Vail Resorts reported a 12% decline in pass product units and a 6% drop in pass sales dollars for the upcoming North American season through Sept. 18, alongside a 13.4% decrease in skier visits to 15.3 million and a fall in net income to $147.5 million from $280 million a year earlier. The results, released Sept. 28, mark the company's first annual report since Oasis Management, a Hong Kong hedge fund, initiated a proxy contest, nominated four director candidates, and increased its stake to 7.4%. Daniel Kaufman, founder of Kaufman & Company and an investor in mountain resort and workforce housing development, argues that these numbers reveal a fundamental shift: the ski business now hinges on housing for the workers who keep mountains operational.
Kaufman contends that the traditional growth model of selling more passes has hit a wall. "A pass is a promise that the mountain will be open, staffed and worth the drive," he said. "You can argue about weather and pricing all day, but the thing no corporate office can fix from a distance is whether the lift operator, the patroller and the line cook can afford to live near the base. That is where the value of a resort actually sits, and it does not show up in the pass count until it is too late." His perspective is grounded in Kaufman & Company's experience investing in both mountain resorts and workforce housing, and its operating company DEK Builds, which works across custom homes, mountain resorts, hotels, and commercial construction.
The implications extend beyond Vail's balance sheet. Local coverage in Park City has suggested that individual resorts could change hands amid the proxy fight. Kaufman warns that any transition in ownership must prioritize housing. "If mountains start moving from one owner to another, the buyers who do well will be the ones who treat employee housing as part of the lift system, not as an amenity," he said. "We look at mountain towns the way we look at any housing market, by the data: supply, wages, and how far a worker drives to the job. A resort that gets those right does not need a record-breaking year to make money." This data-driven approach is reflected in LandBriefing's Mountain Watch, a platform tracking land and housing fundamentals in resort and gateway towns, and in Oldivai, which develops workforce housing.
For an industry facing climate volatility, rising costs, and labor shortages, Kaufman's argument reframes housing as a strategic asset rather than a social nicety. Without affordable, proximate housing, resorts cannot staff lifts, patrol slopes, or run restaurants, rendering passes worthless. As Vail navigates its proxy contest, the debate over its future may ultimately center on whether it can house the people who make skiing possible. The company that solves for workers may be the one that survives the next downturn.
