# Vail Resorts

Vail Resorts, Inc. is an American mountain resort company headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado. The company is divided into three divisions. The mountain segment owns and operates 42 mountain resorts in four countries. Vail Resorts Hospitality owns or manages hotels, lodging, condominiums, and golf courses, and the Vail Resorts Development Company oversees property development and real estate holdings.

## History

Vail Resorts was founded as Vail Associates Ltd. by Pete Seibert and Earl Eaton in the early 1960s. Eaton, a lifelong resident, led Siebert (a former WWII 10th Mountain Division ski trooper) to the area in March 1957. They both became ski patrol guides at Aspen, Colorado, when they shared their dream of finding the "next great ski mountain." Siebert set off to secure financing, and Eaton engineered the early lifts. Their Vail ski resort opened in 1962. George N. Gillett Jr. purchased Vail Associates in 1985. Vail Associates changed its name to Vail Resorts and went public in 1997 after Gillett Holdings went bankrupt.
Rob Katz, a former executive at Apollo, ran Vail Resorts as CEO until November 2021, when he was appointed executive chairperson of the board. Kirsten Lynch, the company's former chief marketing officer, then took over as CEO.
In June 2024, Vail Resorts reported lower-than-expected revenue during the February-April quarter due to a significantly warmer-than-anticipated winter across western North American resorts, with snowfall 28% lower than average. The company generated $1.28 billion in revenue during the quarter despite the stabilizing effect of its Epic Pass program, which allows customers to purchase a season pass for its North American resorts at a significant upfront cost. However, Vail's stock price has declined by 50% since its October 2021 peak of $360. While this past winter was one of the warmest on record for the company, concerns exist that future winters may even be warmer.

## Criticism

Some of Vail Resort's acquisitions have fueled anger among local residents. Locals complain that the Vail's pass structure caters to wealthy international pass holders and reduces access to nearby residents; additionally, residents have seen their cost-of-living increase following Vail's takeovers.
Vail Resorts’ visitors often complain about long lines. The long lines are often caused by ski patrol striking due to inflated property values and inadequate wages.
A shareholder, Late Apex Partners, called for massive changes to the company—including a sweep of both the c-suite and board—after five years of significant underperformance by Vail.
All of the aforementioned items, among other things, have contributed to Vail’s poor reputation and earned the company the appellation “Evil Empire.”

## RockResorts

In 2001, Vail Resorts acquired the luxury hotel chain RockResorts, contributing substantially to its brand recognition. RockResorts was named after its original owners, the Rockefeller Family. As of January 2017, the properties include:
   The Pines Lodge at Beaver Creek, CO The Lodge at Vail, CO The Osprey at Beaver Creek, CO The Arrabelle at Vail Square, CO One Ski Hill Place at Breckenridge Ski Resort The Grand Summit Hotel in Park City Utah

