 2023/2024 North American ski season:
*Denotes a destination mountain resort, which generally receives a meaningful portion of skier visits from long-distance travelers, as opposed to our regional ski areas, which tend to generate skier visits predominantly from their respective local markets.
Our Mountain segment derives revenue through the sale of lift tickets, including pass products, as well as a comprehensive offering of amenities available to guests, including ski and snowboard lessons, equipment rentals and retail merchandise sales, a variety of dining venues, private club operations and other winter and summer recreational activities. In addition to providing extensive guest amenities, we also lease some of our owned and leased commercial space to third party operators to add unique restaurants and retail stores to the mix of amenities at the base of our resorts.
Many of our destination mountain resorts operate year-round and provide a comprehensive resort experience to a diverse clientele with an attractive demographic profile. We offer a broad complement of winter and summer recreational activities, including skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, snowtubing, sightseeing, mountain biking, guided hiking, zip lines, challenge ropes courses, alpine slides, mountain coasters, children’s activities and other recreational activities. Collectively, our Resorts are located in close proximity to population centers totaling approximately 110 million people.
Destination Mountain Resorts
Rocky Mountains (Colorado and Utah Resorts)
•Vail Mountain Resort (“Vail Mountain”) - the most visited mountain resort in the United States (“U.S.”) for the 2023/2024 ski season. Vail Mountain offers some of the most expansive and varied terrain in North America with approximately 5,300 skiable acres including seven world renowned back bowls and the resort’s Blue Sky Basin.
•Breckenridge Ski Resort (“Breckenridge”) - the second most visited mountain resort in the U.S. for the 2023/2024 ski season with five interconnected peaks offering an expansive variety of terrain for every skill level, including access to above tree line intermediate and expert terrain, and progressive and award-winning terrain parks.
•Park City Resort (“Park City”) - the third most visited mountain resort in the U.S. for the 2023/2024 ski season and the largest by acreage in the U.S. Park City offers 7,300 skiable acres, including diverse terrain for every type of skier and snowboarder. In 2024, the International Olympic Committee selected Salt Lake City as the host for the 2034 Winter Olympics, naming Park City as an official venue for certain competitions.
•Keystone Resort (“Keystone”) - the ninth most visited mountain resort in the U.S. for the 2023/2024 ski season, as well as the largest area for night skiing in Colorado. In December 2023, we completed our transformational lift-served terrain expansion project in Bergman Bowl, increasing lift-served terrain by 555 acres with the addition of a new six-
5
person high speed lift, and also providing lift-served access to Erickson Bowl. Keystone is a premier destination for families with its “Kidtopia” program focused on providing activities for kids on and off the mountain.
•Beaver Creek Resort (“Beaver Creek”) - the eleventh most visited mountain resort in the U.S. for the 2023/2024 ski season. Beaver Creek is a European-style resort with multiple villages and also includes a world renowned children’s ski school program focused on providing a first-class experience with unique amenities such as a dedicated children’s gondola.
•Crested Butte Mountain Resort (“Crested Butte”) - located in southwest Colorado and includes over 1,500 skiable acres and over 3,000 feet of vertical drop. Crested Butte is known for its historic town, iconic mountain peaks and legendary skiing and riding terrain.
Pacific Northwest (British Columbia, Canada)
•Whistler Blackcomb (“Whistler Blackcomb”) - located in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, approximately 85 miles (135 kilometers) from the Vancouver International Airport, Whistler Blackcomb is the largest year-round mountain resort in North America, with two mountains connected by the PEAK 2 PEAK gondola, which combined offer over 200 marked runs, over 8,000 skiable acres (3,300 hectares), 14 alpine bowls, three glaciers and one of the longest ski seasons in North America. In the summer Whistler Blackcomb offers a variety of activities, including hiking trails, a bike park and sightseeing. Whistler Blackcomb is a popular destination for international visitors and was home to the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Lake Tahoe Resorts
•Heavenly Mountain Resort (“Heavenly”) - the twelfth most visited mountain resort in the U.S. for the 2023/2024 ski season. Located near the South Shore of Lake Tahoe with over 4,800 skiable acres, Heavenly straddles the border of California and Nevada and offers unique and spectacular views of Lake Tahoe. Heavenly offers great nightlife, including its proximity to several casinos.
•Northstar Resort (“Northstar”) - located near the North Shore of Lake Tahoe, Northstar is the premier luxury mountain resort destination near Lake Tahoe which offers premium lodging, a vibrant base area and over 3,000 skiable acres. Northstar’s village features high-end shops and restaurants, a conference center and a 9,000 square-foot skating rink.
•Kirkwood Mountain Resort (“Kirkwood”) - located about 35 miles southwest of South Lake Tahoe, offering a unique location atop the Sierra Crest, Kirkwood is recognized for offering some of the best high alpine advanced terrain in North America with 2,000 feet of vertical drop and over 2,300 skiable acres.
Switzerland
•Andermatt-Sedrun (“Andermatt-Sedrun”) - located approximately 70 miles (110 kilometers) from Zurich, Switzerland in the Ursern Valley of the Swiss Alps and approximately 200 miles (320 kilometers) from Geneva, Switzerland. Andermatt-Sedrun offers nearly 75 miles (120 kilometers) of varied terrain and a top elevation of 9,800 feet (3,000 meters) across the mountains of Andermatt, Sedrun and Gemsstock, with connected access to Disentis, which is independently owned. The ski area spans over 10 miles (16 kilometers) of scenic high alpine terrain between Andermatt and Sedrun, including the iconic Oberalp Pass, and is connected by the Matterhorn Gothard Bahn, a railway which operates year-round.
•Crans-Montana Mountain Resort (“Crans-Montana”) - during Fiscal 2024, we acquired a controlling interest in Crans-Montana, marking our second owned and operated resort in Europe. Crans-Montana Mountain Resort is located in the Valais canton of Switzerland, approximately 125 miles (200 kilometers) from Geneva and approximately 190 miles (310 kilometers) from Zurich. The resort spans nearly 4,600 feet (1,400 meters) of skiable vertical terrain, and approximately 87 miles (140 kilometers) of trails. Crans-Montana has a legacy of being a renowned outdoor sports destination, having hosted signature events such as the Ski World Cup, Mountain Bike World Cup, Omega European Masters and Caprices Festival. The commune of Crans-Montana has gourmet restaurants and luxury retail stores, as well as five-star hotels, including the recently developed Six Senses lodge and spa, a luxury 45-room ski-in, ski-out chalet-style property situated above the main gondola. Additionally, the International Ski Federation Council has awarded the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2027 to Crans-Montana.
Regional Ski Areas
Our ski resort network allows us to connect guests with drive-to access and destination resort access on a single pass product. Building a presence near major metropolitan areas with large populations enables us to drive advance commitment pass product sales among a broad array of guests.
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Northeast
We own and operate eight regional ski areas in the Northeast that we believe provide a compelling regional and local connection to guests within driving distance from the New York, Boston and the greater New England markets. Stowe is the premier, high-end regional ski area in the Northeast offering outstanding skiing and an exceptional base area experience. Okemo and Mount Snow are compelling regional destinations serving guests in the New York metropolitan area and throughout New England. Hunter Mountain is a day-trip ski area primarily serving the New York metropolitan area. Additionally, we own four ski areas in New Hampshire serving guests throughout New England.
Mid-Atlantic (Pennsylvania)
We own and operate eight ski areas in the Mid-Atlantic region serving guests in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Southern New Jersey, Baltimore and Washington D.C. Our presence in the region allows us to offer compelling local options and easy overnight weekend and holiday trips to our premium Northeast regional ski areas, which are within driving distance from these markets.
Midwest
We own and operate ten ski areas in the Midwest that draw guests from Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Columbus, Kansas City and Louisville, among others. Located within close proximity to major metropolitan markets, these ski areas provide beginners with easy access to beginner ski programs and many also offer night skiing for young adults and families. Additionally, the proximity of these ski areas to metropolitan areas allows for regular usage by avid skiers.
Pacific Northwest (U.S.)
Stevens Pass Resort (“Stevens Pass’’) - located less than 85 miles from Seattle on the crest of Washington State’s Cascade Range, Stevens Pass offers terrain for all levels across more than 1,100 acres of skiable terrain. Stevens Pass has operated for over 80 years and is known for its numerous bowls, glades and faces, as well as extensive lighted terrain for skiing and riding well into the evening.
Australia
Australia is an important market for both domestic skiing during the Australian winter and as a source of international visitation to the Northern Hemisphere in the Australian off-season, with typically over one million estimated Australian skier visits annually to North America, Europe and Japan. We own three of the five largest ski areas in Australia, which we serve with the Epic Australia Pass, an Australian dollar denominated pass product marketed specifically to Australian guests. Perisher, located in New South Wales, is the largest ski resort in Australia and targets guests in the Sydney metropolitan area and the broader New South Wales market, while Falls Creek and Mount Hotham are two of the largest ski areas in Victoria and target guests in the Melbourne metropolitan area and the broader Victoria market.
Ski Industry/Competition
There are approximately 770 ski areas operating in North America with approximately 485 in the U.S., ranging from small ski area operations that service day skiers to large resorts that attract both day skiers and destination guests looking for a comprehensive vacation experience. During the 2023/2024 North American ski season, combined skier visits for all ski areas in North America were approximately 78.4 million. Our North American Resorts had approximately 15.8 million skier visits during the 2023/2024 ski season, representing approximately 20.2% of North American skier visits.
There is limited opportunity for development of new destination ski resorts due to the limited private lands on which ski areas can be built, the difficulty in obtaining the appropriate governmental approvals to build on public lands and the significant capital needed to construct the necessary infrastructure. As such, there have been virtually no new destination ski resorts of scale in North America for nearly 45 years, which has allowed and should continue to allow the best-positioned destination resorts to benefit from future industry growth. Our resorts compete with other major destination mountain resorts, including, among others, Aspen Snowmass, Deer Valley, Jackson Hole, Copper Mountain, Steamboat, Winter Park, Snowbird, Palisades Tahoe, Killington, Mammoth, St. Moritz and Zermatt, as well as other ski areas in Colorado, California, Nevada, Utah, the Pacific Northwest, the Northeast, the Southwest, British Columbia, Canada, Australia and Switzerland, and other destination ski areas worldwide as well as non-ski related vacation options and destinations. Additionally, our pass products compete with other single and multi-resort frequency pass products in North America, including the IKON Pass, the Mountain Collective Pass and various regional and local pass products.
The ski industry statistics stated in this section have been derived primarily from data published by the Canadian Ski Council and Kottke National End of Season Surveys as well as other industry publications.
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Our Competitive Strengths
We believe our premier resorts and business model differentiate our Company from the rest of the ski industry. We own and operate some of the most iconic, branded destination mountain resorts in geographically diverse and important ski destinations in North America, including Colorado, Utah, Lake Tahoe and the Pacific Northwest, including British Columbia, Canada. These resorts are complemented by regional ski areas in the Northeast, Pacific Northwest, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, which are strategically positioned near key U.S. population centers, as well as three ski areas in Australia and two ski resorts in Switzerland. Through our data-driven marketing analytics and personalized marketing capabilities, we target increased penetration of ski pass products, providing our guests with a strong value proposition in return for guests committing to ski or ride at our resorts prior to, or very early into the ski season, which we believe attracts more guests to our resorts. We believe we invest in more capital improvements than our competitors and we create synergies through our owned and operated network of resorts, which enhances our profitability by enabling customers to access our network of resorts with our pass products. Many of our destination mountain resorts located in the U.S. typically rank in the most visited ski resorts in the U.S. (four of the top ten for the 2023/2024 U.S. ski season), and most of our destination mountain resorts are consistently in the top ranked ski resorts in North America according to industry surveys, which we attribute to our ability to provide a high-quality experience.
We believe the following factors contribute directly to each Resort’s success:
Exceptional Mountain Experience
•World-Class Destination Mountain Resorts and Integrated Base Resort Areas
Our destination mountain resorts offer a multitude of skiing and snowboarding experiences for the beginner, intermediate, advanced and expert levels. Each destination mountain resort is fully integrated into expansive resort base areas offering a broad array of lodging, dining, retail, nightlife and other amenities, some of which we own or manage.
•Snow Conditions
Our Resorts in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado and Utah, the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Lake Tahoe and the Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada generally receive abundant snowfall each year, but we have invested significantly in snowmaking systems in these areas which help to provide a more consistent guest experience, especially in the early season. We have made significant investments in our snowmaking systems within the past several years in Colorado that transformed the early-season terrain experience at Vail, Keystone and Beaver Creek. Our other ski areas receive less snowfall than our western North American mountain resorts, but we have invested in snowmaking operations at these resorts in order to provide a consistent experience for our guests. In calendar year 2024, the Company plans to invest in snowmaking projects at Park City, Hunter Mountain and Andermatt-Sedrun in order to enhance the early season guest experience. Additionally, we provide several hundred acres of groomed terrain at each of our mountain resorts with extensive fleets of snow grooming equipment.
•Lift Service
We systematically upgrade our lifts and put in new lifts to increase uphill capacity and streamline skier traffic to maximize the guest experience. Discretionary capital expenditures expected for calendar year 2024 include, among other projects:
•replacing Whistler Blackcomb’s existing four-person high speed Jersey Cream lift with a new six-person high-speed lift, which is expected to provide a meaningful increase to uphill capacity and better distribute guests at a central part of the resort;
•replacing Hunter Mountain’s existing fixed-grip four-person Broadway lift with a new high-speed six-person lift and relocating the two-person fixed-grip E lift, providing a meaningful increase in uphill capacity and improved access to terrain that is key to the progressive learning experience for our guests;
•replacing Perisher’s Double and Triple Chairs with a new high-speed six-person lift, which is expected in advance of the 2025 winter season in Australia; and
•preparatory work for the planned replacement of Park City’s fixed-grip two-person lift with a new ten-person Sunrise Gondola in calendar year 2025 in partnership with Canyons Village Management Association, which will provide improved access and enhanced guest experience for existing and future developments within Canyons Village.
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•In the past several years, we have installed or upgraded several high speed chairlifts and gondolas across our Resorts, including five new or replacement lifts across five Resorts for the 2023/2024 North American ski season, which meaningfully increased lift capacity and reduced wait times at those lift locations. Investments in the past several years include:
•a new high-speed six-person lift in Bergman Bowl at Keystone;
•replacing Breckenridge’s fixed-grip double 5-Chair with a new high-speed four-person lift;
•replacing Whistler Blackcomb’s existing four-person high speed Fitzsimmons lift with a new high-speed eight-person lift;
•replacing Stevens Pass’ current fixed-grip double Kehr’s Chair lift with a new four-person lift;
•replacing the three-person fixed-grip Summit Triple lift at Attitash with a new high-speed four-person lift;
•a new high-speed ten-person gondola at Whistler Blackcomb replacing the existing six-person gondola;
•replacing Whistler Blackcomb’s existing Big Red Express high-speed four-person lift with a high-speed six-person lift;
•a new high-speed four-person lift in Vail’s Sun Down Bowl;
•replacing the four-person lift in Vail’s Game Creek Bowl with a new high-speed six-person lift;
•replacing Breckenridge’s fixed-grip double Rip’s Ride lift with a high-speed four-person lift;
•a new high-speed six-person chair replacing Northstar’s Comstock four-person lift;
•replacing Heavenly’s fixed-grip triple North Bowl lift with a high-speed four-person lift;
•replacing 11 existing lifts at Stowe, Mount Snow, Attitash, Boston Mills, Brandywine, Jack Frost and Big Boulder with new high-speed and fixed-grip lifts;
•the 250-acre lift-served terrain expansion in the McCoy Park area of Beaver Creek;
• a new four-person high speed lift to serve Peak 7 at Breckenridge;
• replacing the four-person Peru lift at Keystone with a six-person high speed lift;
• replacing the Peachtree lift at Crested Butte with a new three-person fixed-grip lift; and
• an upgrade of the four-person Quantum lift at Okemo with a six-person high speed lift, and relocating the four-person Quantum lift to replace the Green Ridge three-person fixed-grip lift.
•Terrain Parks
We are committed to leading the industry in terrain park design, education and events for the growing segment of freestyle skiers and snowboarders. Each of our destination mountain resorts has multiple terrain parks that include progressively-challenging features. These park structures, coupled with freestyle ski school programs, promote systematic learning from basic to professional skills.
Extraordinary Service and Amenities
•Commitment to the Guest Experience
Our focus is to provide quality service at every touch point of the guest journey. Prior to arrival at our mountain resorts, guests can receive personal assistance through our full-service, central reservations group and through our comprehensive websites to book desired lodging accommodations, lift tickets and pass products, ski school lessons, equipment rentals, activities and other resort services. Upon arrival, our resort staff serve as ambassadors to engage guests, answer questions and foster a customer-focused environment. We are also committed to ongoing technological innovation as a means to further enhance the quality of the guest experience and continue to shape our industry and culture. We recently achieved the following technological milestones:
•My Epic mobile application (“My Epic App”) - During the 2023/2024 North American ski season, we launched the My Epic App, which allows our guests to purchase their pass product or lift ticket online and access our Resorts via the new app, utilizing hands free Bluetooth® technology, eliminating the need to wait in line to purchase lift tickets. In addition, the My Epic App allows guests to capture their activity on the mountain (e.g. number of ski days, vertical feet skied and chairlift activity); provides current trail maps along with real-time trail and lift status; allows guests to access real and forecasted lift line wait times; and provides information regarding parking, dining, events and other on-mountain activities. The My Epic App also provides access to My Epic Gear and My Epic Assistant, as discussed below.
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•My Epic Gear membership program (“My Epic Gear”) - During the 2023/2024 North American ski season, we piloted our new gear membership program, My Epic Gear, to a limited number of Epic Pass holders at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone. The program will be launched for the 2024/2025 ski season at 12 destination and regional resorts across North America, including kids gear, with further expansions planned for future seasons. My Epic Gear provides members with the ability to choose the gear they want from a selection of popular ski and snowboard models, and have that gear delivered to them when and where they want it, with free slopeside pick up and drop off. My Epic Gear is designed to allow users to manage their entire experience from gear selection to boot fitting to delivery all from the new My Epic App.
•My Epic Assistant mobile application (“My Epic Assistant”) - During the 2023/2024 North American ski season, we announced the launch of the new My Epic Assistant, a new technology within My Epic App, which is scheduled to launch to a limited number of Epic Pass holders at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone for the upcoming 2024/2025 North American ski season. Expansion of the application is planned to additional resorts in future seasons. Powered by artificial intelligence and resort experts, My Epic Assistant will provide real-time service to allow our guests to navigate their day at our resorts with confidence, efficiency and ease. Whether looking for the latest snow conditions, or on-mountain support with rentals and lessons, guests can simply open the My Epic App and use My Epic Assistant to point them in the right direction.
We also solicit guest feedback through a variety of surveys and results, which are used to ensure high levels of customer satisfaction, understand trends and develop future resort programs and amenities. We then utilize this guest feedback to help us focus our capital spending and operational efforts to the areas of the greatest need.
•Frontline Talent
Our talent philosophy is designed to enable us to fully achieve our mission and vision by ensuring we have the talent in place to deliver on our future growth plans, and we believe our frontline talent is a strategic advantage. Over the past several years, ongoing investments in frontline talent have driven strong staffing levels, with high engagement and season-to-season return rates, enabling our mountain resorts to deliver strong guest experience results, including on-mountain activities as well as at our restaurants, lodging, ski and ride school, and retail/rental locations. For more information, refer to the “Human Capital Management” section.
•Season Pass & Epic Day Pass Products
We offer a variety of pass products, primarily season pass and Epic Day Pass products, for all of our Resorts that are marketed towards both out-of-state and international (“Destination”) guests as well as in-state and local (“Local”) guests. These pass products are available for purchase prior to the start of the ski season, offering our guests a better value in exchange for their commitment to pass products with access to our Resorts before the season begins. Our pass program drives strong customer loyalty and mitigates exposure to more weather sensitive guests, leading to greater revenue stability and allowing us to capture valuable guest data. Additionally, our pass product customers typically ski more days each season than those guests who do not buy pass products, which leads to additional ancillary spending. In addition, our pass products attract new guests to our Resorts. Our pass products generated approximately 65% of our total lift revenue for Fiscal 2024, and generated approximately 75% of total visitation (excluding complimentary access) for Fiscal 2024. Sales of pass products are a key component of our overall Mountain segment revenue and help create strong synergies among our Resorts. Our pass product offerings range from providing access for a certain number of days to one or a combination of our Resorts to our Epic Pass, which allows pass holders unlimited and unrestricted access to all of our Resorts. The Epic Day Pass is a customizable one to seven day pass product purchased in advance of the season, for those skiers and riders who want to purchase access for a certain number of days during the season, and which is available in three tiers of resort offerings. All of our various pass product options can be found on our consumer website www.snow.com. Information on our websites does not constitute part of this document.
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As part of our continued strategy to drive pass product sales and create a stronger connection between key skier markets and our iconic destination mountain resorts, we have continued to expand our portfolio of properties in recent years. We acquired Crans-Montana and Andermatt-Sedrun in May 2024 and August 2022, respectively. These acquisitions represent strategic investments to operate ski resorts in Europe as a part of our continued focus to expand our network of resort offerings, which provides a differentiated suite of options to our guests. In December 2021, we acquired Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Hidden Valley Resort and Laurel Mountain Ski Area in Pennsylvania (collectively, the “Seven Springs Resorts”), which added three regional ski areas strategically located near Pittsburgh, expanding our presence in the Mid-Atlantic region and generating incremental drive-to business from other major metropolitan areas such as Washington DC, Baltimore and Cleveland. Additionally, we enter into strategic long-term season pass alliance agreements with third-party mountain resorts, which for the 2024/2025 ski season include Telluride Ski Resort in Colorado, Hakuba Valley and Rusutsu Resort in Japan, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies in Canada, Les 3 Vallées in France, Disentis Ski Area and Verbier 4 Vallées in Switzerland, Skirama Dolomiti in Italy and Ski Arlberg in Austria, which further increase the value proposition of our pass products.
Pass product holders also receive additional value in exchange for their advance commitment through our Epic Mountain Rewards program, which provides pass product holders a discount of 20% off on-mountain food and beverage, lodging, group ski school lessons, equipment rentals and more at our North American owned and operated Resorts. Epic Mountain Rewards is available for everyone who purchases an Epic Pass, Epic Local Pass, Epic Day Pass, Epic Military Pass and most of our other pass products, regardless of whether guests plan to ski one day or every day of the season. Additionally, Epic Coverage is included with the purchase of all pass products for no additional charge and provides refunds in the event of certain resort closures and certain travel restrictions, giving pass holders a refund for any portion of the season that is lost due to qualifying circumstances. Additionally, Epic Coverage provides refunds for qualifying personal circumstances including eligible injuries, job losses and other personal events.
•Premier Ski Schools
Our mountain resorts are home to some of the highest quality and most widely recognized ski schools in the industry. Through a combination of outstanding training and abundant work opportunities, our ski schools have become home to many of the most experienced and credentialed professionals in the business. We complement our instructor staff with state-of-the-art facilities and extensive learning terrain, all with a keen attention to guest needs. We offer a wide variety of adult and child group and private lesson options with a goal of creating lifelong skiers and riders and showcasing to our guests all the terrain our resorts have to offer.
•Dining
Our Resorts provide a variety of quality on-mountain and base village dining venues, ranging from top-rated fine dining restaurants to on-mountain express service restaurants. For the 2023/2024 ski season, we operated approximately 275 dining venues at our Resorts.
•Retail/Rental
We have approximately 330 retail/rental locations specializing in sporting goods including ski, snowboard and cycling equipment. Several of our rental locations offer delivery services, bringing ski and snowboard gear and expert advice directly to our guests. In addition to providing a major retail/rental presence at each of our Resorts, we also have retail/rental locations throughout the Colorado Front Range and Minneapolis. Starting with the 2023/2024 North American ski season, we piloted our new rental membership program, My Epic Gear, which reimagines the traditional gear rental and ownership model, with the goal of providing more choices, at a lower cost and less hassle to our customers. The program will be launched for the 2024/2025 ski season at 12 destination and regional resorts across North America, including kids gear, with further expansions planned for future seasons. My Epic Gear provides members with the ability to choose the gear they want from a selection of popular ski and snowboard models, and have it delivered to them when and where they want it, with free slopeside pick up and drop off.
•On-Mountain Activities
We are a ski industry leader in providing comprehensive destination vacation experiences, including on-mountain activities designed to appeal to a broad range of interests. During the winter season, in addition to our offered ski experiences, guests can choose from a variety of non-ski related activities such as snowtubing, snowshoeing, scenic snow cat tours, backcountry expeditions, horse-drawn sleigh rides and high-altitude dining. During the summer season, our mountain resorts offer non-ski related recreational activities including scenic chairlift and gondola rides, mountain biking, horseback riding, guided hiking, 4x4 Jeep tours and our Epic Discovery program at Vail Mountain, Heavenly and Breckenridge. The Epic Discovery program encourages “learn through play” by featuring extensive environmental
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educational elements interspersed between numerous activities, consisting of zip lines, children’s activities, challenge ropes courses, tubing, mountain excursions, an alpine slide and alpine coasters. The Mountain segment also operates several company-owned mountain resort golf courses, including three in Colorado, one in Vermont and two in Pennsylvania.
