Organization and Business

9 Months Ended

Apr. 30, 2020

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Organization and Business

Organization and Business

Vail Resorts, Inc. (“Vail Resorts”) is organized as a holding company and operates through various subsidiaries. Vail Resorts and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”) operate in three business segments: Mountain, Lodging and Real Estate.

The Company refers to “Resort” as the combination of the Mountain and Lodging segments. In the Mountain segment, the Company operates the following thirty-seven destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas:

*Denotes a destination mountain resort which generally receives a meaningful portion of skier visits from long-distance travelers, as opposed to the Company’s regional ski areas which tend to generate skier visits predominantly from their respective local markets.

Additionally, the Mountain segment includes ancillary services, primarily including ski school, dining and retail/rental operations, and for the Company’s Australian resorts, including lodging and transportation operations. Several of the resorts located in the United States (“U.S.”) operate primarily on federal land under the terms of Special Use Permits granted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. The operations of Whistler Blackcomb are conducted on land owned by the government of the Province of British Columbia, Canada within the traditional territory of the Squamish and Lil’wat Nations. The operations of the Company’s Australian resorts are conducted pursuant to long-term leases and licenses on land owned by the governments of New South Wales and Victoria, Australia. Okemo, Mount Sunapee and Stowe operate on land leased from the respective states in which the resorts are located and on land owned by the Company.

In the Lodging segment, the Company owns and/or manages a collection of luxury hotels and condominiums under its RockResorts brand; other strategic lodging properties and a large number of condominiums located in proximity to the Company’s North American mountain resorts; National Park Service (“NPS”) concessionaire properties including the Grand Teton Lodge Company (“GTLC”), which operates destination resorts in Grand Teton National Park; a Colorado resort ground transportation company and mountain resort golf courses.

Vail Resorts Development Company (“VRDC”), a wholly-owned subsidiary, conducts the operations of the Company’s Real Estate segment, which owns, develops and sells real estate in and around the Company’s resort communities.

The Company’s mountain business and its lodging properties at or around the Company’s mountain resorts are seasonal in nature with peak operating seasons primarily from mid-November through mid-April in North America. The operating season at the Company’s Australian resorts, NPS concessionaire properties and golf courses generally occurs from June to early October.