Vail Resorts, Inc. - Interview With Jeffrey W. Jones, Senior Executive Vice President And Chief Financial Officer
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Jeffrey W. Jones is Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Vail Resorts, Inc. He was appointed to those positions in February 2006 and was appointed to the company's board of directors in June 2008. Mr. Jones originally joined the company in September 2003, when he was named Chief Financial Officer. From 1999 to 2003, Mr. Jones served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Clark Retail Enterprises, Inc., in Chicago. Prior to that, he served in various finance and accounting leadership positions. Mr. Jones is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and a Director and Chairman of the audit committee of iPCS, Inc.
TWST: Tell us a bit about the company's history.
Mr. Jones: Vail Resorts' history actually began back in 1962 with the opening of Vail Mountain, which is the first of five mountains we eventually would own. And then fast-forward to December of 1980, Beaver Creek opened as the second mountain under Vail Associates, as it was known at the time. Incidentally, Beaver Creek was one of the last major ski mountains opened in the United States, which I think reflects the high barrier to entry we have in the mountain resort business.
In 1996 Vail Associates acquired Breckenridge and Keystone Resorts, and that's when Vail Resorts, Inc. (MTN), was formally established. The following year, 1997, Vail Resorts went public on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MTN. Since then in 1999 we acquired the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Grand Teton National Park, Wyo., which was our first resort property outside of Colorado.
In 2001 we acquired the RockResorts brand, which is used for our casually elegant hotel resort properties. And in 2002 we acquired the last of our current five mountains, the Heavenly Resort up in Lake Tahoe. So Vail Resorts has grown from the initial Vail Mountain opening in 1962 to really be what we consider the premier mountain resort operator and a leader in the overall travel and leisure industry: five world-class ski resorts, ancillary businesses supporting the ski resorts, lodging properties, including those under the RockResorts brand, and a real estate development company.
TWST: I'm going to ask more about those, but first would you introduce us to the other key members of your senior management team?
Mr. Jones: First off, I'm proud to be part of what I believe is a terrific management team and an outstanding, passionate employee group at Vail Resorts. The management team is led by Rob Katz, our Chairman and CEO. Rob has been the CEO since 2006 and was also involved on the board since 1996. I think he is truly one of the most dynamic and smart leaders in the travel and leisure industry. I'm fortunate to be part of the management team and also joined Rob on the Vail Resorts board of directors starting last year.
In addition to Rob and myself, we have key management leading all of our business functions from an operational standpoint. That would include Blaise Carrig and John Garnsey, who are the Co-Presidents of our mountain division, Paul Toner, who is the Chief Operating Officer of our lodging division, and Keith Fernandez, who is President of our real estate division. We also have terrific senior management leading all of our support functions as well as at each of our mountain resorts.
TWST: Vail Resorts also owns or manages other properties that aren't necessarily snow sports oriented. Tell us more about those other business components. How do they complement the mountain resort properties?
Mr. Jones: First, our largest segment, as you mentioned, is the mountain segment, which owns and operates five world-class resorts, which I mentioned earlier - Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone in Colorado and Heavenly in California/Nevada. Just as a sidebar, those resorts are five of the top 10 most-visited resorts in the United States, and that includes the number one and number two most-visited ski resorts.
In addition, our ancillary mountain businesses, which roll up into the mountain segment, include ski school, dining - we have over 90 casual and fine dine restaurants in our portfolio - and more than 150 retail rental locations. We have commercial leasing; we have private clubs - that's all within the mountain segment. So when you get into the other two segments of our business, which are lodging and real estate, they really are integrated and interdependent with that mountain segment.
Our hospitality group, Vail Resorts Hospitality, owns and/or manages a portfolio of luxury hotels under the RockResorts brand - currently eight hotels under the Rock brand, four owned, four managed, and we have several more currently under development, including through third-party ownership outside of our own mountain resorts, 13 non-RockResort hotels as well as the management of a large number of condominium rooms located in proximity to our ski resorts.
We have three destination resorts at Grand Teton National Park; we have six award-winning golf courses. And just last year we purchased Colorado Mountain Express, which is a resort ground transportation company. The lodging segment currently includes approximately 3,900 owned and managed hotel and condo rooms.
Our real estate segment, Vail Resorts Development Company, holds, develops, buys and sells real estate exclusively in and around the mountain resorts I mentioned earlier. The company became a vertical real estate developer several years ago. Through our real estate development projects, we have been able to create new resort amenities that enhance the overall guest experience. Great examples of that are the Arrabelle at Vail Square, with its hotel, spa, private club, commercial and residential space in Vail next to the gondola access onto Vail, the Vail Mountain Club and a new skier services building developed as part of the Vail Chalet project, all completed within the last 24 months.
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