Vail acquires Peak Resorts

[marzNC]

Below are the dates of VR acquisitions starting in 2010:
2010 - Northstar, CA (Tahoe)

After looking around more carefully, became clear that VR does not own Northstar. They only hold a long-term lease to be the operator. EPR is the owner. That's the real estate company that bought all the ski resorts that were being held by CNL for a while.

Turns out that EPR is also the owner of several of Peak Resorts resorts. Peak only operates Mount Snow and Hunter. I assume Peak was taking the same approach that Boyne Resorts took when they sold several resorts to CNL and got long-term leases as the operator, but kept ownership of Big Sky, Boyne Mountain, and Boyne Highlands. That was a way to avoid borrowing too much money. A few years ago Boyne figured out a way to raise enough money to buy back their resorts from EPR. Peak found a different way out.

OWNED BY EPR, OPERATED BY PEAK RESORTS as of July 2019
Mount Snow in Vermont
Hunter Mountain in New York
Jack Frost and Big Boulder in Pennsylvania
Alpine Valley, Boston Mills, Brandywine and Mad River Mountain in Ohio

 

[marzNC]

Always interesting to compare local news reports when a major acquisition happens. The first news report includes comments from the head of Ski Vermont. In the Boston report, the emphasis was on Attitash, Wildcat, and Crotched, along with Mt. Snow. The Cleveland article has the most information, including mention of the Boyd family and a succinct introduction to Vail Resorts and the Epic Pass. There were news reports in Denver media outlets too, but they were very short and only contained basic info taken directly from the press release.

July 23, Vermont TV news
Vail Resorts acquires 4 area ski resorts following $264 million deal

July 22, Baltimore Sun
Vail Resorts will acquire owner of 17 ski resorts, including three closest to Baltimore, for $264 million

July 22, Cleveland dot com
Northeast Ohio’s Brandywine, Boston Mills, Alpine Valley ski areas sold to Colorado’s Vail Resorts

July 22, Boston TV news
Vail Resorts to purchase four ski areas in New England

 

[marzNC]

One more midwest article on July 23 about the change for Peak Resorts turned up in the Courier Journal, based in Louisville, KY. Paoli Peaks in Indiana is an hour away from Louisville, across the river that is the stateline. Get the feeling the reporter did a little research about VR and Paoli Peaks before writing this article. But missed the fact that VR also owns Falls Creek and Hotham in Australia as of a few months ago.

The owner of ski havens around the world is buying Indiana's Paoli Peaks

"Southern Indiana ski resort Paoli Peaks may soon be under new ownership in the form of a Colorado-based company that operates popular ski havens around North America.

Vail Resorts Inc., based in Broomfield, Colorado, announced Monday it has acquired Peak Resorts Inc., which owns Paoli Peaks and 16 other ski areas in the Midwest and Northeast.

The estimated $264 million deal is expected to close this fall, pending approval from regulators and Peak Resorts' shareholders, according to a Vail Resorts news release.

Vail Resorts already owns close to two dozen mountain resorts that are likely familiar to many ski addicts, such as Vail, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado; Park City in Utah; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada; and Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada.

The company also owns Perisher Ski Resort in Australia.

The acquisition will give Paoli Peaks visitors access to the Vail Resorts "Epic Pass" and other lift ticket specials that can be used at Vail Resorts' ski getaways around the world.

. . .
Opened in December 1978, Paoli Peaks offers skiing, snowboarding and snow tubing each year from mid-December to mid-March. The mountain has 16 trails and a 700-foot tubing park along with eight chairlifts.

The 16 other ski resorts owned by Peak Resorts that Vail Resorts would acquire are in Vermont, New York, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Missouri.
. . ."

 

[Chris W]

I don’t know if anyone here is on this FB group, but thought this was an interesting viewpoint/theory/analysis on VR strategy: https://www.facebook.com/groups/NESkiWeather/permalink/370409636955789?sfns=mo

 

[marzNC]

I don’t know if anyone here is on this FB group, but thought this was an interesting viewpoint/theory/analysis on VR strategy: https://www.facebook.com/groups/NESkiWeather/permalink/370409636955789?sfns=mo

It's a public post. Not much new that hasn't been said in the past decade, but well written. The author is very knowledgeable. Can't say I read the entire editorial that carefully though. Pretty long.

