VAIL SUCKS

[BenedictGomez]

Vail was just able to issue 600 mill (to pay off prior debt of 600 mill) for 6.5 percent, a whopping .25 percent increase. If rolling debt over for .25 percent is the offering, they are going to be just fine.

Maintained their dividend as well. Over a billion in cash on hand. Stock price is basically a vibe check right now. Vail is doing quite well compared to most. Gross revenue is up.

Stock prices go up, stock prices go down - it's not really part of my thesis on Vail, though yes, Vail's stock is down 16% this year while the blind monkey known as the S&P 500 is up 20% almost. That is pretty stark & dramatic variance of roughly 35%, and I'm not surprised. You are correct that they have almost $1B in cash, but they also have $3B in long-term debt alone, which kind of takes the bloom off that rose.

As for, "maintaining the dividend" comment, I predict it will be cut eventually. The payout ratio is over 100%. Vail is paying their Wall Street friends more money per year than their total Net Income from Operations. And they increased it earlier this year. Paying out more money in dividends than you make in profits is an unsustainable position for a business to be in longterm and often leads to it being unable to reinvest in core ops, especially if it's already (like Vail) in a high debt position. Vail is acting like a company ruled at the behest of its shareholders wanting to make money rather than with a responsible eye for its future. Perhaps they can pull that off for a handful more years but not forever.

 

[AdironRider]

Meanwhile while you all continue to posture about Vails eminent demise, they are about to continue their Euro expansion.

Vail Resorts In Talks To Acquire Third Swiss Ski Resort

Vail Resorts is looking to acquire another ski resort in Switzerland.

unofficialnetworks.com

 

[drjeff]

Shannon Buhler Named Keystone Resort VP and GM

SAM Magazine—Keystone, Colo., Aug. 27, 2024—Vail Resorts has appointed Shannon Buhler to become vice president and general manager of Keystone Resort, Colo

www.saminfo.com

Stowe will be getting a new GM this season. And to my knowledge, the corporate folks out in the Broomfield mothership, haven't yet named a new GM for Mount Snow after Brian, who had been there for the past few seasons, was promoted up and out to Whistler which he started on August 1st

 

[cdskier]

Shannon Buhler Named Keystone Resort VP and GM

SAM Magazine—Keystone, Colo., Aug. 27, 2024—Vail Resorts has appointed Shannon Buhler to become vice president and general manager of Keystone Resort, Colo

www.saminfo.com

Stowe will be getting a new GM this season. And to my knowledge, the corporate folks out in the Broomfield mothership, haven't yet named a new GM for Mount Snow after Brian, who had been there for the past few seasons, was promoted up and out to Whistler which he started on August 1st

Damn...didn't she just start at Stowe a year or 2 ago?

 

[drjeff]

Damn...didn't she just start at Stowe a year or 2 ago?

May have been only a year ago.

Seems like the folks within the Vail organization, who have benefitted from their internal leadership development programs, but haven't had a GM role before, and are likely penciled in for a GM role at one of their big Western properties, get their feet wet at one of their bigger Eastern Resorts, and then if they suceed, get the call from the mothership to head back out West

 

[crystalmountainskier]

Damn...didn't she just start at Stowe a year or 2 ago?

14 months.

 

[cdskier]

Crazy...one of your major flagship eastern resorts should have more stability at the GM position.

 

[drjeff]

Crazy...one of your major flagship eastern resorts should have more stability at the GM position.

Thinking with their staff who have been through their leadership development program, that in one sense it's a bit of just a plug the person into the roll they want them to be in, and then the overall continuity of how Vail runs their core systems at all of their resorts, kicks in, with the GMs, even if they are coming from locations geographically far away, knowing how to run a team of various departments within the resort, and rely on that "local knowledge" for some day to day stuff

 

[crystalmountainskier]

Crazy...one of your major flagship eastern resorts should have more stability at the GM position.

Seems about like military deployments. This exec has been sent to Vail, Breck, Keystone, Northstar, Snow Creek Missouri, Stowe and now Keystone again. Been a GM in three time zones in three years.

