Vail Resorts is focused on improving both employee and guest satisfaction in the wake of several labor disputes that disrupted the season earlier this year.
“Our guests are incredibly passionate about our mountain resorts and the experience that they have there, and we’re very fortunate to have a passionate guest space,” said CEO Kirsten Lynch on the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Monday. “And we’re not always perfect, and so sometimes, I think it’s key for us to acknowledge when things don’t go the way that we had hoped and make sure that we’re taking action to address those things and there are challenges that we face.”
Lynch was referring to the 13-day ski patroller strike at its Park City resort in December and January, which concluded after Vail agreed to a pay increase for workers. That agreement, along with subsequent agreements with its Keystone Patrol Union and its Crested Butte lift maintenance unit, will not have material impacts on Vail’s financial results.
“We would not say there is a material impact from the labor contracts that we have negotiated,” Lynch said. Five of Vail’s North American ski patrol teams are unionized, and two of its 37 North American lift maintenance teams are unionized, she said. The impact of union agreements is examined in totality across the entire enterprise, she said.
For the quarter ended Jan. 31, Vail’s net revenue increased 5.5% to $1.13 billion. Net income was $245.5 million, or $6.56 per diluted share – a nearly 12% increase year-over-year. Resort-reported EBITDA was $459.7 million, an 8.1% increase.
Vail investors Late Apex Partners were critical of the resort reported EBITDA metric in a January letter, as well as of Vail’s capital allocation strategy, balance sheet management, and marketing efforts they deemed “inauthentic.” Vail executives did not address the letter or its criticism during the call.
From the beginning of the ski season to March 2, Vail shared that:
- Season-to-date total skier visits declined 2.5% compared to the prior year season-to-date period.
- Season-to-date total lift ticket revenue, including an allocated portion of season pass revenue for each applicable period, increased 4.1% compared to the prior year season-to-date period.
- Season-to-date ski school revenue increased 3% and dining revenue was up 3.1% compared to the prior year season-to-date period. Retail/rental revenue for North American resort and ski area store locations decreased 2.9% compared to the prior year season-to-date period.
“We are always working to enhance the mountain experience of our pass holders, from growing access to world-class resorts, to investments such as lift upgrades and industry-leading innovations such as Mobile Pass, My Epic Assistant, and My Epic Gear,” Lynch said, adding that on average, pass prices have increased 7% since the prior season’s launch price. “We greatly appreciate the loyalty of our guests visiting across all of our mountain resorts this season, and the continued loyalty of our pass holders that have already committed to next season.”
Second-Quarter Highlights
The data reflects that, similar to the last quarter, there were fewer destination visitors than previous seasons and more local visits. In the quarter, Vail reports that:
- Total lift revenue increased 6.9% to $644.9 million for the three months ended January 31, 2025, due to increases in both pass revenue and non-pass revenue.
- Ski school revenue increased 5%, and dining revenue increased 10.8%, driven by increased local skier visitation and increased pricing, partially offset by decreased destination skier visitation.
- Retail/rental revenue decreased 0.7%. Retail revenues decreased 2.6%, driven by lower sales at Vail’s on-mountain retail locations. Rental revenues increased by 1.6%.
- Mountain reported EBITDA increased 8.9%, for the second quarter compared to the same period in the prior year.
- Lodging net revenue decreased 4.3% to $70.2 million. Lodging reported EBITDA decreased 56.5%.
Looking Ahead
Tariffs have not so far impacted Canadian visits to resorts in the U.S., according to Lynch.
“I can’t say that right now we’ve seen a very overt or explicit reaction to the tariffs,” Lynch said. “We will continue to monitor that very closely.”
Vail anticipates improved performance for the remainder of the season due to more destination visitation bookings in the latter half of the season.
The company projects net income between $257 million and $309 million in fiscal 2025 and resort reported EBITDA to be between $841 million and $877 million. The updated guidance includes an estimated $7 million impact from currency exchange rates.
Vail Resorts operates 42 ski resorts in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, and Keystone.
Kate Robertson can be reached at kate@shop-eat-surf-outdoor.com.
