Vail considering cutting back on announced improvements- beginning of the end for VR?

[ss20]

I'd highly doubt they'd try and sell ski resorts in this type of environment. It's a desperate move that would return pennies on the dollar, shareholders would not be happy. Vail is the largest publicly traded ski company in the world, they are more likely to buy a depressed ski area at a give away price than to sell one that way.

I'm not so sure. Selling off small handful of under-performing resorts to generate cashflow would look better in the eyes of the stockholder's, JMO. I think that cancelling ALL improvements is more of a red flag.

 

[jaytrem]

direct from a finance office employee: jack frost makes the most money out of all the former peaks resorts

That's surprising since it never seems that crowded.

 

[Tonyr]

I'm not so sure. Selling off small handful of under-performing resorts to generate cashflow would look better in the eyes of the stockholder's, JMO. I think that cancelling ALL improvements is more of a red flag.

Vail is canceling 80 to 85 mill worth of improvements out of the roughly 200 mill they planned on doing for next season. Their biggest savings is going to come from suspending 2 quarters of dividends which will net them 140 mill. That's a much easier financial solution than selling assets in a depressed market.

 

[deadheadskier]

I'm not so sure. Selling off small handful of under-performing resorts to generate cashflow would look better in the eyes of the stockholder's, JMO. I think that cancelling ALL improvements is more of a red flag.

good luck finding a buyer....

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[trackbiker]

direct from a finance office employee: jack frost makes the most money out of all the former peaks resorts

More than Mt. Snow? I find that hard to believe. JF does not have night skiing so that eliminates the profitable weeknight school groups that Whitetail, Roundtop, and Liberty get.

 

[jimmywilson69]

yeah seems odd to me as well but as I said previously on AZ Liberty, Roundtop, and Whitetail make a lot more money than most people in the northeast think. Peaks bought them for $75 million. Its not like these are rope tow places. All 3 have highly successful year round business models. Roundtop hosts summer camps and they are like $400/kid/week. They usually sell out and those are the cheap ones! Whitetail and Liberty have golf courses which are some of the only courses in their respective areas and due rather well.

 

[EPB]

I'm not so sure. Selling off small handful of under-performing resorts to generate cashflow would look better in the eyes of the stockholder's, JMO. I think that cancelling ALL improvements is more of a red flag.

Cancelling improvements is a short term solution to a short term problem.

Selling properties is a long term solution to a short term problem.

The latter is a more extreme measure - especially when you consider it is impossible to know how much construction work can even get done this year. The latter should make investors more nervous.

 

[snoseek]

I'm likely going to cave and get an epic next season. I guess we get the joy of that summit triple another season aaaay!

 

[asnowmobiler]

direct from a finance office employee: jack frost makes the most money out of all the former peaks resorts

That's surprising since it never seems that crowded.

That does not seem even remotely possible.
I went there three times last season, a few time the year before and many times three years ago when I had the Peaks Pass. The place was never overly crowded and rarely ever had a lift line, if they did it was no longer than a few minutes, except on holiday weekend. I plan to buy an Epic pass this year and will use it at Frost a few times because it's only 15 minutes from my home, but will spend most of my time in Vermont.

 

[Cobbold]

Never been to Jack Frost, but looking at peak resorts 10 k, Jack frosts does very well for skier visits, so yes it’s probably true

 

[asnowmobiler]

I'm sure it makes money, since they haven't spent a dime on the place in a long time and they seem to have a minimal amount of staff.

 

[machski]

Count Aspen though as an operator moving forward with planned lift installs and capital spending:

https://www.aspentimes.com/news/asp...assesses-coronavirus-hit-to-skico-and-valley/

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[thetrailboss]

Count Aspen though as an operator moving forward with planned lift installs and capital spending:

https://www.aspentimes.com/news/asp...assesses-coronavirus-hit-to-skico-and-valley/

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The benefits of IKON.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Count Aspen though as an operator moving forward with planned lift installs and capital spending:

It will be interesting to see if they actually do go through with all of them though.

No CEO will say a plan is cancelled, until a plan is cancelled.

 

[ss20]

It will be interesting to see if they actually do go through with all of them though.

No CEO will say a plan is cancelled, until a plan is cancelled.

While this hurts all ski resorts, this is sheer murder for Vail. I don't think there's ANY emergency plan to deal with their entire portfolio being shutdown for a few months.

Us in the Northeast got relatively lucky- most places had lass than 30 days less left in their season and can implement their "worst winter in 30 years" plan to get through this financially (I hope).

 

[icecoast1]

While this hurts all ski resorts, this is sheer murder for Vail. I don't think there's ANY emergency plan to deal with their entire portfolio being shutdown for a few months.

Us in the Northeast got relatively lucky- most places had lass than 30 days less left in their season and can implement their "worst winter in 30 years" plan to get through this financially (I hope).

I dont think any business in the country had a plan for dealing with an abrupt shutdown that lasted for months followed by a recession

 

[dblskifanatic]

While this hurts all ski resorts, this is sheer murder for Vail. I don't think there's ANY emergency plan to deal with their entire portfolio being shutdown for a few months.

Us in the Northeast got relatively lucky- most places had lass than 30 days less left in their season and can implement their "worst winter in 30 years" plan to get through this financially (I hope).

Many of Vail’s portfolio have resorts closing around mid April then transition for summer in June. A few would have stayed open in May. They will start to transition to summer. The only real factor will be how the resort industry ramps back up during the summer.


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[ss20]

Many of Vail’s portfolio have resorts closing around mid April then transition for summer in June. A few would have stayed open in May. They will start to transition to summer. The only real factor will be how the resort industry ramps back up during the summer.


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What I was aiming at was their handful of Southern Hemisphere properties that are all major plays for Australia.

 

[raisingarizona]

While this hurts all ski resorts, this is sheer murder for Vail. I don't think there's ANY emergency plan to deal with their entire portfolio being shutdown for a few months.

Us in the Northeast got relatively lucky- most places had lass than 30 days less left in their season and can implement their "worst winter in 30 years" plan to get through this financially (I hope).

The timing of all of this was pretty fortunate for the ski industry. Imagine if this thing landed in mid November keeping resorts closed through February. That would’ve really hurt.

 

[crystalmountainskier]

It will be interesting to see if they actually do go through with all of them though.

No CEO will say a plan is cancelled, until a plan is cancelled.

Disassembling one of the most important lifts at Snowmass is a strong sign they are all in.