•Lodging and Real Estate
High quality lodging options are an integral part of providing a complete resort experience. Our owned and managed properties proximate to our mountain resorts, including six RockResorts branded properties (with a seventh RockResorts property planned for opening in 2025 in Keystone, Colorado) and a significant inventory of managed condominium units, provide numerous accommodation options for our mountain resort guests. Our recent real estate efforts have primarily focused on the potential to expand our destination bed base and upgrade our resorts through the sale of land parcels to third-party developers, which in turn provides opportunity for the development of condominiums, luxury hotels, parking and commercial space for restaurants and retail shops. Our Lodging and Real Estate segments have and continue to invest in resort related assets and amenities or seek opportunities to expand and enhance the overall resort experience.
Lodging Segment
Our Lodging segment includes owned and managed lodging properties, including those under our luxury hotel brand, RockResorts; managed condominium units which are in and around our mountain resorts in Colorado, Lake Tahoe, Utah, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania and British Columbia, Canada; two NPS concessioner properties in and near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming; a resort ground transportation company in Colorado; and company-owned and operated mountain resort golf courses managed by our Lodging operations, including two in Colorado, one in Wyoming, one in Lake Tahoe, California, and one in Park City, Utah. For additional property details, see Item 2. “Properties”.
The Lodging segment currently includes approximately 5,300 owned and managed hotel rooms and condominium units. Our lodging strategy seeks to complement and enhance our mountain resort operations through our ownership or management of lodging properties and condominiums proximate to our mountain resorts and selective management of luxury resort hotels in premier destination locations.
In addition to our portfolio of owned and managed luxury resort hotels and other hotels and properties, our lodging business also features a Colorado ground transportation company, which represents the first point of contact with many of our guests when they arrive by air to Colorado. We offer year-round ground transportation from Denver International Airport and Eagle County Airport to the Vail Valley (locations in and around Vail, Beaver Creek, Avon and Edwards) and Summit County (which includes Keystone, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Frisco and Silverthorne).
Lodging Industry/Market
Hotels are categorized by Smith Travel Research, a leading lodging industry research firm, as luxury, upper upscale, upscale, upper midscale, midscale and economy. The service quality and level of accommodations of our RockResorts’ hotels place them in the luxury segment, which represents hotels achieving the highest average daily rates (“ADR”) in the industry, and includes such brands as the Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton and Marriott’s Luxury Collection hotels. Our other hotels are categorized in the upper upscale and upscale segments of the hotel market. The luxury and upper upscale segments consist of approximately 860,000 rooms at approximately 2,800 properties in the U.S. as of July 31, 2024. For Fiscal 2024, our owned hotels, which include a combination of RockResort hotels as well as other hotels in proximity to our Resorts, had an overall ADR of $317.65, a paid occupancy rate of 50.9% and revenue per available room (“RevPAR”) of $161.82, as compared to the upper upscale segment’s ADR of $225.01, a paid occupancy rate of 68.3% and RevPAR of $153.70. We believe that this comparison to the upper upscale segment is appropriate as our mix of owned hotels include those in the luxury and upper upscale segments, as well as some of our hotels that fall in the upscale segment. The highly seasonal nature of our lodging properties typically results in lower average occupancy as compared to the upper upscale segment of the lodging industry as a whole.
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Competition
Competition in the hotel industry is generally based on quality and consistency of rooms, restaurants, meeting facilities and services, the attractiveness of locations, availability of a global distribution system and price. Our properties compete within their geographic markets with hotels and resorts that include locally-owned independent hotels, as well as facilities owned or managed by national and international chains, including such brands as Four Seasons, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Westin. Our properties also compete for convention and conference business across the national market. We believe we are highly competitive in the resort hotel niche for the following reasons:
•all of our hotels are located in unique, highly desirable resort destinations;
•our hotel portfolio has achieved some of the most prestigious hotel designations in the world, including two properties in our portfolio that are currently rated as AAA 4-Diamond;
•many of our hotels (both owned and managed) are designed to provide a look that feels indigenous to their surroundings, enhancing the guest’s vacation experience;
•each of our RockResorts hotels provides the same high level of quality and services, while still providing unique characteristics which distinguish the resorts from one another. This appeals to travelers looking for consistency in quality and service offerings together with an experience more unique than typically offered by larger luxury hotel chains;
•many of the hotels in our portfolio provide a wide array of amenities available to the guest such as access to world-class ski and golf resorts, spa and fitness facilities, water sports and a number of other outdoor activities, as well as highly acclaimed dining options;
•conference space with the latest technology is available at most of our hotels. In addition, guests at Keystone can use our company-owned Keystone Conference Center, the largest conference facility in the Colorado Rocky Mountain region with more than 100,000 square feet of meeting, exhibit and function space. The Seven Springs Resorts also provide conference services, offering over 77,000 square feet of meeting and function space;
•we have a central reservations system that leverages our mountain resort reservations system and has an online planning and booking platform, offering our guests a seamless and useful way to make reservations at our resorts; and
•we actively upgrade the quality of the accommodations and amenities available at our hotels through capital improvements. Capital funding for third-party owned properties is provided by the owners of those properties to maintain standards required by our management contracts.
National Park Concessioner Properties
We own GTLC, which is based in the Jackson Hole area in Wyoming and operates within Grand Teton National Park under a concession agreement with the NPS with an initial term that would have expired on December 31, 2021. In June 2021, we agreed to an amendment extending the term of the agreement an additional two years, with an expiration date of December 31, 2023. Additionally, in November 2023, we agreed to an amendment to the agreement extending the term until December 31, 2024. The NPS currently expects to release a contract solicitation for the services offered by GTLC by the end of calendar year 2024. We currently expect that our existing agreement will be extended for an additional one year through December 31, 2025 due to the time needed for solicitation, preparation, review and award of a new contract. We expect the NPS to confirm this extension in the fall of 2024. We also own Flagg Ranch, located in Moran, Wyoming and centrally located between Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park on the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway (the “Parkway”). Flagg Ranch operates under a concession agreement with the NPS that expires October 31, 2028. GTLC also owns Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club (“JHG&TC”), located outside Grand Teton National Park near Jackson, Wyoming. GTLC’s operations within Grand Teton National Park and JHG&TC have operating seasons that generally run from mid-May through the end of September.
We primarily compete with such companies as Aramark Parks & Resorts, Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts, ExploreUS and Xanterra Parks & Resorts in retaining and obtaining NPS concession agreements. Four full-service concessioners provide accommodations within Grand Teton National Park, including GTLC. In a normal operating season, GTLC offers three lodging options within Grand Teton National Park: Jackson Lake Lodge, a full-service, 385-room resort with 17,000 square feet of conference facilities; Jenny Lake Lodge, a small, rustically elegant retreat with 37 cabins; and Colter Bay Village, a facility with 166 log cabins, 66 tent cabins, 337 campsites and a 112-space recreational vehicle park. We also operate two additional campgrounds separate from these facilities: the 304-site Gros Ventre Campground and 51-site Jenny Lake Campground. GTLC offers dining options as extensive as its lodging options, with cafeterias, casual eateries and fine dining establishments. Additionally we operate 11 retail outlets located throughout the GTLC properties. GTLC’s resorts provide a wide range of activities for guests to enjoy, including cruises on Jackson Lake, boat rentals, horseback riding, guided fishing, float trips, golf and guided Grand Teton National Park tours. As a result of the extensive amenities offered, as well as
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the tremendous popularity of the National Park System, GTLC’s accommodations within Grand Teton National Park generally operate near full capacity during their operating season.
Real Estate Segment
We have extensive holdings of real property at our mountain resorts primarily throughout Summit and Eagle Counties in Colorado, as well as proximate to our resorts in Park City and Whistler Blackcomb. The principal activities of our Real Estate segment include the sale of land parcels to third-party developers and planning for future real estate development projects, including zoning and acquisition of applicable permits. We continue undertaking preliminary planning and design work on future projects and are pursuing opportunities with third-party developers rather than undertaking our own significant vertical development projects. In addition to the cash flow generated from real estate development sales, these development activities benefit our Mountain and Lodging segments by (1) creating additional resort lodging and other resort related facilities and venues (primarily restaurants, spas, commercial space, private mountain clubs, skier services facilities and parking structures) that provide us with the opportunity to create new sources of recurring revenue, enhance the guest experience and expand our destination bed base; (2) controlling the architectural themes of our resorts; and (3) expanding our property management and commercial leasing operations.
Marketing and Sales
Our Mountain segment’s marketing and sales efforts are focused on leveraging marketing analytics to drive targeted and personalized marketing to our existing and prospective guests. We capture guest data on the vast majority of guest transactions through sales of our pass products, lift tickets, ski and ride school products, gear rentals, and lodging properties on our e-commerce platform, as well as through our mobile applications and our lift ticket windows. We promote our Resorts using guest-centric omni-channel marketing campaigns leveraging email, direct mail, promotional programs, digital marketing (including social, search and display) and traditional media advertising where appropriate (e.g. targeted print, TV and radio). We also have marketing programs directed at attracting groups, corporate meetings and convention business. Most of our marketing efforts drive traffic to our websites, where we provide our guests with information regarding each of our Resorts, including services and amenities, reservations information, virtual tours and the opportunity to book/purchase our full suite of products (e.g. lift access, lodging, ski and ride school, rentals, etc.) for their visits. We also enter into strategic alliances with companies to enhance the guest experience at our Resorts, as well as to create opportunities for cross-marketing.
For our Lodging segment, we promote our hotels and lodging properties through marketing and sales programs, which include marketing directly to many of our guests through our digital channels (search, social and display), promotional programs and print media advertising, all of which are designed to drive traffic to our websites and central reservations call center. We also promote comprehensive vacation experiences through various package offerings and promotions (combining lodging, lift tickets, ski school lessons, ski rental equipment, transportation and dining). In addition, our hotels have active sales forces to generate conference and group business. We market our resort properties in conjunction with our mountain resort marketing efforts where appropriate, given the strong synergies across the two businesses.
Across both the Mountain and Lodging segments, sales made through our websites and call center allow us to transact directly with our guests, which further expands our customer base and enables analytics to deliver an increasingly guest-centric marketing experience.
Seasonality
Ski resort operations are highly seasonal in nature, with a typical ski season in North America and Europe generally beginning in mid-November and running through mid-April. In an effort to partially mitigate the concentration of our revenue in the winter months in North America, we offer several non-ski related activities in the summer months such as sightseeing, mountain biking, guided hiking, mountain coasters, ziplines, golf (primarily included in the operations of the Lodging segment) and our Epic Discovery program. These activities also help attract destination conference and group business to our Resorts in our off-season. In addition, the operating results of our Australian Resorts, for which the ski season generally occurs from June through early October, partially counterbalances the concentration of our revenues during this seasonally lower period in North America.
Our lodging business is also highly seasonal in nature, with peak seasons primarily in the winter months (with the exception of GTLC, Flagg Ranch, certain managed properties and mountain resort golf operations). We actively promote our extensive conference facilities and have added more off-season activities to help offset the seasonality of our lodging business. Additionally, we operate several golf courses proximate to our Resorts, as described above.
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Sustainability & Social Responsibility
Sustainability remains a core philosophy for us. As a company rooted in the great outdoors, we have a unique responsibility to protect and preserve the incredible environments in which we operate. Our corporate sustainability and social responsibility program, EpicPromise, is comprised of four key pillars of our promise: Sustainability, Community Support, Employee Foundation, and Inclusive Access. The environment is our business, and we focus on climate change mitigation and adaptation, resource conservation and building stronger local communities through contributions to local non-profit organizations. Our sustainability efforts are diverse and touch nearly every area of our operations. In 2017, we launched Commitment to Zero, our pledge to have a zero net operating footprint by 2030. This commitment includes (i) achieving zero net emissions by finding operational energy efficiencies, investing in renewable energy and investing in offsets and other emissions reduction projects, (ii) zero waste to landfill and (iii) zero net operating impact to forests and habitat by restoring an acre of forest for every acre displaced by our operations.
As a result of this commitment, Vail Resorts was accepted as the first travel and tourism company into RE100, a collaborative initiative uniting more than 400 global and influential businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity. During Fiscal 2024, we continued to make progress toward our Commitment to Zero goals. Specifically, we focused on reducing waste to landfill and expanding our robust composting and recycling programs. As a result of our waste reduction efforts, we were a finalist for the National Ski Area Association’s (“NSAA”) Golden Eagle Overall Environmental Excellence Award at the 2024 NSAA annual conference. Additionally, during Fiscal 2024, we continued to procure renewable electricity from the 82-turbine Plum Creek Wind project we enabled, and the Elektron Solar Project we helped enable began operation in May 2024 and will provide Park City Mountain with 100% clean renewable electricity on the same utility grid Park City Mountain operates.
For over five years, Vail Resorts has been a member and active leader of the Mountain Collaborative for Climate Action, working with leaders from Alterra Mountain Company, Boyne Resorts and POWDR to develop an industry-driven climate commitment. As the ski industry’s first unified effort to combat climate change, this group continues to advocate for climate-smart policy, innovative waste reduction, and deepened sustainability within the partners’ respective operations. This partnership leverages our leadership in sustainability and is expected to accelerate our collective progress, leading the industry toward long-term transformational change.
In addition, during Fiscal 2024 we sponsored the reforestation of 10 acres in California and Minnesota that were previously impacted by wildfire or in need of native habitat restoration and forest resilience, which addressed 100% of the forests permanently impacted by our operations throughout the year. Through direct EpicPromise grants and contributions from our $1 guest donation program, we partnered with several local environmental organizations to fund environmental stewardship projects, including the National Forest Foundation, the Tahoe Fund, Grand Teton National Park Foundation, Mountain Trails Foundation in Park City and the EnviroFund at Whistler Blackcomb. We also encouraged our employees to help protect the environment and support their local community by volunteering with various local organizations. Vail Resorts was recognized by Newsweek as one of the “Most Trustworthy Companies in America” in both 2024 and 2023, which we believe reflects our focus on building customer, investor, and employee trust through listening, learning and adapting to the needs of our team members and guests, while remaining responsible stewards through our industry-leading sustainability efforts.
For Fiscal 2024, our focus for the EpicPromise community impact grant program focused on larger grants in key communities to support housing and childcare. In addition, support continues to be given for food security, equal access to education and other basic needs and services. In the third year of our Epic for Everyone Youth Access in partnership with the Katz Amsterdam Foundation, we hosted 2,584 urban youth to attend a 5-day snowsports program. We also continued our legacy access program with more than 12,000 youth participating in multi-day programs focused on mentorship, leadership and the beneficial impact of outdoor time on mental health. Finally, our EpicPromise Employee Foundation (the “Foundation”), which was established in 2015, is a charitable foundation funded by annual contributions from the Company, its employees and its guests. The Foundation supports Vail Resorts’ employees and their families via grants for emergency relief and scholarships. Annually more than $1.0 million in grants and scholarships are provided to help employees in times of need or to pursue educational opportunities. For more information on both the Foundation and our environmental stewardship, visit www.vailresorts.com. Information on our websites does not constitute part of this document.
Human Capital Management
At Vail Resorts, our talent philosophy is designed to enable us to fully achieve our mission and vision by ensuring we have the talent in place to deliver on our future growth plans. We are truly passionate about our people, and we are focused on attracting, developing and retaining the best talent and building the best teams around them. At fiscal year end, we employed approximately 7,600 year-round employees. Over the course of our Resorts’ various winter and summer operating seasons in Fiscal 2024, we employed approximately 44,900 seasonal employees. In addition, we employed approximately 300 year-round
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employees and 200 seasonal employees on behalf of the owners of our managed hotel properties. We consider our employee relations to be positive.
Over the past several years, ongoing investments in frontline talent have driven strong staffing levels, with high engagement and season-to-season return rates, enabling our mountain resorts to deliver strong guest experience results, including on-mountain activities as well as at our restaurants, lodging, ski and ride school, and retail/rental locations. These investments included: (i) competitive wages and benefits for all of our hourly employees, including seasonal frontline staff; (ii) investments in our human resource systems and processes to support full staffing and deliver enhanced employee experience; (iii) differentiated frontline training and leadership development programming; (iv) mental health and wellness programming available for all employees, even if they are not enrolled in an employer-sponsored healthcare plan, which includes free mental health therapy sessions; and (v) unique employee benefits, including ski passes for employees and dependents, complementary ski/ride coupons and a 40% discount for retail and rental gear. Collectively, we believe these investments helped attract top frontline talent from the external market and drove strong frontline retention and return rates.
The Vail Resorts talent philosophy recognizes that people are our most important asset in driving our business growth, and outlines the role that leaders play in attracting, developing, engaging, retaining and rewarding high performing, high potential talent, including supporting them to achieve their future career growth. Our talent management system equips leaders with programs and tools to effectively assess, develop and reward talent and includes regular leadership talent review and assessment processes to ensure that the caliber and capability of our talent aligns with the sophistication of our business strategies and processes. We also offer a variety of leadership development programs, which are available to everyone from entry-level seasonal frontline employees to our most senior executives. Our executive team reviews talent strategy and succession planning frequently, including with our Board of Directors, to assess current and future talent needs. We have a strong track record of hiring, developing and preparing high performing, high potential talent for internal mobility and succession. As a result, succession for our year-round senior leadership roles is primarily sourced through internal talent development and promotion, rather than external hires, with an internal fill rate of approximately 80% for Fiscal 2024. Our Chief Executive Officer was an internal successor appointed in November 2021, and over the past year, internal successors were selected for some of the most senior roles in our Company, including the Chief Information Officer and the General Counsel. Nearly all of our appointments of General Managers and Chief Operating Officers of our Resorts for the past three years came from internal succession. Additionally, in December 2022 we appointed a new Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer who had previously been with the Company for more than ten years, serving in various senior finance leadership roles.
To ensure we are building high performing teams, we encourage every employee at every level within the Company to continuously grow their leadership by participating in ongoing events that build leadership capability and drive aligned leadership expectations to enable business outcomes. We host an annual leadership summit that brings together our leaders at the director level and above to build understanding and alignment to business priorities, explore emerging leadership topics and build connections across our growing global business and organization. In 2024, we expanded the leadership summit population of employees to include all manager level and above, creating separate, regional, in-person experiences for managers and senior managers across the Company to engage in leadership topics and connection opportunities relevant to their unique leadership roles. We offer ongoing digital leadership series discussions led by our executive team members and enterprise senior leaders for this same population throughout the year and equip leaders with tools and guides to share learnings and insights from these sessions in dialogue with their teams for the benefit of the entire organization. Our leadership philosophy has a very strong emphasis on emotional intelligence and a leader’s ability to understand their own impact on others, and shape that impact to unlock the potential of their teams.
We offer a broad range of professionally designed leadership development programs, with differentiated development for our highest performing, highest potential employees who make up our long-term leadership succession pipeline. Building upon our culture of leadership development for seasonal, frontline talent, we also provide our signature “Epic Service” training. This program inspires and equips frontline talent, who play the most important role in delivering a differentiated guest experience, to practice service-based leadership. We reinforce the principles of this program through a daily in-resort frontline recognition program and manager-led career development conversations for frontline staff. The full Epic Service development platform enables employees to choose curated learning experiences in Leadership, Guest Service and Business – that align with their motivations and career goals. Results are measured by completion of required training, utilization and impact of the Epic Service recognition program, employee engagement scores, internal frontline talent promotion rates, pipeline readiness of top internal frontline talent for frontline leader roles, and Guest Experience and Net Promoter Scores.
We leverage a quarterly continuous listening survey to measure and understand the key drivers of sustainable engagement among our employees, make timely adjustments to maintain strong alignment, and to care for the needs of our employees.
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Vail Resorts Culture
Core to our human capital management strategy is our mission – to create an Experience of a Lifetime for our employees so they can in turn create an Experience of a Lifetime for our guests. We have a values based leadership culture that places a premium on leader transparency, vulnerability and authenticity. We look for people to join Vail Resorts who are brave, passionate and ambitious. As Vail Resorts employees, we hold ourselves accountable for living these seven core values every day in everything we do: Serve Others, Do Right, Do Good, Be Safe, Have Fun, Be Inclusive and Drive Value.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
We believe that diversity, equity and inclusion (“DEI”) is core to both our company success and the future growth of our industry. At Vail Resorts, one of our core values is “Be Inclusive,” which means that we expect everyone at our Company to be welcoming to others, including all races, gender identities, sexual orientations, abilities and other differences. We have a specific leadership competency, “Elevate,” which requires that all our leaders are self-aware of their own inclusive behavior so they can intentionally build diverse representation, bring equity to our business practices, and create inclusive communities in which all people can thrive. We are focused on continuing to move from accountability to action and have added “Elevate” as a competency in our annual performance management process for all employees.
We have a long history of building gender diversity throughout the Company. Women represent 54% of our corporate senior leaders at the director level and above and 52% of our corporate roles generally. Eight resorts in our portfolio are led by women, including five of our twelve destination mountain resorts (Vail, Park City, Keystone, Crested Butte, and Whistler Blackcomb). Six of the twelve directors on our Board are women, seven of our twelve executive committee members are women, we are one of only a few Fortune 1000 companies with women in both the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer positions, and our Chief Executive Officer, Kirsten Lynch, is the only woman in our industry to head a Fortune 1000 company. While women currently represent approximately 22% of mountain operations senior leadership roles, we continue to strive to bring more gender diversity to these roles, which have historically been male-dominated. We have also developed women in leadership programs and a Women and Allies Employee Resource Group to foster an inclusive culture and ensure equity of our talent practices. Employee Resource Groups and Affinity Groups are part of a framework for under-represented talent to create a community with people who share those parts of their identity and their allies. Collectively, we refer to Employee Resource Groups and Affinity Groups as the “Employee Inclusion Network.” An Affinity Group is an employee-led group that provides voluntary connection opportunities for our employees to build supportive relationships with colleagues who identify similarly to one another. An Employee Resources Group is an employee-led group focused on driving systemic change through data-driven recommendations to processes, policies and programs to further Company goals of equity and inclusion. Our Employee Inclusion Network is currently made up of two Employee Resource Groups (Women and Allies & Rainbow Room) and four Affinity Groups (Black Employee Network; Veterans, Partners and Allies; Asian and Pacific Islander and Allies; and La Comunidad - Latine/Hispanic Employees).
Building on our success with increasing representation of women, we are focused on improving racial diversity at Vail Resorts, as well as in our communities and our industry. We recognize that the future of the sport is inclusion, and the industry is facing a business imperative to inspire the next generation of diverse skiers and riders to join the sport. In the 2023/2024 North American ski season, our youth access programs served more than 12,000 youth who may not have otherwise had access to the sport from across 32 of our mountain communities, including Vail, Heavenly, and Park City, as well as from cities surrounding our regional ski areas, such as Boston, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and more. Additionally, Vail Resorts offers the adaptive pass with discounted pricing for individuals with permanent disability to enjoy unlimited,
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unrestricted access to all Vail Resorts owned and operated resorts plus limited access at partner resorts including Telluride Ski Resort in Colorado and Resorts of the Canadian Rockies. This year, nearly 3,400 Epic Adaptive passes were sold, and the Company continues to deepen partnerships with over 50 nonprofit organizations to offer adaptive programming for those with physical and mental barriers, providing impactful in-kind support including lift tickets, ski passes, and office space. Keystone was also selected by the National Brotherhood of Snowsports (“NBS”) as the host site for the 2025 NBS Summit to continue the welcoming experience the NBS community had at Vail Mountain in 2023. In service of this vision for the future of the sport, Vail Resorts is investing in building purposeful representation of talent from under-represented communities, embedding equity into leadership competencies and talent processes, and fostering an environment of inclusion where all employees are empowered to bring their full selves to work. Over the past four years, we have increased the representation of talent from under-represented communities in our senior leader positions, built leader capability to “Lead with Equity,” and ensured employees have the opportunity to connect and engage with peers who share an identity through the aforementioned Employee Inclusion Network. As part of our commitment to driving sustainable change, we are listening and learning as a company, and the Company is part of CEO Action, Colorado Inclusive Economy and Civic Alliance.
We are committed to providing our employees with an Experience of a Lifetime. We have a holistic set of total rewards programs designed to support all aspects of that experience for people of all races and genders, and we strive for competitiveness against the external market for talent. In addition, as part of our “Be Inclusive” core value, we conduct regular pay equity audits and make adjustments as needed.
Our Code of Conduct states that every employee is entitled to work in a respectful environment that is free of harassment and discrimination and we require our full-time, year-round employees, as well as certain seasonal employees, to complete a Code of Conduct training on an annual basis. This annual requirement includes training on various topics, such as financial integrity, information security, ethical leadership and anti-harassment. In Fiscal 2024, the training was completed by 98% of this employee base.
Mountain Safety
The nature of our on-mountain operations comes with inherent safety risks, and the health and safety of our employees is a top priority. It is the shared responsibility of every employee to actively participate in creating a safe and secure environment and to minimize injuries. To that end, we routinely:
•provide resources and education to promote safe operating environments at our resorts, including compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards, as well as to improve overall workplace safety and health. This includes regular and ongoing safety training and assessments as well as safety audits, and all employees are required to take annual slope safety training;
•proactively assess risks to identify and mitigate unsafe conditions and integrate learnings from incidents to prevent future occurrences across our network of resorts; and
•hire and train a dedicated health and safety team that oversees resort operations as well as highly trained ski patrol professionals at each resort.
Employee Housing
While identifying and securing affordable housing options is challenging in some of the communities in which we operate, providing frontline employees affordable housing in our resort communities is a critical aspect of the employee value proposition. For the 2024/2025 North American ski season, we expect to serve approximately 6,100 frontline team members with affordable housing across our Resorts, as well as an additional 1,200 team members at GTLC for the 2025 summer season.
