Vail Resorts is buying Peak Resorts.

[thetrailboss]

So congrats again to the new soon-to-be Dads in the thread.

As to Vail takeover, I encourage folks to listen to their Podcast that recently came out. Be forewarned there is a lot of self-administered pats on the back and some spin (to be expected), but the sense I have gotten is that they generally come in and see who is on the ground and try to work with them and keep them in the company if they can. Granted, there are some exceptions of course, but the impression I got and they seem to put out there is that they will use the better talent of an acquisition and even move or promote them. The guy in the first episode was a higher-up at Park City and Vail retained him and promoted him. Another guy (it might be the same guy...I can't remember) was excited to be promoted to the head of Keystone (IIRC) or something like that.

 

[drjeff]

So congrats again to the new soon-to-be Dads in the thread.

As to Vail takeover, I encourage folks to listen to their Podcast that recently came out. Be forewarned there is a lot of self-administered pats on the back and some spin (to be expected), but the sense I have gotten is that they generally come in and see who is on the ground and try to work with them and keep them in the company if they can. Granted, there are some exceptions of course, but the impression I got and they seem to put out there is that they will use the better talent of an acquisition and even move or promote them. The guy in the first episode was a higher-up at Park City and Vail retained him and promoted him. Another guy (it might be the same guy...I can't remember) was excited to be promoted to the head of Keystone (IIRC) or something like that.

Listened to that one as well this past week. It was the same guy who wasa finance guy at Park City pre Vail merger, then was identified by Vail as a leader they saw talent in, was promoted into a GM roll about a year after the Park City merger at their newly acquired Mount Brighton to oversee a full redevelopment of the mountain post Vail aquisition, and then through lateral promotions was then promoted to the GM at Keystone.

I thought Rob Katz's comment about what Vail does post acquisition when they start the integration of a new resort into Vail Resorts operations was quite interesting when he said (paraphrasing here) - it's not like on Day 1 after the merger goes through a bus full of current Vail Resorts employees shows up and tells all existing employees of the acquired resorts that they're fired.

The other one of the Epic by Nature podcast episodes I felt gave some decent insight into what their corporate philosophy about identifying, developing, and then placing people into leadership roles within the company, and then continuing to help those individuals expand their leadership skills and achieve their career goals, was the podcast about women leaders.

I agree with TB that obviously Rob Katz and Vail Resorts are going to put their best shine on these podcasts, however, there's a bunch of substance in them as well, where you get the distinct sense that just like any business, they want to identify, recruit, develop, retain, and help enable talent to allow the company to thrive as best possible

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[VTKilarney]

Let's say you wake up at 4:00 on Saturday morning in Newark and have the option to go to the west (let's say Utah) or let's say Killington. You can head to the airport and be on a flight, on the ground, in a car, and skiing Snowbird at 9:30. Good luck being at Killington by 9:30. South of NYC it's definitely quicker to fly west and, depending on where you're going, easier.

Uh... no.

Let's look at Saturday, February 1st as an example. The earliest arrival into Salt Lake City for a flight departing Newark is 10:37 AM. After you land, you still have to get your luggage and get to Snowbird. Add at least an hour for that. So the earliest you could pull into the parking lot, assuming everything goes absolutely perfectly, is 11:37 AM - which is really 1:37 PM EST.

 

[cdskier]

So congrats again to the new soon-to-be Dads in the thread.

As to Vail takeover, I encourage folks to listen to their Podcast that recently came out. Be forewarned there is a lot of self-administered pats on the back and some spin (to be expected), but the sense I have gotten is that they generally come in and see who is on the ground and try to work with them and keep them in the company if they can. Granted, there are some exceptions of course, but the impression I got and they seem to put out there is that they will use the better talent of an acquisition and even move or promote them. The guy in the first episode was a higher-up at Park City and Vail retained him and promoted him. Another guy (it might be the same guy...I can't remember) was excited to be promoted to the head of Keystone (IIRC) or something like that.

Congrats to BG and EPB as well!

In terms of the Vail takeover - As someone that has been through multiple corporate mergers, take anything said by execs as part of their "strategy" with a grain of salt. They almost always say the "right things" initially about what they want to do. And there absolutely will be examples of people they want to keep and promote, etc. However there will also be many redundant positions eliminated and many people that quietly disappear once they understand who does what and how valuable or necessary different people are.

 

[VTKilarney]

In terms of the Vail takeover - As someone that has been through multiple corporate mergers, take anything said by execs as part of their "strategy" with a grain of salt. They almost always say the "right things" initially about what they want to do. And there absolutely will be examples of people they want to keep and promote, etc. However there will also be many redundant positions eliminated and many people that quietly disappear once they understand who does what and how valuable or necessary different people are.

This is spot on. Did you really think that they are going to say, "Yeah, we are going to do some cleaning house."

Mergers and acquisitions always involve the elimination of redundancy. Always.

It is possible that they like to retain as many people as is commercially reasonable, but they will definitely be looking at improving efficiencies.

 

[BenedictGomez]

You just got lucky:-D

Pretty much. Though truth be told Lake Placid is such a great town that even if we have to bail on a day of skiing we can find something else fun to do. My wife grew up XC skiing in Vermont, and snowshoeing is always fun, etc... Still need to take their "Be a Biathlete" course one of these days too.

Congrats epb and BG!

So congrats again to the new soon-to-be Dads in the thread.

Congrats to BG and EPB as well!

Thanks guys.