## List of resorts

Vail Resorts operates 42 ski resorts in the United States, Canada, Australia and Switzerland including, notably, the Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Crested Butte ski areas in Colorado, and Northstar California, Kirkwood Mountain Resort, and Heavenly Mountain Resort on the California-Nevada border. In British Columbia, Canada, they also acquired the largest ski resort in North America: Whistler Blackcomb. Vail Resorts offers a variety of multi-resort season passes under the Epic Pass program. The Epic Pass also has partnerships that allow access to several other resorts in the US, Canada, Japan, France, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy.
| Name | Location | Number of lifts | Date opened | Date acquired | Notes |
| Afton Alps | Hastings, Minnesota | 22 | 1963 December 21 | 2012 December 6 | |
| Alpine Valley | Chesterland, Ohio | 5 | 1965 | 2019 September 24 | Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains. |
| Andermatt-Sedrun | Andermatt, Uri, Central Switzerland | 19 | | 2022 March 28 | Vail owns a 55% share of the resort |
| Attitash Mountain | Bartlett, New Hampshire | 9 | 1965 January 26 | 2019 September 24 | Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains. |
| Beaver Creek Resort | Beaver Creek, Colorado | 25 | 1980 December 15 | — | |
| Big Boulder | Lake Harmony, Pennsylvania | 10 | 1947 | 2019 September 24 | Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains. |
| Boston Mills-Brandywine | Peninsula, Ohio | 16 | 1963 | 2019 September 24 | Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains. |
| Breckenridge Ski Resort | Breckenridge, Colorado | 32 | 1961 December 16 | 1996 | |
| Crans-Montana | Crans-Montana, Sierre, Valais, Switzerland | 19 | | 2023 November 30 | |
| Crested Butte Mountain Resort | Crested Butte, Colorado | 16 | 1961 November 23 | 2018 September 27 | Acquired through Triple Peaks, LLC, in addition to Mount Sunapee and Okemo, alongside purchase of Stevens Pass. |
| Crotched Mountain | Bennington, New Hampshire | 5 | 1969 December 14 | 2019 September 24 | Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains. |
| Falls Creek | Bogong High Plains, Victoria, Australia | 14 | 1946 | 2019 February 22 | Bought from Merlin Entertainments along with Hotham. |
| Heavenly Mountain Resort | South Lake Tahoe, California | 30 | 1955 December 15 | 2002 March 26 | |
| Hidden Valley | Eureka, Missouri | 9 | 1982 | 2019 September 24 | Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains. |
| Hidden Valley Resort (Pennsylvania) | Hidden Valley, Pennsylvania | 4 | 1958 | 2021 December 31 | Bought from Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Inc. and affiliates along with two other resorts. |
| Hotham Alpine Resort | Mount Hotham, Victoria, Australia | 14 | 1925 | 2019 February 22 | Bought from Merlin Entertainments along with Falls Creek. |
| Hunter Mountain | Hunter, New York | 15 | 1960 January 9 | 2019 September 24 | Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains. |
| Jack Frost | White Haven, Pennsylvania | 18 | 1972 | 2019 September 24 | Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains. |
| Keystone Resort | Keystone, Colorado | 20 | 1970 November 21 | 1996 | |
| Kirkwood Mountain Resort | Kirkwood, California | 15 | 1972 | 2012 February 22 | |
| Laurel Mountain | Somerset County, Pennsylvania | 1 | 1939 | 2021 December 31 | Bought from Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Inc. and affiliates along with two other resorts. |
| Liberty Mountain Resort | Fairfield, Pennsylvania | 9 | 1960 | 2019 September 24 | Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains. |
| Mad River Mountain | Zanesfield, Ohio | 12 | 1962 | 2019 September 24 | Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains. |
| Mount Brighton | Brighton, Michigan | 12 | 1960 | 2012 December 6 | |
| Mount Snow | West Dover, Vermont | 20 | 1954 | 2019 September 24 | Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains. |
| Mount Sunapee Resort | Newbury, New Hampshire | 11 | 1948 December 26 | 2018 September 27 | Acquired through Triple Peaks, LLC, in addition to Crested Butte and Okemo, alongside purchase of Stevens Pass. The first resort in New Hampshire to be operated by Vail. Owned by the State of NH but operated alongside Okemo |
| Northstar California | Truckee, California | 20 | 1972 December | 2010 October 25 | |
| Okemo Mountain Resort | Ludlow, Vermont | 20 | 1956 January 31 | 2018 September 27 | Acquired through Triple Peaks, LLC, in addition to Crested Butte and Mount Sunapee, alongside purchase of Stevens Pass. |
| Paoli Peaks | Paoli, Indiana | 8 | 1978 December | 2019 September 24 | Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains. |
| Park City Mountain Resort | Park City, Utah | 41 | 1963 December 21 | 2013 May 29 (Canyons) 2014 September 11 (Park City) | In 2015, Vail merged the Park City and Canyons resorts under the Park City Mountain Resort name, connecting them with a gondola. |
| Perisher Ski Resort | Perisher Valley, Australia | 46 | 1951 | 2015 March 30 | Vail's first Australian property. |
| Roundtop Mountain Resort | Lewisberry, Pennsylvania | 7 | 1964 November 28 | 2019 September 24 | Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains. |
| Seven Springs Mountain Resort | Seven Springs, Pennsylvania | 14 | 1937 | 2021 December 31 | Bought from Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Inc. and affiliates along with two other resorts. |
| Snow Creek | Weston, Missouri | 5 | 1986 | 2019 September 24 | Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains. |
| Stevens Pass | Skykomish, Washington | 10 | 1937 | 2018 August 15 | Purchased and announced alongside Crested Butte, Mount Sunapee, and Okemo. |
| Stowe Mountain Resort | Stowe, Vermont | 12 | 1937 February 7 | 2017 February 21 | Vail's first resort on the East Coast of the United States. |
| Vail Ski Resort | Vail, Colorado | 31 | 1962 December 15 | — | The third-largest ski resort in the United States. |
| Whistler Blackcomb | Whistler, British Columbia, Canada | 37 | 1966 January 15 | 2016 August 8 | Vail owns a 75% interest in Whistler & Blackcomb Partnerships, and the remaining 25% is owned by Nippon Cable |
| Whitetail Resort | Mercersburg, Pennsylvania | 9 | 1991 | 2019 September 24 | Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains. |
| Wildcat Mountain Ski Area | Gorham, New Hampshire | 5 | 1958 January 25 | 2019 September 24 | Bought from Peak Resorts along with 16 other mountains. Wildcat trail initially cut by CCC in 1933; original gondola started operation in 1958. Peak Resorts acquired Wildcat in 2010. |
| Wilmot Mountain | Wilmot, Wisconsin | 11 | 1938 February | 2016 January 19 | |