Intellectual Property
The development of intellectual property is part of our overall business strategy, and we regard our intellectual property as an important element of our success. Accordingly, we protect our intellectual property rights and seek to protect against its unauthorized use through international, national and state laws and common law rights. We file applications for and obtain trademark registrations and have filed for patents to protect inventions and will continue to do so where appropriate. We also seek to maintain our trade secrets and confidential information by nondisclosure policies and through the use of appropriate confidentiality agreements and contractual provisions.
In the highly competitive industry in which we operate, trademarks, service marks, trade names and logos are very important in the sales and marketing of our pass products, destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas, lodging properties and services. We seek to register and protect our trademarks, service marks, trade names and logos and have obtained a significant number of registrations for those trademarks. We believe our brands have become synonymous in the travel and leisure industry
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with a reputation for excellence in service and authentic hospitality. Among other national and international trademark registrations, the Company owns U.S. federal registrations for Epic®, Epic Pass®, Vail Resorts®, Vail®, Beaver Creek®, Breckenridge®, Keystone®, Crested Butte & Design®, Kirkwood & Design® and Heavenly®. The Company also owns Canadian and U.S. trademark registrations for the Whistler Blackcomb & Design® name and logo, and Swiss trademark registrations for the CMA Group® and Giorgio Rocca® name and logos.
Environmental Compliance and other Laws and Regulations
Our operations are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the environment, including laws and regulations governing water and sewer discharges, water use, air emissions, soil and groundwater contamination, the maintenance of underground and aboveground storage tanks and the disposal of waste and hazardous materials. Examples of such laws and regulations in the U.S. include the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the California Environmental Quality Act and the Vermont Land Use and Development Act. Internationally, we are subject to the Forest and Range Practices Act and Watershed Sustainability Act in British Columbia as well as the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW, Australia) and the Environment Protection Act 1970 and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Victoria, Australia). We are also required to comply with all Swiss regulations, including federal acts and ordinances, as well as Cantonal authorities.
Various federal, state, local and provincial regulations also govern our resort operations, including liquor licensing and food safety regulations applicable to our food and beverage operations and safety standards relating to our lift operations and heli-ski operations at Whistler Blackcomb. In addition, each resort is subject to and must comply with state, county, regional and local government land use regulations and restrictions, including, for example, employee housing ordinances, zoning and density restrictions, noise ordinances and wildlife, water and air quality regulations. We believe that we are in compliance, in all material respects, with environmental and other laws and regulations. Compliance with such provisions has not materially impacted our capital expenditures, earnings, or competitive position, and we do not anticipate that it will have a material impact in the future.
Contracts with Governmental Authorities for Resort Operations
U.S. Forest Service Resorts
The operations of Breckenridge, Vail Mountain, Keystone, Crested Butte, Stevens Pass, Heavenly, Kirkwood, Mount Snow, Attitash and portions of Beaver Creek and Wildcat are conducted on land under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service (collectively, the “Forest Service Resorts”). The 1986 Ski Area Permit Act (the “1986 Act”) allows the Forest Service to grant Term Special Use Permits (each, a “SUP”) for the operation of ski areas and construction of related facilities on National Forest lands. In November 2011, the 1986 Act was amended by the Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act (the “Enhancement Act”) to clarify the Forest Service’s authority to approve facilities primarily for year-round recreation. Under the 1986 Act and the Enhancement Act, the Forest Service has the authority to review and approve the location, design and construction of improvements in the permit area and many operational matters.
Each individual national forest is required by the National Forest Management Act to develop and maintain a Land and Resource Management Plan (a “Forest Plan”), which establishes standards and guidelines for the Forest Service to follow and consider in reviewing and approving our proposed actions.
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Each of the Forest Service Resorts operates under a SUP, and the acreage and expiration date information for each SUP is as follows:
| Forest Service Resort | Acres | Expiration Date | ||||||
| Breckenridge | 5,702 | December 31, 2029 | ||||||
| Vail Mountain | 12,353 | December 1, 2031 | ||||||
| Keystone | 8,376 | December 31, 2032 | ||||||
| Beaver Creek | 3,801 | November 8, 2039 | ||||||
| Heavenly | 7,050 | May 1, 2042 | ||||||
| Mount Snow | 894 | April 4, 2047 | ||||||
| Attitash | 279 | April 4, 2047 | ||||||
| Wildcat | 953 | November 18, 2050 | ||||||
| Kirkwood | 2,330 | March 1, 2052 | ||||||
| Stevens Pass | 2,443 | August 31, 2058 | ||||||
| Crested Butte | 4,350 | September 27, 2058 | ||||||
We anticipate requesting a new SUP for each Forest Service Resort prior to its expiration date as provided by Forest Service regulations and the terms of each existing SUP. We are not aware of the Forest Service refusing to issue a new SUP to replace an expiring SUP for a ski resort in operation at the time of expiration. The Forest Service can also terminate a SUP if it determines that termination is required in the public interest. However, to our knowledge, no SUP has ever been terminated by the Forest Service over the opposition of the permit holder.
Each SUP contains a number of requirements, including indemnifying the Forest Service from third-party claims arising out of our operation under the SUP and compliance with applicable laws, such as those relating to water quality and endangered or threatened species. For use of the land authorized by the SUPs, we pay a fee to the Forest Service ranging from 1.5% to 4.0% of adjusted gross revenue for activities authorized by the SUPs. Included in the calculation are sales from, among other things, lift tickets, pass products, ski school lessons, food and beverage, certain summer activities, equipment rentals and retail merchandise.
The SUPs may be revised or amended to accommodate changes initiated by us or by the Forest Service to change the permit area or permitted uses. The Forest Service may amend a SUP if it determines that such amendment is in the public interest. While the Forest Service is required to seek the permit holder’s consent to any amendment, an amendment can be finalized over a permit holder’s objection. Permit amendments must be consistent with the Forest Plan and are subject to the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), both of which are discussed below.
The 1986 Act requires a Master Development Plan (“MDP”) for each ski area that is granted a SUP, and all improvements that we propose to make on National Forest System lands under any of our SUPs must be included in a MDP, which describes the existing and proposed facilities, developments and area of activity within the permit area. The MDPs are reviewed by the Forest Service for compliance with the Forest Plan and other applicable laws and, if found to be compliant, are accepted by the Forest Service. Notwithstanding acceptance by the Forest Service of the conceptual MDPs, individual projects still require separate applications and compliance with NEPA and other applicable laws before the Forest Service will approve such projects. We update or amend our MDPs for our Forest Service Resorts from time to time.
Whistler Blackcomb
Whistler Blackcomb is comprised of two mountains: Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain. Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain are located on Crown Land within the traditional territory of the Squamish and Lil’wat Nations. The relationship between Whistler Blackcomb and Her Majesty, the Queen in Right of British Columbia (the “Province”) is largely governed by Master Development Agreements (the “MDAs”) between the Province and Whistler Mountain Resort Limited Partnership (“Whistler LP”) with respect to Whistler Mountain, and between the Province and Blackcomb Skiing Enterprises Limited Partnership (“Blackcomb LP”) with respect to Blackcomb Mountain. Together, Whistler LP and Blackcomb LP are referred to as the “Partnerships.”
The MDAs, which were entered into in February 2017, have a term of 60 years (expiring on February 23, 2077) and are replaceable for an additional 60 years by option exercisable by the Partnerships after the first 30 years of the initial term. In
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accordance with the MDAs, the Partnerships are obligated to pay annual fees to the Province at a percentage of gross revenues related to the operation of certain activities at Whistler Blackcomb.
The MDAs require that each of the mountains be developed, operated and maintained in accordance with its respective master plan, which contains requirements as to matters such as trail design and development, passenger lift development and environmental concerns. The MDAs grant a general license to use the Whistler Mountain lands and the Blackcomb Mountain lands for the operation and development of Whistler Blackcomb. The MDAs also provide for the granting of specific tenures of land owned by the Province to the Whistler LP or the Blackcomb LP, as applicable, by way of rights-of-way, leases or licenses. Each Partnership is permitted to develop new improvements to Whistler Mountain or Blackcomb Mountain, as the case may be, within standard municipal type development control conditions. We are obligated to indemnify the Province from third-party claims arising out of our operations under the MDAs.
Northeast Resorts
Stowe and Okemo operate partially on land that we own and partially on land we lease from the State of Vermont. With respect to Stowe, the land we own is on the Spruce Peak side of the resort while the land we lease from the State of Vermont is located on Mt. Mansfield in the Mt. Mansfield State Forest. The initial ten-year term of the lease commenced in June 1967, and the lease provides for eight separate ten-year extension options. The current term of the lease extends through June 2027, and there are three remaining ten-year extension options. With respect to Okemo, we own the Jackson Gore base area land and lease most of the skiable terrain from the State of Vermont. The initial ten-year term of the lease commenced in December 1963, and the lease provides for eight separate ten-year extension options. The current term of the lease extends through December 2033, and there are two remaining ten-year extension options. Under both leases, the land can be used for the development and operation of a ski area including ski trails, ski lifts, warming shelters, restaurants and maintenance facilities. For use of the land under the leases, we pay a fee to the State of Vermont based on revenue for activities authorized by the lease, such as lift tickets, pass products, food and beverage, summer activities and retail merchandise. We are obligated to indemnify the State of Vermont from third-party claims arising out of our operations under the lease.
Mount Sunapee lies within the Mount Sunapee State Park and operates on land that we lease from the State of New Hampshire. The initial twenty-year term of the lease commenced in July 1998, and the lease provides for three separate ten-year extension options. The current term of the lease extends through June 2028, and there are two remaining ten-year extension options. The land can be managed and operated as a ski area and summer recreational facility, including all of its support activities, to provide year-round outdoor recreation. For use of the land under the lease, we pay a fee to the State of New Hampshire that includes both a base fee and a fee based on revenue from activities authorized by the lease, such as lift tickets, pass products, food and beverage, summer activities and retail merchandise. We are obligated to indemnify the State of New Hampshire from third-party claims arising out of our operations under the lease.
Laurel Mountain
Laurel Mountain Ski Area operates within Laurel Mountain State Park (“State Park”) under a Concession Lease Agreement (the “Lease Agreement”) with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, acting through the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (“Department”). The Lease Agreement, first entered into on October 15, 2018, allows for ski operations on approximately 387 acres of the State Park, including the existing ski area, buildings and equipment owned by the Department. The Lease Agreement is automatically renewed for a total of 35 one-year terms through October 31, 2051. We pay a fixed annual rent, as well and an additional amount based on the number of skier visits, with a cap subject to semi-annual consumer price index adjustments.
Australian Resorts
Perisher is located in the Kosciuszko National Park, the largest national park in New South Wales, Australia. The resort includes four villages (Perisher Valley, Smiggin Holes, Guthega and Blue Cow) and their associated ski fields, as well as the site of the Skitube Alpine Railway at Bullock’s Flat, which is accredited in accordance with the Rail Safety National Law (NSW) No. 82a. The Office of Environment and Heritage (“OEH”), an agency of the New South Wales government, which is part of the Department of Planning and Environment, is responsible for the protection and conservation of the Kosciuszko National Park. The National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NSW) (“NPW Act”) establishes the National Parks and Wildlife Service and is responsible for the control and management of the Kosciusko National Park.
The NPW Act requires the Kosciuszko National Park to be managed in accordance with the principles specified in that legislation, including the provision for sustainable visitor or tourist use and enjoyment that is compatible with the conservation of the national park’s natural and cultural values. The legislation also authorizes the Minister for the Environment and the Minister for Heritage (the “Minister”) to grant leases and licenses of land within the Kosciuszko National Park for various
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purposes, including for purposes related to sustainable visitor or tourist use and enjoyment. Under this power, the Minister has granted to Perisher a lease and a license of specified land within the Kosciusko National Park until June 30, 2048, with an option to renew for an additional period of 20 years. The Minister has also granted Perisher a lease of the parking lot at Perisher Valley that expires on December 31, 2025. Subject to certain conditions being met, the lease for the Perisher Valley parking lot can be extended until June 30, 2048, with an option to renew for a further 20 years. The lease and license provide for the payment of a minimum annual base rent with periodic increases in base rent over the term, turnover rent payments based on a percentage of certain gross revenue, remittance of park user fees and certain other charges, also subject to periodic increases over the term.
Falls Creek and Hotham are located in the Alpine National Park in Victoria, Australia. Falls Creek and Hotham both operate on Crown land permanently reserved under the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978 (Vic), with the exception of three small parcels of freehold land within the Hotham resort area. Each resort is subject to the Alpine Resorts (Management) Act 1997 (Vic) (the “ARM Act”), which is in place to manage the development, promotion, management and use of the resorts on a sustainable basis and in a manner that is compatible with the alpine environment. The ARM Act established the Alpine Resorts Commission to plan for the direction and sustainable growth of Victoria’s five alpine resorts (including Falls Creek and Hotham). This includes review and coordination of the implementation of an Alpine Resorts Strategic Plan to which Falls Creek and Hotham are subject.
The ARM Act also established each of the Falls Creek Resort Management Board and Hotham Resort Management Board (the “RMBs”), each of which is appointed by, and responsible to, the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change (the “Minister”). The RMBs are responsible for the management and collection of fees for entrance into the Alpine National Park and from Falls Creek and Hotham ski resorts. The ARM Act authorizes the RMBs to grant leases subject to Ministerial approval, and under this power, the entities operating the Hotham and Falls Creek resorts have each been leased land within the Alpine National Park under various long-term leases with differing expiration dates. The main lease for the ski field at Falls Creek expires December 31, 2040, while the main lease for the ski field at Hotham expires December 31, 2057. The key ski field leases provide for the payment of rent with both a fixed and variable component, a community service charge payable to the ARCC and a ski patrol contribution payable to RMBs. At Hotham, we also lease land known as ‘Dinner Plain’ within the Alpine National Park which expires on June 30, 2031, with an option to extend for a further 10 years.
The Alpine Resorts (Management) Regulations 2009 (Vic) gives the RMBs the power to declare the snow season, temporarily close the resort to entry if there is a significant danger to public safety, determine parts of a resort to which entry is prohibited, set aside areas of the resort for public use, parking, driving of vehicles, or landing of aircraft, and determine the areas for cross country ski trails, skiing, snowboarding and other snow play activities.
Swiss Resorts
Andermatt-Sedrun - acquired by the Company on August 3, 2022, Andermatt-Sedrun is located in the Usern Valley of the Swiss Alps and comprises five mountains (Gemsstock, Nätschen, Sedrun/Oberalp, Realp and Valtgeva). Ski operations are conducted on land owned by Andermatt Swiss Alps AG (“ASA”) as freehold or leasehold properties, land owned by Usern Corporation, land owned by the municipality of Tujetsch and land owned by private property owners.
ASA holds three leasehold properties, which are owned by either Usern Corporation, a corporation under public law consisting of all the citizens of the Usern Valley, or the Swiss Confederation, namely the Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection, and Sport (“DDPS”). For the land owned by Usern Corporation, ASA and Usern Corporation have entered into a main framework concession agreement, dated August 13, 2013, which sets forth the terms and conditions for the use of the land in connection with ski infrastructure facilities in the Gemsstock and Nätschen-Gütsch-Oberalp areas (“Ursern Framework Concession”). The Ursern Framework Concession was entered into for a fixed term until December 31, 2032. An application for renewal of the Ursern Framework Concession must be submitted at least 12 months prior to the expiration of the concession agreement, and we anticipate applying for the renewal. For the land owned by the Swiss Confederation, ASA has entered into leasehold agreements with the DDPS, which have a term of 50 years expiring on April 10, 2067 and March 13, 2068.
Another part of the land on which the Andermatt-Sedrun resort operations are conducted is owned by the municipality of Tujetsch. By means of a personal easement agreement dated October 12, 2012, ASA was granted various building rights and rights of way in order to build, operate and maintain the T-Bars and chairlifts on Tujetsch's property. The personal easement agreement was entered into for a fixed term until October 12, 2032, and we anticipate applying for renewal.
With respect to Swiss operations, companies who provide for regular and commercial passenger transportation by rail, road and water as well as by cable cars and elevators must obtain a passenger transport concession from the Federal Office of Transport
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(“FOT”). Under the Ursern Framework Concession, ASA was granted the required concessions for all ski infrastructure facilities and the usage of the ski slopes on the property of the Ursern Corporation. In the course of expanding the ski infrastructure facilities Urserntal-Oberalp, the FOT granted ASA passenger transport concessions for a total of 12 cableway installations by means of a plan approval dated May 30, 2014. Each passenger transport concession has a separate expiration date between 2026 and 2042, and we will then be able to apply for an extension or new concession. Additionally, the plan approval included concessions and approvals for ancillary installations such as ski slopes, snowmaking systems, rolling carpets, railway station passenger subway and clearings.
Crans-Montana - acquired by the Company on May 2, 2024, Crans-Montana is located in the Valais canton of Switzerland. The acquired operations include: an approximate 84% ownership stake in Remontées Mécaniques Crans Montana Aminona SA (“CMA”), which controls and operates all the resort’s lifts and supporting mountain operations, including four retail and rental locations; full ownership of SportLifeAG, which operates one of the ski schools located at the resort; and full ownership of 11 restaurants located on and around the mountain (operated by Crans-Montana Food and Beverage SA, or “CMFB”).
The municipalities of Crans-Montana and Lens hold a stake in CMA of approximately 9.47% and 3.33%, respectively, which, together with our ownership share, collectively accounts for a total of approximately 96.22% ownership. For the purpose of governing the exercise of selected rights and obligations as shareholders in CMA, we entered into a shareholders’ agreement with the municipalities of Crans-Montana and Lens. The initial fixed term of the agreement expires on December 31, 2035, subject to future automated ten-year renewal periods, unless terminated by us or the municipalities acting jointly. Among other things, the shareholders’ agreement provides for terms and conditions in relation to the election and governance of the board of directors, company policies, dividends, financial aspects and related matters.
The operations of the resort are conducted on land owned by CMA or CMFB as freehold or leasehold properties, land owned by regional civic communities, land owned by the municipalities of Crans-Montana or Lens and land owned by private property owners. Portions of the Crans-Montana resort operations are conducted on land owned by third parties, including local municipalities, via numerous registered easements, building rights, or other agreements. Certain of these building rights are also subject to federal concessions.
As noted above, companies who provide for regular and commercial passenger transportation by rail, road and water as well as by cable cars and elevators must obtain a passenger transport concession from the FOT. Crans-Montana was granted the required concessions for all ski infrastructure facilities and the usage of the ski slopes. Each passenger transport concession is granted for a maximum of 40 years and may then be extended, with the existing concessions having expiration dates between 2032 and 2047.
Concession Agreements
National Park Concessioner Properties
GTLC operates three lodging properties, food and beverage services, retail, camping and other services within the Grand Teton National Park under a concession agreement with the NPS. Our concession agreement with the NPS for GTLC, which had an initial term expiration date of December 31, 2021, was amended in June 2021 to extend the term to December 31, 2023. Additionally, in November 2023, we agreed to an amendment to the agreement extending the term until December 31, 2024. The NPS currently expects to release a contract solicitation for the services offered by GTLC by the end of calendar year 2024. We currently expect that our existing agreement will be extended for an additional one year through December 31, 2025 due to the time needed for solicitation, preparation, review and award of a new contract. We expect the NPS to confirm this extension in the fall of 2024. We pay a fee to the NPS of a percentage of the majority of our sales occurring in Grand Teton National Park.
Flagg Ranch Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary, provides lodging, food and beverage services, retail, service station, recreation and other services on the Parkway located between Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. Our concession contract with the NPS for the Parkway expires on October 31, 2028, and we pay a fee to the NPS of a percentage of the majority of our sales occurring in the Parkway.
Prior to expiration of these concession contracts, we will have the opportunity to bid against other prospective concessioners for award of a new contract. The NPS may suspend operations under the concession contract at any time if the NPS determines it is necessary to protect visitors or resources within the Grand Teton National Park or during a Federal Government shutdown. The NPS may also terminate the concession contract for breach, following notice and a 15 day cure period or if it believes termination is necessary to protect visitors or resources within the Grand Teton National Park.
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Available Information
We file with or furnish to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) reports, including our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). These reports and proxy statements are available free of charge on our corporate website www.vailresorts.com as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. We also use our website as a means of disclosing additional information, including for complying with our disclosure obligations under the SEC’s Regulation FD (Fair Disclosure). Information on our websites does not constitute part of this document. Materials filed with or furnished to the SEC are also made available on its website at www.sec.gov.
ITEM 1A.RISK FACTORS.
Our operations and financial results are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could adversely affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows. The risks described below should carefully be considered together with the other information contained in this report.
Risks Related to Our Business
We are subject to the risk of prolonged weakness in general economic conditions including adverse effects on the overall travel and leisure related industries.
Skiing, travel and tourism are discretionary recreational activities that can entail a relatively high cost of participation and may be adversely affected by economic slowdown or recession. Economic conditions in North America, Europe and parts of the rest of the world, including inflationary pressures, elevated interest rates, supply chain disruption, fluctuating commodity pricing, geopolitical conflicts and uncertainties, increased labor costs and shortages, increased fuel prices, high unemployment, erosion of consumer confidence, health pandemics, sovereign debt issues and financial instability in the global markets, among other factors, could have negative effects on the travel and leisure industry and on our results of operations. As a result of these and other economic uncertainties, we have experienced and may continue to experience changes in booking trends including guest reservations made much closer to the actual date of stay, a decrease in the length of stay, a decrease in consumer spending and/or a decrease in group bookings. We cannot predict what further impact these uncertainties may continue to have on overall travel and leisure or more specifically, on our guest visitation, guest spending or other related trends and the ultimate impact it will have on our results of operations. Additionally, the actual or perceived fear of weakness in the economy could also lead to decreased spending by our guests. This could be further exacerbated by the fact that we charge some of the highest prices for single day lift tickets and ancillary services in the ski industry; however, we offer pass products, including the Epic Day Pass, which are available at a discount to the single day lift ticket prices. In the event of a decrease in visitation and overall guest spending we may decide we need to offer a higher amount of discounts and incentives than we have historically, which would adversely impact our operating results. Our Resorts also serve as a destination for international guests. To the extent there are material changes in exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar or travel restrictions in place due to inflation, geopolitical conflicts or uncertainties, health pandemics or other factors, it could impact the volume of international visitation, which could have a significant impact on our operating results.
We may be adversely impacted by the effects of high or prolonged inflation and elevated interest rates.
Inflation increases the cost of goods we purchase and services we buy, the cost of capital projects and wages and benefits for our workforce. Although we may take measures to mitigate the impact of inflation through pricing actions or cost reduction measures, if we are not able to offset inflationary costs, our results of operations will be negatively impacted and possibly in a material manner. As a result, the impact of high and prolonged inflation could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations. Inflationary pressures also increase the cost of living and cost of travel, which decreases consumers’ disposable income and could impact our guests’ discretionary spending habits or willingness to visit our Resorts, which could reduce customer demand for the products and services that we offer and negatively impact our financial condition or our results of operations. In addition, the existence of inflation in certain economies has resulted in, and may continue to result in, elevated interest rates. Our business could be adversely impacted by increases in the cost of borrowing from elevated interest rates. Elevated interest rates increase the borrowing costs on new debt, including debt we may refinance, as well as any existing variable rate indebtedness, and could affect the fair value of our investments.
We are vulnerable to unfavorable weather conditions and the impact of natural disasters.
Our ability to attract guests to our Resorts is partly influenced by weather conditions and by the amount and timing of snowfall during the ski season. Unfavorable weather conditions can adversely affect skier visits and our revenue and profits. Unseasonably warm weather may result in inadequate natural snowfall and reduce skiable terrain, which increases the cost of
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snowmaking and could render snowmaking, wholly or partially, ineffective in maintaining quality skiing conditions, including in areas which are not accessible by snowmaking equipment. On the other hand, excessive natural snowfall may significantly increase the costs incurred to groom trails and may make it difficult for guests to access our Resorts.
Additionally, there is scientific research that emissions of greenhouse gases continue to alter the composition of the global atmosphere in ways that are affecting and are expected to continue affecting the global climate. The effect of climate change, including any impact of global warming, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations as a result of decreased snowfall, increased weather variability and/or warmer overall temperatures, which could adversely affect skier visits and our revenue and profits. Revenues and profits generated from mountain summer activities/sightseeing and golf peak season operations are not nearly sufficient to off-set off-season losses from our other mountain and lodging operations. This impact could be exacerbated by climate change.
There can be no assurance that our Resorts will receive seasonal snowfalls near their historical averages. An example of weather variability was observed throughout the 2023/2024 North American ski season, where significant weather-related challenges disrupted operating days and impacted demand, including lower snowfall for the full winter season compared to the prior year period across our western North American resorts and limited natural snow and variable temperatures at our Eastern U.S. resorts (comprising the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast). Past ski season snowfall levels or consistency of snow conditions can impact sales of pass products or other advanced bookings. Additionally, the early season snow conditions and skier perceptions of early season snow conditions can influence the momentum and success of the overall ski season. Unfavorable weather conditions can adversely affect our Resorts and lodging properties as guests tend to delay or postpone vacations if conditions differ from those that are typical at such Resorts for a given season. Although we have created geographic diversification to help mitigate the impact of weather variability, there is no way for us to predict future weather patterns or the impact that weather patterns may have on our results of operations or visitation.
