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Revenues (Notes)
 12 Months Ended
Jul. 31, 2021
Revenues [Abstract]  
Revenue from Contract with Customer [Text Block]
3.     Revenues
Revenue Recognition
The following provides information about the Company’s composition of revenue recognized from contracts with customers and other revenues, the performance obligations under those contracts, and the significant judgments made in accounting for those contracts:

•Mountain revenue is derived from a wide variety of sources, including, among other things: lift revenue, which includes sales of lift tickets and pass products; ski school revenue, which includes the revenue derived from ski school operations; dining revenue, which includes both casual and fine dining on-mountain operations; retail sales and equipment rentals; and other on-mountain revenue, which includes private ski club revenue (which includes both club dues and amortization of initiation fees), marketing and internet advertising revenue, municipal services and lodging and transportation operations at the Company’s Australian ski areas. Revenue is recognized over time as performance obligations are satisfied as control of the good or service (e.g. access to ski areas, provision of ski school services, etc.) is transferred to the customer, except for the Company’s retail sales and dining operations revenues which are recognized at a point in time when performance obligations are satisfied by transferring control of the underlying goods to the customer. The Company records deferred revenue primarily related to the sale of pass products. Deferred revenue is generally recognized throughout the ski season as the Company’s performance obligations are satisfied as control of the service (e.g. access to ski areas throughout the ski season) is transferred to the customer. Transfer of
control is based on an estimated number of pass product holder visits relative to total expected visits. Total expected visits are estimated based on historical data, and the Company believes this estimate provides a faithful depiction of its customers’ pass product usage. When sufficient historical data to determine usage patterns is not available, such as in the case of new product offerings, deferred revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis throughout the ski season until sufficient historical usage patterns are available. The Company also includes other sources of revenue, primarily related to commercial leasing and employee housing leasing arrangements, within other mountain revenue.

•Lodging revenue is derived from a wide variety of sources, including, among other things: revenue from owned hotel rooms and managed hotel rooms; revenue from hotel dining operations; transportation revenue which relates to the Company’s Colorado resort ground transportation operations; and other lodging revenue which includes property management services, managed properties other costs reimbursements, private golf club revenue (which includes both club dues and amortization of initiation fees), and golf course fees. Lodging revenue also includes managed hotel property payroll cost reimbursements related to payroll costs at managed properties where the Company is the employer, which are reimbursed by the owner with no added margin. Therefore, these revenues and corresponding expenses have no net effect on the Company’s operating income or net income. Other than revenue from dining operations, lodging revenue is mostly recognized over time as performance obligations are satisfied as control of the service (e.g. nightly hotel room access) is transferred to the customer.

