Aspen One/SkiCo Updates. (Alterra IPO: Maybe Never)

[ChrisC]

I am incredibly surprised by these recent articles about Aspen One (SkiCo)'s business updates, especially how they might relate to Alterra. While the Crown family owns Aspen One and an ownership stake in Alterra, Aspen One functions independently of Alterra and is only a partner mountain.

Most interested in the following:

• Aspen down 21.5%. (Means Vail's CO resorts likely took a 25-29% decline to get to Colorado's overall decline number. Likely CO destination resorts held up better.)
• Acknowledged they compete with European resorts. Aspen's future model is not Vail, but a year-round resort like Gstaad or Zermatt.
• Aspen is no longer a ski town, but just a resort town. New visitors are not there to ski, but just for a quick hit visit/check-box/IG post. (Likely more in common with Nantucket, Laguna Beach, Hilton Head (vs. Revelstoke/Steamboat/Whitefish).
• Is Aspen still a ski town, or is it becoming a luxury real-estate/influencer town with skiing as scenery?
• Claim lift tickets are only 20% of a visitor's spend. Said Lodging Costs are the main culprit of increased vacation costs - up 200-250% in the last 10 years? Thought lift tickets were equivalent to food and airfare costs, and giving away free lift tickets would not move visitation numbers.
• Refuse to grow skier visits through the Ikon Pass. Want to preserve the experience.
• “I think we are increasingly a real estate town. I’m not sure that’s a choice anyone wants to make, but it’s a reality we are facing, and it’s driving a lot of decisions and economics.” Tanner said there’s risk of becoming “a valley whose economy serves a property market.”
• On traffic, the presentation showed data indicating that about 30% to 40% of vehicles were construction vehicles and other “service vehicles” that support the real estate economy rather than the skiing economy.“Skier visits are going down yet traffic is increasing,” Buchheister said.

SkiCo execs paint uncertain future, describe reinvestment as at risk

During three presentations to elected officials, Aspen SkiCo executives question whether skiing will remain at the heart of the Roaring Fork Valley.

www.aspendailynews.com

https://www.aspendailynews.com/news/aspen-one-s-success-relies-on-community-support-top-execs-argue/article_0a3fcf6a-f793-4e01-8604-727185f9831c.html

Aspen One’s CEO Dave Tanner gives update on state of the business

The future of the skiing industry is a more somber one than many might think.

www.aspentimes.com

 

[ChrisC]

Key takeaway: I do not know how Alterra (during a potential IPO roadshow) gets around comments like this from one of its prominent ski partners (Aspen) and investors (Crown Family):

• Aspen believes skiing itself has stagnated.
• Buchheister said: Ski participation hasn't grown in roughly 30 years.
• This matches broader industry data. The pie isn't getting bigger. Resorts are competing for the same customers.

Not sure who would want to buy Alterra, especially since they do not own some of its best resorts.

 

[Sbooker]

increased vacation costs - up 200-250% in the last 10

The last time I went to Aspen I stayed in Snowmass at under my self imposed $200aud per night for our family of four. It was Pokolodi lodge from memory. I guess I'm not going to ski in Aspen again........
I still have the same lodging limit if it doesn't include breakfast and it doesn't seem to limit me too much.

 

[Tony Crocker]

The last time I went to Aspen I stayed in Snowmass at under my self imposed $200aud per night for our family of four. It was Pokolodi lodge from memory.

Same place we stayed in 2014 (~$150/night) and 2025 ($400+). We were in town in Aspen in 2015 (Limelight, $250, now $1,000) and 2024 (Annabelle, $350, now $500).

Said Lodging Costs are the main culprit of increased vacation costs - up 200-250% in the last 10 years?

I do not get the lodging price issue in Colorado. It's nearly ALL since 2021.

self imposed $200aud per night

Dream on. It's not just the ritzy locations that have inflated. You have to dig hard to find under $200US even in old motels in Frisco and Dillon these days.

I found those Aspen articles quite fascinating. It's always been a unique resort. I recall my 2004 visit preceding a NASJA meeting in Telluride. Larry Schick knew Susan Darch very well as she was marketing director at Whistler during its explosive growth era in the 1990's. Aspen hired her in 2001. She arranged for us (Adam and Garry Klassen too) to stay in new employee housing at the base of Highlands for 4 days. She said that Aspen had the most loyal customer base in the ski industry in terms of repeat visitation but also the oldest demographic. Her first actions were to remove the snowboard ban on Ajax and to bring the Winter X Games to Aspen. Susan left the ski industry later in 2004 but now appears to be with Travel Alberta.

Refuse to grow skier visits through the Ikon Pass. Want to preserve the experience.

Ikon is very amenable to fine tuning. Since 2021 you have needed full Ikon (or the now deceased Base Plus) to ski Aspen. But next season Base Ikon will be usable at Snowmass only.

Acknowledged they compete with European resorts.

Yes, I suspect that is more true than at most US resorts. The lodging price issue is a killer in that competition.

 

[Sbooker]

Dream on.

I like to travel off season or shoulder season. That makes lodging a better value proposition. I intend to travel to the US in November sometime soon to walk the Grand Canyon and Utah national parks. I expect I’ll find lodging in the towns in my price bracket.

From a skiing in the USA point of view I might have to settle for being restricted to the Cottonwoods given my wife’s aunt lives alone in a condo in Mill Creek. It has a lounge, 2 bedrooms and a full bathroom downstairs that gets exactly no use unless we visit.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Key takeaway: I do not know how Alterra (during a potential IPO roadshow) gets around comments like this from one of its prominent ski partners (Aspen) and investors (Crown Family):

• Aspen believes skiing itself has stagnated.
• Buchheister said: Ski participation hasn't grown in roughly 30 years.
• This matches broader industry data. The pie isn't getting bigger. Resorts are competing for the same customers.