A severe natural disaster, such as a forest fire, may interrupt our operations, damage our properties, reduce the number of guests who visit our Resorts in affected areas and negatively impact our revenue and profitability. Damage to our properties could take a long time to repair and there is no guarantee that we would have adequate insurance to cover the costs of repair and recoup lost profits. Furthermore, such a disaster may interrupt or impede access to our affected properties or require evacuations and may cause visits to our affected properties to decrease for an indefinite period. The ability to attract visitors to our Resorts is also influenced by the aesthetics and natural beauty of the outdoor environment where our Resorts are located. A severe forest fire or other severe impacts from naturally occurring events could negatively impact the natural beauty of our Resorts and have a long-term negative impact on our overall guest visitation as it could take several years for the environment to recover.
Our Epic Coverage program may require us to provide significant refunds to our pass product holders, which would result in reduced revenue and could also expose us to the risk of customer complaints and negative perception about our pass products.
Epic Coverage is included with the purchase of all pass products for no additional charge. Epic Coverage offers refunds to pass product holders if certain qualifying personal or Resort closure events occur before or during the ski season, subject to express terms and conditions. Accordingly, to the extent that a significant volume of qualifying events occur during the ski season, we could be required to provide a significant amount of refunds to our pass product holders, subject to express terms and conditions, which could have a material negative impact on our financial performance and condition.
The estimated amount of refunds reduce the amount of pass product revenue recognized by the Company. To estimate the amount of refunds under Epic Coverage, the Company considers historical claims data for personal events and the Company’s operating plans for its Resorts. The Company believes the estimates of refunds are reasonable; however, the program is subject to a number of variables and uncertainties, and therefore actual results could vary materially from such estimates, and the Company could be required to refund significantly higher amounts than estimated.
Epic Coverage has also resulted in customer complaints and negative perception by customers who believe they are entitled to a refund for events that do not qualify under the express terms and conditions of the program. Any complaints posted by customers on social media platforms, even if inaccurate, may harm our reputation, and may divert management’s time and attention away from other business matters.
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Leisure travel is particularly susceptible to various factors outside of our control, including terrorism, the uncertainty of military and geopolitical conflicts, the cost and availability of travel options and changing consumer preferences or willingness to travel.
Our business is sensitive to the willingness of our guests to travel. Adverse economic conditions, pandemics, acts of terrorism, political events and developments in military and geopolitical conflicts in areas of the world from which we draw our guests could depress the public’s propensity to travel and cause severe disruptions in both domestic and international air travel and consumer discretionary spending, which could reduce the number of visitors to our Resorts and have an adverse effect on our results of operations. Many of our guests travel by air and the impact of higher prices for commercial airline services, availability of air services and willingness of guests to travel by air could cause a decrease in visitation by Destination guests to our Resorts. Visitation may also decrease if widespread airline or airport disruptions or flight cancellations occur. A significant portion of our guests also travel by vehicle and higher gasoline prices or willingness of guests to travel generally due to safety or traffic concerns could cause a decrease in visitation by guests who would typically drive to our Resorts. Higher cost of travel may also affect the amount that guests are willing to spend at our Resorts and could negatively impact our revenue particularly for lodging, ski school, dining and retail/rental. In addition, economic volatility and uncertainty, supply chain disruptions, increased fuel prices and increases to cost of travel (as a result of geopolitical factors or otherwise) may adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Additionally, our success depends on our ability to attract visitors to our Resorts. Changes in consumer tastes and preferences, particularly those affecting the popularity of skiing and snowboarding, and other social and demographic trends could adversely affect the number of skier visits during a ski season. A significant decline in skier visits compared to historical levels would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Pandemics and public health emergencies could materially disrupt our business and negatively impact our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
Pandemics and public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may impact our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition in ways that are uncertain, unpredictable and outside of our control. The extent of the impact of such an event depends on the severity and duration of the public health emergency or pandemic, as well as the nature and duration of federal, state and local laws, orders, rules, emergency temporary standards, regulations and mandates, together with protocols and contractual requirements implemented by our customers, that may be enacted or newly enforced in response. Additionally, our ability to provide our services during such an event may be dependent on the governmental or societal responses to these circumstances in the markets in which we operate. A pandemic or public health emergency is likely to heighten and exacerbate the risks described herein. We experienced many of these risks in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. Any resurgence of infection rates or the spread of new variants or viruses could adversely affect our revenue, results of operations and cash flows.
Cyberattacks or other interruptions to or disruption of our information technology systems and services could disrupt our business.
Our business relies on the continuous operation of information technology systems and services. Despite our efforts, our information networks and systems are vulnerable to service interruptions or to security breaches from inadvertent or intentional actions by our employees or vendors, natural disasters, system or equipment malfunctions, power outages, computer viruses or intentional attacks by malicious third parties, which could persist undetected for an extended period of time. Any interruption to these systems and services could adversely impact our business, including lost revenue, customer claims, damage to reputation, litigation, and/or denial or interruption to our processing of transactions and/or the services we provide to customers. We also provide information to third party service providers and rely on third party service providers for the provision of information technology services. There is a risk that the information held by third parties could be disclosed, otherwise compromised, or disrupted. We carry insurance for many of these adverse events, including cyber security insurance, but our insurance coverage may not always be sufficient to meet all of our liabilities or our losses.
There has been a rise in the number of sophisticated cyberattacks on network and information systems, including ransomware attacks that prevent the target from accessing its own data and/or systems until a ransom is paid. As a result, the risks associated with such an event continue to increase. We have experienced cybersecurity threats and incidents, none of which have been material. We have taken, and continue to take, steps to address these concerns by implementing various cybersecurity risk management strategies, initiatives, and internal controls, with the goal of enhancing cybersecurity. However, there can be no assurance that our internal controls or cybersecurity risk management practices will be effective, and that a system interruption, security breach or unauthorized access will not occur. Cyber threats and attacks are constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated, which increases the difficulty and cost of detecting and defending against them. In addition, despite our efforts to proactively institute cybersecurity defense mechanisms, such as regular cybersecurity tabletop exercises, control gap analyses, threat modeling, impact analyses, internal and external cybersecurity audits, vulnerability scans, penetration tests, third party
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analyses, and other cybersecurity threat defense strategies, such strategies may ultimately prove ineffective, as they are, by their nature, largely reactive, and cybersecurity threats are constantly evolving as threat actors become more sophisticated. For additional information regarding our cybersecurity processes, policies and programs, refer to Item 1C. “Cybersecurity.” Cyber threats and attacks can have cascading impacts across networks, systems and operations. Any such interruption, breach or unauthorized access to our network or systems, or the networks or systems of our vendors, could adversely affect our business operations and result in the loss of critical or sensitive confidential information or intellectual property, as well as impact our ability to meet regulatory or compliance obligations, and could result in financial, legal, business and reputational harm to us. These events also could result in large expenditures to repair or replace the damaged properties, products, services, networks or information systems to protect them from similar events in the future.
Failure to maintain the integrity and security of our internal, employee or guest data could result in damages to our reputation and subject us to costs, fines or lawsuits.
Our business relies on the use of large volumes of data. We collect and retain guest data, including credit card numbers and other sensitive personal information, for various business purposes, such as processing transactions, marketing and other promotional purposes. We also maintain personal information about our employees. We could make faulty decisions if data is inaccurate or incomplete. Maintaining the integrity and security of data can be costly and is critical to our business, and our guests and employees have a high expectation that we will adequately protect their personal information. A significant theft, loss, loss of access to, or fraudulent use of customer, employee, or company data held by us or our service providers could adversely impact our reputation, and could result in significant remedial and other expenses, fines, and/or litigation.
Our business is highly seasonal.
Our mountain and lodging operations are highly seasonal in nature. Peak operating season for our North American and European Resorts is from mid-December to mid-April, and accordingly, revenue and profits from our mountain and most of our lodging operations are substantially lower and historically result in losses from late spring to late fall. Conversely, peak operating seasons for our Australian Resorts, GTLC and Flagg Ranch, mountain summer activities (including our Epic Discovery program), sightseeing and our golf courses generally occur from June to the end of September. Revenue and profits generated by our Australian Resorts, GTLC and Flagg Ranch, mountain summer activities/sightseeing and golf peak season operations are not nearly sufficient to fully offset our off-season losses from our other mountain and lodging operations. For Fiscal 2024, approximately 82% of total combined Mountain and Lodging segment net revenue (excluding Lodging segment revenue associated with reimbursement of payroll costs) was earned during our second and third fiscal quarters. This seasonality is partially mitigated by the sale of pass products (which for Fiscal 2024 accounted for approximately 65% of the total lift revenue) predominately occurring during the period prior to the start of the ski season as the cash from those sales is collected in advance and revenue is primarily recognized in the second and third fiscal quarters. In addition, the timing of major holidays and school breaks can impact vacation patterns and therefore visitation at our destination mountain Resorts and regional ski areas. If we were to experience an adverse event or realize a significant deterioration in our operating results during our peak periods (our fiscal second and third quarters) we would be unable to fully recover any significant declines in such fiscal year due to the seasonality of our business. Operating results for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved for any subsequent quarter or for a full fiscal year (see Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements).
We face significant competition.
The ski resort and lodging industries are highly competitive. There are approximately 770 ski areas in North America, including approximately 485 in the U.S. that serve local and destination guests, and these ski areas can be more or less impacted by weather conditions based on their location and snowmaking capabilities. The factors that we believe are important to customers include:
•proximity to population centers;
•availability and cost of transportation to ski areas;
•availability and quality of lodging options and other amenities in resort areas;
•ease of travel to ski areas (including direct flights by major airlines);
•pricing of lift tickets and/or pass products;
•the magnitude, quality and price of related ancillary services (ski school, dining and retail/rental);
•quality of snowmaking;
•type and quality of skiing and snowboarding offered;
•duration of the ski season;
•weather conditions; and
•reputation.
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There are many competing options for our guests, including other major resorts in Colorado, Utah, California, Nevada, the Pacific Northwest, Northeast and Southwest United States, and British Columbia, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, and other major destination ski areas worldwide. Our guests can choose from any of these alternatives, as well as non-skiing vacation options and destinations around the world. In addition, other forms of leisure such as sporting events and participation in other competing indoor and outdoor recreational activities are available to potential guests.
Our retail/rental business competes with numerous other national, regional, local and online retail and rental businesses. RockResorts hotels, our other hotels and our property management business compete with numerous other hotel and property management companies. Each of these competing businesses may have greater financial resources than we do and they may be able to adapt more quickly to changes in customer requirements or devote greater resources to promotion of their offerings than us. Additionally these competing businesses may offer locations, pricing or other factors that appeal to potential customers.
The high fixed cost structure of mountain resort operations can result in significantly lower margins if revenues decline.
The cost structure of our mountain Resort operations has a significant fixed component with variable expenses including, but not limited to, land use permit or lease fees and other resort related fees, credit card fees, retail/rental cost of sales, labor, and resort, dining and ski school operations. Any material declines in the economy, elevated geopolitical uncertainties and/or significant changes in historical snowfall patterns, as well as other risk factors discussed herein, could adversely affect revenue. As such, our margins, profits and cash flows may be materially reduced due to declines in revenue given our relatively high fixed cost structure. In addition, inflation has accelerated in the U.S. and globally in recent years due in part to global supply chain issues, the Ukraine-Russia war, a rise in energy prices and strong consumer demand. Increases in expenses as a result of this inflationary environment and other economic factors may adversely impact wages and other labor costs, energy, healthcare, insurance, transportation and fuel, cost of goods, property taxes, minimum lease payments and other expenses and operating costs included in our fixed cost structure, which may also reduce our margin, profits and cash flows.
We may not be able to fund resort capital expenditures, accurately identify the need for, or anticipate the timing of certain capital expenditures, which may adversely impact our business.
We regularly expend capital to construct, maintain and renovate our mountain Resorts and properties in order to remain competitive, maintain the value and brand standards of our mountain Resorts and properties and comply with applicable laws and regulations. We cannot always predict where and when capital will need to be expended in a given fiscal year and capital expenditures can increase due to circumstances beyond our control. We currently anticipate that we will spend approximately $216 million to $221 million on capital projects in calendar year 2024.
Our ability to fund capital expenditures will depend on our ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operations and/or to borrow from third parties in the debt market or raise additional capital in the equity market. We cannot provide assurances that our operations will be able to generate sufficient cash flow to fund such capital expenditures or that cash flows generated will be allocated to fund capital expenditures, or that we will be able to obtain sufficient capital from other sources on adequate terms, or at all, especially considering elevated interest rates. Our ability to generate cash flow and to obtain third-party financing will depend upon many factors, including:
•our future operating performance;
•general economic conditions, including interest rates, and economic conditions affecting the resort industry, the ski industry and the capital markets;
•competition; and
•legislative and regulatory matters affecting our operations and business;
Any inability to generate sufficient cash flows from operations or to obtain adequate third-party financing could cause us to delay or abandon certain projects and/or plans.
Further, our properties and equipment at our mountain Resorts, including parking areas, roads, ski lifts, and other infrastructure, require periodic maintenance capital expenditures in order to maintain standards of satisfactory operating performance and appearance. Although some maintenance capital expenditure projects are routine and normally planned to occur outside of peak operating periods in order to not interfere with business operations, other maintenance capital expenditure projects are non-routine, difficult to predict, and could arise during peak operating periods. If we fail to identify the need for a maintenance project, address a maintenance project timely, or fail to anticipate the criticality of a maintenance project for key infrastructure and therefore defer maintenance projects, we could be forced as a result to temporarily close certain of our facilities, particularly during peak operating periods, and our business and results of operations could be materially adversely impacted.
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A disruption in our water supply would impact our snowmaking capabilities and operations.
Our operations are heavily dependent upon our access to adequate supplies of water for snowmaking and to otherwise conduct our operations. Our mountain Resorts are subject to federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations relating to water rights. Changes in these laws and regulations may adversely affect our operations. In addition, a severe and prolonged drought may adversely affect our water supply and increase the cost of snowmaking. A significant change in law or policy, impact from climate change or any other interference with our access to adequate supplies of water to support our current operations or an expansion of our operations would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
We rely on various government permits and landlord approvals at our U.S. resorts.
Our U.S. Resort operations require permits and approvals from certain federal, state and local authorities, including the Forest Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the States of Vermont, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania and the NPS. Virtually all of our ski trails and related activities, including our summer activities, at Vail Mountain, Breckenridge, Keystone, Crested Butte, Stevens Pass, Heavenly, Kirkwood, Mount Snow, Wildcat, a majority of Beaver Creek and portions of Attitash are located on National Forest land. The Forest Service has granted us permits to use these lands, but maintains the right to review and approve many operational matters, as well as the location, design and construction of improvements in these areas. The expiration dates for our permits are set forth in the Business section of this Form 10-K under the heading “Contracts with Governmental Authorities for Resort Operations”.
The Forest Service can terminate or amend these permits if, in its opinion, such termination is required in the public interest. A termination or amendment of any of our permits could have a materially adverse effect on our business and operations. In order to undertake improvements and new development, we must apply for permits and other approvals. These efforts, if unsuccessful, could impact our expansion efforts. Furthermore, Congress may materially increase the fees we pay to the Forest Service for use of these National Forest lands.
Stowe and Okemo are partially located on land we lease from the State of Vermont, Mount Sunapee is located on land we lease from the State of New Hampshire and Laurel Mountain is located on land we lease from the State of Pennsylvania. We are required to seek approval from such states for certain developments and improvements made to the resort. Certain other resorts are operated on land under long-term leases with third parties. For example, operations at our Northstar, Park City and Mad River Mountain Resorts are conducted pursuant to long-term leases with third parties who require us to operate the Resorts in accordance with the terms of the leases and seek certain approvals from the respective landlords for improvements made to the Resorts. The initial lease term for Northstar with affiliates of EPR Properties expires in January 2027 and allows for three 10-year renewal options. We entered into a transaction agreement, master lease agreement and ancillary transaction documents with affiliate companies of Talisker Corporation (“Talisker”), and the initial lease term for our Park City resort with Talisker expires in May 2063. Following the initial lease term expiration, we have six 50-year renewal options. Additionally, GTLC and Flagg Ranch operate under concession agreements with the NPS that expire on December 31, 2024 (which we currently expect will be extended in the fall of 2024 for an additional year through December 31, 2025 due to the time needed for solicitation, preparation, review and award of a new contract) and October 31, 2028, respectively. There is no guarantee that at the end of the lease/license or agreements under which we operate our Resorts we will renew or, if desired, be able to negotiate new terms that are favorable to us. Additionally, our Resorts that operate on privately-owned land are subject to local land use regulation and oversight by county and/or town governments, and we may not be able to obtain the requisite approvals needed for resort improvements or expansions. Failure to comply with the provisions, obligations and terms (including renewal requirements and deadlines) of our material permits and leases could adversely impact our operating results.
We rely on foreign government leases and landlord approvals, and are subject to certain related laws and regulations, at our international resorts.
Our international Resort operations require permits and approvals from certain foreign authorities, including, but not limited to, the (i) Province of British Columbia; (ii) the New South Wales and Victoria, Australia governments; and (iii) the DDPS, the municipalities of Tujetsch, Crans-Montana, and Lens, regional civic communities, such as Bourgeoisie de Montana and Consortage de l’Alpage de Mer-dechon, and the FOT in Switzerland. Our operations at Whistler Blackcomb are located on Crown Land within the traditional territory of the Squamish and Lil’wat Nations, and the operations and future development of both Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain are governed by Master Development Agreements, which expire on February 23, 2077. We have a lease and a license for Perisher within the Kosciusko National Park which expires in June 2048, with an option to renew for an additional period of 20 years. Perisher relies on a suite of planning approvals (and existing use rights) granted under the Australian EPA Act to operate the resort. Strategic planning documents have been adopted to provide a framework for the assessment and approval of future development at the resort. Perisher also holds a number of environmental approvals to regulate its operations, including an environment protection license and a suite of dangerous goods
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licenses related to the storage of diesel, heating oil and propane in storage tanks across the resort. Each of Falls Creek and a majority of Hotham is located in the Alpine National Park in Victoria, Australia that is permanently reserved under the Crown Land Act and subject to the ARM Act. The ARM Act established the Falls Creek RMB and the Hotham RMB, which is responsible for the management and collection of fees from Falls Creek and Hotham, respectively, and the ARM Regulations give each of the Falls Creek RMB and the Hotham RMB certain discretion over the operations of Falls Creek and Hotham, respectively, including the authority to (i) declare the snow season, (ii) temporarily close the applicable resort if entry would be a significant danger to public safety and (iii) determine which portions of the applicable resort are open to the public and the activities that are permitted on those portions of such resort. Portions of our operations at Andermatt-Sedrun are located on land owned by (i) the DDPS and subject to two leasehold agreements with ASA, each with a term of 50 years expiring on April 10, 2067 and March 13, 2068; and (ii) the municipality of Tujetsch by means of a personal easement agreement which expires on October 12, 2032 with an option to apply for renewal. We also hold a passenger transport concessions from the FOT, for a total of 12 cableway installations by means of a plan approval dated May 3, 2014. Each passenger transport concession has a separate expiration date between 2026 and 2042, and we will then be able to apply for an extension or new concession. Portions of our operations at Crans-Montana are located on land owned by regional Bourgeoisies, the municipality of Crans-Montana and private property owners, whereby the owners have granted building rights and/or easements for the operations. Such leasehold property rights expire between 2027 and 2094, and we will then be able to negotiate for an extension. These leasehold properties primarily relate to forest and agricultural zones for which usage is needed for the operation of the ski lifts (e.g. passing through of ski lifts or in connection with the arrival or departure stations of the ski lifts) and are spread over the entire ski resort. We also hold passenger transport concessions from the FOT, for a total of 20 cableway installations. Each passenger transport concession has a separate expiration date between 2032 and 2047, and we will then be able to apply for an extension or new concession. There is no guarantee that at the end of the initial lease/license or agreements under which we operate our Resorts we will renew or, if desired, be able to negotiate new terms that are favorable to us. Failure to comply with the provisions, obligations and terms (including renewal requirements and deadlines) of our material permits and leases could adversely impact our operating results.
Any resource efficiency transformation initiatives that we undertake may not deliver the results we expect.
To create organizational effectiveness and scale for operating leverage as we grow globally, we announced a multi-year resource efficiency transformation plan to achieve $100 million in annualized savings by the end of 2026. Our ability to realize anticipated benefits from these plans is subject to many estimates and assumptions, including business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, and accordingly there can be no assurance that the anticipated savings, operating efficiencies or other benefits will be achieved, within the anticipated timeframes or at all, or that they will not be significantly and materially less than anticipated.
We are subject to extensive environmental and health and safety laws and regulations in the ordinary course of business.
Our operations are subject to a variety of federal, state, local and foreign environmental laws and regulations including those relating to air emissions, discharges to water, storage, treatment and disposal of wastes and other liquids, land use, remediation of contaminated sites, protection of natural resources such as wetlands and sustainable visitor or tourist use and enjoyment. For example, future expansions of certain of our mountain facilities must comply with applicable forest plans approved under the National Forest Management Act, federal, state and foreign wildlife protection laws or local zoning requirements, and in Vermont, our operations must comply with Act 250, which regulates the impacts of development to, among other things, waterways, air, wildlife and earth resources, and any projects must be completed pursuant to a Master Plan. In addition, most projects to improve, upgrade or expand our ski areas are subject to environmental review under the NEPA, FRPA, Act 250, the CEQA, the Australian NPW Act, the Australian EPA Act or the Australian EP Act, as applicable. Our ski area improvement proposals may not be approved or may be approved with modifications that substantially increase the cost or decrease the desirability of implementing the project. From time to time our operations are subject to inspections by environmental regulators or other regulatory agencies. We are also subject to worker health and safety requirements as well as various state and local public health laws, rules, regulations and orders. We believe our operations are in substantial compliance with applicable material environmental, health and safety requirements. However, our efforts to comply do not eliminate the risk that we may be held liable, incur fines or be subject to claims for damages, and that the amount of any liability, fines, damages or remediation costs may be material for, among other things, the presence or release of regulated materials at, on or emanating from properties we now or formerly owned or operated, newly discovered environmental impacts or contamination at or from any of our properties, or changes in environmental laws and regulations or their enforcement.
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Changes in security and privacy laws and regulations could increase our operating costs, increase our exposure to fines and litigation, and adversely affect our ability to market our products, properties and services effectively.
The information, security and privacy requirements imposed by applicable laws and governmental regulation and the payment card industry are increasingly demanding in the U.S. and other jurisdictions where we operate. Maintaining compliance with applicable security and privacy regulations may increase our operating costs or our exposure to potential fines and litigation in connection with the enforcement of such regulations, particularly in light of the launch of the My Epic App, or otherwise impact our ability to market our products, properties and services to our guests. In addition, any failure to maintain compliance with such regulations may cause us to incur significant penalties and generate negative publicity, require us to change our business practices, increase our costs and adversely affect our business. Any future changes or restrictions in U.S. or international privacy laws could also adversely affect our operations, including our ability to transfer guest data. Changes in U.S. or international law affecting marketing, solicitation or privacy, could adversely affect our marketing activities and force changes in our marketing strategy or increase the costs of marketing. If access to lists of potential customers from travel service providers or other companies with whom we have relationships was prohibited or otherwise restricted, our ability to develop new customers and introduce them to our products could be impaired.
We rely on information technology to operate our businesses and maintain our competitiveness, and any failure to adapt to technological developments or industry trends could harm our business or competitive position.
We depend on the use of sophisticated information technology and systems for central reservations, point of sale, marketing, customer relationship management and communication, procurement, maintaining the privacy of guest and employee data, administration and technologies we make available to our guests. We must continuously improve and upgrade our systems and infrastructure to offer enhanced products, services, features and functionality, while maintaining the reliability and integrity of our systems, network security and infrastructure. Particularly in light of the launch of the My Epic App, we may not be able to maintain our existing systems or replace or introduce new technologies and systems as quickly as we would like or in a cost-effective manner, which may keep us from achieving the desired results in a timely manner, to the extent anticipated, or at all. Also, we may be unable to devote adequate financial resources to new technologies and systems in the future. If any of these events occur, our business and financial performance could suffer.
We may not be able to hire, train, reward and retain adequate team members and determine and maintain adequate staffing, including our seasonal workforce, which may impact labor costs and our ability to achieve our operating, growth and financial objectives.
Our long-term growth and profitability depend partially on our ability to recruit and retain high-quality employees to work in and manage our Resorts. Adequate staffing and retention of qualified employees is a critical factor affecting our guests’ experiences in our Resorts. In addition, our mountain and lodging operations are highly dependent on a large seasonal workforce. Maintaining adequate staffing is complicated and unpredictable. The market for the most qualified talent continues to be highly competitive and we must provide competitive wages, benefits and workplace conditions to attract and retain the most qualified employees, particularly during a time when we have seen significant wage inflation in the market for employees. In addition, in many communities, the supply of resort-area housing is constrained due to market conditions, making it difficult for our employees to obtain available, affordable housing. Further, zoning regulations, protracted approval processes and local anti-development sentiment can prevent or substantially delay new housing projects that we or other parties may pursue to meet the demand for new affordable housing stock.
Changes in immigration laws could also impact our workforce because we typically recruit and hire foreign nationals as part of our seasonal workforce. A shortage of international workers, failure to adequately recruit and retain new domestic employees, higher than expected attrition levels, or increased wages all could affect our ability to open and operate parts of our Resorts, deliver guest service at traditional margins or achieve our labor cost objectives.
