« Previous Story | The Industry Report Home Page | Next Story »

October 23, 2008
Intrawest Completes Refinancing Late This Afternoon

Intrawest reported at 4:10 p.m. this afternoon (Oct. 23, 2008) it has reached agreement to refinance its $1.7 billion loan that was due today. The company says it has received unanimous support from its existing lender group. Intrawest CEO Bill Jensen said in a written statement his company was pleased to reach the agreement "particularly given the challenges of the global credit markets." So, no bankruptcy and a happy ending. Let it snow. ...continue reading »

'Working Toward A Solution' Says Intrawest As 11th Hour Approaches In Fortress Quagmire

Ian Galbraith (V), Intrawest Director of Corporate Communications and Media Relations told The Industry Report this afternoon that [the company] "is working towards a solution. I will keep you informed." We will keep you informed as news breaks on this story. The clock is ticking... ...continue reading »

October 20, 2008
Obama? McCain? Industry Leaders Believe The Devil Is In The Details

John McCain or Barack Obama will win the chance to govern a country in a matter of days; a country wracked by economic turmoil and engaged in battle abroad. How might differences in their administrations affect the mountain resort and travel industry? The crystal ball is smudged by the fires burning on Wall Street, and cluttered with the promise-everyone-everything rhetoric of the campaign trail. Even so, we asked several industry leaders to prognosticate on possible differences between a Democratic administration and a Republican one. Here is our exclusive report. ...continue reading »

Industry Vet John Clifford Back In The Saddle; 'Ski Industry Must Innovate, Not Just Tweak'

Five years as a vice president in the rough and tumble arena of Fortune 500 turmoil has convinced ski industry marketing veteran John Clifford of two things: Life is more fun on a pair of skis, and we can learn from a much faster-paced industry that must turn on a dime to match marketing trends. Clifford's ski industry career began at age 14 in the rental shop at Bradford Ski Area in Western Mass., then rolled through 25 years marketing Killington, the late American Skiing Company, and Ski Industries America. He has been Vice President for Centex Homes since 2002, a developer doing $10 billion in business during the height of the housing boom. Clifford was lured away from SIA by an executive recruiter to create the Centex Hospitality Group as the club and property management division of the company. ...continue reading »

Once Around The Ski Pole...

Look for a round-up of news or commentary here once in while when it begins to stack up between issues... We took some heat here at the IR when we opined in our Feb. 28, 2008 issue that a deal was in the works for CNL to acquire Big Sky and lease it back to Boyne. We wrote at the time: "It appears to be safe enough for the IR to speculate Boyne is simply absorbing its 2007 shopping spree and a deal with CNL will likely happen once the snow melts and everybody at Boyne takes a deep breath." Well, lo and behold, CNL made an interest-bearing loan to the Boyne group this month for $68 million and will acquire Big Sky for $74 million when the loan matures in 2010, then leasing it back to Boyne. It appears the shopping spree has been absorbed and that, if you were paying attention, you read it here first by eight months. Hey, we live in the mountain resort kitchen. We can handle the heat... An interesting "inside baseball" incident occurred last week. Bob Struckman, editor of New West magazine's Missoula edition, did the appropriate journalistic legwork and dug out some solid quotes from Moonlight Basin CEO Lee Poole on how the resort will function now that its banking partner, Lehman Brothers, has tanked. Struckman's quotes, obtained by a series of e-mails with Poole, were picked up verbatim by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle without attribution. Other media grabbed them from the newspaper story (including OnTheSnow.com, but at least ours was inadvertent, though still inappropriate, and we carried a correction on our consumer Web site). Struckman perhaps expressed the frustration all editors feel when this sort of thing occurs - far more nicely than he needed to: "Dang!" said Struckman... ...continue reading »

October 06, 2008
Scott Bender On Mission To Restore Pennsylvania's Hidden Valley

Scott Bender is on a mission to restore Hidden Valley Four Seasons Resort in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania. Bender moved over in July from nearby Seven Springs, where he was president and CEO, to become VP of resort operations at Hidden Valley. "I'm rebuilding the team to put Hidden Valley back on the map," Bender told The Industry Report." ...continue reading »

Another Hidden Valley Averts A Land Grab

This must be the week for ski areas hidden in valleys. This Hidden Valley Ski Area is located near St. Louis, Mo. It is the only ski and snowboard area within hours of this huge Midwest metropolitan area, serving slope-starved residents of Missouri and southern Illinois. General Manager Bill Brandes went to the Wildwood City Council to seek permits to pave a parking lot, add some snow tubing lanes, and a new, larger maintenance building. Seems reasonable, right? Well, as OnTheSnow.com Regional Editor Mike Terrell puts it, "Brandes must have felt like he had run into ghosts of Jesse James and his gang." ...continue reading »

UK Tour Operators In Unique First-Timer Promo

Some 1,000 first-time skiers have the opportunity to ski for free during Freshers' Ski Week in January 2009 because of a unique promotion involving seven major tour operators and 50 different resorts. Those skiers will get free lessons, lift passes, and equipment rentals for a full week. Not a bad intro to the sport, for sure. The Association of SnowSports Countries (ASC) is working with some of the UK's leading tour operators to offer this package. These learn-to-ski holidays (vacations) must be booked through Thomson Ski, Neilson, Inghams, First Choice Snow, Erna Low, Crystal Ski, and Airtours. ...continue reading »

Compagnie Des Alpes: 'All's Well' Despite Fortis Worries

Compagnie des Alpes, claims to be the world's largest ski resort operating company, managing 17 ski resorts in the Alps. The firm decided it needed to issue a statement underlying its financial stability after Fortis, an international provider of banking and insurance services, published a report on the debt situation of several French companies. The statement reads: ...continue reading »