•Real estate revenue primarily relates to the sale of development land parcels. Real estate revenue is generally recognized at a point in time when performance obligations have been satisfied, which is usually upon closing of the sales transaction and in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled.
For certain contracts that have an original term length of one year or less, the Company uses the practical expedient applicable to such contracts and does not consider the time value of money. For contracts with an expected term in excess of one year, the Company has considered the provisions of Topic 606 in determining whether contracts contain a financing component. The Company presents revenues in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations, net of taxes, when collected from its customers that are remitted or payable to government taxing authorities, except when products are inclusive of taxes where applicable.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company closed its North American destination mountain resorts, regional ski areas and retail stores early during the 2019/2020 North American ski season, beginning on March 15, 2020. Subsequently, the Company announced a credit offer for all existing 2019/2020 North American ski season pass product holders to purchase 2020/2021 North American ski season pass products at a discount (the “Credit Offer”). The Credit Offer discounts ranged from a minimum of 20% to a maximum of 80% for season pass holders, depending on the number of days the pass holder used their pass product during the 2019/2020 season and a credit, with no minimum, but up to 80% for multi-day pass products, such as the Epic Day Pass, based on total unused days. The Credit Offer was considered a contract modification which constituted an option to purchase an additional pass product for 2019/2020 North American ski season guests and, as such, represented a separate performance obligation to which the Company allocated a transaction price of approximately $120.9 million. As a result, the Company deferred $120.9 million of pass product revenue, which would have otherwise been recognized as lift revenue during the year ended July 31, 2020. The Credit Offer expired on September 17, 2020 and the Company recorded $15.4 million as lift revenue during the three months ended October 31, 2020, which was the amount of Credit Offer discounts which were not redeemed. The remaining deferred revenue associated with the Credit Offer was recognized as lift revenue primarily during the 2020/2021 North American ski season, as the performance obligations were satisfied.
In April 2020, the Company announced Epic Coverage, which is included with the purchase of all pass products for no additional charge. Epic Coverage offers refunds to pass product holders if certain qualifying personal or resort closure events occur before or during the ski season. The estimated amount of refunds reduce the amount of pass product revenue recognized by the Company. To estimate the amount of refunds under Epic Coverage, the Company considers (i) historical claims data for personal events, (ii) provincial, state, county and local COVID-19 regulations and public health orders, (iii) the ability for the Company’s pass holders to make reservations on their preferred days (for only the 2020/2021 North American ski season, during which the Company utilized a reservation system) and (iv) the Company’s operating plans for its resorts. The Company believes the estimates of refunds are reasonable; however, actual results could vary materially from such estimates, and such estimates will be remeasured at each reporting date.
Additionally, for the 2020/2021 North American ski season, the Company introduced Epic Mountain Rewards, a program which provides pass product holders a discount of 20% off on-mountain food and beverage, lodging, group ski school lessons, equipment rentals and more at the Company’s North American owned and operated Resorts. Epic Mountain Rewards constitutes an option to our guests to purchase additional products and services from us at a discount and as a result, the Company allocates a portion of the pass product transaction price to these other lines of business.
Disaggregation of Revenues
The following table presents net revenues disaggregated by segment and major revenue type for the years ended July 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands):
Year ended July 31,
 202120202019
Mountain net revenue:
Lift$1,076,578 $913,091 $1,033,234 
Ski School144,227 189,131 215,060 
Dining90,329 160,763 181,837 
Retail/Rental227,993 270,299 320,267 
Other150,751 177,159 205,803 
Total Mountain net revenue$1,689,878 $1,710,443 $1,956,201 
Lodging net revenue:
Owned hotel rooms$47,509 $44,992 $64,826 
Managed condominium rooms72,217 76,480 86,236 
Dining 19,068 38,252 53,730 
Transportation9,271 15,796 21,275 
Golf20,437 17,412 19,648 
Other43,007 44,933 54,617 
211,509 237,865 300,332 
Payroll cost reimbursements6,553 10,549 14,330 
Total Lodging net revenue $218,062 $248,414 $314,662 
Total Resort net revenue$1,907,940 $1,958,857 $2,270,863 
Total Real Estate net revenue1,770 4,847 712 
Total net revenue$1,909,710 $1,963,704 $2,271,575 
Arrangements with Multiple Performance Obligations
Several of the Company’s contracts with customers include multiple performance obligations, primarily related to bundled services such as ski school packages, lodging packages and events (e.g. weddings and conferences). For such contracts, revenue is allocated to each distinct and separate performance obligation based on its relative standalone selling price. The standalone selling prices are generally based on observable prices charged to customers or estimated based on historical experience and information.
Contract Balances
Contract liabilities are recorded primarily as deferred revenues when payments are received or due in advance of the Company’s performance, including amounts which may be refundable. The deferred revenue balance is primarily related to accounts receivable or cash payments recorded in advance of satisfying the Company’s performance obligations related to sales of pass products prior to the start of the ski season, private club initiation fees and other related advance purchase products, including advance purchase lift tickets, multiple-day lift tickets, ski school lessons, equipment rentals and lodging advance deposits. Due to the seasonality of the Company’s operations, its largest deferred revenue balances occur during the North American pass product selling window, which generally begins in the third quarter of its fiscal year. Deferred revenue balances of a short-term nature were $456.5 million and $256.4 million as of July 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and the increase was primarily due to an increase in pass product sales for the 2021/2022 North American ski season as compared to the prior year from the beginning of the selling season through each respective fiscal year-end, due largely to the lack of any spring sales deadlines in fiscal year 2020 as a result of COVID-19. Deferred revenue balances of a long-term nature, comprised primarily of long-term private club initiation fee revenue, were $121.0 million and $121.9 million as of July 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. For the year ended July 31, 2021, the Company recognized approximately $232.8 million of revenue that was included in the deferred revenue balance as of July 31, 2020. As of July 31, 2021, the weighted average remaining period over
which revenue for unsatisfied performance obligations on long-term private club contracts will be recognized was approximately 16 years.
Contract assets are recorded as trade receivables when the right to consideration is unconditional. Trade receivable balances were $345.4 million and $106.7 million as of July 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Payments from customers are based on billing terms established in the contracts with customers, which vary by the type of customer, the location and the products or services offered. The term between invoicing and when payment is due is not significant. For certain products or services and customer types, contracts require payment before the products are delivered or services are provided to the customer. Impairment losses related to contract assets are recognized through the Company’s allowance for doubtful accounts analysis. Contract asset write-offs are evaluated on an individual basis.
Costs to Obtain Contracts with Customers
The Company expects that credit card fees and sales commissions paid in order to obtain season ski pass products contracts are recoverable. Accordingly, the Company records these amounts as assets when they are paid prior to the start of the ski season. As of July 31, 2021, $3.1 million of costs to obtain contracts with customers were recorded within other current assets on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheet. Deferred credit card fees and sales commissions are amortized commensurate with the recognition of season ski pass revenue. The Company recorded amortization of $17.8 million, $11.0 million and $10.6 million for these costs during the years ended July 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively, which were recorded within Mountain and Lodging operating expenses on the Company’s Consolidated Statement of Operations.
Utilizing the practical expedient provided for under Topic 606, the Company has elected to expense credit card fees and sales commissions related to non-season ski pass products and services as incurred, as the amortization period is generally one year or less for the time between customer purchase and utilization. These fees are recorded within Mountain and Lodging operating expenses on the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations.