Calling the fallout from the Park City Mountain ski patrol strike unacceptable, returning CEO Rob Katz said he was approaching his old job with new eyes Thursday during Vail Resorts’ third-quarter earnings call with investors.
“Though I’m not a brand new CEO for this company, I’m still new as so many things are different at the company and different in our industry and in the macro environment, and it will be important for me to take the time to listen and learn from everyone here, and for all of you to give me the space to do that as well,” said Katz.
Katz left the CEO role in 2021 after a 16-year tenure and returned after Kirsten Lynch resigned May 22. He also remains the executive chairman of Vail Resorts’ board. On Thursday, he addressed investors’ questions and concerns.
He said his top priorities for immediate improvement are communication, marketing and consistency in the guest experience. While many resorts showed strong guest satisfaction, he said, inconsistencies — most notably at Park City Mountain during the 13-day ski patrol strike — highlighted the need for system-wide execution.
“The Park City experience was obviously unacceptable. And so one of my key priorities is ensuring that all of our resorts are consistently throughout the season delivering that experience,” said Katz. “I think that is a matter of building on the progress that we’re already making and the investments we’ve already made.”
Katz addressed the reality of public opinion regarding Vail Resorts, and emphasized how proper communication and marketing can have a big impact on guest experience and satisfaction, whereby “missing the mark here has clearly contributed to softer results than we expected this past season.”
“It needs to be clear to our guests what our company stands for,” he said. “I recognize that the very existence of Vail Resorts as the industry leader and a large, publicly owned company can sometimes seem at odds with the essence of the ski industry. But that’s not how I see it. We can do a better job of showcasing how we benefit our guests and employees and the industry overall. And most importantly, do a better job avoiding the moments that often set us backwards.”
Investors asked about reports of Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince, an Old Town resident, offering to purchase Park City Mountain. Prince and wife Tatiana are co-owners of The Park Record.
“No, that’s not something that we’re looking at,” said Katz. “And we don’t think that that ultimately is in the right long-term interest of our company — especially a resort like Park City is critical to our overall company and our network.”
He emphasized a need to balance feedback from guests and community partners while continuing to drive improvement for the company, which he said the sale of the company’s largest North American resort would not accomplish.
Vail Resorts estimated $9 million in one-time costs related to the recently announced leadership transition, with their expected net income to be between $264 million and $298 million for the year.
“Total net revenue increased $12.3 million, or 1.0%, to $1,295.6 million for the three months ended April 30, 2025, as compared to the same period in the prior year,” the company reported Thursday.
Chief Financial Officer Angela Korch reported comparable performance in resort net revenue across North American resorts to the year prior despite a 7% decline in visitation. She attributed this consistency year over year to the stability of the season pass program.
“In March and April, destination visitation among pre-committed passholder guests improved as expected. However, visitation from uncommitted lift ticket guests was below expectations. Ancillary spend per destination guest visit was strong across our ski school and dining businesses throughout the quarter, while overall revenue in our ancillary businesses was impacted by the lower visitation,” said Korch.
Katz identified this decline in uncommitted lift ticket guest visitation as a key area for improvement, emphasizing the need for a more targeted and competitive marketing strategy on the road to improvement.
The company saw 3% increase in resort reported EBITDA year-to-date, though skier visitation across North America declined 3% from the start of the season through April 30.
As of May 27, pass product sales had declined 1% in units and increased 2% in sales compared to the year before with a 7% increase in Epic Pass prices.
“Given elevated levels of macro-economic volatility that occurred throughout the spring selling period, it is currently unknown what if any impact that had on early pass decision making. Pass sales dollars are benefiting from the 7% price increase relative to the 2024/2025 season, partially offset by the mix impact from the growth of Epic Day Pass products,” said Katz.
After a tumultuous second quarter this year and the 13-day ski patrol strike at Park City Mountain, then CEO Lynch addressed concerns over labor agreements and guest loyalty, saying the impact of new labor contracts would “not be material” and it was too early to tell whether the strike would impact pass renewals.
Despite the decline in sales, Katz said the company is hopeful for the rest of the selling period ahead.
“Epic Day Pass products experienced strong unit growth driven by the strength in renewing pass holders. Overall renewing pass holder product net migration was relatively consistent with the prior three years,” said Katz. “The majority of our pass selling season is ahead of us, and we believe the full year pass unit and sales dollar trends will be relatively stable with the spring results. We will provide more information about our pass sales results in our September 2025 earnings release.”
Investors questioned Katz about his perspective on the rising cost of living and labor negotiations. Katz said that employee experience is critical and that remains true whether employees are unionized or not, highlighting the successful negotiation of union contracts signed this year despite the Park City Mountain strike.
“All of our team members are core to everything we do,” said Katz. “It’s critical for us to have them show up in a way that truly delivers that experience of a lifetime, and that only happens if we do that for them. It’s important for us to work through the various processes that go on with our unionized employees in a way that brings those to a successful resolution.”