We are also subject to various federal, state and foreign laws governing matters such as minimum wage requirements, sick leave pay, overtime compensation and other working conditions, work authorization requirements, discrimination and family and medical leave. Cost of labor and labor-related benefits are primary components in the cost of our operations. Labor shortages, affordable employee housing shortages, increased employee turnover and health care mandates can increase our labor costs. We are subject to mandated minimum wage rates and we also experience market-driven pressures to pay wages even higher than mandated minimum wages. This can result in increases not only to the wages of our minimum wage employees but also to the wages paid to employees at wage rates that are above the minimum wage. During Fiscal 2023, we increased our minimum wage for North American employees to $20 per hour and announced a substantial investment in our human resource department to support more normalized staffing and operations at our Resorts. From time to time, we have experienced non-union employees attempting to unionize. While only a very small portion of our employees are unionized at present, we may experience additional union activity in the future, which could lead to disruptions in our business, increases in
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our operating costs and/or constraints on our operating flexibility. These potential labor impacts could adversely impact our results of operations. For additional details, see “Business—Human Capital Management.”
We have recently acquired Crans-Montana, which was not subject to rules and regulations promulgated under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended ("Sarbanes-Oxley"), and may therefore lack the internal controls that would be required of a U.S. public company, which could ultimately affect our ability to ensure compliance with the requirements of Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley.
We have recently acquired Crans-Montana, which was not previously subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under Sarbanes-Oxley and accordingly was not required to establish and maintain an internal control infrastructure meeting the standards promulgated under Sarbanes-Oxley. Our assessment of and conclusion on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of July 31, 2024 did not include certain elements of the internal controls of Crans-Montana, which was acquired on May 2, 2024.
Although our management will continue to review and evaluate the effectiveness of our internal controls in light of this acquisition, we cannot provide any assurances that there will be no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. Any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the internal control structure of our acquired businesses may cause significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and our ability to comply with Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley.
Our business depends on the quality and reputation of our brands, and any deterioration in the quality or reputation of these brands, including as a result of misappropriation of our intellectual property or the risk of accidents occurring at our mountain resorts or competing mountain resorts, may reduce visitation and negatively impact our operations.
A negative public image or other adverse events could affect the reputation of one or more of our mountain Resorts, other destination resorts, hotel properties and other businesses or more generally impact the reputation of our brands. Any resulting harm on our business may be immediate without affording us an opportunity for redress or correction. Our ability to attract and retain guests depends, in part, upon the external perceptions of the Company, the quality and safety of our Resorts, services and activities, including summer activities, and our corporate and management integrity. While we maintain and promote an on-mountain safety program, there are inherent risks associated with our Resort activities. From time to time in the past, accidents and other injuries have occurred on Resort property. An accident or an injury at any of our Resorts or at resorts operated by competitors, particularly an accident or injury involving the safety of guests and employees that receives media attention, could negatively impact our brand or reputation, cause loss of consumer confidence in us, reduce visitation at our Resorts, and negatively impact our results of operations.
The considerable expansion in the use of social media over recent years has compounded the impact of negative publicity. Information posted on social media platforms at any time may be adverse to our interests or may be inaccurate, each of which may harm our reputation or business. If the reputation or perceived quality of our brands declines, our market share, reputation, business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely impacted. Additionally, our intellectual property, including our trademarks, domain names and other proprietary rights, constitutes a significant part of our value. Any misappropriation, infringement or violation of our intellectual property rights could also diminish the value of our brands and their market acceptance, competitive advantages or goodwill, which could adversely affect our business.
Increased scrutiny and changing expectations from investors, consumers, employees, regulators, and others regarding our environmental, social and governance practices and reporting could cause us to incur additional costs, devote additional resources and expose us to additional risks, which could adversely impact our reputation, customer attraction, access to capital and employee recruitment and retention.
Companies across all industries are facing increasing scrutiny related to their environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) practices and reporting. Investors, consumers, employees and other stakeholders have focused increasingly on ESG practices and have placed increasing importance on the implications and social cost of their investments, purchases and other interactions with companies. In 2017, we launched an ambitious Commitment to Zero pledge to have a zero net operating footprint by 2030, which includes commitments to (i) achieving zero net emissions, (ii) zero waste to landfill, and (iii) zero net operating impact to forests. Additionally, we were awarded the NSAA’s Golden Eagle Climate Change award at the 2023 NSAA annual conference and we were a finalist for the NSAA Golden Eagle Overall Environmental Excellence Award at the 2024 NSAA annual conference; however we may not be able to sustain such recognition for our ESG efforts. If our ESG practices do not meet investor, consumer or employee expectations related to our Commitment to Zero or any other ESG initiative, which continue to evolve, or if we do not maintain recognition for our ESG efforts, our brand, reputation and customer retention may be negatively impacted.
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Our ability to achieve any ESG objective is subject to numerous risks, many of which are outside of our control. Examples of such risks include:
•the evolving regulatory requirements affecting ESG practices;
•the availability of suppliers that can meet sustainability, diversity and other ESG standards that we may set; and
•our ability to recruit, develop and retain diverse talent in our labor markets.
If we fail, or are perceived to be failing, to meet the standards included in any sustainability disclosure (including our Commitment to Zero pledge included in our annual EpicPromise Progress Report) or the expectations of our various stakeholders, it could negatively impact our reputation, customer attraction and retention, access to capital, and employee retention. In addition, new sustainability rules and regulations have been adopted and may continue to be introduced. Our failure to comply with any applicable rules or regulations could lead to penalties and adversely impact our reputation, customer attraction and retention, access to capital, and employee retention.
Our acquisitions might not be successful.
In recent years, we have completed numerous acquisitions and may continue to acquire certain mountain resorts, hotel properties and other businesses complementary to our own, as well as developable land in proximity to our Resorts. Acquisitions are complex to evaluate, execute and integrate. We cannot ensure that we will be able to accurately evaluate or successfully integrate and manage acquired mountain resorts, properties and businesses and increase our profits from these operations. We continually evaluate potential acquisitions both domestically and internationally and intend to actively pursue acquisition opportunities, some of which could be significant. As a result, we face various risks from acquisitions, including our recent acquisitions of the Seven Springs Resorts, Andermatt-Sedrun and Crans-Montana, some of which include:
•our evaluation of the synergies and/or long-term benefits of an acquired business;
•our inability to integrate acquired businesses into our operations as planned;
•diversion of our management’s attention;
•increased expenditures (including legal, accounting and due diligence expenses, higher administrative costs to support the acquired entities, information technology, personnel and other integration expenses);
•potential increased debt leverage;
•potential issuance of dilutive equity securities;
•litigation arising from acquisition activity;
•potential impairment of goodwill, intangible or tangible assets;
•additional risks with respect to current and potential international operations, including by unique laws, regulations and business practices of foreign jurisdictions; and
•unanticipated problems or liabilities.
In addition, we run the risk that any new acquisitions may fail to perform in accordance with expectations, and that estimates of the costs of improvements and integration for such properties may prove inaccurate.
We are subject to additional risks with respect to our current and potential international operations and properties.
We have and may continue to increase our operations outside of the United States, with international acquisitions to date including Whistler Blackcomb in Canada; Perisher, Hotham and Falls Creek in Australia; and Andermatt-Sedrun and Crans-Montana in Switzerland. We are accordingly subject to a number of risks relating to doing business internationally. We also intend to consider strategic growth opportunities for our portfolio globally through acquisitions in attractive international markets to service demonstrable demand where we believe the anticipated risk-adjusted returns are consistent with our investment objectives. Our international operations and properties and in particular our newly acquired European properties could be affected by factors peculiar to the laws, regulations and business practices of those jurisdictions. These laws, regulations and business practices expose us to risks that are different than or in addition to those commonly found in the United States. Risks relating to our international operations and properties include:
•changing governmental rules and policies, including changes in land use and zoning laws;
•enactment of laws relating to international ownership and laws restricting the ability to remove profits earned from activities within a particular country to a person’s or company’s country of origin;
•changes in laws or policies governing foreign trade or investment and use of foreign operations or workers, and any negative sentiments towards multinational companies as a result of any such changes to laws, regulations or policies or due to trends such as political populism and economic nationalism;
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•variations in currency exchange rates and the imposition of currency controls;
•adverse market conditions caused by terrorism, civil unrest, natural disasters, infectious disease and changes in international, national or local governmental or economic conditions;
•business disruptions arising from public health crises and outbreaks of communicable diseases, including the recent coronavirus outbreak;
•the willingness of U.S. or international lenders to make loans in certain countries and changes in the availability, cost and terms of secured and unsecured debt resulting from varying governmental economic policies;
•the imposition of unique tax structures and changes in tax rates and other operating expenses in particular countries, including the potential imposition of adverse or confiscatory taxes;
•the potential imposition of restrictions on currency conversions or the transfer of funds;
•general political and economic instability;
•compliance with international laws and regulations (including anti-corruption regulations, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act);
•data security, including requirements that local customer data be stored locally and not transferred to other jurisdictions; and
•our limited experience and expertise in foreign countries, particularly European countries, relative to our experience and expertise in the United States;
If any of the foregoing risks were to materialize, they could materially and adversely affect us.
Exchange rate fluctuations could result in significant foreign currency gains and losses and affect our business results.
We are exposed to currency translation risk because the local currency utilized in the operations of Whistler Blackcomb, Perisher, Hotham, Falls Creek, Andermatt-Sedrun and Crans-Montana are different than our functional currency, the U.S. dollar. As a result, changes in foreign exchange rates, in particular between the Canadian dollar, Australian dollar, Swiss franc and the U.S. dollar, affect the amounts we record for our foreign assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and could have a negative effect on our financial results. We currently do not enter into hedging arrangements to minimize the impact of foreign currency fluctuations. We expect that our exposure to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations will increase as our international operations grow and if we acquire additional international resorts.
We are subject to tax laws and regulations in multiple jurisdictions, and changes to those laws and regulations or interpretations thereof or adverse determinations by tax authorities may adversely affect us.
We are subject to income and other taxes in the United States and in multiple foreign jurisdictions. Due to economic and political conditions, tax rates in various jurisdictions may be subject to significant change. Our effective tax rates could be affected by changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities, or changes in tax laws or their interpretation.
In addition, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reached agreement among various countries to implement a minimum 15% tax rate on certain multinational enterprises, commonly referred to as Pillar Two. Many countries continue to announce changes in their tax laws and regulations based on the Pillar Two proposals. We are continuing to evaluate the impact of these proposed and enacted legislative changes as new guidance becomes available. Some of these legislative changes could impact our effective tax rate and tax liabilities. Given the numerous proposed tax law changes and the uncertainty regarding such proposed legislative changes, the impact of Pillar Two cannot be determined at this time.
We are also subject to the examination of tax returns and other tax matters by the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities and governmental bodies. We regularly assess the likelihood of an adverse outcome resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of our provision for taxes. There can be no assurance as to the outcome of these examinations. If our effective tax rates were to increase or if the ultimate determination of our taxes owed is for an amount in excess of amounts previously accrued, our financial condition, operating results and cash flows could be adversely affected.
Risks Relating to Ownership of our Common Stock
We cannot provide assurance that we will pay dividends, or if paid, that dividend payments will be consistent with historical levels.
We have generally paid quarterly dividends since fiscal 2011 (with the exception of several quarters in Fiscal 2020 and Fiscal 2021 to maintain short-term liquidity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic), which are funded through cash flow from operations, available cash on hand and borrowings under our Credit Facilities. The declaration of dividends is subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors, and is limited by applicable state law concepts of available funds for distribution, as well
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as contractual restrictions. As a result, the amount, if any, of the dividends to be paid in the future will depend upon a number of factors, including our available cash on hand, anticipated cash needs, overall financial condition, restrictions contained in our Ninth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (the “Vail Holdings Credit Agreement”), any future contractual restrictions, future prospects for earnings and cash flows, as well as other factors considered relevant by our Board of Directors. In addition, our Board of Directors may also suspend the payment of dividends at any time if it deems such action to be in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders. If we do not pay dividends, the price of our common stock must appreciate for investors to realize a gain on their investment in Vail Resorts, Inc. This appreciation may not occur and our stock may in fact depreciate in value. On September 25, 2024, our Board of Directors approved a cash dividend of $2.22 per share payable on October 24, 2024 to stockholders of record as of October 8, 2024.
Our indebtedness could adversely affect our financial condition and our ability to operate our business, to react to changes in the economy or our industry, to fulfill our obligations under our various notes, to pay our other debts, and could divert our cash flow from operations for debt payments.
We have a substantial amount of debt, which requires significant interest and principal payments. As of July 31, 2024, we had $2.8 billion in total indebtedness outstanding. This amount includes (i) $959.8 million of indebtedness pursuant to the term loan facility under the Vail Holdings Credit Agreement that matures in 2029, (ii) $600.0 million aggregate principal amount of our unsecured senior notes due 2032 (the “6.50% Notes”), (iii) $575.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 0.0% convertible notes due 2026 (the “0.0% Convertible Notes”), (iv) $369.1 million with respect to our obligation associated with the Canyons long-term lease, (v) $114.2 million with respect to the EPR Secured Notes under the master credit and security agreements and other related agreements with EPT Ski Properties, Inc. and its affiliates (“EPR”), as amended (collectively, the “EPR Agreements”), (vi) $52.6 million with respect to our obligations associated with outstanding debt of certain employee housing entities, (vii) $37.1 million with respect to the New Regional Policy loan between Andermatt-Sedrun and the Canton of Uri and Canton of Graubünden (the “NRP Loan”), and (viii) $27.9 million with respect to our obligations associated with Whistler Blackcomb employee housing leases. We also have a credit agreement at Whistler Blackcomb that matures in 2028 (the “Whistler Credit Agreement”), which had no amounts outstanding as of July 31, 2024. Collectively, the Vail Holdings Credit Agreement, the Whistler Credit Agreement, the EPR Agreements and the NRP Loan are referred to herein as the “Credit Agreements,” and such facilities, the “Credit Facilities.” Our borrowings under the Vail Holdings Credit Agreement are subject to interest rate changes substantially increasing our risk to changes in interest rates. Under the Vail Holdings Credit Agreement, borrowings under the Vail Holdings Credit Agreement, including the term loan facility, bear interest annually at a rate of SOFR plus 1.60%. As of July 31, 2024 we also have, on a cumulative basis, minimum lease payment obligations under operating leases of approximately $371.1 million over the term of the leases. Our level of indebtedness and minimum lease payment obligations could have important consequences. For example, it could:
•make it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations under our outstanding debt;
•increase our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions;
•require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to payments on our indebtedness, including the annual payments under the Canyons lease, thereby reducing the availability of our cash flow to fund dividend payments, working capital, capital expenditures, real estate developments, marketing efforts and other general corporate purposes;
•limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the industry in which we operate;
•place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors that have less debt;
•limit our ability to borrow additional funds, refinance debt, or obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, debt service requirements, acquisitions or other general corporate purposes;
•make it difficult for us to satisfy our obligations, including debt service requirements under our outstanding debt; and
•cause potential or existing customers to not contract with us due to concerns over our ability to meet our financial obligations, such as insuring against our professional liability risks, under such contracts.
Furthermore, our debt under our Credit Facilities bears interest at variable rates, which may be impacted by potential future changes in interest rates due to reference rate reform. We may be able to incur additional indebtedness in the future. The terms of our Credit Facilities, the 0.0% Convertible Notes and the 6.50% Notes do not fully prohibit us from doing so. If we incur additional debt, the related risks that we face could intensify.
Additionally, our Credit Facilities also impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us. These restrictions limit our ability and the ability of our subsidiaries to, among other things:
•incur or guarantee additional debt or issue capital stock;
•pay dividends and make other distributions on, or redeem or repurchase, capital stock;
•make certain investments;
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•incur certain liens;
•enter into transactions with affiliates;
•merge or consolidate;
•enter into agreements that restrict the ability of subsidiaries to make dividends, distributions or other payments to us or the guarantors;
•designate restricted subsidiaries as unrestricted subsidiaries; and
•transfer or sell assets.
The indenture governing the 6.50% Notes contains a number of significant restrictions and covenants that limit our ability to:
•grant or permit liens;
•engage in sale/leaseback transactions; and
•engage in a consolidation or merger, or sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets.
In addition, the Whistler Credit Agreement contains restrictions on the ability of Whistler Mountain Resort Limited Partnership and Blackcomb Skiing Enterprises Limited Partnership (together “The WB Partnerships”) and their respective subsidiaries, and the EPR Agreements contain restrictions on the ability of Peak Resorts and its subsidiaries, to make dividends, distributions or other payments to us or the guarantors. We and our subsidiaries are subject to other covenants, representations and warranties in respect of our Credit Facilities, including financial covenants as defined in the Credit Agreements. Events beyond our control may affect our ability to comply with these covenants.
The terms of any future indebtedness we may incur could include more restrictive covenants. We may not be able to maintain compliance with our financial covenants in the future and, if we fail to do so, we may not be able to obtain waivers from the lenders and/or amend the covenants.
There can be no assurance that we will meet the financial covenants contained in our Credit Facilities, when in effect. If we breach any of these restrictions or covenants, or suffer a material adverse change which restricts our borrowing ability under our Credit Facilities, we would not be able to borrow funds thereunder without a waiver. Any inability to borrow could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, a breach, if uncured, could cause a default under the applicable agreement(s) governing our indebtedness, in which case such we may be required to repay these borrowings before their due date. We may not have or be able to obtain sufficient funds to make these accelerated payments. If we are forced to refinance these borrowings on less favorable terms or cannot refinance these borrowings, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
We may not continue to repurchase our common stock pursuant to our share repurchase program, and any such repurchases may not enhance long-term stockholder value. Share repurchases could also increase the volatility of the price of our common stock and could diminish our cash reserves.
On March 9, 2006, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program, authorizing the Company to repurchase up to 3,000,000 Vail Shares. On July 16, 2008, December 4, 2015 and March 7, 2023, the Company’s Board of Directors increased the authorization by an additional 3,000,000, 1,500,000 and 2,500,000 Vail Shares, respectively, for a total authorization to repurchase up to 10,000,000 Vail Shares. Since inception of this stock repurchase program through July 31, 2024, the Company has repurchased 9,369,680 shares at a cost of approximately $1,129.4 million, excluding accrued excise tax. As of July 31, 2024, 630,320 Vail Shares remained available to repurchase under the existing share repurchase program, which has no expiration date.
Although our Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program, the share repurchase program does not obligate us to repurchase any specific dollar amount or to acquire any specific number of shares. The timing and amount of repurchases, if any, will depend upon several factors, including market and business conditions, our liquidity and capital resources, the trading price of our common stock and the nature of other investment opportunities. The repurchase program may be limited, suspended or discontinued at any time without prior notice. In addition, repurchases of our common stock pursuant to our share repurchase program could cause our stock price to be higher than it would be in the absence of such a program and could potentially reduce the market liquidity for our stock. Additionally, our share repurchase program could reduce our available liquidity, which may impact our ability to finance future growth and to pursue possible future strategic opportunities and acquisitions. Further, the Internal Revenue Service recently implemented a nondeductible excise tax equal to 1% of the fair market value of certain corporate share repurchases. There can be no assurance that any share repurchases will enhance stockholder value because the market price of our common stock may decline below levels at which we repurchased shares of stock. Although our share repurchase program is intended to enhance long-term stockholder value, there is no assurance that it will do so and short-term stock price fluctuations could reduce the program’s effectiveness.
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General Risk Factors
We are subject to litigation in the ordinary course of business.
We are, from time to time, subject to various asserted or unasserted legal proceedings and claims. Any such proceedings or claims, regardless of merit, could be time consuming and expensive to defend and could divert management’s attention and resources. While we believe we have adequate insurance coverage and/or accrue for loss contingencies for all known matters that are probable and can be reasonably estimated, we cannot provide any assurance that the outcome of all current or future litigation proceedings and claims will not have a material adverse effect on us and our results of operations.
We are subject to complex and evolving accounting regulations and use certain estimates and judgments that may differ significantly from actual results.
Implementation of existing and future legislation, rulings, standards and interpretations from the Financial Accounting Standards Board or other regulatory bodies could affect the presentation of our financial statements and related disclosures. Future regulatory requirements could significantly change our current accounting practices and disclosures. Such changes in the presentation of our financial statements and related disclosures could change an investor’s interpretation or perception of our financial position and results of operations.
We use many methods, estimates and judgments in applying our accounting policies (see “Critical Accounting Policies” in Item 7 of this Form 10-K). Such methods, estimates and judgments are, by their nature, subject to substantial risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and factors may arise over time that lead us to change our methods, estimates and judgments. Changes in those methods, estimates and judgments could significantly affect our results of operations.
Anti-takeover provisions affecting us could prevent or delay a change of control that is beneficial to our stockholders.
Provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, provisions of our debt instruments and other agreements and provisions of applicable Delaware law and applicable federal and state regulations may discourage, delay or prevent a merger or other change of control that holders of our securities may consider favorable. These provisions could:
•delay, defer or prevent a change in control of our Company;
•discourage bids for our securities at a premium over the market price;
•adversely affect the market price of, and the voting and other rights of the holders of our securities; or
•impede the ability of the holders of our securities to change our management.
For instance, provisions of the indentures governing our indebtedness stipulate that the Company must repurchase the senior notes at the option of their holders upon the event of a change in control of the Company. Further, a change of control would constitute an event of default under our credit agreements.
ITEM 1B.UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.
None.
ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY.
Risk Management and Strategy
Cybersecurity is a dynamic and constantly evolving field. We are committed to continuously improving our cybersecurity posture by staying informed about emerging threats, adopting industry best practices, and integrating feedback from our assessments and incidents. Our goal is to maintain a resilient cybersecurity framework that protects our assets and supports our long-term business objectives.
We manage risks from cybersecurity threats through our overall enterprise risk management process, which is overseen by our Board. Our cybersecurity risks are considered individually as part of our enterprise risk management process alongside other risks, and priorities and discussed with our Board. Management has created an information security program, which is comprised of a dedicated information security team and policies, procedures, and processes for assessing, identifying, and managing risks from cybersecurity threats. Our policies, procedures, and processes follow recognized frameworks established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) and the International Organization for Standardization, as well as other relevant standards. Our program is designed to maintain the confidentiality, integrity, security, and availability of data created, collected, stored, and used to operate our business.
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We identify, assess, and manage risks from cybersecurity threats through various mechanisms, which from time to time may include tabletop exercises, control gap analyses, threat modeling, impact analyses, internal audits, external audits, vulnerability scans, penetration tests, and engagement of third parties to conduct analyses of our information security program. We obtain cybersecurity threat intelligence from recognized forums, third parties, and other sources as part of our risk assessment process. We also maintain a risk-based approach for assessing, identifying, and managing risks from cybersecurity threats associated with third party service providers and other companies with whom we do business. As part of our cybersecurity program, team members receive cybersecurity training and participate in awareness programs including phishing simulation exercises and reminders, and programming and events during Cybersecurity Awareness Month. We also carry cyber security insurance, which is renewed annually and covers cyber events and business interruption. We closely monitor costs of breaches within the industry in an effort to ensure that our coverage is sufficient to address all reasonably foreseeable threats and levels of risk.
We maintain an Incident Response Plan (“IRP”), which applies to information security incidents. Our IRP sets out a coordinated, multi-functional approach for investigating, containing, and mitigating incidents, as well as the communication protocol of such incidents to senior management and other key stakeholders pursuant to established thresholds so that decisions regarding the disclosure and reporting of such incidents can be made by management in a timely manner. In general, our incident response process follows the NIST framework and focuses on four phases: (i) preparation; (ii) detection and analysis; (iii) containment, eradication, and recovery; and (iv) post-incident remediation.
Board oversight of cybersecurity risk management is supported by the Audit Committee, which regularly reviews internal reports from management with respect to information technology and cybersecurity issues, and interacts with our enterprise risk management function and our Chief Information Officer (“CIO”) regarding major cybersecurity risk areas and recommended actions to address such risks.
Cybersecurity Governance
Our Information Security and Compliance teams, in coordination with the Board and Audit Committee, oversees the management of risks from cybersecurity threats, including the policies, standards, processes, and practices that our CIO and our Vice President of Information Security, in coordination with our Information Technology Senior Leadership Team, develop and implement to address risks from cybersecurity threats. The Board and the Audit Committee each receive regular presentations and reports on cybersecurity risks, which address a wide range of topics including, for example, recent developments, evolving standards, vulnerability assessments, third-party and independent reviews, the threat environment, technological trends, and information security considerations arising with respect to our peers and third parties. The Board and the Audit Committee are also informed of any cybersecurity incident that meets established reporting thresholds, as well as ongoing updates regarding such incident until it has been addressed. At least once each quarter, the Audit Committee discusses our approach to cybersecurity risk management with our CIO, and at least annually, or more frequently as necessary, our CIO meets with the Board to discuss cybersecurity risk management.
Our CIO and our Vice President of Information Security are principally responsible for overseeing our cybersecurity risk management program, in partnership with other business leaders across company. Our CIO serves as Chair of our Cybersecurity Incident Materiality Assessment Council and works in coordination with the other members of our Executive Committee.
Our CIO has served in various roles in information technology and information security for over 27 years, including in technology leadership roles such as Chief Information Officer, Vice President Business Technology, Vice President Business Information Services, Senior Director of Mountain Technology, Director of Resort Application Development, and Director of Order Management Systems leadership roles for large public companies. Our CIO holds a B.B.A. in Management Information Systems and Accounting from University of Oklahoma.
Our Vice President of Information Security has served in various roles in information technology and information security for over 27 years, including as Vice President of Information Security for large public companies. In addition, our Vice President of Information Security has previously held roles including Vice President of Information Security and Technology, Senior Director Information Technology, Director IT Security and Compliance, and Senior IT Audit Manager. Our Vice President of Information Security holds several certifications including CISSP, CISA, CISSM, and PCI-ISA. Our Vice President of Information Security holds a B.S. in Management Information Systems from Iowa State University and an MBA from Auburn University.
