Concierge lessons and rentals free; food prices to rise only with inflation
Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz said the company is abandoning its long-standing growth formula of acquiring resorts and selling discounted Epic season passes, announcing a strategy pivot Tuesday aimed at delivering what he called a “best-in-class and differentiated experience” for guests across its network.
The shift follows years in which Vail’s pass-driven business model sustained growth — a strategy that has now reached a plateau. The company said last month that it sold roughly 10% fewer North American next-season passes through May than at that point in the prior year.
“We’re saying the future of the company and our future growth is not going to be about acquisitions. It’s not going to be about growing season passes,” Katz said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “It’s not that they’re not important, but this is now about leveraging the network that we have.”
As part of the new “guest-experience” focus announced Tuesday, Vail will introduce concierge services for private ski lessons at some resorts, coordinating dining reservations and gear rental at no extra cost. Cafeteria menus, including items such as pizza, burgers and chicken fingers, will switch to higher-quality ingredients. The company also plans to allow returning visitors to have rental skis or snowboards tuned and delivered without an in-store fitting.
Katz said the food upgrades would not result in price increases beyond normal inflation. “We’re looking at it much more like an investment that we’re making in the experience,” he said.
The CEO pointed to the airline industry as a model for the strategy. “You look at United and Delta, which I think have done a really nice job of elevating the communications, the technology, premiumization of that experience,” Katz said, adding that Vail’s ownership and operation of its resorts provides the integration required for such changes.
MSI previously reported that Vail Resorts had cut its financial outlook amid a record snow drought across the western U.S. last winter that weighed on visitation.
Katz said the company remains committed to its smaller properties, calling them “important connections to those local markets,” despite acknowledging that their variable and short seasons present profitability challenges. He said he is not considering selling off resorts to become a season-pass company.
“The thought that we would just sell off all of our resorts and just become a season-pass company — well, that would be exactly the wrong moment to even consider that,” Katz said.
He also noted that historically, the ski industry has fully rebounded after a poor season, and that some visitors currently not buying passes may shift to lift tickets. “Our job is to make sure we’ve got the right products for them,” he said.