Vail Resorts Inc. is a hotel and resort company that operates some of the best ski resorts in North America. They are known for operating first-class, premier ski resorts in the country for many years. They are classified in the Resort and Casino industry, segmented into the ski destination resorts. They currently hold six major resorts in the western United States. Among them are Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, and Keystone which are located in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Heavenly resort is located in Northern California with all five resorts being among the top 20 ski destinations in North America according to Ski Magazine in 2006. Grand Teton Lodge Company is located in Wyoming ...view middle of the document...
This gives the customer the assurance that their needs are of most importance to the organization.* Management: The management staff at Vail resorts includes experienced managers that are extremely knowledgeable in their respective departments. The company employs managers that know how to run a business from the marketing of the company to the maintenance of the resort.Weaknesses* Size: Resort customers have trouble accessing all of the amenities offered by the various resorts because the resorts are so large.* Crowds: The resort gets overwhelmed with skiers during prime season which causes long lift lines and crowded ski runs.* Uncertainty: The Chief Executive Officer is stepping down at the end of the '05-'06 ski season, which could cause a downfall in the company.Threats* Eco-terrorism: Vail Resorts was hit hard by this threat in 1998 when eco-terrorist group Earth Liberation Front (ELF) protested new developments into untouched wilderness. The group set fire to gasoline-soaked wood and ended up burning 5 buildings of a new resort to the ground. (Maher, 1999).* Domestic Terrorism: With attacks on the U.S. like the one on New York in 2001, the travel industry saw a decline of 4% from the previous year (TIA, 2004). Such attacks like this in the future could lead to a decline in the leisure industry.* Aging Population: The median age of the world population is increasing. In the United States alone, there is expected to be an increase from 12.4% to 19.6% of seniors above the age of 65. This will have an effect on segments of the resort and casino industry like the ski segment that depends on able-bodied skiers purchasing lift tickets for 67% of its revenues (sec.gov, 2006). The ski segment and other extreme sporting companies may see a decline in profits due to this demographic trend from now through 2030.* Strength of Competitors: Vail Resorts offers some of the same services provided by its direct competitors. These companies Quarterly Revenue Growths far surpass Vail's, who has been in the negative. Although Vial has enjoyed top market share for about 10 years running, it must realize that the competition is gaining financial strength and cannot be overlooked (Yahoo!Finance, 2006).* Strength of the U.S. Dollar: Canadians often travel to the states to spend discretionary income when the strength of the U.S. Dollar exceeds that of the Canadian. Currently, the Canadian dollar is weaker that the U.S. which means Canadians must pay more if they cross the boarder to ski. Therefore, U.S. ski companies and resorts are currently losing most of their international business due to a stronger dollar (Yahoo!Finance, 2006).* Global Warming/Poor Snowfall: A significant issue that severely bruised profits for Vail Resorts in 2003 and 2004 was inadequate snowfall and above-freezing temperatures during the ski season. This is a constant threat for the industry, as the natural environment is beyond their control and the industry depends on it. According to...