Our CIO and Vice President of Information Security, in coordination with our Legal, Internal Audit, and Compliance teams, work collaboratively across the company to implement a program designed to protect our information systems from cybersecurity threats and to promptly respond to any cybersecurity incidents in accordance with our security IRP. To facilitate
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the success of this program, multidisciplinary teams throughout the company are deployed to address cybersecurity threats and to respond to cybersecurity incidents in accordance with our incident response and recovery plans. Through the ongoing communications from these teams, the CIO, the Vice President of Information Security, and our Cybersecurity Incident Materiality Assessment Council monitor the prevention, detection, mitigation, and remediation of cybersecurity incidents in real time, and report such incidents to the Audit Committee when appropriate.
The Audit Committee reviews our cybersecurity management strategy and initiatives on a regular basis and oversees the management of risks from cybersecurity threats, including the policies, processes, and practices implemented by the Company to address such risks. The Audit Committee also routinely receives reports on the cybersecurity landscape, regulatory requirements, industry standards, and emerging threats. Prompt and timely information regarding any significant cybersecurity incident as specified in our IRP, including ongoing updates as the incident unfolds and until it has been addressed, are also provided to both the Board and the Audit Committee.
We do not currently believe cybersecurity threats, including as a result of any previous cybersecurity incidents, have materially affected or are reasonably likely to affect us, including our business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition; however, we could experience a cybersecurity incident that materially affects us in the future.
ITEM 2.PROPERTIES.
The following table sets forth the principal properties that we own or lease for use in our operations:
| Location | Ownership | Use | ||||||
| Afton Alps, MN | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, clubhouse, buildings, commercial space and other improvements | ||||||
| Alpine Valley Resort, OH | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, golf course, clubhouse, buildings, commercial space and other improvements | ||||||
| Andermatt Ski Resort, Switzerland | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings, commercial space and other improvements, and dining facilities | ||||||
| Andermatt Ski Resort, Switzerland | Leased | Ski resort operations, including buildings, commercial space, parking and other improvements, dining facilities and employee housing | ||||||
| Andermatt Ski Resort, Switzerland | Easement | Ski resort operations, including third party land use rights, and dining facilities | ||||||
| Andermatt Ski Resort, Switzerland | Concession contract | Ski resort operations, including third party land use rights | ||||||
| Arrowhead Mountain, CO | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings and other improvements, property management and commercial space | ||||||
| Attitash Mountain, NH | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings, commercial space and other improvements | ||||||
| Attitash Mountain, NH (279 acres) | SUP | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| BC Housing RiverEdge, CO | 26% Owned | Employee housing facilities | ||||||
| Bachelor Gulch Village, CO | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings and other improvements, property management and commercial space | ||||||
| Beaver Creek Resort, CO | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings and other improvements, property management, commercial space and real estate held for sale or development | ||||||
| Beaver Creek Mountain, CO (3,801 acres) | SUP | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Beaver Creek Mountain Resort, CO | Owned | Golf course, clubhouse, commercial space and residential condominium units | ||||||
| Big Boulder Mountain, PA | Owned | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Boston Mills, OH | Owned | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Brandywine, OH | Owned | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
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| Location | Ownership | Use | ||||||
| Breckenridge Ski Resort, CO | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings and other improvements, property management, commercial space and real estate held for sale or development | ||||||
| Breckenridge Mountain, CO (5,702 acres) | SUP | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Breckenridge Terrace, CO | 50% Owned | Employee housing facilities | ||||||
| Broomfield, CO | Leased | Corporate offices | ||||||
| Colter Bay Village, WY | Concession contract | Lodging and dining facilities | ||||||
| Crans-Montana Mountain Resort, Switzerland | 84% Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings and other improvements and commercial space | ||||||
| Crans-Montana Mountain Resort, Switzerland | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski school and dining operations | ||||||
| Crested Butte Mountain Resort, CO | Owned | Buildings, other improvements and land used for operation of Crested Butte Mountain Resort | ||||||
| Crested Butte Mountain Resort, CO (4,350 acres) | SUP | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Crotched Mountain, NH | Owned | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Eagle-Vail, CO | Owned | Warehouse facility | ||||||
| Edwards, CO | Leased | Administrative offices | ||||||
| Falls Creek Alpine Resort, Victoria, Australia (1,112 acres) | Leased | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Headwaters Lodge & Cabins at Flagg Ranch, WY | Concession contract | Lodging and dining facilities | ||||||
| Heavenly Mountain Resort, CA & NV | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings and other improvements and commercial space | ||||||
| Heavenly Mountain, CA & NV (7,050 acres) | SUP | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Hidden Valley Resort, MO | Owned | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Hidden Valley Resort, PA | Owned | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Hotham Alpine Resort, Victoria, Australia (791 acres) | Leased | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Hunter Mountain, NY | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, golf course, clubhouse, buildings, commercial space and other improvements. | ||||||
| Jack Frost Ski Resort, PA | Owned | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club, WY | Owned | Golf course, clubhouse, tennis and dining facilities | ||||||
| Jackson Lake Lodge, WY | Concession contract | Lodging, dining and conference facilities | ||||||
| Jenny Lake Lodge, WY | Concession contract | Lodging and dining facilities | ||||||
| Keystone Conference Center, CO | Owned | Conference facility | ||||||
| Keystone Lodge, CO | Owned | Lodging, spa, dining and conference facilities | ||||||
| Keystone Resort, CO | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings and other improvements, commercial space, property management, dining and real estate held for sale or development | ||||||
| Keystone Mountain, CO (8,376 acres) | SUP | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Keystone Ranch, CO | Owned | Golf course, clubhouse and dining facilities | ||||||
| Kirkwood Mountain Resort, CA | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings and other improvements, property management and commercial space | ||||||
| Kirkwood Mountain, CA (2,330 acres) | SUP | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Laurel Mountain, PA | Leased | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Liberty Mountain Resort, PA | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, golf course, clubhouse, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
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| Location | Ownership | Use | ||||||
| Mad River Mountain, OH | Leased | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Mount Snow, VT | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, golf course, clubhouse, buildings, commercial space and other improvements. | ||||||
| Mount Snow, VT (894 acres) | SUP | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Mount Sunapee Resort, NH (850 acres) | Owned/Leased | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings and other improvements and commercial space | ||||||
| Mt. Brighton, MI | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings, commercial space and other improvements | ||||||
| Mt. Mansfield, VT (1,400 acres) | Leased | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements used for operation of Stowe Mountain Resort | ||||||
| Northstar California Resort, CA (7,200 acres) | Leased | Ski trails, ski lifts, golf course, commercial space, dining facilities, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Northstar Village, CA | Leased | Commercial space, ski resort operations, dining facilities, buildings, property management and other improvements | ||||||
| Okemo Mountain Resort, VT | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings and other improvements, property management and commercial space | ||||||
| Okemo Mountain, VT (1,223 acres) | Leased | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, dining facilities, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Paoli Peaks, IN | Owned/Leased | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Park City Mountain, UT (8,900 acres) | Leased | Ski resort operations including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings, commercial space, dining facilities, property management, conference facilities and other improvements (including areas previously referred to as Canyons Resort, UT) | ||||||
| Park City Mountain, UT (220 acres) | Owned | Ski trails, ski lifts, dining facilities, commercial space, buildings, real estate held for sale or development and other improvements | ||||||
| Perisher Ski Resort, NSW, Australia (3,335 acres) | Owned/Leased/Licensed | Ski trails, ski lifts, dining facilities, commercial space, railway, buildings, lodging, conference facilities and other improvements | ||||||
| Red Cliffs Lodge, CA | Leased | Dining facilities, ski resort operations, commercial space, administrative offices | ||||||
| Red Sky Ranch, CO | Owned | Golf courses, clubhouses, dining facilities and real estate held for sale or development | ||||||
| River Course at Keystone, CO | Owned | Golf course and clubhouse | ||||||
| Roundtop Mountain Resort, PA | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings, commercial space and other improvements | ||||||
| Seven Springs Resort, PA | Owned | Ski trails, ski lifts, dining facilities, commercial space, lodging, property management, conference facilities and other improvements | ||||||
| Snow Creek, MO | Owned | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| SSI Venture, Inc. (“VRR”) Properties; CO, CA, NV, UT, MN & BC, Canada | Owned/Leased | Approximately 245 rental and retail stores (of which approximately 85 stores are currently held under lease) for recreational products, 7 leased warehouses and 4 My Epic Gear member services locations. | ||||||
| Ski Tip Lodge, CO | Owned | Lodging and dining facilities | ||||||
| Stevens Pass, WA | Owned | Employee housing and guest parking facilities | ||||||
| Stevens Pass Mountain, WA (2,443 acres) | SUP | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Stevens Pass Ski Resort, WA | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings and other improvements and commercial space | ||||||
| Stowe Mountain Resort, VT | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings and other improvements and commercial space | ||||||
| The Arrabelle at Vail Square, CO | Owned | Lodging, spa, dining and conference facilities | ||||||
| The Lodge at Vail, CO | Owned | Lodging, spa, dining and conference facilities | ||||||
| The Osprey at Beaver Creek, CO | Owned | Lodging, dining and conference facilities | ||||||
| The Tarnes at Beaver Creek, CO | 31% Owned | Employee housing facilities | ||||||
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| Location | Ownership | Use | ||||||
| Tenderfoot Housing, CO | 50% Owned | Employee housing facilities | ||||||
| The Pines Lodge at Beaver Creek, CO | Owned | Lodging, dining and conference facilities | ||||||
| Vail Mountain, CO | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings and other improvements, property management, commercial space and real estate held for sale or development | ||||||
| Vail Mountain, CO (12,353 acres) | SUP | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Whistler Blackcomb Resort, BC, Canada | 75% Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings and other improvements, property management, commercial space and real estate held for sale or development | ||||||
| Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain, BC, Canada | MDA | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Whistler Blackcomb Resort, BC, Canada | Leased | Employee housing facilities | ||||||
| Whitetail Resort, PA | Owned | Ski resort operations, including ski lifts, ski trails, golf course, buildings, commercial space and other improvements | ||||||
| Wildcat Mountain, NH (953 acres) | SUP | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
| Wilmot Mountain, WI | Owned | Ski trails, ski lifts, buildings and other improvements | ||||||
Many of our properties are used across all segments in complementary and interdependent ways.
ITEM 3.LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
We are a party to various lawsuits arising in the ordinary course of business. We believe that we have adequate insurance coverage and/or have accrued for all estimable and probable loss contingencies for asserted and unasserted matters and that, although the ultimate outcome of such claims cannot be ascertained, current pending and threatened claims are not expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a material adverse impact on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows. For additional information, see Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
ITEM 4.MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.
Not applicable.
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PART II
ITEM 5.MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.
Market and Stockholders
Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “MTN.” As of September 23, 2024, 37,485,473 shares of common stock were outstanding, held by approximately 231 holders of record.
Dividend Policy
In fiscal 2011, our Board of Directors approved the commencement of a regular quarterly cash dividend on our common stock, subject to quarterly declaration, which has typically been increased on an annual basis. The amount, if any, of dividends to be paid in the future will depend on our available cash on hand, anticipated cash needs, overall financial condition, restrictions contained in our Ninth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (the “Vail Holdings Credit Agreement”), future prospects for earnings and cash flows, as well as other factors considered relevant by our Board of Directors. On September 25, 2024, our Board of Directors approved a cash dividend of $2.22 per share payable on October 24, 2024 to stockholders of record as of October 8, 2024. We expect to fund the dividend with available cash on hand.
Repurchase of Equity Securities
The following table sets forth our purchases of shares of our common stock during the fourth quarter of our fiscal year ended July 31, 2024 (“Fiscal 2024”):
| Period | Total Number of Shares Purchased | Average Price Paid per Share (1) | Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs (2) | Maximum Number of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs (2) | |||||||||||||||||||
| May 1, 2024 - May 31, 2024 | — | $ | — | — | 768,910 | ||||||||||||||||||
| June 1, 2024 - June 30, 2024 | 138,590 | $ | 180.38 | 138,590 | 630,320 | ||||||||||||||||||
| July 1, 2024 - July 31, 2024 | — | $ | — | — | 630,320 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 138,590 | $ | 180.38 | 138,590 | 630,320 | ||||||||||||||||||
(1) Average price per share excludes any excise tax imposed on stock repurchases as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
(2) The share repurchase program is conducted under authorizations made from time to time by our Board of Directors. The Board of Directors initially authorized the repurchase of up to 3,000,000 Vail Shares (March 9, 2006), and later authorized additional repurchases of up to 3,000,000 Vail Shares (July 16, 2008), 1,500,000 Vail Shares (December 4, 2015), and 2,500,000 Vail Shares (March 7, 2023), for a total authorization to repurchase up to 10,000,000 Vail Shares. From inception of this stock repurchase program through July 31, 2024, the Company has repurchased 9,369,680 shares at a cost of approximately $1,129.4 million, excluding excise tax. As of July 31, 2024, 630,320 shares remained available to repurchase under the existing repurchase authorization. On September 25, 2024, the Company’s Board of Directors approved an increase in the number of shares authorized to be repurchased under the share repurchase program by an additional 1,100,000 Vail Shares. As a result, 1,730,320 Vail Shares are available to repurchase under the share repurchase program. Repurchases under these authorizations may be made from time to time at prevailing prices as permitted by applicable laws, including under plans complying with Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and subject to market conditions and other factors. The timing as well as the number of Vail Shares that may be repurchased under the program will depend on several factors, including our future financial performance, our available cash resources and competing uses for cash that may arise in the future, the restrictions in our Vail Holdings Credit Agreement, prevailing prices of Vail Shares and the number of Vail Shares that become available for sale at prices that we believe are attractive. These authorizations have no expiration date.
Performance Graph
The total return graph below is presented for the period from the beginning of our fiscal year ended July 31, 2020 through the end of Fiscal 2024. The comparison assumes that $100 was invested at the beginning of the period in our common stock (“MTN”), The Russell 2000 Stock Index, The Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index and the Dow Jones U.S. Travel and Leisure
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Stock Index, with dividends reinvested where applicable. We include the Dow Jones U.S. Travel and Leisure Index as we believe we compete in the travel and leisure industry.
The performance graph is not deemed filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and is not to be incorporated by reference into any of our filings under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Exchange Act, unless such filings specifically incorporate the performance graph by reference therein.
| As of July 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||
| Vail Resorts, Inc. | $ | 100.00 | $ | 73.31 | $ | 116.51 | $ | 92.40 | $ | 94.94 | $ | 76.48 | ||||||||
Russell 2000 | $ | 100.00 | $ | 91.14 | $ | 138.48 | $ | 118.64 | $ | 127.97 | $ | 146.17 | ||||||||
Standard & Poor’s 500 | $ | 100.00 | $ | 120.87 | $ | 164.90 | $ | 157.22 | $ | 177.64 | $ | 216.97 | ||||||||
Dow Jones U.S. Travel and Leisure | $ | 100.00 | $ | 88.25 | $ | 129.66 | $ | 105.59 | $ | 138.95 | $ | 144.40 | ||||||||
ITEM 6.[Reserved]
ITEM 7.MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and notes related thereto included in this Form 10-K. To the extent that the following MD&A contains statements which are not of a historical nature, such statements are forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. These risks include, but are not limited to, those discussed in Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in this Form 10-K. The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the Forward-Looking Statements section and Item 1A. “Risk Factors,” each included in this Form 10-K.
The MD&A includes discussion of financial performance within each of our three segments. We have chosen to specifically include segment Reported EBITDA (defined as segment net revenue less segment operating expense, plus segment equity investment income or loss, and for the Real Estate segment, plus gain or loss on sale of real property) in the following discussion because we consider this measurement to be a significant indication of our financial performance. We utilize segment Reported EBITDA in evaluating our performance and in allocating resources to our segments. Net Debt (defined as long-term debt, net plus long-term debt due within one year less cash and cash equivalents) is included in the following discussion because we consider this measurement to be a significant indication of our available capital resources. We also
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believe that Net Debt is an important measurement as it is an indicator of our ability to obtain additional capital resources for our future cash needs. Resort Reported EBITDA (defined as the combination of segment Reported EBITDA of our Mountain and Lodging segments), Total Reported EBITDA (which is Resort Reported EBITDA plus segment Reported EBITDA from our Real Estate segment) and Net Debt are not measures of financial performance or liquidity defined under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”). Refer to the end of the Results of Operations section for a reconciliation of net income attributable to Vail Resorts, Inc. to Total Reported EBITDA and Resort Reported EBITDA, and long-term debt, net to Net Debt.
Items excluded from Resort Reported EBITDA, Total Reported EBITDA and Net Debt are significant components in understanding and assessing financial performance or liquidity. Resort Reported EBITDA, Total Reported EBITDA and Net Debt should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to, or substitute for, net income, net change in cash and cash equivalents or other financial statement data presented in the Consolidated Financial Statements. Because Resort Reported EBITDA, Total Reported EBITDA and Net Debt are not measurements determined in accordance with GAAP and are thus susceptible to varying calculations, Resort Reported EBITDA, Total Reported EBITDA and Net Debt, as presented herein, may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. In addition, our segment Reported EBITDA (i.e. Mountain, Lodging and Real Estate), the measure of segment profit or loss required to be disclosed in accordance with GAAP, may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies.
Overview
Our operations are grouped into three integrated and interdependent segments: Mountain, Lodging and Real Estate. We refer to “Resort” as the combination of the Mountain and Lodging segments. The Mountain, Lodging and Real Estate segments represented approximately 88%, 12% and 0%, respectively, of our net revenue for Fiscal 2024.
Mountain Segment
In the Mountain segment, the Company operates the following 42 destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas (collectively, “Resorts”):
*Denotes a destination mountain resort, which generally receives a meaningful portion of skier visits from long-distance travelers, as opposed to our regional ski areas, which tend to generate skier visits predominantly from their respective local markets.
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Additionally, we operate ancillary services, primarily including ski school, dining and retail/rental operations, and for our Australian ski areas, including lodging and transportation operations. Mountain segment revenue is seasonal, with the majority of revenue earned from our North American and European ski operations occurring in our second and third fiscal quarters and the majority of revenue earned from our Australian ski operations occurring in our first and fourth fiscal quarters. Our North American and European Resorts typically experience their peak operating season for the Mountain segment from mid-December through mid-April, and our Australian ski areas typically experience their peak operating season from June to early October. Our largest source of Mountain segment revenue comes from the sale of lift tickets (including pass products), which represented approximately 57%, 56%, and 59% of Mountain segment net revenue for Fiscal 2024, the fiscal year ended July 31, 2023 (“Fiscal 2023”) and the fiscal year ended July 31, 2022 (“Fiscal 2022”), respectively.
Lift revenue is driven by volume and pricing. Pricing is impacted by absolute pricing, as well as both the demographic and geographic mix of guests, which impacts the price points at which various products are purchased. The demographic mix of guests that visit our North American Resorts is divided into two primary categories: (i) out-of-state and international (“Destination”) guests and (ii) in-state and local (“Local”) guests. The geographic mix depends on levels of visitation to our destination mountain resorts versus our regional ski areas. For both the 2023/2024 and 2022/2023 North American ski seasons, Destination guests comprised approximately 57% of our North American destination mountain resort skier visits (excluding complimentary access), while Local guests comprised approximately 43%, which compares to approximately 58% and 42%, respectively, for the 2021/2022 North American ski season. Skier visitation at our regional ski areas is largely comprised of Local guests. Destination guests generally purchase our higher-priced lift tickets (including pass products) and utilize more ancillary services such as ski school, dining and retail/rental, as well as lodging at or around our mountain resorts. Additionally, Destination guest visitation is less likely to be impacted by changes in the weather during the current season, but may be more impacted by adverse economic conditions, the global geopolitical climate, travel disruptions or weather conditions in the immediately preceding ski season. Local guests tend to be more value-oriented and weather-sensitive.
We offer a variety of pass products for all of our Resorts, marketed toward both Destination and Local guests. Our pass product offerings range from providing access to one or a combination of our Resorts for a certain number of days to our Epic Pass, which allows pass holders unlimited and unrestricted access to all of our Resorts. The Epic Day Pass is a customizable one to seven day pass product purchased in advance of the season, for those skiers and riders who want to purchase access for a certain number of days during the season, and which is available in three tiers of resort access offerings. Our pass products provide a compelling value proposition to our guests, which in turn assists us in developing a loyal base of customers who commit to ski at our Resorts generally in advance of the ski season and typically ski more days each season at our Resorts than those guests who do not buy pass products. Additionally, we enter into strategic long-term pass alliance agreements with third-party mountain resorts, which further increase the value proposition of our pass products. For the 2024/2025 ski season, our pass alliances include Telluride Ski Resort in Colorado, Hakuba Valley and Rusutsu Resort in Japan, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies in Canada, Les 3 Vallées in France, Disentis Ski Area and Verbier 4 Vallées in Switzerland, Skirama Dolomiti in Italy and Ski Arlberg in Austria. Our pass program drives strong customer loyalty; mitigates exposure to more weather sensitive guests; generates additional ancillary spending; and provides cash flow in advance of winter season operations. In addition, our pass program attracts new guests to our Resorts. All of our pass products, including the Epic Pass and Epic Day Pass, are predominately sold prior to the start of the ski season. Pass product revenue, although primarily collected prior to the ski season, is recognized in our Consolidated Statements of Operations throughout the ski season on a straight-line basis using the number of skiable days of the season-to-date period relative to the total estimated number of skiable days of the season.
Lift revenue consists of pass product lift revenue (“pass revenue”) and non-pass product lift revenue (“non-pass revenue”). Approximately 65%, 61% and 61% of total lift revenue was derived from pass revenue for Fiscal 2024, Fiscal 2023 and Fiscal 2022, respectively.
The cost structure of our mountain resort operations has a significant fixed component with variable expenses including, but not limited to, land use permit or lease fees, credit card fees, retail/rental cost of sales and labor, ski school labor and expenses associated with our dining operations; as such, profit margins can fluctuate greatly based on the level of revenues.
Lodging Segment
Operations within the Lodging segment include: (i) ownership/management of a group of luxury hotels through the RockResorts brand proximate to our Colorado and Utah mountain resorts; (ii) ownership/management of non-RockResorts branded hotels and condominiums proximate to our North American Resorts; (iii) National Park Service (“NPS”) concessioner properties, including the Grand Teton Lodge Company (“GTLC”); (iv) a Colorado resort ground transportation company; and (v) mountain resort golf courses.
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The performance of our lodging properties (including managed condominium rooms) proximate to our Resorts, and our Colorado resort ground transportation company, are closely aligned with the performance of the Mountain segment and generally experience similar seasonal trends, particularly with respect to visitation by Destination guests. Revenues from such properties represented approximately 68%, 71% and 73% of Lodging segment net revenue (excluding Lodging segment revenue associated with the reimbursement of payroll costs) for Fiscal 2024, Fiscal 2023 and Fiscal 2022, respectively. Management primarily focuses on Lodging net revenue excluding payroll cost reimbursements and Lodging operating expense excluding reimbursed payroll costs (which are not measures of financial performance under GAAP) as the reimbursements are made based upon the costs incurred with no added margin and as such, the revenue and corresponding expense do not affect our Lodging Reported EBITDA, which we use to evaluate Lodging segment performance. Revenue of the Lodging segment during our first and fourth fiscal quarters is generated primarily by the operations of our NPS concessioner properties (as their peak operating season generally occurs during the months of June to October), as well as golf operations and seasonally low operations from our other owned and managed properties and businesses.
Real Estate Segment
The principal activities of our Real Estate segment include the sale of land parcels to third-party developers and planning for future real estate development projects, including zoning and acquisition of applicable permits. We continue undertaking preliminary planning and design work on future projects and are pursuing opportunities with third-party developers rather than undertaking our own significant vertical development projects. Real estate development projects by third-party developers most often result in the creation of certain resort assets that provide additional benefit to the Mountain segment. We believe that, due to our low carrying cost of real estate land investments, we are well situated to promote future projects by third-party developers while limiting our financial risk. Our revenue from the Real Estate segment and associated expense can fluctuate significantly based upon the timing of closings and the type of real estate being sold, causing volatility in the Real Estate segment’s operating results from period to period.
Recent Trends, Risks and Uncertainties
We have identified the following important factors (as well as risks and uncertainties associated with such factors) that could impact our future financial performance or condition:
•Our overall results for the year highlight the stability and resilience of our advance commitment strategy. Skier visitation declined 9.5% compared to the prior year, driven by unfavorable conditions across our resorts in North America and Australia, combined with the impact of broader industry normalization post-COVID following record visitation in North America during the 2022/2023 ski season. In North America, snowfall across our western resorts was down 28% from the prior year and our Eastern U.S. resorts (comprising the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast) experienced limited natural snow and variable temperatures. Despite industry normalization and challenging conditions, Resort Reported EBITDA, excluding the impact of the Crans-Montana acquisition, remained consistent with prior year results. Performance was supported by strong growth in ancillary spending per visit across ski school, dining, and rental businesses at our resorts, and by strong delivery of the guest experience and cost discipline across our operations.
