Vail Resorts Reports Certain Ski Season Metrics For The Season To Date Period Ended January 5, 2025
Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN) has reported certain ski season metrics for the comparative periods from the beginning of the ski season through January 5, 2025, and for the prior year period through January 7, 2024. The reported ski season metrics are for the Company's North American destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas, excluding the results of the Australian and European resorts and ski areas in both periods. The data mentioned in this release is interim period data and is subject to fiscal quarter end review and adjustments.
- Season-to-date total skier visits were down 0.3% 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, was up 4.5% compared to the prior year season-to-date period.
- Season-to-date ski school revenue was up 1.1% and dining revenue was up 6.6% compared to the prior year season-to-date period. Retail/rental revenue for North American resort and ski area store locations was down 5.4% compared to the prior year season-to-date period.
Commenting on the ski season-to-date, Kirsten Lynch, Chief Executive Officer said, "We are pleased with our season-to-date results, which reflect the stability provided by our season pass program, our investments in the guest experience, and the execution of our mountain operations teams across all of our mountain resorts. Season-to-date results benefited from improved weather conditions, and were impacted by the continued industry demand normalization and the late timing of the Thanksgiving holiday in the current year as expected, along with a shift of destination guest behavior to later in the season. Early season conditions enabled a strong terrain offering and guest experience, which drove improved local visitation relative to the prior year. Through the holiday period, destination guest visitation at our western North American destination mountain resorts was below prior year levels, which we believe was driven by a continued shift in visitation patterns across the ski industry to later in the ski season that increased after challenging early season conditions in the prior year. Ancillary spend per destination guest visit was strong across our ski school and dining businesses, with overall performance reflecting the higher mix of local visitation during the period."
Lynch continued, "For the remainder of the season, we are expecting improved performance compared to the season-to-date period, with a shift in destination guest visitation, based on our significant base of pre-committed guests, current lodging booking trends, and historical guest behavior patterns. We expect to achieve full year performance within the Resort Reported EBITDA guidance range we reiterated on December 9, 2024. Our guidance assumes a continuation of the current economic environment, industry normalization to pre-COVID guest behavior, normal weather conditions for the remainder of the 2024/2025 North American and European ski season and the 2025 Australian ski season, and the foreign currency exchange rates provided in our original September 26, 2024 guidance.
"In addition to the strong start to the winter season, we are pleased to have reached an agreement with the Park City Mountain patrol union that is consistent with the wage structure across all of our mountain resorts. We deeply regret the disruptions caused to our guests during the patrol union strike and are committed to delivering an exceptional and safe experience for our guests, and rebuilding their trust and loyalty."