I wonder what most people in the northeast know about what happened when VR changed their business strategy when Rob Katz ended up CEO. Or when that happened. Or the history of the ski industry out west in the decades before "surfing the Internet" became a way to stay informed. The previous VR CEO was not really much of a skier and was doing a lot more with resort real estate, partially a function of what the early leaders of VR envisioned. The creation of the Epic Pass came several years after Katz became CEO just as the U.S. was headed into a recession.

I do wonder what the author knows about how VR handled the acquisition of the three initial family-own ski areas in the midwest. Or how VR is dealing with Crested Butte. Note that I'm not suggesting that VR will take the same approach to the smaller resorts that are part of Peak Resorts.

That said, I don't doubt that independent resorts in the northeast will continue to be hard pressed to grow their businesses, which involves far more than winter sports. It's pretty hard to say if Peak Resorts was really in a position financially to handle what they wanted to achieve.

 

[Chris W]

There is definitely a lot to learn about the history of VR and the industry in general. So many facets to the business of which most of us are blissfully unaware!

I wonder what most people in the northeast know about what happened when VR changed their business strategy when Rob Katz ended up CEO. Or when that happened. Or the history of the ski industry out west in the decades before "surfing the Internet" became a way to stay informed.

Prob safe say to say roughly zero (myself included!). The FB post was a decent intro foray for someone less-knowledgable like me into some of the potential considerations re: acquisition strategy.

Seems like a good B-school case study!

 

[ski diva]

I've been in North Conway, NH, for the past few days, and though I've made no secret of the mixed feelings I have about resort consolidation (see my blog post here), I have to say that the people I've spoken with are very hopeful about Vail acquiring Attitash & Wildcat. These areas have been suffering in the past few years under Peak Resorts, and if Vail hadn't come along with its deep pockets, who knows how much longer they'd be able to operate. Let's hope it means good things ahead.

 

[tinymoose]

I don't really have any expectations that Vail is going to do anything for Jack Frost/Big Boulder other than allow me to buy an Epic Pass for my season pass if I ever choose to do so. Jack Frost didn't really get any upgrades under Peak, and I doubt they will under Vail. It would be nice, though.

Vail basically got a brand new lodge with Mad River Mountain in OH, since that's the hill that had their lodge burn down in late 2015. But yeah, I don't expect any of these smaller, local hills will see any benefit from this unless Vail feels like they absolutely have to replace something. I guess the benefit, is no closure over a really catastrophic expense?

 

[marzNC]

What will be interesting to see is how fast VR can get their version of RFID implemented at all the Peak locations, including the small hills in PA and the midwest. Afton Alps, Mt. Brighton, and Wilmot all have RFID so that those passholders can be on EpicMix. Integrating those small resorts is experience that will help a lot when it comes to integrating the Peak resorts. Also means that VR has complete data on what those people are doing at every Epic resort they go to, whether it's for a day or a week.

Go to the 12-min mark in the recent podcast about VR integration experience to hear what happened for Afton and Brighton at the start of their first season with Epic. Keep listening for 3 minutes.

https://soundcloud.com/epicbynature%2Fintegrating-a-winning-team

 

[Ski Sine Fine]

I don’t know if anyone here is on this FB group, but thought this was an interesting viewpoint/theory/analysis on VR strategy: https://www.facebook.com/groups/NESkiWeather/permalink/370409636955789?sfns=mo

Last season was a slow start for Liberty/Whitetail/Roundtop due to warm temps and lack of snow. The conditions decidedly improved by mid-January. Still, Peak cut back on nighttime skiing and then closed Whitetail when it still has plenty of snow left in late February/early March. Liberty went on for another week or two and closed, also with plenty of snow on the ground. If I recall correctly, both stopped making snow after mid-late February. What I don’t want to see is Vail closing my local mountains early to entice Epic pass holders to go west.

 

[ski diva]

What will be interesting to see is how fast VR can get their version of RFID implemented at all the Peak locations, including the small hills in PA and the midwest. Afton Alps, Mt. Brighton, and Wilmot all have RFID so that those passholders can be on EpicMix. Integrating those small resorts is experience that will help a lot when it comes to integrating the Peak resorts. Also means that VR has complete data on what those people are doing at every Epic resort they go to, whether it's for a day or a week.

