Skier visits at Vail Resorts dipped slightly so far this winter.
The number of skiers and snowboarders hitting the slopes at the Broomfield-based resort giant's North American properties was down 0.3 percent compared to the same time last year, Vail reported in a mid-season update for investors.
Several marquee Colorado resorts including Breckenridge, Keystone, Beaver Creek, Crested Butte and Vail are among its North American resorts, as well as many big name properties across the U.S. and Canada.
Even as visits are down, revenue from lift tickets, which includes some season pass sales, is up 4.5 percent compared to last year. Revenue from ski school and dining is also up compared to this time last year, according to the update. But retail and rental revenue is down.
Decent snow was a boon for early season skiing, according to Vail CEO Kirsten Lynch, while the timing of holidays and a recent trend toward bookings later in the ski season were a drag on visitation.
“Early season conditions enabled a strong terrain offering and guest experience, which drove improved local visitation relative to the prior year,” Lynch said in the update. “Through the holiday period, destination guest visitation at our western North American … 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.”
Last season, a lack of snow in Colorado did keep people away from the mountains. Late-season storms helped resorts play catch up, but they weren’t enough to make up for the slow start.
Lynch expects skier visits to pick up for second half of winter.
Vail is struggling to convince Wall Street investors its business plan is working as a pandemic boom in outdoor recreation fades and guests complain of crowds and long lift lines. At midday Friday, the company’s shares were down about 17 percent from a year ago. Its most recent headache was when ski patrollers in Park City went on strike during the holidays, causing major disruptions for guests.
