Winter is coming. And at Vail Resorts, Rob Katz is back in the CEO seat -- and he's making some changes to how the world's biggest ski resort operator goes to market.
For years, the ski industry has focused on pass sales, which drove a good portion of skier and rider traffic. At Vail, it's the Epic Pass, a program spearheaded during Katz's first turn as CEO and which now comes in many permutations, from one-day passes to the full Epic Pass that gives users access to more than 90 resorts with no blackout dates.
Other industry passes include Mountain Collective, Indy Pass and Alterra's Ikon Pass, which all enable skiers and riders to lock in on mountain access.
But in Vail's fiscal year-end earnings call in late September, Katz acknowledged that season-pass sales growth for the upcoming season has been "limited" and said the company had not been reaching its full growth potential, particularly in revenue growth.
Vail achieved a 21% increase in net income in its fiscal 2025, which ended July 31, but total skier visits declined 3% across its North American resorts and ski areas.
Looking to the 2025-26 season, revenue from pass sales was up 1% year over year as of Sept. 19, Vail said, but unit sales were down about 3%.
"The way we're connecting with guests has not kept pace with the rapidly evolving consumer landscape," Katz said during the call. He said that email marketing, which has been a Vail mainstay, is no longer as effective and that the company needs to increase social media marketing and connect with influencers.
Vail will continue to focus on the Epic Pass business, but another area of emphasis for the company will be on its lift ticket business.
Epic Pass sales end in early December, and those who buy a pass also receive favorable pricing. An off-peak Epic Day pass to a ski area like Attitash in New Hampshire can cost as little as $64, and a full-on Epic Pass for $1,121 can pay dividends if guests ski multiple days and/or during peak periods.
But after the sign-up period ends, any skier who is unsure of their winter plans or unaware of the pass system has to pay lift ticket pricing, which can be considerably higher; the cost has recently topped $300 per day at several North America resorts.
Katz said during the call that the company had not focused enough on increasing its lift ticket business. "This made sense as we were rapidly growing our pass business," he said. "But as we dramatically increased pass penetration, we have not pivoted to bring the same level of focus, creativity and resources to engaging with the guests who, for whatever reason, were not yet ready to purchase a pass before the season."
One way Vail is aiming to increase on-mountain visitation, both in the short and long term, is through a program that debuts this season called Epic Friends tickets: Depending on when they buy their Epic Pass, passholders receive six to 10 Epic Friends tickets that provide those guests with 50% off a lift ticket at the company's 37 North America resorts.
Epic Friends taps into what Katz called "the social side of skiing and riding." But it also aims to grow future pass sales: Holders of an Epic Friends ticket can apply the cost of redeemed ticket toward a 2026-27 Epic Pass.
In the Oct. 8 episode of Vail's "Epic by Nature" podcast, Katz said the Friends program would bring new people to the sport and resorts; "that's exactly the kind of thing that we need to be doing."
And at a media event in New York, Katz said that the focus on lift tickets would be multipronged, including the Friends program, new marketing and lower lift ticket pricing at a number of resorts, in some cases down 20% from last year.
"Historically, we were constantly raising lift ticket prices like 7%, so it's a pretty big change," he said, "and that is also trying to bring people in."
On the marketing front, Katz said that Vail would elevate individual resorts and broaden into influencer marketing and social media outlets like TikTok, which "is obviously critical in today's travel environment." And for the 2026 season Katz said Vail expects to enable in-app commerce like lift tickets.
"What we realize is, the people we're targeting now are the less-committed skier, and that's how we want to grow the sport," he said. "So we need to provide every avenue for them to make it easy for them to buy a ticket, to provide them incentives, to provide them connection."