Go to the 12-min mark in the recent podcast about VR integration experience to hear what happened for Afton and Brighton at the start of their first season with Epic. Keep listening for 3 minutes.

https://soundcloud.com/epicbynature%2Fintegrating-a-winning-team

Okemo, which was acquired by Vail last year, ripped out all its just-a-year-old RFID gates because they didn't jive with Vail's system. Instead, the mountain used hand-held scanners for the season. I haven't heard if new gates will be installed for '19-'20. Hope so. Those hand-held scanners are annoying.

 

[tinymoose]

Okemo, which was acquired by Vail last year, ripped out all its just-a-year-old RFID gates because they didn't jive with Vail's system. Instead, the mountain used hand-held scanners for the season. I haven't heard if new gates will be installed for '19-'20. Hope so. Those hand-held scanners are annoying.

Wonder if they'll then start with hand-held scanners. Jack Frost and Big Boulder don't have any old RFID gates so they'll be working from scratch there... no need to rip out any old system. Only place I know of in Eastern PA that currently has RFID gates is Blue.

 

[marzNC]

Wonder if they'll then start with hand-held scanners. Jack Frost and Big Boulder don't have any old RFID gates so they'll be working from scratch there... no need to rip out any old system. Only place I know of in Eastern PA that currently has RFID gates is Blue.

Makes sense to start with hand scanners. There are two major vendors for RFID stuff at ski resorts, both based in Europe. In 2007 Vail chose to use a system that was not the one already in use at Alta and a few other places. The Vail RFID system software was highly customized from the very beginning. EpicMix was pretty well established by 2010. Being able to use hand scanners was probably a factor in the choice of system.

Sunapee was using hand scanners last season too. Could tell it was new to the lifties, even though I was there in March. Sometimes when scanning didn't work, the liftie just gave up.

 

[Ski Sine Fine]

Makes sense to start with hand scanners. There are two major vendors for RFID stuff at ski resorts, both based in Europe. In 2007 Vail chose to use a system that was not the one already in use at Alta and a few other places. The Vail RFID system software was highly customized from the very beginning. EpicMix was pretty well established by 2010. Being able to use hand scanners was probably a factor in the choice of system.

Sunapee was using hand scanners last season too. Could tell it was new to the lifties, even though I was there in March. Sometimes when scanning didn't work, the liftie just gave up.

Both Breck and Keystone are on hand scanners. According to a liftie I asked, the integration with EpicMix is actually via an arch installed at the chair loading area and not via the hand scanners. That makes sense because the mid-mountain lifts don’t generally have anyone scanning your pass. Even so, EpicMix is not really that accurate. I think of the dozen days I skied at Breck & Keystone last season, it maybe was correct on three? Some days it under-counted, other days over-counted, and one day it said I rode a lift I didn’t. Slope is much more accurate.

 

[tinymoose]

Both Breck and Keystone are on hand scanners. According to a liftie I asked, the integration with EpicMix is actually via an arch installed at the chair loading area and not via the hand scanners. That makes sense because the mid-mountain lifts don’t generally have anyone scanning your pass. Even so, EpicMix is not really that accurate. I think of the dozen days I skied at Breck & Keystone last season, it maybe was correct on three? Some days it under-counted, other days over-counted, and one day it said I rode a lift I didn’t. Slope is much more accurate.

So what you're saying is we shouldn't expect gates here in the mid-Atlantic anytime soon. lol

I'll be curious to see how it's handled. I won't go to Jack Frost more than maybe 2-3 days this next season, but we'll see how the daily lift tickets are handled. I don't have an Epic pass as I'm a Montage season pass holder.

I have mixed reactions to the RFID gates at Blue. Being short, if my RFID card is placed poorly, it can result in me jumping around to try to get it to read (our adult race clinic is at Blue). I've started putting it in my mitten pocket vs. my jacket RFID pocket b/c it's easier to get it to read that way (waving hand around vs. jumping up and down).

 

[Ski Sine Fine]

So what you're saying is we shouldn't expect gates here in the mid-Atlantic anytime soon. lol

I'll be curious to see how it's handled. I won't go to Jack Frost more than maybe 2-3 days this next season, but we'll see how the daily lift tickets are handled. I don't have an Epic pass as I'm a Montage season pass holder.

