Vail Resorts reports certain ski season metrics through March 3

The company reported certain ski season metrics for the comparative periods from the beginning of the ski season through March 3, 2024, and for the prior year period through March 5, 2023. 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 ski areas and Andermatt-Sedrun in both periods. Season-to-date total skier visits were down 9.7% 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 2.6% compared to the prior year season-to-date period. Season-to-date ski school revenue was up 5.5% and dining revenue was down 0.5% compared to the prior year season-to-date period. Retail/rental revenue for North American resort and ski area store locations was down 9.3% compared to the prior year season-to-date period. Commenting on the season-to-date metrics, Lynch said, “Across our North American resorts, unfavorable conditions negatively impacted season-to-date visitation, which was below both prior year levels and our expectations based on the number of guests visiting and their frequency. Following the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, challenging conditions persisted until early March at Whistler Blackcomb and our Tahoe resorts, and while conditions improved at our Rockies and Eastern resorts, visitation did not improve as quickly as expected. We expect a portion of the lower visitation is related to the challenging conditions in the first half of the season as well as a shift in visitation patterns. Despite the decline in season-to-date visitation relative to the prior year period, we are pleased with lift revenue growth driven by the stability created from the season pass program, the strength in ancillary spending per skier visit across our ski school, dining, and rental businesses, and the improving trends as the season progresses.”