Not sure who would want to buy Alterra, especially since they do not own some of its best resorts.

I have always wondered how Alterra makes money with the closely guarded secret of how much they have to pay partners like Jackson and Snowbird.

In terms of skier visits, US numbers increased starting 2019 with widespread use of Epic and Ikon. In terms of number of participants, it's a small percentage of a population that is still increasing. The fear of a crash when baby boomers aged out did not happen. Our visits were replaced by the Millennials. One could also argue that the "K-Shaped" economy is producing more potential skiers. Colorado skier visits' 4 highest years were the four preceding the recent terrible season.

 

[jimk]

It's a well known "secret" that the Aspen ski areas are among the least crowded places to ski in Colorado and much of the Rockies. I can see why management thinks the sport has stagnated visitation-wise. It's a great place to ski and visit on vacation. I've skied there a number of times over the years, first time in March 1976 when I slept in my car in a parking lot at Snowmass Nowadays, the cost of lodging scares a lot of middle class folks from visiting. Snowmass is newly on Ikon base this winter. I might try to swing by for a few days and if lodging is too crazy I could commute from Glenwood Springs or Carbondale.

Had a great ski week in Aspen about a dozen years ago with my son. It was at New Year's timeframe and not crowded at all.

About four years ago my wife and I stayed at the very nice Stonebridge Hotel in Snowmass Village for $85 per night. BUT, it was in May after ski season and before the summer surge. We were making our cross country drive from UT to Wash DC.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I can see why management thinks the sport has stagnated visitation-wise.

Yes, much variation by area. You could say Mammoth has stagnated since it's not clear that the records of 1982 and 1986 have been materially exceeded. But that's because of changing SoCal demographics IMHO at what is still a regional ski area. Then you have the places like Jackson and LCC where growth in skier visits has been explosive over the past 25 years. It seems Aspen wants stable not increasing skier visits.

 

[ChrisC]

I've skied there a number of times over the years, first time in March 1976 when I slept in my car in a parking lot at Snowmass Nowadays, the cost of lodging scares a lot of middle class folks from visiting. Snowmass is newly on Ikon base this winter. I might try to swing by for a few days and if lodging is too crazy I could commute from Glenwood Springs or Carbondale.

Same place we stayed in 2014 (~$150/night) and 2025 ($400+). We were in town in Aspen in 2015 (Limelight, $250, now $1,000) and 2024 (Annabelle, $350, now $500).

To me, a Winter occupancy rate around 60% seems low. I have no idea if Aspen-Snowmass wants to play around with price elasticity, but it seems like lodging properties are fine with fewer guests at higher rates, perhaps with lower costs that could come from higher volume?



Aspen/Snowmass 2025-26 winter season:

Metric	Approximate Level	Trend
Winter occupancy (Nov–Apr)	Mid-50s to low-60s overall	Down ~5–6% vs. previous winter
December occupancy	51.2% overall (Aspen 57.1%, Snowmass 45.2%)	Below prior year
January ADR (Average Daily Rate)	Continued to increase (~3%)	Higher prices offset weaker demand
Room revenue (RevPAR)	Roughly flat	Higher rates, fewer room nights sold

The lodging reports cited by Aspen officials showed:

• Winter bookings were about 5.5% behind the previous season.
• December occupancy averaged 51.2% across Aspen/Snowmass.
• Aspen itself ran 57.1% occupancy in December, while Snowmass was 45.2%.
• ADR (Average Daily Rate) still increased by roughly 2.8–3.1%, indicating hotels were charging more even as they filled fewer rooms.

Average room price​

The presentations did not emphasize a single "average room rate," because Aspen has an unusually wide range—from boutique inns to five-star luxury hotels.

For winter 2025-26:

• Aspen proper: roughly $900–1,100 ADR during the core ski season.
• Snowmass: roughly $500–700 ADR.
• Combined market ADR is generally in the $700–900 range depending on month and hotel mix. These rates remain among the highest of any ski destination in North America despite the recent slowdown.

 

[jimk]

From doctor google: Disney's domestic parks (Walt Disney World and Disneyland) have shifted to a high-yield business model generating record revenue from fewer visitors. By raising prices and relying on paid add-ons, the company intentionally caters to wealthier demographics rather than maximizing raw attendance

 

[EMSC]

I do not get the lodging price issue in Colorado. It's nearly ALL since 2021.

I don't "get it" either and I live here. Hopefully the terrible season just finished pushed a lot of profitability numbers into bad territory for a lot of lodging places in the mountains to make them reconsider.

Used to be you could find a few pretty cheap places mixed in in spots or at the least go down valley 30 minutes to a reasonably priced place. But last I knew even way down in Eagle they were trying to charge over $400 for a very mediocre Courtyard brand hotel. Very disconnected from reality IMO.

It's a well known "secret" that the Aspen ski areas are among the least crowded places to ski in Colorado and much of the Rockies.

Snowmass might be a bit less crowded than Breck or Vail, but I certainly would not describe it as 'uncrowded'. The other Aspen areas on the other hand are either uncrowded or at least relatively uncrowded by comparison to the rest of the big Colo resorts.

To me, a Winter occupancy rate around 60% seems low.

Ditto. Never heard of a hotel trying to target anywhere less than ~80-85%+ occupancy during a prime season of the year.