I have mixed reactions to the RFID gates at Blue. Being short, if my RFID card is placed poorly, it can result in me jumping around to try to get it to read (our adult race clinic is at Blue). I've started putting it in my mitten pocket vs. my jacket RFID pocket b/c it's easier to get it to read that way (waving hand around vs. jumping up and down).

Both day passes and season passes are on RFID cards. They are all reloadable. Once a day pass is issued, you can add days to it by purchasing online and providing the pass number. You cannot convert a day pass to any of the season passes, however, as the season passes have pictures. Once you have a season pass, you don’t get a new one when you renew; you keep using the same one.

You put the pass in a sleeve pocket or a jacket pocket. The liftie waves the gun in your general direction and 99% of the time it reads the pass no matter where you put it. The only problems come with putting the pass with your cell phone or in your wallet. They say to put in as close to the outside of your clothing as possible. You never have to take it out. Once in a while, the liftie will look at the gun and verify your name. I usually thrust my arm out to let the liftie know my pass is in my sleeve pocket. Never had to get friendly with any person or object.

 

[tinymoose]

Both day passes and season passes are on RFID cards. They are all reloadable. Once a day pass is issued, you can add days to it by purchasing online and providing the pass number. You cannot convert a day pass to any of the season passes, however, as the season passes have pictures. Once you have a season pass, you don’t get a new one when you renew; you keep using the same one.

You put the pass in a sleeve pocket or a jacket pocket. The liftie waves the gun in your general direction and 99% of the time it reads the pass no matter where you put it. The only problems come with putting the pass with your cell phone or in your wallet. They say to put in as close to the outside of your clothing as possible. You never have to take it out. Once in a while, the liftie will look at the gun and verify your name. I usually thrust my arm out to let the liftie know my pass is in my sleeve pocket. Never had to get friendly with any person or object.

A gun would be easier for me than a gate b/c the gate height can really fluctuate based on snow-pack. Blue has a similar system for non-season pass holders. You get an RFID card sans photo. You can reload it but they tend to issue new cards to us each season tied to a name and credit card, b/c we purchase a six-pack of tickets from a ski club to use for our six week race clinic each year.

We don't have mid-mountain lifts here b/c too short.

 

[marzNC]

We don't have mid-mountain lifts here b/c too short.

Nah, it's a design and cost of implementation choice. Massanutten has a lift with a mid-station unload. It's half the size of Montage in terms of acreage. Although with the base lodge in the middle, that cuts up the Montage vertical quite a bit.

A gun would be easier for me than a gate b/c the gate height can really fluctuate based on snow-pack.

The scanning process at Sunapee worked well enough.

The innovation that Alta brought to the RFID gate industry was gates that can be adjusted for height and be rotated so that it's completely out of the way of the loading zone. That's so a groomer can smooth everything out after hours. With an average of 500 inches, there was no way that Alta could have fixed location gates.

For a last run on Peruvian at Snowbird a couple years ago, it was very confusing. They had already moved the gates away from the loading area. But they were still loading chairs.

 

[tinymoose]

Nah, it's a design and cost of implementation choice. Massanutten has a lift with a mid-station unload. It's half the size of Montage in terms of acreage. Although with the base lodge in the middle, that cuts up the Montage vertical quite a bit.

I guess I just don't see the point of putting a mid-station on anything sub-1k. I mean, I guess technically everything on Montage on the upper half of the mountain could be considered a mid-station lift only b/c the mountain is cut in half naturally but...

The innovation that Alta brought to the RFID gate industry was gates that can be adjusted for height and be rotated so that it's completely out of the way of the loading zone. That's so a groomer can smooth everything out after hours. With an average of 500 inches, there was no way that Alta could have fixed location gates.

It's possible Blue can adjust their gates, I'm not sure, but I've noticed it's definitely easier for me to register on them when snow-pack is higher.

 

[tinymoose]

Montage does have a Long Haul lift that runs from just above the lowest point of the North Face to the very top, but I very rarely take it b/c it's a long, slow ride. If they could replace it with something faster, then sure, it would well be worth it, but with the current lift, it's not worth the time spent for the additional vertical you get. On average, I maybe get one run a day coming off laps on the top all the way to the bottom of the North Face.