•Overall weather conditions, including the timing and amount of snowfall, can have an impact on Mountain and Lodging revenue, particularly with regard to skier visits and the duration and frequency of guest visitation. To help mitigate this impact, we sell a variety of pass products prior to the beginning of the ski season, which results in a more stabilized stream of lift revenue. Additionally, our pass products provide a compelling value proposition to our guests, which in turn create a guest commitment predominately prior to the start of the ski season. In March 2024, we began our season pass sales program for the 2024/2025 North American ski season. Pass product sales through September 20, 2024 for the upcoming 2024/2025 North American ski season decreased approximately 3% in units and increased approximately 3% in sales dollars as compared to the prior year period through September 22, 2023. Pass product sales are adjusted to eliminate the impact of foreign currency by applying an exchange rate of $0.74 between the Canadian dollar and U.S. dollar in both periods for Whistler Blackcomb pass sales. We cannot predict if these trends will continue through the 2024 North American pass sales campaign or the overall impact that pass sales will have on lift revenue for the 2024/2025 North American ski season.
•The economies in the countries in which we operate and from which we attract our guests may be impacted by economic challenges associated with elevated inflation, prolonged elevated interest rates, geopolitical conflicts, political uncertainty and financial institution disruptions and/or fluctuating commodity prices that could adversely impact our business, including decreased guest spending or visitation or increased costs of operations. Skiing, travel and tourism are discretionary recreational activities that can entail a relatively high cost of participation. As a result, economic downturns and other negative impacts to consumer discretionary spending may have a pronounced impact on visitation to our
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Resorts. We cannot predict the extent to which we may be impacted by such potential economic challenges, whether in North America or globally.
•As of July 31, 2024, we had $322.8 million of cash and cash equivalents, as well as $407.9 million available under the revolver component of the Vail Holdings Credit Agreement, which represents the total commitment of $500.0 million less certain letters of credit outstanding of $92.1 million. Additionally, we have a credit facility which supports the liquidity needs of Whistler Blackcomb (the “Whistler Credit Agreement”). As of July 31, 2024, we had C$296.6 million ($214.8 million) available under the revolver component of the Whistler Credit Agreement which represents the total commitment of C$300.0 million ($217.3 million) less letters of credit outstanding of C$3.4 million ($2.5 million). We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents, availability under our credit agreements and the continued positive cash flow from operating activities of our Mountain and Lodging segments less resort capital expenditures will continue to provide us with sufficient liquidity to fund our operations.
•On May 2, 2024, we acquired Crans-Montana Mountain Resort (“Crans-Montana”) in Switzerland from CPI Property Group for a cash purchase price of CHF 97.2 million ($106.8 million), after adjustments for certain agreed-upon items. We acquired (i) an 84% ownership stake in Remontées Mécaniques Crans Montana Aminona SA, which controls and operates all of the lifts and supporting mountain operations, including four retail and rental locations; (ii) 100% ownership of SportLife AG, which operates one of the ski schools located at the resort; and (iii) 100% ownership of 11 restaurants located on and around the mountain. The acquisition was funded with cash on hand. We plan to include unlimited and unrestricted access to Crans-Montana on the Epic Pass for the 2024/2025 ski season, as well as provide access on other pass products. We cannot predict the ultimate impact the acquisition of Crans-Montana will have on our future results of operations.
Results of Operations
Summary
Shown below is a summary of operating results for Fiscal 2024, Fiscal 2023 and Fiscal 2022 (in thousands):
| Year ended July 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| Net income attributable to Vail Resorts, Inc. | $ | 230,405 | $ | 268,148 | $ | 347,923 | |||||||||||
| Income before provision for income taxes | $ | 345,095 | $ | 373,517 | $ | 457,161 | |||||||||||
| Mountain Reported EBITDA | $ | 802,072 | $ | 822,570 | $ | 811,167 | |||||||||||
| Lodging Reported EBITDA | 23,018 | 12,267 | 25,747 | ||||||||||||||
| Resort Reported EBITDA | $ | 825,090 | $ | 834,837 | $ | 836,914 | |||||||||||
| Real Estate Reported EBITDA | $ | 1,475 | $ | (1,728) | $ | (3,927) | |||||||||||
A discussion of segment results, including reconciliations of net income attributable to Vail Resorts, Inc. to Total Reported EBITDA, and other items can be found below. The consolidated results of operations, including any consolidated financial metrics pertaining thereto, include the operations of Crans-Montana (acquired May 2, 2024), Andermatt-Sedrun (acquired August 3, 2022) and Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Hidden Valley Resort and Laurel Mountain Ski Area in Pennsylvania (collectively, the “Seven Springs Resorts,” acquired December 31, 2021) prospectively from their respective dates of acquisition.
The sections titled “Fiscal 2024 compared to Fiscal 2023” in each of the Mountain and Lodging segment discussions below provide comparisons of financial and operating performance for Fiscal 2024 to Fiscal 2023, unless otherwise noted. Discussion of our financial results for Fiscal 2023 compared to Fiscal 2022 can be found in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for Fiscal 2023, which was filed on September 28, 2023.
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Mountain Segment
Mountain segment operating results for Fiscal 2024, Fiscal 2023 and Fiscal 2022 are presented by category as follows (in thousands, except effective ticket price (“ETP)):
| Percentage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year ended July 31, | Increase/(Decrease) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2024/2023 | 2023/2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mountain net revenue: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lift | $ | 1,442,784 | $ | 1,420,900 | $ | 1,310,213 | 1.5 | % | 8.4 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
| Ski school | 304,548 | 287,275 | 223,645 | 6.0 | % | 28.5 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dining | 227,572 | 224,642 | 163,705 | 1.3 | % | 37.2 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retail/rental | 317,196 | 361,484 | 311,768 | (12.3) | % | 15.9 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other | 252,270 | 246,605 | 203,783 | 2.3 | % | 21.0 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Mountain net revenue | 2,544,370 | 2,540,906 | 2,213,114 | 0.1 | % | 14.8 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mountain operating expense: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Labor and labor-related benefits | 731,153 | 744,613 | 561,266 | (1.8) | % | 32.7 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retail cost of sales | 107,093 | 118,717 | 99,024 | (9.8) | % | 19.9 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Resort related fees | 110,113 | 104,797 | 93,177 | 5.1 | % | 12.5 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 350,788 | 325,903 | 292,412 | 7.6 | % | 11.5 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other | 444,204 | 424,911 | 358,648 | 4.5 | % | 18.5 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Mountain operating expense | 1,743,351 | 1,718,941 | 1,404,527 | 1.4 | % | 22.4 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mountain equity investment income, net | 1,053 | 605 | 2,580 | 74.0 | % | (76.6) | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mountain Reported EBITDA | $ | 802,072 | $ | 822,570 | $ | 811,167 | (2.5) | % | 1.4 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total skier visits | 17,564 | 19,410 | 17,298 | (9.5) | % | 12.2 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ETP | $ | 82.14 | $ | 73.20 | $ | 75.74 | 12.2 | % | (3.4) | % | |||||||||||||||||||
Mountain Reported EBITDA includes $23.2 million, $21.2 million and $20.9 million of stock-based compensation expense for Fiscal 2024, Fiscal 2023 and Fiscal 2022, respectively.
Fiscal 2024 compared to Fiscal 2023
Mountain Reported EBITDA decreased $20.5 million, or 2.5%. The decrease was primarily driven by (i) challenging conditions at our North American resorts for a large portion of the 2023/2024 ski season compared to the prior year, as well as broader industry normalization post-COVID following record visitation in North America during the 2022/2023 ski season, which led to a decline in both Local and Destination skier visitation and decreases in non-pass revenue and retail/rental revenue; (ii) our Australian operations, which experienced weather-related challenges that impacted terrain during the 2023 and 2024 Australian ski seasons, compared to record visitation and favorable snow conditions during the 2022 ski season; and (iii) increases in general and administrative expenses, property tax expense and repairs and maintenance expense, each including the impact of inflation. These decreases were partially offset by (i) an increase in pass revenue, driven by an increase in pass product sales for the 2023/2024 North American ski season compared to the prior year; (ii) strong growth in spending per visit in our ski school and dining businesses compared to the prior year; (iii) decreased labor and labor-related benefits due to disciplined cost management in response to decreased skier visits; and (iv) other decreases in variable expenses. Mountain segment results also include $8.0 million and $3.1 million of acquisition and integration related expenses for Fiscal 2024 and Fiscal 2023, respectively.
Lift revenue increased $21.9 million, or 1.5%, primarily due to an increase in pass revenue of 9.4%, which was primarily driven by an increase in pass product sales for the 2023/2024 North American ski season compared to the prior year, partially offset by a decrease in non-pass revenue of 10.7%, primarily driven by challenging conditions at our North American resorts for a large portion of the season compared to the prior year, as well as broader industry normalization post-COVID following record visitation in North America during the 2022/2023 ski season, and a decrease in non-pass revenue at our Australian resorts as a result of decreased visitation from weather-related challenges that impacted terrain during the 2023 and 2024 Australian ski seasons, compared to record visitation and favorable snow conditions in the 2022 Australian ski season. The decrease in non-pass revenue was partially offset by an increase in non-pass ETP of 11.2%.
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Ski school revenue increased $17.3 million, or 6.0%, and dining revenue increased $2.9 million, or 1.3%, both primarily as a result of an increase in guest spending per visit at our North American resorts. Retail/rental revenue decreased $44.3 million, or 12.3%, for which retail sales decreased $29.2 million, or 13.8%, and rental sales decreased $15.2 million, or 10.1%. The decrease in both retail and rental revenue was primarily driven by a decrease in skier visitation of 9.5%, which impacted sales at our on-mountain retail outlets in North America, as well as broader industry-wide customer spending trends and our exit of certain leased store operations which we operated in the prior year, which resulted in a revenue reduction of approximately $18.2 million.
Other revenue mainly consists of summer revenues, other mountain activities revenue, employee housing revenue, guest services revenue, commercial leasing revenue, marketing and internet advertising revenue, private club revenue (which includes both club dues and amortization of initiation fees), municipal services revenue and other recreation activity revenue. Other revenue also includes Australian resort lodging and transportation revenue. Other revenue increased $5.7 million, or 2.3%, primarily driven by an increase in guest spending per visit at our North American resorts.
Operating expense increased $24.4 million, or 1.4%, which was primarily attributable to an increase in general and administrative expenses, property tax expense, and repairs and maintenance expense, partially offset by reduced labor hours at our North American Resorts in the current year as a result of challenging weather conditions that existed for a large portion of the season, which impacted our ability to operate at full capacity, as well as disciplined cost management. Operating expense includes $8.0 million and $3.1 million of acquisition and integration related expenses for Fiscal 2024 and Fiscal 2023, respectively.
Labor and labor-related benefits decreased 1.8%, primarily attributable to reduced labor hours at our North American Resorts in the current year as a result of challenging weather conditions that existed for a large portion of the season, which impacted our ability to operate at full capacity, as well as disciplined cost management. Retail cost of sales decreased 9.8%, compared to a decrease in retail sales of 13.8%, reflecting decreased margins on retail products driven by higher sales of discounted inventory. Resort related fees increased 5.1% primarily as a result of an increase in revenues on which those fees are based. General and administrative expense increased 7.6%, primarily due to an increase in allocated corporate overhead costs across nearly all corporate functions (which includes the incremental impact of our prior year investments in employee wages, which went into effect in October 2022, and the impact of updated allocations of general and administrative expenses between segments which offsets primarily with decreases in the Lodging segment). Other expense increased 4.5%, primarily due to increased property taxes ($5.0 million), acquisition and integration related expenses ($4.9 million), repairs and maintenance expense ($4.6 million), professional services expense ($3.3 million) and utilities expense ($2.5 million), including the impact of inflation, partially offset by decreased dining cost of sales ($3.8 million) and fuel expenses ($3.4 million).
Mountain equity investment income, net primarily includes our share of income from the operations of a real estate brokerage company.
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Lodging Segment
Lodging segment operating results for Fiscal 2024, Fiscal 2023 and Fiscal 2022 are presented by category as follows (in thousands, except average daily rate (“ADR”) and revenue per available room (“RevPAR”)):
| Percentage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year ended July 31, | Increase/(Decrease) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2024/2023 | 2023/2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lodging net revenue: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned hotel rooms | $ | 83,977 | $ | 80,117 | $ | 80,579 | 4.8 | % | (0.6) | % | |||||||||||||||||||
| Managed condominium rooms | 86,199 | 96,785 | 97,704 | (10.9) | % | (0.9) | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dining | 63,255 | 62,445 | 48,569 | 1.3 | % | 28.6 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transportation | 16,309 | 15,242 | 16,021 | 7.0 | % | (4.9) | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Golf | 13,722 | 12,737 | 10,975 | 7.7 | % | 16.1 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other | 56,368 | 55,816 | 46,500 | 1.0 | % | 20.0 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lodging net revenue (excluding payroll cost reimbursements) | 319,830 | 323,142 | 300,348 | (1.0) | % | 7.6 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Payroll cost reimbursements | 16,287 | 17,251 | 11,742 | (5.6) | % | 46.9 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Lodging net revenue | 336,117 | 340,393 | 312,090 | (1.3) | % | 9.1 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lodging operating expense: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Labor and labor-related benefits | 139,840 | 148,915 | 128,884 | (6.1) | % | 15.5 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 59,239 | 63,562 | 55,081 | (6.8) | % | 15.4 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other | 97,733 | 98,398 | 90,636 | (0.7) | % | 8.6 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lodging operating expense (excluding reimbursed payroll costs) | 296,812 | 310,875 | 274,601 | (4.5) | % | 13.2 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reimbursed payroll costs | 16,287 | 17,251 | 11,742 | (5.6) | % | 46.9 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Lodging operating expense | 313,099 | 328,126 | 286,343 | (4.6) | % | 14.6 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lodging Reported EBITDA | $ | 23,018 | $ | 12,267 | $ | 25,747 | 87.6 | % | (52.4) | % | |||||||||||||||||||
Owned hotel statistics(1): | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ADR | $ | 317.65 | $ | 312.15 | $ | 309.78 | 1.8 | % | 0.8 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
| RevPar | $ | 161.82 | $ | 160.75 | $ | 170.84 | 0.7 | % | (5.9) | % | |||||||||||||||||||
| Managed condominium statistics: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ADR | $ | 424.13 | $ | 416.77 | $ | 410.13 | 1.8 | % | 1.6 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
| RevPar | $ | 118.91 | $ | 124.41 | $ | 122.15 | (4.4) | % | 1.9 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
| Owned hotel and managed condominium statistics (combined): | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ADR | $ | 381.60 | $ | 378.62 | $ | 373.89 | 0.8 | % | 1.3 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
| RevPar | $ | 130.41 | $ | 133.48 | $ | 133.53 | (2.3) | % | — | % | |||||||||||||||||||
Lodging Reported EBITDA includes $3.3 million, $4.0 million and $3.7 million of stock-based compensation expense for Fiscal 2024, Fiscal 2023 and Fiscal 2022, respectively.
Fiscal 2024 compared to Fiscal 2023
Lodging Reported EBITDA increased $10.8 million, or 87.6%, driven by a decrease in labor and labor-related benefits primarily associated with strong cost management and lower staffing required to support a reduced inventory of managed condominium rooms, as well as a decrease in general and administrative expense, partially offset by a decrease in revenues primarily due to a reduction in our inventory of available managed condominium rooms proximate to our mountain resorts.
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Revenue from owned hotel rooms increased $3.9 million, or 4.8%, primarily due to an increase in revenue at GTLC as a result of improved visitation which was assisted by favorable weather conditions, and which enabled increased room pricing for owned hotel rooms and resulted in higher ADR. Revenue from managed condominium rooms decreased $10.6 million, or 10.9% primarily due to a reduction in our inventory of available managed condominium rooms proximate to our mountain resorts, as well as decreased demand, including the impact of decreased skier visitation driven by challenging weather conditions at our North American resorts for a large portion of the season compared to the prior year.
Operating expense (excluding reimbursed payroll costs) decreased 4.5%. Labor and labor-related benefits decreased 6.1%, primarily associated with strong cost management and lower staffing required to support a reduced inventory of managed condominium rooms. General and administrative expense decreased 6.8% compared to the prior year, primarily due to a decrease in allocated corporate overhead costs, including the impact of updated allocations of general and administrative expenses between segments which offsets primarily with increases in the Mountain segment.
Revenue from payroll cost reimbursement and the corresponding reimbursed payroll costs relate to payroll costs at managed hotel properties where we are the employer and all payroll costs are reimbursed by the owners of the properties under contractual arrangements. Since the reimbursements are made based upon the costs incurred with no added margin, the revenue and corresponding expense have no effect on our Lodging Reported EBITDA.
Real Estate Segment
Our Real Estate net revenue is primarily determined by the timing of closings and the mix of real estate sold in any given period. Different types of projects have different revenue and profit margins; therefore, as the real estate inventory mix changes, it can greatly impact Real Estate segment net revenue, operating expense, gain or loss on sale of real property and Real Estate Reported EBITDA.
Real Estate segment operating results for Fiscal 2024, Fiscal 2023 and Fiscal 2022 are presented by category as follows (in thousands):
| Percentage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year ended July 31, | Increase/(Decrease) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2024/2023 | 2023/2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Real Estate net revenue | $ | 4,704 | $ | 8,065 | $ | 708 | (41.7) | % | 1,039.1 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
| Real Estate operating expense: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cost of sales (including sales commissions) | 3,607 | 5,146 | 251 | (29.9) | % | 1,950.2 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other | 5,907 | 5,489 | 5,660 | 7.6 | % | (3.0) | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Real Estate operating expense | 9,514 | 10,635 | 5,911 | (10.5) | % | 79.9 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gain on sale of real property | 6,285 | 842 | 1,276 | 646.4 | % | (34.0) | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Real Estate Reported EBITDA | $ | 1,475 | $ | (1,728) | $ | (3,927) | 185.4 | % | 56.0 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
Fiscal 2024
During Fiscal 2024, we closed on the sale of a land parcel in Keystone, CO for $4.2 million, which was recorded within Real Estate net revenue, with a corresponding cost of sale of $3.6 million. Additionally, we recorded a gain on sale of real property for $6.3 million related to a land parcel sale in Beaver Creek, CO, which closed for proceeds of $6.5 million.
Other operating expense of $5.9 million was primarily comprised of general and administrative costs, such as labor and labor-related benefits, professional services and allocated corporate overhead costs.
Fiscal 2023
During Fiscal 2023, we closed on the sale of a land parcel in Keystone for $7.5 million, which was recorded within Real Estate net revenue, with a corresponding cost of sale (including sales commission) of $5.1 million.
Other operating expense of $5.5 million was primarily comprised of general and administrative costs, such as labor and labor-related benefits, professional services and allocated corporate overhead costs.
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Other Items
In addition to segment operating results, the following items contributed to our overall financial position and results of operations (in thousands).
| Year ended July 31, | Percentage Increase/(Decrease) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2024/2023 | 2023/2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | $ | (276,493) | $ | (268,501) | $ | (252,391) | 3.0 | % | 6.4 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense, net | $ | (161,839) | $ | (153,022) | $ | (148,183) | 5.8 | % | (3.3) | % | |||||||||||||||||||
| Investment income and other, net | $ | 18,592 | $ | 23,744 | $ | 3,718 | (21.7) | % | 538.6 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | (98,816) | $ | (88,414) | $ | (88,824) | 11.8 | % | (0.5) | % | |||||||||||||||||||
| Effective tax rate | (28.6) | % | (23.7) | % | (19.4) | % | 4.9 pts | 4.3 pts | |||||||||||||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense for Fiscal 2024 increased $8.0 million compared to the prior year, primarily due to depreciation expense recorded for capital projects recently completed at our Resorts and assets acquired in the acquisition of Crans-Montana ($3.4 million).
Interest expense, net. Interest expense, net for Fiscal 2024 increased $8.8 million compared to the prior year, primarily due to an increase in variable interest rates associated with the unhedged portion of our term loan borrowings under the Vail Holdings Credit Agreement.
Investment income and other, net. Investment income and other, net for Fiscal 2024 decreased $5.2 million compared to Fiscal 2023, primarily as a result of decreased average balances of interest-earning investments, as excess cash balances were utilized during Fiscal 2024 for share repurchases and the cash purchase price for the acquisition of Crans-Montana.
Provision for income taxes. The effective tax rate for Fiscal 2024 was 28.6%, compared to 23.7% for Fiscal 2023. The increase in the effective tax rate was primarily due to an increase in net unfavorable discrete items impacting the tax provision in the current period, including a decrease in the impact of the lapse of the statute of limitations for an uncertain tax position ($5.9 million) and a nonrecurring foreign partnership basis adjustment ($4.7 million).
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Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures
The following table reconciles net income attributable to Vail Resorts, Inc. to Total Reported EBITDA for Fiscal 2024, Fiscal 2023 and Fiscal 2022 (in thousands):
| Year ended July 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| Net income attributable to Vail Resorts, Inc. | $ | 230,405 | $ | 268,148 | $ | 347,923 | |||||||||||
| Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests | 15,874 | 16,955 | 20,414 | ||||||||||||||
| Net income | 246,279 | 285,103 | 368,337 | ||||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 98,816 | 88,414 | 88,824 | ||||||||||||||
| Income before provision for income taxes | 345,095 | 373,517 | 457,161 | ||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 276,493 | 268,501 | 252,391 | ||||||||||||||
| Loss (gain) on disposal of fixed assets and other, net | 9,633 | 9,070 | (43,992) | ||||||||||||||
| Change in estimated fair value of contingent consideration | 47,957 | 49,836 | 20,280 | ||||||||||||||
| Investment income and other, net | (18,592) | (23,744) | (3,718) | ||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency loss on intercompany loans | 4,140 | 2,907 | 2,682 | ||||||||||||||
| Interest expense, net | 161,839 | 153,022 | 148,183 | ||||||||||||||
| Total Reported EBITDA | $ | 826,565 | $ | 833,109 | $ | 832,987 | |||||||||||
| Mountain Reported EBITDA | $ | 802,072 | $ | 822,570 | $ | 811,167 | |||||||||||
| Lodging Reported EBITDA | 23,018 | 12,267 | 25,747 | ||||||||||||||
| Resort Reported EBITDA | 825,090 | 834,837 | 836,914 | ||||||||||||||
| Real Estate Reported EBITDA | 1,475 | (1,728) | (3,927) | ||||||||||||||
| Total Reported EBITDA | $ | 826,565 | $ | 833,109 | $ | 832,987 | |||||||||||
The following table reconciles long-term debt, net to Net Debt (defined as long-term debt, net plus long-term debt due within one year less cash and cash equivalents) (in thousands):
| Year ended July 31, | |||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||
| Long-term debt, net | $ | 2,721,597 | $ | 2,750,675 | |||||||
| Long-term debt due within one year | 57,153 | 69,160 | |||||||||
| Total debt | 2,778,750 | 2,819,835 | |||||||||
| Less: cash and cash equivalents | 322,827 | 562,975 | |||||||||
| Net Debt | $ | 2,455,923 | $ | 2,256,860 | |||||||
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Changes in significant sources and uses of cash for Fiscal 2024, Fiscal 2023 and Fiscal 2022 are presented by categories as follows (in thousands):
| Year ended July 31, | |||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 586,774 | $ | 639,563 | $ | 710,499 | |||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | $ | (241,069) | $ | (273,167) | $ | (347,917) | |||||
| Net cash used in financing activities | $ | (574,788) | $ | (915,708) | $ | (493,136) | |||||
Historically, we have lower cash available at the end of each first and fourth fiscal quarter-ends as compared to our second and third fiscal quarter-ends, primarily due to the seasonality of our Mountain segment operations.
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Fiscal 2024 compared to Fiscal 2023
We generated $586.8 million of cash from operating activities during Fiscal 2024, a decrease of $52.8 million compared to $639.6 million generated during Fiscal 2023. The decrease in operating cash flows was primarily a result of (i) an increase in income tax payments of approximately $35.0 million, driven by overpayments, net operating loss carryforwards and other deductions in the prior year which offset our estimated payments during Fiscal 2023; (ii) an increase in cash interest payments ($6.1 million); and (iii) a decrease in investment income collected ($5.2 million).
Cash used in investing activities for Fiscal 2024 decreased by $32.1 million, primarily due to (i) a decrease in capital expenditures of approximately $103.7 million as compared to the prior year, driven by our significant investments in lift upgrades impacting Fiscal 2023; (ii) prior year short-term bank deposit investments of $86.8 million, which were invested in deposits with maturity dates of more than three months at the date of purchase and were therefore not reflected as cash equivalents as of July 31, 2023, of which $57.6 million and $38.0 million matured during the Fiscal 2024 and Fiscal 2023, respectively; and (iii) $38.6 million of cash paid to Andermatt Swiss Alps AG upon closing the acquisition of Andermatt-Sedrun, net of cash acquired, on August 3, 2022. These decreases in cash used in investing activities were partially offset by the prior year return of a cash deposit of approximately $114.5 million (CHF 110.0 million) originally made in July 2022 in conjunction with the acquisition of Andermatt-Sedrun, which closed on August 3, 2022. The cash deposit was invested into Andermatt-Sedrun, which is included in our consolidated financial statements subsequent to the acquisition being completed. Additionally, the decreases were also partially offset by the cash purchase price of $94.4 million, net of cash acquired of $12.4 million, related to the acquisition of Crans-Montana on May 2, 2024.
Cash used in financing activities decreased by $340.9 million during Fiscal 2024 compared to Fiscal 2023, primarily due to a decrease in repurchases of common stock of $350.0 million.
Significant Sources of Cash
We had $322.8 million of cash and cash equivalents as of July 31, 2024, compared to $563.0 million as of July 31, 2023, and the decrease was primarily attributable to the cash purchase price associated with the acquisition of Crans-Montana, net of cash acquired, and share repurchases completed during Fiscal 2024. We currently anticipate that our Mountain and Lodging segment operating results will continue to provide a significant source of future operating cash flows (primarily generated in our second and third fiscal quarters).
In addition to our $322.8 million of cash and cash equivalents at July 31, 2024, we had $407.9 million available under the revolver component of our Vail Holdings Credit Agreement as of July 31, 2024 (which represents the total commitment of $500.0 million less outstanding letters of credit of $92.1 million). Additionally, we had C$296.6 million ($214.8 million) available under the revolver component of our Whistler Credit Agreement (which represents the total commitment of C$300.0 million ($217.3 million) less certain outstanding letters of credit of C$3.4 million ($2.5 million)). We expect that our liquidity needs in the near term will be met by continued use of our existing cash and cash equivalents, operating cash flows and borrowings under both the Vail Holdings Credit Agreement and Whistler Credit Agreement, if needed. Under the Vail Holdings Credit Agreement and the Whistler Credit Agreement, any new borrowings would be priced at the Secured Overnight Financing Rate plus 1.60% and Canadian Overnight Repo Rate Average plus 1.75%, respectively.
Significant Uses of Cash
Capital Expenditures
We have historically invested significant amounts of cash in capital expenditures for our resort operations, and we expect to continue to do so, subject to operating performance particularly as it relates to discretionary projects. Currently planned capital expenditures primarily include investments that will allow us to maintain our high-quality standards for the guest experience, as well as certain incremental discretionary improvements at our Resorts, throughout our owned hotels and in technology that can impact the full network. We evaluate discretionary capital improvements based on an expected level of return on investment.
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We currently anticipate that we will spend approximately $189 million to $194 million on resort capital expenditures during calendar year 2024, excluding $13 million of incremental capital investments in premium fleet and fulfillment infrastructure to support the official launch of My Epic Gear for the 2024/2025 winter season at 12 destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas across North America, $8 million of growth capital investments at Andermatt-Sedrun, $1 million of reimbursable capital, and investments at Crans-Montana, which we expect will include $3 million of maintenance capital expenditures and $2 million associated with integration activities at Crans-Montana. Including My Epic Gear premium fleet, fulfillment infrastructure capital, one-time investments, and investments at Crans-Montana, our total capital plan for calendar year 2024 is expected to be approximately $216 million to $221 million. Included in these estimated capital expenditures are approximately $117 million to $122 million of maintenance capital expenditures (excluding Crans-Montana), which are necessary to maintain appearance and level of service appropriate to our resorts. We currently plan to utilize cash on hand, borrowings available under our credit agreements and/or cash flow generated from future operations to provide the cash necessary to complete our capital plans.
Approximately $81 million was spent for capital expenditures in calendar year 2024 as of July 31, 2024, leaving approximately $135 million to $140 million to spend in the remainder of calendar year 2024.
Acquisition of Crans-Montana
On May 2, 2024, we acquired Crans-Montana for a purchase price of CHF 97.2 million ($106.8 million), after adjustments for certain agreed-upon items, which was funded with cash on hand.
Debt
As of July 31, 2024, principal payments on $2.0 billion of our $2.8 billion in long-term debt outstanding as of July 31, 2024 are not due until fiscal year 2029 and beyond. As of both July 31, 2024 and 2023, total long-term debt, net (including long-term debt due within one year) was $2.8 billion. Net Debt (defined as long-term debt, net plus long-term debt due within one year less cash and cash equivalents) was $2.5 billion and $2.3 billion as of July 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
As of July 31, 2024, the Vail Holdings Credit Agreement provides for (i) a revolving loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of $500.0 million and (ii) a term loan facility of $959.8 million, and the Whistler Credit Agreement provides for a revolving loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of C$300.0 million. We expect that our liquidity needs in the near term will be met by continued use of our existing cash and cash equivalents, operating cash flows and borrowings under the Vail Holdings Credit Agreement and the Whistler Credit Agreement, if needed.
Our debt service requirements can be impacted by changing interest rates as we had approximately $0.6 billion of net variable-rate debt outstanding as of July 31, 2024 (net of $400.0 million of interest rate swap agreements which hedged the variable interest rate component of the Vail Holdings Credit Agreement, and which expired on September 23, 2024). A 100-basis point change in our borrowing rates would cause our annual interest payments on our net variable-rate debt to change by approximately $6.1 million based on the rates in effect as of July 31, 2024, which does not include the impact of the expiration of the interest rate swaps. Additionally, the annual payments associated with the financing of the Canyons Resort transaction increase by the greater of CPI less 1%, or 2%. The fluctuation in our debt service requirements, in addition to interest rate and inflation changes, may be impacted by future borrowings under our credit agreements or other alternative financing arrangements we may enter into. Our long term liquidity needs depend upon operating results that impact the borrowing capacity under our credit agreements. We can respond to liquidity impacts of changes in the business and economic environment by managing our capital expenditures, variable operating expenses, the timing of new real estate development activity and the payment of cash dividends on our common stock.
On May 8, 2024, we completed our offering of $600 million aggregate principal amount of 6.50% senior notes due 2032 at par (the “Notes”). The Notes are unsecured senior obligations of the Company and will be guaranteed by certain of our domestic subsidiaries (other than certain excluded subsidiaries). The net proceeds, together with cash on hand, funded the redemption of all $600 million of our outstanding 6.25% Senior Notes due 2025 at a redemption price equal to 100% of their principal amount and all related fees and expenses. We will pay interest on the Notes on May 15 and November 15 of each year commencing on November 15, 2024. The Notes will mature on May 15, 2032. The Notes are redeemable, in whole or in part, at any time on or after May 15, 2027 at the redemption prices specified in a 2024 Indenture dated as of May 8, 2024 (the “2024 Indenture”) plus accrued and unpaid interest. Prior to May 15, 2027, we may redeem some or all of the Notes at a redemption price of 100% of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, plus a “make-whole” premium as specified in the 2024 Indenture. In addition, prior to May 15, 2027, we may redeem up to 40% of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes with an amount not to exceed the net cash proceeds from certain equity offerings at the redemption price of 106.50% of the principal amount of the notes to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest. The Notes are senior unsecured obligations of the Company and rank equally in right of payment with existing and future senior indebtedness of the Company and the guarantors (as defined in the 2024 Indenture).
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The 2024 Indenture contains covenants that, among other things, restrict the ability of the Company and the guarantors to incur liens on assets; merge or consolidate with another company or sell, assign, transfer, lease, convey or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets or engage in Sale and Leaseback Transactions (as defined in the 2024 Indenture). The 2024 Indenture does not contain any financial maintenance covenants. Certain of the covenants will not apply to the Notes so long as the Notes have investment grade ratings from two specified rating agencies and no event of default has occurred and is continuing under the 2024 Indenture. The 2024 Indenture includes customary events of default, including failure to make payment, failure to comply with the obligations set forth in the 2024 Indenture, certain defaults on certain other indebtedness, certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization, and invalidity of the guarantees of the Notes issued pursuant to the 2024 Indenture.
Material Cash Requirements
As part of our ongoing operations, we enter into arrangements that obligate us to make future payments under contracts such as debt agreements and construction agreements in conjunction with our resort capital expenditures. Debt obligations, which totaled $2.8 billion as of July 31, 2024, are recognized as liabilities in our Consolidated Balance Sheet. Obligations under construction contracts and other purchase commitments are not recognized as liabilities in our Consolidated Balance Sheet until services and/or goods are received. A summary of our material cash obligations as of July 31, 2024 (excluding obligations presented elsewhere, including Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements) is presented below (in thousands):
| Payments Due by Period | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fiscal | 2-3 | 4-5 | More than | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 2025 | years | years | 5 years | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Long-term debt (1) | $ | 3,481,028 | 171,107 | 912,578 | 1,007,745 | 1,389,598 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service contracts | $ | 45,577 | 33,480 | 11,317 | 780 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Purchase obligations and other (2) | $ | 591,423 | 409,398 | 93,811 | 3,119 | 85,095 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total contractual cash obligations | $ | 4,118,028 | $ | 613,985 | $ | 1,017,706 | $ | 1,011,644 | $ | 1,474,693 | |||||||||||||||||||
(1) Long-term debt includes principal payments, fixed-rate interest payments (including payments that are required under interest rate swaps) and estimated variable interest payments utilizing interest rates in effect at July 31, 2024, and assumes all debt outstanding as of July 31, 2024 will be held to maturity. The future annual interest obligations noted herein are estimated only in relation to debt outstanding as of July 31, 2024, and do not reflect interest obligations on potential future debt or refinancing.
Long-term debt also includes $12.8 million of proceeds resulting from real estate transactions accounted for as financing arrangements, which are expected to be recognized on the Company’s Statements of Operations in future years as a result of the anticipated resolution of continuing involvement, with no associated cash outflow.
(2) Purchase obligations and other primarily includes amounts which are classified as trade payables ($141.2 million), accrued payroll and benefits ($104.2 million), accrued fees and assessments ($33.9 million), contingent consideration liability ($104.2 million) and accrued taxes (including taxes for uncertain tax positions) ($112.5 million) on our Consolidated Balance Sheet as of July 31, 2024. These amounts also include other commitments for goods and services not yet received, including construction contracts and minimum commitments under season pass alliance agreements, which are not included on our Consolidated Balance Sheet as of July 31, 2024 in accordance with GAAP.
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Share Repurchase Program
Our share repurchase program is conducted under authorizations made from time to time by our Board of Directors. On March 9, 2006, our Board of Directors initially authorized the repurchase of up to 3,000,000 shares of Vail Shares and later authorized additional repurchases of up to 3,000,000 additional Vail Shares (July 16, 2008), 1,500,000 Vail Shares (December 4, 2015), and 2,500,000 Vail Shares (March 7, 2023), for a total authorization to repurchase shares of up to 10,000,000 Vail Shares. During Fiscal 2024, we repurchased 721,378 shares (at an average price of $207.93) for a total cost of approximately $150.0 million, excluding accrued excise tax. Since the inception of this stock repurchase program through July 31, 2024, we have repurchased 9,369,680 Vail Shares at a cost of approximately $1,129.4 million. As of July 31, 2024, 630,320 Vail Shares remained available to repurchase under the existing repurchase authorization. On September 25, 2024, the Company’s Board of Directors approved an increase in the number of shares authorized to be repurchased under the share repurchase program by an additional 1,100,000 Vail Shares. As a result, 1,730,320 Vail Shares are available to repurchase under the share repurchase program. Vail Shares purchased pursuant to the repurchase program will be held as treasury shares and may be used for the issuance of shares under our share award plan. Repurchases under the program may be made from time to time at prevailing prices as permitted by applicable laws, and subject to market conditions and other factors. The timing, as well as the number of Vail Shares that may be repurchased under the program, will depend on several factors, including our future financial performance, our available cash resources and competing uses for cash that may arise in the future, the restrictions in our Vail Holdings Credit Agreement, prevailing prices of Vail Shares and the number of Vail Shares that become available for sale at prices that we believe are attractive. The share repurchase program has no expiration date.
Dividend Payments
During Fiscal 2024, we paid cash dividends of $8.56 per share ($323.7 million). During Fiscal 2023, we paid cash dividends of $7.94 per share ($314.4 million, including cash dividends paid to Exchangeco shareholders). On September 25, 2024, our Board of Directors approved a cash dividend of $2.22 per share payable on October 24, 2024 to stockholders of record as of October 8, 2024. We expect to fund the dividend with available cash on hand. The amount, if any, of dividends to be paid in the future will depend on our available cash on hand, anticipated cash needs, overall financial condition, restrictions contained in our Vail Holdings Credit Agreement, future prospects for earnings and cash flows, as well as other factors considered relevant by our Board of Directors.
Covenants and Limitations
We must abide by certain restrictive financial covenants under our credit agreements. The most restrictive of those covenants include the following: for the Vail Holdings Credit Agreement, Net Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio, Secured Net Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio and the Interest Coverage ratio (each as defined in the Vail Holdings Credit Agreement); for the Whistler Credit Agreement, Consolidated Total Leverage Ratio and Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio (each as defined in the Whistler Credit Agreement); and for the EPR Secured Notes, Maximum Leverage Ratio and Consolidated Fixed Charge Ratio (each as defined in the EPR Agreements). Additionally, the New Regional Policy loan between Andermatt-Sedrun and the Canton of Uri and Canton of Graubünden dated June 24, 2016 includes restrictive covenants requiring certain minimum financial results (as defined in the agreement). In addition, our financing arrangements limit our ability to make certain restricted payments, pay dividends on or redeem or repurchase stock, make certain investments, make certain affiliate transfers and may limit our ability to enter into certain mergers, consolidations or sales of assets and incur certain indebtedness. Our borrowing availability under the Vail Holdings Credit Agreement is primarily determined by the Net Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio, which is based on our operating performance, as defined in the Vail Holdings Credit Agreement. Our borrowing availability under the Whistler Credit Agreement is primarily determined by the Consolidated Total Leverage Ratio, which is based on the operating performance of the loan parties, as defined in the Whistler Credit Agreement.
We were in compliance with all restrictive financial covenants in our debt instruments as of July 31, 2024. We expect that we will continue to meet all applicable financial maintenance covenants in effect in our credit agreements throughout the year ending July 31, 2025; however, there can be no assurance that we will continue to meet such financial covenants. If such covenants are not met, we would be required to seek a waiver or amendment from the banks participating in our credit agreements. There can be no assurance that such waiver or amendment would be granted, which could have a material adverse impact on our liquidity.
Off Balance Sheet Arrangements
We do not have off balance sheet transactions that are expected to have a material effect on our financial condition, revenue, expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.
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Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to select accounting policies and to make judgments and estimates affecting the application of those accounting policies. In applying our accounting policies, different business conditions or the use of different assumptions may result in materially different amounts reported in the Consolidated Financial Statements.
We have identified the most critical accounting policies which were determined by considering accounting policies that involve the most complex or subjective decisions or assessments. We also have other policies considered key accounting policies; however, these policies do not meet the definition of critical accounting policies because they do not generally require us to make estimates or judgments that are complex or subjective. We have reviewed these critical accounting policies and related disclosures with our Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.
Goodwill and Intangible Assets
Description
The carrying value of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are evaluated for possible impairment on an annual basis or between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the estimated fair value of a reporting unit or indefinite-lived intangible asset below its carrying value. Definite-lived intangible assets are evaluated for impairment only when there is evidence that events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of these assets may not be recoverable.
Judgments and Uncertainties
Application of the goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible asset impairment test requires judgment, including the identification of reporting units, determination of the type of impairment test that should be performed, assignment of assets and liabilities to reporting units, assignment of goodwill to reporting units and determination of the estimated fair value of reporting units and indefinite-lived intangible assets. We have the option to first perform a qualitative analysis to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit or indefinite-lived intangible asset exceeds the carrying amount. If it is determined, based on qualitative factors, that the fair value of the reporting unit or indefinite-lived intangible asset is more likely than not less than its carrying amount, or if significant changes to macro-economic factors related to the reporting unit or intangible asset have occurred that could materially impact the estimated fair value since the previous quantitative analysis was performed, a quantitative impairment test may be required. The quantitative test includes determination of the estimated fair value of our reporting units using a discounted cash flow analysis and determination of the estimated fair value of indefinite-lived intangible assets primarily using the income approach based upon estimated future revenue streams. These analyses require significant judgments, including estimation of future cash flows, which is dependent on internal forecasts, available industry/market data (to the extent available), estimation of the long-term rate of growth for our business including expectations and assumptions regarding the impact of general economic conditions on our business, estimation of terminal value, determination of the respective weighted average cost of capital and market participant assumptions. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of estimated fair value and the amount of any potential impairment for each reporting unit or indefinite-lived intangible asset.
Effect if Actual Results Differ From Assumptions
Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are tested for impairment at least annually as of May 1. If the net carrying value of the reporting units or assets exceed their estimated fair value, an impairment will be recognized in an amount equal to that excess; otherwise, no impairment loss is recognized. During Fiscal 2024, we performed qualitative analyses of our reporting units and indefinite-lived intangible assets and determined that the estimated fair value of all material reporting units and indefinite-lived intangible assets exceeded their respective carrying values.
Fair value determinations require considerable judgment and are sensitive to changes in underlying assumptions and factors. As a result, there can be no assurance that the estimates and assumptions made for purposes of the annual goodwill or indefinite-lived asset impairment tests are accurate. Examples of events or circumstances that could reasonably be expected to negatively affect the underlying key assumptions and ultimately impact the estimated fair value of our reporting units may include such items as: (1) prolonged adverse weather conditions resulting in a sustained decline in guest visitation; (2) a prolonged weakness in the general economic conditions in which guest visitation and spending is adversely impacted; and (3) volatility in the equity and debt markets which could result in a higher discount rate.
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While we believe that our estimates and judgments are reasonable and while historical quantitative tests concluded that the estimated fair values of our reporting units and indefinite-lived assets that are in excess of carrying values, if our assumptions are not realized, it is possible that an impairment charge may need to be recorded in the future. However, it is not possible at this time to determine if an impairment charge would result or if such a charge would be material. As of July 31, 2024, we had $1,678.0 million of goodwill and $252.2 million of indefinite-lived intangible assets recorded on our Consolidated Balance Sheet. There can be no assurance that the estimates and assumptions made for purposes of the annual goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible asset impairment tests will prove to be an accurate prediction of the future.
Tax Contingencies
Description
We must make certain estimates and judgments in determining income tax expense for financial statement purposes. These estimates and judgments occur in the calculation of tax credits and deductions and in the calculation of certain tax assets and liabilities, which arise from differences in the timing of recognition of revenue and expense for tax and financial statement purposes, as well as the interest and penalties relating to uncertain tax positions. The calculation of our tax liabilities involves dealing with uncertainties in the application of complex tax regulations. We recognize liabilities for uncertain tax positions based on a two-step process. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step requires us to estimate and measure the largest tax benefit that is cumulatively greater than 50% likely of being reversed upon ultimate settlement. It is inherently difficult and subjective to estimate such amounts, as this requires us to determine the probability of various possible outcomes. This evaluation is based on factors including, but not limited to, changes in facts or circumstances, changes in tax law, interpretation of tax law, effectively settled issues under audit and new audit activity. A significant amount of time may pass before a particular matter, for which we may have established a reserve, is audited and fully resolved.
Judgments and Uncertainties
The estimates of our tax contingencies reserve contain uncertainty because management must use judgment to estimate the potential exposure associated with our various filing positions.
Effect if Actual Results Differ From Assumptions
We believe the estimates and judgments we have made related to tax contingencies are reasonable and we have adequate reserves for uncertain tax positions. Our reserves for uncertain tax positions, including any income tax related interest and penalties, are $57.1 million as of July 31, 2024. This reserve solely relates to the treatment of the Canyons lease payments obligation as payments of debt obligations and that the tax basis in Canyons goodwill is deductible. Actual results could differ and we may be exposed to increases or decreases in those reserves and tax provisions that could be material.
An unfavorable tax settlement could require the use of cash and could possibly result in increased tax expense and effective tax rate and/or adjustments to our deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities in the year of resolution. A favorable tax settlement could possibly result in a reduction in our tax expense, effective tax rate, income taxes payable, other long-term liabilities and/or adjustments to our deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities in the year of settlement or in future years.
Depreciable Lives of Assets
Description
Mountain and lodging operational assets, furniture and fixtures, computer equipment, software, vehicles and leasehold improvements are primarily depreciated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of the asset. Assets may become obsolete or require replacement before the end of their useful life in which the remaining book value would be written-off or we could incur costs to remove or dispose of assets no longer in use.
Judgments and Uncertainties
The estimates of our useful lives of the assets contain uncertainty because management must use judgment to estimate the useful life of the asset.
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Effect if Actual Results Differ From Assumptions
Although we believe the estimates and judgments discussed herein are reasonable, actual results could differ, and we may be exposed to increased expense related to depreciable assets disposed of, removed or taken out of service prior to its originally estimated useful life, which may be material. A 10% decrease in the estimated useful lives of depreciable assets would have increased depreciation expense by approximately $30.3 million for Fiscal 2024.
Business Combinations
Description
A component of our growth strategy has been to acquire and integrate businesses that complement our existing operations. We account for business combinations in accordance with the guidance for business combinations and related literature. Accordingly, we allocate the purchase price of acquired businesses to the identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based upon their estimated fair values at the date of acquisition. The difference between the purchase price and the estimated fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed is recorded as goodwill. In determining the estimated fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination, we use various recognized valuation methods including present value modeling and referenced market values (where available). Valuations are performed by management or independent valuation specialists under management’s supervision, where appropriate.
Judgments and Uncertainties
Accounting for business combinations requires our management to make significant estimates and assumptions, especially at the acquisition date, including our estimates for intangible assets, contractual obligations assumed and contingent consideration, where applicable. Although we believe the assumptions and estimates we have made in the past have been reasonable and appropriate, they are based in part on historical experience and information obtained from the management of the acquired companies and are inherently uncertain. Examples of critical estimates in valuing certain of the intangible assets we have acquired include, but are not limited to: determination of weighted average cost of capital, market participant assumptions, royalty rates, terminal multiples and estimates of future cash flows to be generated by the acquired assets. In addition to the estimates and assumptions applied to valuing intangible assets acquired, the determination of the estimated fair value of contingent consideration, including estimating the likelihood and timing of achieving the relevant thresholds for contingent consideration payments, requires the use of subjective judgments. We estimate the fair value of the Park City contingent consideration payments using an option pricing valuation model which incorporates, among other factors, projected achievement of specified financial performance measures, discount rates and volatility for the respective business.
Effect if Actual Results Differ From Assumptions
We believe that the estimated fair values assigned to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed are based on reasonable assumptions that a marketplace participant would use. While we use our best estimates and assumptions to accurately value assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition date, our estimates are inherently uncertain and subject to refinement. As a result, during the measurement period, which may be up to one year from the acquisition date, we may record adjustments, which could be significant, to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed with the corresponding offset to goodwill. Upon the conclusion of the measurement period or final determination of the estimated fair values of assets acquired or liabilities assumed, whichever comes first, any subsequent adjustments would be recorded on our Consolidated Statements of Operations.
We recognize the fair value of contingent consideration, if any, at the date of acquisition as part of the consideration transferred to acquire a business. The liability associated with contingent consideration is remeasured to fair value at each reporting period subsequent to the date of acquisition taking into consideration changes in financial projections and long-term growth rates, among other factors, that may impact the timing and amount of contingent consideration payments until the term of the agreement has expired or the contingency is resolved. Increases in the fair value of contingent consideration are recorded as losses on our Consolidated Statements of Operations, while decreases in fair value are recorded as gains.
New Accounting Standards
Refer to the Summary of Significant Accounting Policies within the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of new accounting standards.
Seasonality and Quarterly Results
Our mountain and lodging operations are seasonal in nature, with a typical peak operating season in North America and Europe generally beginning in mid-December and running through mid-April. In particular, revenue and profits for our North American and European mountain and most of our lodging operations are substantially lower and historically result in losses from late
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spring to late fall. Conversely, peak operating seasons for our NPS concessioner properties, our mountain resort golf courses and our Australian resorts’ ski season generally occur during the North American summer months, and these operations typically incur operating losses during the North American and European winter months. Revenue and profits generated by NPS concessioner properties’ summer operations, golf operations and Australian resorts’ ski operations are not sufficient to fully offset our off-season losses from our North American and European mountain and other lodging operations. During Fiscal 2024, approximately 82% of total combined Mountain and Lodging segment net revenue (excluding Lodging segment revenue associated with reimbursement of payroll costs) was earned during the second and third fiscal quarters. Therefore, the operating results for any three-month period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved for any subsequent quarter or for a full year (see Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements).
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.
Interest Rate Risk. Our exposure to market risk is limited primarily to the fluctuating interest rates associated with variable rate indebtedness. At July 31, 2024, we had approximately $0.6 billion of net variable rate indebtedness (after taking into consideration $400.0 million in interest rate swaps which converts variable-rate debt to fixed-rate debt, which expired on September 23, 2024), representing approximately 22% of our total debt outstanding, at an average interest rate during Fiscal 2024 of approximately 6.9%. Based on variable-rate borrowings outstanding as of July 31, 2024, a 100-basis point (or 1.0%) change in our borrowing rates would result in our annual interest payments changing by $6.1 million. Our market risk exposure fluctuates based on changes in underlying interest rates, as well as our potential entry into future interest rate hedging instruments or expiration of existing interest rate hedging agreements.
Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk. We are exposed to currency translation risk because the results of our international entities are reported in local currency, which we then translate to U.S. dollars for inclusion in our Consolidated Financial Statements. As a result, changes between the foreign exchange rates, in particular the Canadian dollar, Australian dollar and Swiss franc compared to the U.S. dollar, affect the amounts we record for our foreign assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and could have a negative effect on our financial results. Additionally, we have foreign currency transaction exposure from an intercompany loan to Whistler Blackcomb that is not deemed to be permanently invested, which has and could materially change due to fluctuations in the Canadian dollar exchange rate. The results of Whistler Blackcomb are reported in Canadian dollars; the results of our Australian resorts are reported in Australian dollars; and the results of our Swiss resorts are reported in Swiss francs, each of which we then translate to U.S. dollars for inclusion in our Consolidated Financial Statements. We do not currently enter into hedging arrangements to minimize the impact of foreign currency fluctuations on our operations.
The following table summarizes the amounts of foreign currency translation adjustments, representing losses, and foreign currency loss on intercompany loans recognized in comprehensive income (in thousands):
| Year ended July 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustments | $ | (67,384) | $ | (25,439) | $ | ||||||||||||