DENVER — Vail Resorts is reporting a significant decline in skier visits this past season, with third-quarter revenue falling sharply compared to the prior year.
The company reported a 12.5% drop in skier visits, with third-quarter revenue falling to $314.4 million from $389.7 million the prior year. Ski pass sales for the upcoming season dropped 10%.
Vail CEO Rob Katz said it was one of the most challenging winters in history across the western U.S., particularly in the Rockies.
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“While these dynamics negatively impacted results, our advance commitment model provided considerable stability and strong cost discipline kept us on track to exceed our resource efficiency transformation plan savings for the year,” Katz said in a release.
David Corsun, director of the Fritz Noble School of Hospitality Management at the University of Denver, said the impact on mountain towns will vary.
"The answer is, it depends. Like with so many things, the towns themselves may be able to recover, but certain businesses, people who went out of business, won't come back into business, so that's a challenge, there may be implications from having to have had laid off people who were employees for skiing purposes, which did occur in some towns," Corsun said.
Corsun said some mountain towns may struggle with decreased tax revenue due to the poor ski season.
“I'm sure that they are having to cut services in some way, shape, or form, because they will certainly be under their anticipated tax revenue from a sales tax perspective, and from a lodging tax perspective,” Corsun said.
That decrease in tax revenue could make it difficult for communities to continue investing in projects like affordable housing.
Vail Resorts said it plans to elevate the guest experience through investments in lifts, snowmaking and dining to drive future visitation.
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