TBOY Lite for Wednesday, September 30th

0:00This is Nick, this is Jack. It's Wednesday, so VJ Wednesday, September 30th, and tonight's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. Here's the top business story you need to know today. The 25-26-season was a disaster. Vail resorts, they just confirmed. But Vail's got a plan to save skiing. It involves Disney and the Boston Red Sox. Oh, Vail resorts. Kind of hated in Vermont. They completely hated in Vermont. Because Vail resorts acquired stow, one of our best mountains, and immediately started charging $30 for parking. Come on! Nothing good, Jack's waterproof loins like schlepping to the lift because the only parking space he wanted to pay for was 300 feet away. Yet, he's for talking about Vail, the $5 billion ski glomerate known for launching the epic pass. One pass to all 42 resorts. That was the promise for about 1,000 bucks a year. Skibums were barish, but Wall Street was bullish. And for years, Voldemort, I mean Vail resorts. It's added more and more skiers to the same finite number

1:01of mountains. But poor snow in the Rockies, where Vail has eight resorts, broke the carver's back last winter. And the public traded company, they just reported that profits fell by almost half last year because of it. The worst part, bad snow last year, is causing a hangover for season pass sales this year. Here's the hero's stat. The number of epic passes Vail sold in Q2 fell by 12% third straight year of declines. What does that mean? There's probably going to be fewer skiers and riders on Vail's mountains this season. Although a few good dumps early in the season, that could change the financial forecast from gnarly to opposite of gnarly. Whatever the ski jargon is these days for that check, I'm not sure, 100%. But yet, we jumped in T-Boys to Vail's earnings report. And there's one particular type of skier who's bailing this year and not buying the pass. It's me. It's the fair weather fans. Yeah, we haven't bought the passes. It's the Christmas MLK and President's Day weekend crowd. We got to guys who were happy with one or two weekends. I don't know if we'll have enough time kind of a thing. On the other hand, me, a local, we're still buying passets because we're committed to skiing, Rainer Shine.

2:01Although Jack, you see what the Cloudflare CEO did because he was so mad about Park City Resort, which is owned by Vail. The CEO of Cloudflare offered $500 million to buy back Park City from Vail because he's so unhappy with how it's being operated. Okay, but back to the business model here. Taurus skiers though, the ones like me who visit once or twice a year, were walking away right now because last season was such a disappointment. And that's bad news for Vail because Taurus skiers are the spurging skiers. They are the profit puppies. You meant to say we are the profit puppies, Nick, because locals like me, we pack a thermos with hot soup we bought out of a can from the grocery store. We pour hot piping water atop our cup of ramen. Okay, for free lunch. Okay, first of all, if you need money, just ask me Jack. I'll end it to you anytime. But say one, can I tell you what a day on the slopes looks like for me and why Vail Resorts loves it? The whole day is app-raised ski. First us Taurus skiers, we buy the $80 hot dog tower to compliment the 11 a.m. martini lunch. You know those hot dogs cost $4 a Costco. I don't know, I wasn't paying attention to the bill, Jack.

3:02But then at 1 p.m. we do the app-raised hot chocolate and then the 145 p.m. snack time, some more is in the we call it a deck. Now that is the type of splurging customer that Vail thinks they're gonna lose this season. Is the fondue chocolate fountain still open? I gotta go, Jack, once again. So to help Vail attract back these Taurus fair-weather skiers, one activist investor has nominated VIP to the board. Yeah, believe it or not, it's Bob Chepack. Remember him? He ran Disney parks for five years before becoming CEO of Disney right before the pandemic began. So Bob Chepack is now on board with Vail Resorts to represent the jerrys out there. The Taurus skiers, the ones who flew in from Chicago for the long weekend. But they also recommended adding retired Olympic gold medalist skier, Pika Bustreet, to rep the locals on the Vail board. Fix the damn lifts, Vail. Fix the damn lifts. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Vail Resorts? What happened to baseball stadiums is now happening to ski resorts. Distractions, that's what we're talking about.

4:02For when the play on the field, when the product on the field kind of stinks. With skiing as with baseball, the experience could stink because of things outside anyone's control. And baseball, the team might get blown out. In skiing, there might be no snow at all. So the job of modern ski resorts, as with modern baseball teams, is to reduce the risk of a bad experience by offering customers something else to do. For baseball, every stadium needs great food and drinks, entertaining PA announcers, and dancing mascots on the field. For skiing, every resort needs improved restaurants and bars. Maybe add an ice rink or a mountain coaster and improve the live music situation. Build an indoor water park if you can afford it, why not? Baseball invested in stuff that wasn't baseball. Now ski resorts are investing in stuff that's not skiing. Now Valcio did say he's learning from Delta and United premiumizing the experience for tourist skiers with concierge services, bells and whistles, hot chocolate fountains, hot chocolate fondue fountains. Exactly. Because what happened in baseball stadiums is happening in ski resorts. Yeah, these you look fantastic for ceviche.

5:03I won't say if you haven't yet, you have to follow us to get T-boy line every single day. Make it eye, say your mark. Can't wait. Hi, Brook to Vard host of Naked Beauty. Picture this. You walk in from the cold in every room already feels like fall. That's what whole home-senting means at Pira. One system working quietly in the background, so your home always feels like the season and like you. Learn more at Pira.com. Hey, it's Paige de Sorbo from Gagley Squad. Everyone is always looking for a new way to make sure you're all right. I'm going to be back. Everyone is always looking for a new way to make some extra cash, but sometimes the easiest place to start is your own closet, with a little help from D-Pop. Think about how many clothes you have that you love, but you just don't wear anymore. On D-Pop, it's quick and easy to list those pieces. There's no selling fees, and suddenly, those clothes have a chance to find someone who actually wants them. And the best part, you're making room for whatever you're into next. Make money on D-Pop with no selling fees and find what you want for less.

6:03This message is brought to you by D-Pop.