Revenue and Related Contract Costs and Contract Liabilities

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

Revenue From Contract With Customer [Abstract]

Revenue and Related Contract Costs and Contract Liabilities

Note 2. Revenue and Related Contract Costs and Contract Liabilities

GES’ performance obligations consist of services or product(s) outlined in a contract. While we often sign multi-year contracts for recurring events, the obligations for each occurrence are well defined and conclude upon the occurrence of each event. The obligations are typically the provision of services and/or sale of a product in connection with a live event. Revenue for goods and services provided for which we do not have control of the goods or services before that good or service is transferred to a customer is recorded on a net basis to reflect only the fees received for arranging these services. We recognize revenue for services generally at the close of the live event. We recognize revenue for products either upon delivery to the customer’s location, upon delivery to an event that we are serving, or when we have the right to invoice. In circumstances where a customer cancels a contract, we generally have the right to bill the customer for costs incurred to date. Payment terms are generally within 30-60 days and contain no significant financing components.

Pursuit’s performance obligations are short-term in nature. They include the provision of a hotel room, an attraction admission, a chartered or ticketed bus or van ride, the fulfillment of travel planning itineraries, and/or the sale of food, beverage, or retail products. We recognize revenue when the service has been provided or the product has been delivered. When we extend credit, payment terms are generally within 30 days and contain no significant financing components.

Contract Liabilities

GES and Pursuit typically receive customer deposits prior to transferring the related product or service to the customer. We record these deposits as a contract liability, which are recognized as revenue upon satisfaction of the related contract performance obligation(s). GES also provides customer rebates and volume discounts to certain event organizers that we recognize as a reduction of revenue. We include these amounts in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets under the captions “Contract liabilities” and “Other deferred items and liabilities.”

Changes to contract liabilities are as follows:

(in thousands)
Balance at December 31, 2020	$	18,618
Cash additions		117,499
Revenue recognized		(90,638	)
Foreign exchange translation adjustment		(584	)
Balance at September 30, 2021	$	44,895

Contract Costs

GES capitalizes certain incremental costs incurred in obtaining and fulfilling contracts. Capitalized costs principally relate to direct costs of materials and services incurred in fulfilling services of future exhibitions, conferences, and events, and also include up-front incentives and commissions incurred upon contract signing. We expense costs associated with preliminary contract activities (i.e. proposal activities) as incurred. Capitalized contract costs are expensed upon the transfer of the related goods or services and are included in costs of services or costs of products, as applicable. We include the deferred incremental costs of obtaining and fulfilling contracts in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets under the captions “Current contract costs” and “Other investments and assets.”

Changes to contract costs are as follows:

(in thousands)
Balance at December 31, 2020	$	10,835
Additions		24,514
Expenses		(14,061	)
Cancelled		(709	)
Foreign exchange translation adjustment		(57	)
Balance at September 30, 2021	$	20,522

As of September 30, 2021, capitalized contract costs consisted of $0.6 million to obtain contracts and $19.9 million to fulfill contracts. We did not recognize an impairment loss with respect to capitalized contract costs during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 or 2020.

Disaggregation of Revenue

During the first quarter of 2021, we changed GES’ presentation of certain items in the following disaggregation of revenue table to depict how the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows are affected by economic factors. All prior periods have been reclassified to conform to this new reporting structure.

The following tables disaggregate GES and Pursuit revenue by major service and product lines, timing of revenue recognition, and markets served:

GES

	Three Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
(in thousands)	2021			2020			2021			2020
Service lines:
Exhibitions and Conferences	$	81,029		$	4,625		$	96,881		$	222,038
Brand experiences		31,009			8,895			55,194			85,831
Venue services		4,006			472			8,034			12,061
Total revenue	$	116,044		$	13,992		$	160,109		$	319,930
Timing of revenue recognition:
Services transferred over time	$	100,865		$	12,031		$	139,241		$	287,457
Products transferred over time(1)		6,509			247			7,659			13,442
Products transferred at a point in time		8,670			1,714			13,209			19,031
Total revenue	$	116,044		$	13,992		$	160,109		$	319,930
Geographical markets:
North America	$	92,648		$	11,686		$	127,978		$	272,391
EMEA		24,084			2,590			34,061			50,797
Intersegment eliminations		(688	)		(284	)		(1,930	)		(3,258	)
Total revenue	$	116,044		$	13,992		$	160,109		$	319,930

(1)GES’ graphics product revenue is earned over time over the duration of an event as it is considered a part of the single performance obligation satisfied over time.

Pursuit

	Three Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
(in thousands)	2021			2020			2021			2020
Services:
Admissions	$	39,480		$	12,229		$	51,069		$	17,865
Accommodations		37,553			18,021			54,742			23,994
Transportation		3,453			445			4,913			2,513
Travel planning and other		2,019			855			4,668			1,484
Intersegment eliminations		(406	)		(144	)		(463	)		(261	)
Total services revenue		82,099			31,406			114,929			45,595
Products:
Food and beverage		18,029			6,783			25,152			9,047
Retail operations		17,427			10,626			23,577			12,960
Total products revenue		35,456			17,409			48,729			22,007
Total revenue	$	117,555		$	48,815		$	163,658		$	67,602
Timing of revenue recognition:
Services transferred over time	$	82,099		$	31,406		$	114,929		$	45,595
Products transferred at a point in time		35,456			17,409			48,729			22,007
Total revenue	$	117,555		$	48,815		$	163,658		$	67,602
Markets:
Banff Jasper Collection	$	52,602		$	26,395		$	71,720		$	39,234
Alaska Collection		25,932			5,436			37,279			6,167
Glacier Park Collection		32,081			14,929			43,627			16,813
FlyOver		2,296			2,055			3,494			5,388
Sky Lagoon(1)		4,644			—			7,538			—
Total revenue	$	117,555		$	48,815		$	163,658		$	67,602

(1)We opened Pursuit’s new Sky Lagoon attraction on April 30, 2021 in Reykjavik, Iceland.