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Rob Katz to step down as Vail resorts CEO

BTaylor

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Whether you love or hate Vail Resorts, it's good to see the organization's commitment to develop and promote women to leadership positions.

Here in Colorado, Breck's new COO is Jody Churich; Beth Church is now COO at Vail mountain; Pat Campbell (former COO at Keystone and then Breck) has been promoted to President of the Mountain Division and now oversees operations at 37 resorts.
 

Johnfmh

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This is my second year as an Epic Pass holder. I used to just pay as I played, but the pass economics are too good to pass up. I bought the pass not because I am a big fan of Vail owned resorts. With the exception of Stowe and Beaver Creek, none are on my radar screen for next season. I bought the pass mainly to ski affiliated resorts such as Snowbasin, Sun Valley, and Telluride (never skied there but hope to go)—resorts with a bit more character and hopefully smaller crowds (my main concern) than many of the Vail owned properties.

Moving forward, I think Vail needs to think more about emphasizing the uniqueness of its properties. They also need to figure out how to better manage crowds at the marquee resorts, especially on weekends. Maybe some new blood at the top will allow the company to make some much needed reforms going forward.
 

Tricia

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Moving forward, I think Vail needs to think more about emphasizing the uniqueness of its properties.
In my experience Vail has been the polar opposite of this. After they buy a property they make everything EPIC.
Keeping in mind I've had experience as a contractor and as a resort employee.

There was a huge sign in the back room at the shop that said,
Own it
Personalize it
Elevate it

Any time we tried to own it or personalize it we were told by corporate, "That's not our brand." or "That's not how we do it."

As you said, maybe this changing of the guard will influence a different culture.
 

markojp

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When the solution to their innumerable home office management problems is to simply make passes cheaper while ignoring quality of service and experience, the race to the bottom is precipitous. The question is when to short the stock.
 

VickieH

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In my experience Vail has been the polar opposite of this.
That was my initial reaction too. But Consistency is also a commodity. I know people who specifically look for certain chain restaurants (i.e., Cracker Barrel) when they travel because it is different and they're all the same.

Vail/EPIC ... the Cracker Barrel of ski resorts!

Maybe I should list that as my vision statement on my resume to them.
 

Jwrags

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That was my initial reaction too. But Consistency is also a commodity. I know people who specifically look for certain chain restaurants (i.e., Cracker Barrel) when they travel because it is different and they're all the same.

Vail/EPIC ... the Cracker Barrel of ski resorts!

Maybe I should list that as my vision statement on my resume to them.
Wow. I didn’t think Vail was THAT bad.
 

CascadeConcrete

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Any time we tried to own it or personalize it we were told by corporate, "That's not our brand." or "That's not how we do it."

As you said, maybe this changing of the guard will influence a different culture.

Wouldn't get your hopes up seeing as she was Chief of Marketing and thus largely responsible for that brand. And Katz sounds like he's going to remain pretty involved too.
 

Ken_R

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Wow. I didn’t think Vail was THAT bad.

Yeah. That may be true for their core Colorado resorts and a few others but a lot of them still retain a good part of their unique vibe.
 

Ken_R

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When the solution to their innumerable home office management problems is to simply make passes cheaper while ignoring quality of service and experience, the race to the bottom is precipitous. The question is when to short the stock.

Coincidently I was talking to my cousin today about this. She had a bad customer service experience as well. Vail sells or used to sell luxury and a premium experience. They still deliver that in a lot of areas but customer service is not one of them. Bad publicity will eventually cost you but in the case of Vail Resorts it might take a long time so they have time to turn it around. They got so so big that even with strong will it will take a ton of effort to right that ship.
 

Tricia

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Coincidently I was talking to my cousin today about this. She had a bad customer service experience as well. Vail sells or used to sell luxury and a premium experience. They still deliver that in a lot of areas but customer service is not one of them. Bad publicity will eventually cost you but in the case of Vail Resorts it might take a long time so they have time to turn it around. They got so so big that even with strong will it will take a ton of effort to right that ship.
I have so much in my head about this but probably best not to put it in writing.


They want you to give the customers the experience of a lifetime but then they set up guidelines that don't allow you to do it. It gets discouraging which is why turnover is so high.
 

Ogg

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That was my initial reaction too. But Consistency is also a commodity. I know people who specifically look for certain chain restaurants (i.e., Cracker Barrel) when they travel because it is different and they're all the same.

Vail/EPIC ... the Cracker Barrel of ski resorts!

Maybe I should list that as my vision statement on my resume to them.
The looking for chain restaurants made more sense in the days before Google and Yelp. Even with those tools I can understand why some people would want a homogenized experience. I do hope Vail goes in a new direction particularly with customer service and allowing some of their acquisitions to be what they are.
 

Scruffy

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They want you to give the customers the experience of a lifetime but then they set up guidelines that don't allow you to do it. It gets discouraging which is why turnover is so high.

All the responsibility with no authority. Classic big business faux pas in corporations that use top-down chain of command management.
 

RJS

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Moving forward, I think Vail needs to think more about emphasizing the uniqueness of its properties. They also need to figure out how to better manage crowds at the marquee resorts, especially on weekends. Maybe some new blood at the top will allow the company to make some much needed reforms going forward.

I wouldn't get your hopes up on either of those fronts. @Tricia had a great response about the uniqueness of the properties, and their recent decision to lower pass prices goes directly against better managing crowds. If anything, I see them trying to move even further towards the low-cost gym membership model where low season pass prices (and, analogously, high daily ticket prices) get tons of people to purchase Epic passes even though a good chunk of those people will hardly use their pass.
 

RJS

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What is Rob Katz's legacy from being CEO of Vail Resorts from 2006-2021?

There are a lot of directions that you could take this in, but the most straightforward one also happens to be the most cynical: Vail's market capitalization soared from just over $1B in the beginning of 2006 to $12B today. For context, compare the 785% increase in Vail's stock price to a 254% increase in the S&P 500 over that same time frame. I'm not familiar with other major outdoor industry stocks, so I won't try to compare Vail to them, but needless to say Vail has done very well for their shareholders.

As far as the industry as a whole goes, Vail's creation of the Epic Pass under Katz championed an entirely new pricing model that has rocked the skiing world and lead to a frenzy of acquisitions, partnerships, and competing pass products. I doubt that Alterra Mountain Company would exist without these developments from Vail. Like it or not, one cannot deny the influence that Katz has had. If we were to make a list of the people the most influential people in the skiing industry so far in the 21st century, I would argue that Katz should be at or near the top of that list. Again, we can argue about the merits of the moves he made, but those merits do not deny how the industry changed under his management of Vail.
 

Tricia

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All the responsibility with no authority. Classic big business faux pas in corporations that use top-down chain of command management.
Own it
Personalize it
Elevate it
:ogbiggrin:
 

HardDaysNight

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There is nothing that a scoundrel cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and people who consider only price are that man’s natural prey.
 

Tricia

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Don't get me wrong. I think Vail will continue to make money and they will continue to grow their business. But they are also nurturing a culture that entices a different crowd and are losing their premium experience image.
The only resorts on their pass that continue to offer the premium image are those that they have a partnership agreement with but don't actually own.

I have had the good fortune to visit a few of the resorts that Vail purchased during the time they were purchased and enjoyed the place under old ownership. On each of these occasions the customer service was really good and the unique culture was enjoyable, including the food. At the time, employees were enthusiastic and said that they were told that VR wasn't going to change anything and it was going to be business as usual.
Anyone want to guess how long until VR "brand" evident? It was EPIC!
 

noncrazycanuck

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I doubt who ever the CEO of Vail is will ever make any difference to my life, however skiing is cheaper today than it ever has been, if you are a serious skier.
For those who want to enter the sport a Vail single day ticket is way too much but not compared with the cost of equipment and clothing.
Should you have any interest in becoming proficient it's unlikely you'd buy Vail single day tickets anyway once your aware of the options.
Cheap season passes could even get more into the sport in the long term.

At Whistler, replacing the aging ski population is needed to grow the sport or even sustain the sport . Crowded lifts mean the hill is making money and more lifts always follow..
In the meantime suspect most of us know how to avoid lines. The vertical skied in a day is far greater these days even if you choose to waste your time standing in a line.
 

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