It’s really about “the passion”
Dave Sharp an AP journalist in Maine discovered that CNL, a Florida-based real estate investment trust, (“REIT”), put its lifestyle portfolio up for sale through the investment bank, Jefferies, Inc. This must be a very significant event and because of its importance, it must therefore be a dramatic change for skiers who visit the impacted ski […]
Advice to Ski Area Operators: Gather Your Data
Several years ago, Stratton Mountain commissioned a study that recommended he raise the price of a Stratton lift ticket. Stratton knew that by doing so it would be losing a number of weekend ski clubs, but Stratton also realized that losing the buses would result in a better experience for the rest of Stratton’s guests […]
Three Key Barriers to Resurrecting a Struggling Ski Resort
There is a movement going on in the cold weather recreation/resort world. The movement is to save cold weather, outdoor recreation venues – specifically ski areas. From closing…for good. In the Northeast alone, Tenney Mountain in New Hampshire, Hickory Ski Center and West Mountain in New York, and Saddleback, Mount Abram, and Lost Valley in […]
The End of an Institution…Charlie’s is Closing
In our industry, we create tombstones for companies. That’s simply what we do. When one company is ‘no longer’ it usually means that it was acquired for the “greater good” of another company…this is not one of those cases. “I am not “a Boston –Guy.” I worked in Boston, lived in JP, but, as they […]
Resort M&A Market Update
1. Real estate speculation may be making a bit of a rebound. Based upon the bidders who were interested in purchasing Moonlight Basin in Montana, it appears that distressed land at ski resorts, with the potential to attract affluent recreation home buyers, has piqued interest at shops with capital to invest. Add to that the […]
Ramp Sports And The Intuit Small Business Competition
For some days now, the refrain on the news has been, “I’m ashamed of (or embarrassed by) our government.” Sometimes it was “our country”, sometimes it was “to be an American”. Challenging times. Read on for an encouraging story, unfolding as I write this, spearheaded by an American entrepreneur, with American investors, American workers, and […]
