Skiing boom fades, as visits to Vail Resorts fell 9% year-on-year

Vail Resorts visits fell 9%

Visits to Vail Resorts fell year-on-year, as the company’s CEO called it an “industry normalization” after Covid

6/7/24 11:22AM

Vail Resorts, which operates 42 ski resorts globally, cut its full-year profit forecast yesterday, as warm weather continues to weigh on skier visits to some resorts and the pandemic-era surge in skiing and snowboarding cools down. Revenue also came in below expectations, with shares falling ~6% in after-hours trading.

Vail’s CEO explained the results as a reflection of the ski industry “normalizing” after a post-Covid bump when everyone wanted to get back out into nature. Over the last 12 months, Vail recorded 17.7M visits, down 9% on the year before, with visits in this most recent season falling more sharply, down 17%.

Subscription skiing

Vail revolutionized the skiing industry back in 2008 by introducing the Epic ski pass, a season pass that offers access to an extensive portion of its ever-growing resort network. Priced comparably (at the time) to a weekend lift ticket, the Epic pass had to be purchased before the season commenced — locking in sales that could otherwise be weather dependent. The pass became a game-changer for the company, with the more predictable revenue leading to more rapid expansion. Last year the Epic pass cost $909 and was used by 72% of the resorts' skiers, generating ~$850 million in revenue.

This strategy helps explain why, despite skier numbers for Vail Resorts falling 9%, its lift revenue was actually up 2.4%. Thanks to the Epic pass, even if visits drop, almost three-quarters of its lift revenue is pre-paid.

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American Airlines joins the flock, hiking bag fees amid higher jet fuel prices

American Airlines on Thursday announced that it, too, will be hiking the fees it charges customers to check luggage.

With the move, all four of the major US airlines, which together control about 80% of the US market, have now hiked their baggage fees in recent days amid surging jet fuel prices.

The change will go into effect on tickets bought on or after Thursday, the same day Southwest’s hike begins.

Since late March, JetBlue, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Canada’s WestJet, and Southwest have hiked their fees. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and to potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.

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The change will go into effect on tickets bought on or after Thursday, the same day Southwest’s hike begins.

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Less than a year after implementing them, Southwest is also hiking its bag fees

Southwest Airlines has joined the growing list of airlines opting to hike their bag fees amid sustained higher jet fuel costs.

Starting today, the first checked bag at the carrier — which implemented bag fees less than a year ago — will jump from $35 to $45, and the second from $45 to $55. Southwest quietly disclosed the change Tuesday.

Southwest assigned the decision to “part of an ongoing analysis of the business and against the evolving global backdrop.”

As of Wednesday, jet fuel prices dropped to $4.16 a gallon, per the Argus US Jet Fuel Index, down from $4.81 on Tuesday following President Trump’s ceasefire announcement, which sent travel stocks soaring. Major airlines have shed some of those gains in premarket trading Thursday.

With the move to hike bag fees, Southwest joins JetBlue, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Canada’s WestJet, all of which also boosted fees this month. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and to potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.

Three US airlines have already hiked baggage fees. More are likely on the way.