 

[jimmywilson69]

I think its silly to continue to have the eastern resorts be a revolving door for GMs. This is yet another sign that they don't value the eastern resorts, as senior management looks at them as stepping stones. Sure a good "General Manager" should rely on "local" "department" knowledge to keep whatever resort running. However, you have to continue to indoctrinate new people, likely who aren't from that resort, into a role they likely never held before. Its a ridiculous approach.

It also is a sign that these folks keep jumping ship from the major players out west. Sure some of them continue to move up, but plenty have left for competition...

EDIT

I just saw that Storm Skiing Says that there are now 3, YES THREE, eastern resorts without GMs. It's 3 days from September. In 4 months, those 3 resorts will likely have been open for 2-3 weeks.

TOTAL INCOMPETENCE...

 

[thetrailboss]

Rob's response to this GM debate:

"Good evening, losers! The news of my death has been greatly exaggerated! Stay Epic my friends!"

American giant wants to buy Laax ski resort

The company Vail Resorts is said to be interested in buying the Flims Laax Falera ski resort. The US ski giant has already bought Crans Montana and Andermatt as well as several winter destinations in Austria.

www.bluewin.ch

 

[crystalmountainskier]

I think its silly to continue to have the eastern resorts be a revolving door for GMs. This is yet another sign that they don't value the eastern resorts, as senior management looks at them as stepping stones. Sure a good "General Manager" should rely on "local" "department" knowledge to keep whatever resort running. However, you have to continue to indoctrinate new people, likely who aren't from that resort, into a role they likely never held before. Its a ridiculous approach.

It also is a sign that these folks keep jumping ship from the major players out west. Sure some of them continue to move up, but plenty have left for competition...

EDIT

I just saw that Storm Skiing Says that there are now 3, YES THREE, eastern resorts without GMs. It's 3 days from September. In 4 months, those 3 resorts will likely have been open for 2-3 weeks.

TOTAL INCOMPETENCE...

It’s not just the east. Whistler has had 3 GMs in 3 years. One went to Aspen and the other Sun Valley. Doug Pierini who led a whole region for Vail went to Jackson Hole.

 

[deadheadskier]

Seems about like military deployments. This exec has been sent to Vail, Breck, Keystone, Northstar, Snow Creek Missouri, Stowe and now Keystone again. Been a GM in three time zones in three years.

You would have to pay me a metric fuck ton of money to move me and my family around that frequently.

And the ski business doesn't pay well.

 

[icecoast1]

You would have to pay me a metric fuck ton of money to move me and my family around that frequently.

And the ski business doesn't pay well.

It pays upper management well at larger operations- at least if you're to believe the pay ranges on various jobs they post. Vail has pretty solid benefits too, at least according to a couple of people I know that are employed by them.

 

[thetrailboss]

Sounds like centralized corporate decisions still rule the day at Vail.

 

[jimmywilson69]

you don't have to have your staff constantly in motion because of that...

Again if people at the flagship resorts are jumping ship it does make sense to move folks up, to a certain extent. They're running ski resorts some that have summer activities. Even with a centralized corporate decision mentality, the knowledge of how to run Whistler or Keystone as opposed to Stowe or MT Snow is infinitely different.

 

[kingslug]

Damn...didn't she just start at Stowe a year or 2 ago?

And she did a lot of good there...mostly opening terrain early and in less than stellar condition...the way it should be...

 

[cdskier]

And she did a lot of good there...mostly opening terrain early and in less than stellar condition...the way it should be...

Hope that doesn't get reversed now with a new GM...

 

[Smellytele]

Do the GMs make decisions or are they just part of the borg? If so it doesn't matter.

 

[takeahike46er]

It’s not just the east. Whistler has had 3 GMs in 3 years. One went to Aspen and the other Sun Valley. Doug Pierini who led a whole region for Vail went to Jackson Hole.

Has it been that many? Belinda started as COO last year. Geoff, who went to Aspen, was in the role before her for four years. Am I missing someone?