Vail Resorts: Built to Last
Vail Resorts (MTN) is a business in which we have been a shareholder since 1997. We think Vail Resorts is“built to last.” To use Bernard Arnault’s touchstone, people will still be skiing in Vail in 25 years, just as they have over the 48 years since the town was incorporated in 1966. You could build another town likeVail. But you cannot build another Vail mountain. We thought Vail’s prior management was smart, but didn’t like their strategy of using Vail’s lift ticket cash flow to invest in the hotels of other resorts. Vail replaced that management in 2006. Its new team, led by Rob Katz, has been using the cash flow from its ski mountains to invest in $15 million high speed lifts, $10 million restaurants, more grooming equipment, and $80 million summer mountain rides. We believe the last investment could earn more than $75 million per year in a few years. Management is also making an effort to “regentrify” Vail Village by building … and then selling … new hotel and condo beds. This is forcing neighboring hotels and condos to upgrade their facilities or risk losing their customers to facilities that have been renovated.
Katz also focused on season pass sales. Vail now sells about 45% of its ski lift tickets in advance, immunizing its business from “poor snowfall” seasons. Finally, Vail has acquired several other mountain resorts, with the most important, Park City, at a distressed sale price. These additional resorts have created a network that Vail can leverage to sell its season passes. Since Vail’s management has changed, we have tripled our investment in this business with, in our view, exceptional competitive advantages and strong growth prospects ... and with a stock that is cheaper than hotels’ but that we think should be more expensive. We expect to at least double our money again in the next five or six years … and, after that takes place, we believe Vail will still be an unusually attractive investment. This is all because management remains focused on improving the customer experience and investing in their business. That’s what we mean about culture and values.
From Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio)’s Q3 2014 Shareholder Letter.