In terms of the Vail takeover - As someone that has been through multiple corporate mergers, take anything said by execs as part of their "strategy" with a grain of salt. They almost always say the "right things" initially about what they want to do. And there absolutely will be examples of people they want to keep and promote, etc. However there will also be many redundant positions eliminated and many people that quietly disappear once they understand who does what and how valuable or necessary different people are.

THIS.

If management is telling the truth immediately post any acquisition, you need new management.

 

[catskillman]

This should stop all the ongoing argument and 2 cent comments - thankfully.........

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/...ategy-behind-buying.html?ana=yahoo&yptr=yahoo

 

[EPB]

This should stop all the ongoing argument and 2 cent comments - thankfully.........

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/...ategy-behind-buying.html?ana=yahoo&yptr=yahoo

Translation: EPB knows what he's talking about.[emoji16]

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[BenedictGomez]

Here's a great example of management BS regarding M&A, directly from that article.

While Katz wouldn’t rule out investment in more urban areas, he also said there were “only select locations left” near major snow-generating cities that aren’t under the Vail umbrella.

That is a 100% Wall Street placating answer designed to keep his stock from dropping. And it is the correct answer, meaning it is a lie.

 

[RichT]

Not having the Midweek pass at Hunter is going to piss off a lot of locals

 

[chuckstah]

Not having the Midweek pass at Hunter is going to piss off a lot of locals

Yup, and not just Hunter. I've had the midweek last few years to ski mainly Crotched, with select days at Wildcat or Snow for around $300. No midweek blackouts at Crotched. $700 will send me on my way to a new mountain home, unless a trip West is planned. I hate most weekend skiing.

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[abc]

Not having the Midweek pass at Hunter is going to piss off a lot of locals

It’ll probably still available for the 19/20 season. Just ski the hell out of it to get the most value out for one last time. Then move on to any “other mountains”.

 

[jaytrem]

Anybody recall the early purchase price for the Peak Pass Explorer Adult and Youth? Thanks!

 

[thebigo]

Anybody recall the early purchase price for the Peak Pass Explorer Adult and Youth? Thanks!

The full adult pass was $629, dont remember the kid price my oldest sneaked into the scout for one more year. Edit: looks like the youth pass was $399.

I still don't understand the cost to switch to epic, is it the the current epic local price less the peak pass purchase price or the epic local at the time your peak pass was purchased. When does the epic pass price increase? What was the epic local early buy price?

 

[Edd]

The full adult pass was $629, dont remember the kid price my oldest sneaked into the scout for one more year. Edit: looks like the youth pass was $399.

I still don't understand the cost to switch to epic, is it the the current epic local price less the peak pass purchase price or the epic local at the time your peak pass was purchased.

It depends on what you bought and what you want. For example, I bought a Peak Traveler. If I want an Epic Local, that’s a far more substantial pass and I’d have to pay the difference. What’s I’m not sure of is, if you bought early and wish to convert, will you be granted the early price on your new pass?

 

[njdiver85]

I re-read the FAQ's, and my take on it now is that the upgrade cost will the difference on date of exchange between Peak and Epic passes. So what you paid for the Peak pass won't matter. What will matter is the price of the Peak Pass on the day you make the upgrade, relative to the Epic pass on that day.

 

[jaytrem]

The full adult pass was $629, dont remember the kid price my oldest sneaked into the scout for one more year. Edit: looks like the youth pass was $399.

I still don't understand the cost to switch to epic, is it the the current epic local price less the peak pass purchase price or the epic local at the time your peak pass was purchased. When does the epic pass price increase? What was the epic local early buy price?

Thanks! Yup confusing stuff. I bought tickets to California yesterday. Would like to ski Kirkwood/Heavenly/Northstar. Trying to figure out my best plan of attack. Already have Ikon too, so worst case no Epic skiing for us. With my wife's cousin having a house at Squaw I was REALLY hoping if somebody bought Peak it would be Alterra. Anyway, Epic would be $30 less per kid (2 kids) than Peak Pass was, and Epic for me would be $70 more. If I can get away with an upgrade for $10 total I'll take it.

 

[mbedle]

I re-read the FAQ's, and my take on it now is that the upgrade cost will the difference on date of exchange between Peak and Epic passes. So what you paid for the Peak pass won't matter. What will matter is the price of the Peak Pass on the day you make the upgrade, relative to the Epic pass on that day.

I read that differently, it seems that they will value the Peak Pass at what you paid for it and charge you the difference (or refund) based on the price of the Epic Pass on the date of exchange. Which sucks, because if you don't want to gamble on the sale not happening, you are going to be purchasing the epic pass at its premium price.

 

[njdiver85]

I suppose you can read it two ways. Here is the text:

"You will receive current benefits and will be charged or refunded the difference in price based on the day of the exchange"

 

[drjeff]

I read that differently, it seems that they will value the Peak Pass at what you paid for it and charge you the difference (or refund) based on the price of the Epic Pass on the date of exchange. Which sucks, because if you don't want to gamble on the sale not happening, you are going to be purchasing the epic pass at its premium price.

After reading it about 10 times, that's how I take it too.

I'm hoping, that once the deal closes, Vail Resorts will announce that any "upgrades" from a Peak product to an Epic product will have the Epic product at the same price it would of been at the time of the purchase of the Peak product - that would certainly be a nice welcoming token to a new customer base for sure, and I'm guessing would likely sell a few more Epic upgrades with thoughts of a Western trip this coming season for some for sure. The optics of telling someone who bought at one price deadline level that their upgrade, which they probably never figured would be an option when they bought their Peak product, would come at the (likely) highest sale price point of an Epic product (I'm guessing the deal closes after the last "early season" price increase), isn't exactly the best way to "introduce" themselves to the Peak passholder group.