Segment Information

12 Months Ended

Jul. 31, 2012

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Segment Information

Segment Information

The Company has three reportable segments: Mountain, Lodging and Real Estate. The Mountain segment includes the operations of the Company’s ski resorts and related ancillary activities. The Lodging segment includes the operations of all of the Company’s owned hotels, RockResorts, NPS concessionaire properties, condominium management, CME and golf operations. The Real Estate segment owns and develops real estate in and around the Company’s resort communities. The Company’s reportable segments, although integral to the success of the others, offer distinctly different products and services and require different types of management focus. As such, these segments are managed separately.

The Company reports its segment results using Reported EBITDA (defined as segment net revenue less segment operating expenses, plus or minus segment equity investment income or loss, and for the Real Estate segment, plus gain on sale of real property) which is a non-GAAP financial measure. The Company reports segment results in a manner consistent with management’s internal reporting of operating results to the chief operating decision maker (Chief Executive Officer) for purposes of evaluating segment performance.

Reported EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance under GAAP. Items excluded from Reported EBITDA are significant components in understanding and assessing financial performance. Reported EBITDA should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to, or substitute for, net income, net change in cash and cash equivalents or other financial statement data presented in the consolidated financial statements as indicators of financial performance or liquidity. Because Reported EBITDA is not a measurement determined in accordance with GAAP and thus is susceptible to varying calculations, Reported EBITDA as presented may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies.

The Company utilizes Reported EBITDA in evaluating performance of the Company and in allocating resources to its segments. Mountain Reported EBITDA consists of Mountain net revenue less Mountain operating expense plus or minus Mountain equity investment income or loss. Lodging Reported EBITDA consists of Lodging net revenue less Lodging operating expense. Real Estate Reported EBITDA consists of Real Estate net revenue less Real Estate operating expense plus gain on sale of real property. All segment expenses include an allocation of corporate administrative expense. Assets are not allocated between segments, or used to evaluate performance, except as shown in the table below. The accounting policies specific to each segment are the same as those described in Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.

Following is key financial information by reportable segment which is used by management in evaluating performance and allocating resources (in thousands):

	Year Ended July 31,
	2012			2011			2010
Net revenue:
Lift tickets	$	342,500		$	342,514		$	289,289
Ski school	84,292			83,818			70,694
Dining	68,376			68,052			53,322
Retail/rental	181,772			174,339			154,846
Other	89,668			83,468			70,344
Total Mountain net revenue	766,608			752,191			638,495
Lodging	210,623			214,658			195,301
Resort	977,231			966,849			833,796
Real estate	47,163			200,197			61,007
Total net revenue	$	1,024,394		$	1,167,046		$	894,803
Segment operating expense:
Mountain	$	568,578		$	540,366		$	456,017
Lodging	204,270			205,903			192,909
Resort	772,848			746,269			648,926
Real estate	63,170			205,232			71,402
Total segment operating expense	$	836,018		$	951,501		$	720,328
Gain on sale of real property	$	—		$	—		$	6,087
Mountain equity investment income, net	$	878		$	1,342		$	1,558
Reported EBITDA:
Mountain	$	198,908		$	213,167		$	184,036
Lodging	6,353			8,755			2,392
Resort	205,261			221,922			186,428
Real estate	(16,007		)	(5,035		)	(4,308		)
Total Reported EBITDA	$	189,254		$	216,887		$	182,120
Real estate held for sale and investment	$	237,668		$	273,663		$	422,164
Reconciliation to net income attributable to Vail Resorts, Inc.:
Total Reported EBITDA	$	189,254		$	216,887		$	182,120
Depreciation and amortization	(127,581		)	(117,957		)	(110,638		)
Loss on disposal of fixed assets, net	(1,464		)	(555		)	(615		)
Asset impairment charge	—			(2,561		)	—
Investment income, net	469			719			445
Interest expense, net	(33,586		)	(33,641		)	(17,515		)
Loss on extinguishment of debt	—			(7,372		)	—
Income before provision for income taxes	27,092			55,520			53,797
Provision for income taxes	(10,701		)	(21,098		)	(18,022		)
Net income	16,391			34,422			35,775
Net loss (income) attributable to noncontrolling interests	62			67			(5,390		)
Net income attributable to Vail Resorts, Inc.	$	16,453		$	34,489		$	30,385