Peak Resorts to Take Over Three More Ski Areas
In a $76M acquisition, Peak Resorts will acquire three resorts in Pennsylvania from Snow Time, Inc.
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Earlier this week, Peak Resorts announced that they have entered into a definite agreement to acquire privately-held Snow Time, Inc.
Peak Resorts, the parent company of Mount Snow in Vermont, Hunter Mountain in New York, and a number of other ski areas along the the east coast and in the midwest, will own and operate three ski resorts in Pennsylvania: Liberty Mountain Resort, Whitetail Resort, and Roundtop Mountain Resort. These new additions bring Peak Resort’s family to 17 ski areas across the U.S., and bring the total resorts they own in Pennsylvania to five.
These three resorts are within driving distance from the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. metro areas, and welcomed over 600,00 thousand visitors last season. With plenty of trails and terrain to choose from, Peak Resorts is looking forward to finalizing this acquisition as soon as possible.
For now, these three resorts will now be featured on the popular Peak Pass for the 2018-2019 season and beyond. They will also be included in their Drifter Pass which is targeted at getting younger people skiing more often.
Read More: Millennials Welcome; Drifting Encouraged
“These three resorts fit in to what we do best. We were attracted by how well maintained they were, and how strong their management was,” says Peak Resort’s VP of Operations Jesse Boyd. This is what attracted Peak Resorts to the three ski areas previously owned by Snow Time, Inc., which offer a combined 65 trails, 325 skiable acres, and multiple terrain parks. Boyd and Peak Resorts say they “look for resorts somewhat strategic to what we have going on we look for: season pass synergies, how the place is operated, and if we have the same culture.”
Peak Resorts hopes that these new resorts will reflect their mission to bring more people to skiing and snowboarding. “We strongly believe in the new conversion of ski and snowboarders. We are trying to convert younger people who may not have a family tradition of going to the mountains to ski,” says Boyd.
They also hope to use these new resorts to continue their plan to attract the Millennials. Peak Resorts know skiing is not a cheap sport, so they’re making plans to make it more millennial friendly. Boyd has mentioned that their Drifter Pass has increased attendance by 47 percent, and will continue to grow at all their resorts.
They will also continue to focus on events and terrain parks targeted to millennials. “We will continue to work on the Peak Discovery Program to help people come affordably to our resorts and get them on the slope to try and get them to fall in love with the sport,” said Boyd.
Peak Resorts is excited about what the future holds for them as a company, and how they will continue to improve. “It looks good, we are continuing to strengthen our peak resorts. We offer the most value in the East, and being able to pair with these resorts we really feel like we’re in a strong position for the future,” says Boyd.