Health Care Reform – Preparing Ski Areas for 2014
Tom Lerche, National Health Care Practice Leader, Aon Consulting; Pat Donovan, Vice President, Aon Consulting

The new health care reform legislation signed by President Obama – with the employer-mandate to provide employees with insurance – will have sweeping and dramatic impacts on all businesses, including ski areas. We’ve invited two health care experts from Aon Consulting, one of the largest consulting firms in the nation, to provide an overview on what this means for ski areas, and to offer creative – and affordable – solutions for responding to the new requirements in the legislation. Tom Lerche, a Senior Vice President and Aon’s National Health Care Practice Leader, and Pat Donovan, Vice President at Aon, have counseled ski areas on the issues surrounding health care as it pertains to ski areas. Tom has lead Aon’s Healthcare Reform initiative and has unique insight into the changes that will impact employers. Pat has extensive ski/hospitality experience and works with some of the largest ski and hospitality companies in North America. With their expertise on the topic and the ski industry, we’ll leave ample room for a robust Q&A on the myriad issues resulting from the new legislation. This is a must-attend session for any ski area GM, CFO, or HR Director.

Hard Goods in Hard Times: Opportunities to Align our Interests
Moderated by Dave Riley, CEO, Telluride Ski & Golf Resort, CO

We have invited the leaders of the top ski and snowboard manufacturers to share their insights on how their companies view and approach the resort retail, rental, and demo segments of their business. As more resort customers turn to the rental or demo option this shift impacts the hard goods manufacturers’ business model and has consequences that impact customers’ options for maximizing their skiing and riding experience.
This distinguished panel – Michael Adams, General Manager of Atomic Ski USA; Clark Gundlach, Senior VP of Burton Snowboards; Bill Nicoll, Vice President of Salomon USA; Mike Noonan, President of Volkl Sport America; Tim Petrick, Senior VP of Global Sales and Marketing, Rossignol; and Jon Rucker, National Sales and Marketing Manager, Head USA – will address the repercussions of the decline of worldwide retail sales, the consolidation of manufacturing resources, and how the hard goods market, through improved design, can encourage more innovation in products. We believe that ski areas play an absolutely critical role in this equation, and both sides need to align their interests to grow the sport and improve the overall on-snow experience for skiers and riders.

The Rules have Changed: Finding Capital and Credit in a Tight Market
Rusty Gregory, CEO, Mammoth Mountain, Calif., moderator

Like all businesses, resorts are struggling to develop new access to capital and credit during these harsh economic times. The credit markets have definitely tightened and many traditional financing options have evaporated — all the more reason resorts need to be creative in their outreach to private equity firms and investment banks regarding debt and equity options. We have brought together some of the industry’s brightest investment bankers for a panel discussion on how resorts can obtain a better appreciation of the game-changing finance options in lieu of our new economic reality.

Significant Challenges for the Media – and the Implications for Ski Areas
Moderated by Brian Fairbank, CEO, Jiminy Peak, MA

The media and print industries have been especially hard hit in this economic downturn, struggling for readership and advertising revenues, and this is certainly true for consumer ski media. Industry veteran and Jiminy Peak CEO Brian Fairbank will moderate this panel of ski media publishers and ask the tough questions about the future of consumer ski media. Will there still be print ski and snowboard magazines five years from now? Will the Internet dominate and reign supreme from a media standpoint? Do online ads inspire and persuade skiers and riders as effectively as print? Is television providing affordable advertising opportunities for medium to small-sized resorts? This impressive lineup – including Steve Bellamy, CEO of the Ski Channel, Rob Brown, publisher of Mountain News Corp., Adam Cozens, Associate Publisher of TransWorld Media, Bradford Fayfield, publisher, Freeskier Magazine, and Mike Federle, Publisher, Bonnier Media — will participate in a transparent and candid discussion of the continuing health of ski consumer media and the implications for resort advertisers.

Tomorrow’s Destination: Leisure Travel in the New American Economy
Adam Sacks, Director of Oxford Economics USA; Art Webb, President and CEO, BCF

Like all segments of the American economy, the leisure travel market has shifted in multiple directions over the past 18 months. Wealth has been lost (and somewhat regained), while millions of jobs have disappeared, savings have gone up, and confidence remains down. Are these shifts structural or merely cyclical? Adam Sacks, one of the nation’s preeminent travel economists, will discuss the findings of recent analysis of income and wealth trends and their implications for destination marketing across different generations – and we all know how critical Boomers are to the ski industry. When will stay-cations become vacations again? Are all travel sectors facing the same challenges, or are some segments brighter than others? Adam will also peer into the future at the key determinants of the U.S. economic outlook, and draw implications for how consumers will spend on recreation and travel in the coming years.

A Shared Vision for the Future of National Forests
Harris Sherman, USDA Under Secretary, Washington, D.C.

The Obama Administration’s choice for US Department of Agriculture, Under Secretary is not only an avid skier — he is an avid skier with a vast portfolio of ski resort experience. Recently appointed Harris Sherman, formerly with Arnold & Porter and the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, will share his vision for public land management and developed recreation under the Obama Administration. Harris will give meaning to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack’s new “restoration” theme, address national roadless and planning regulations, and issue a call to action to resorts to work in partnership with the Forest Service to solve some of the gravest vegetative management challenges to face both the industry and agency – with ample time for robust Q&A. This is a must-attend for public land resorts.

American Woman: Listen What I Say
Moderated by Krista Parry, Director of Marketing & Public Relations, Park City Resort

Fact: Women control 85 percent of household spending. Fact: 60 percent of women feel that marketers are ignoring their needs. Bottom line: Women wield the family wallet — hear them roar. Across a host of businesses, today’s top performers have one thing in common — they understand and cater to the needs and interests of women. Their secret? Capture the women, and the men will follow. Our dynamic panel features leading experts on marketing to women as we share real-world case-studies and reveal creative strategies and techniques to help resorts better tap into the influential market and mindset of the American woman.

Future Financing — Securing Elusive Capital for Resorts in a Tight Economy
Moderated by Tammie Quinlan, CFO and Executive VP, CNL Lifestyle

The economy improves at a plodding pace, and access to financing remains elusive. As ski areas seek to upgrade and expand options for their guests — from lodging to on-mountain amenities to summertime attractions — finding capital in this tight-fisted economy remains a major challenge. Tammie Quinlan, the CFO and Executive VP of CNL Lifestyle, will lead a probing discussion with ski area CFOs from across the country to help find creative ways and not-so-traditional financing sources for ski area expansions.

Taking Control of Your Insurance Purchasing
Mark Petrozzi, Vice President of Risk Management, Booth Creek Resorts

In a session designed to further educate insurance buyers, Mark Petrozzi will delve into the intricacies of insurance purchasing and negotiating from a ski area perspective, with a focus on improving coverage levels while also lowering costs. Mark will help ski areas analyze their optimum levels of limits and retentions, as well as ski areas’ overall appetites for risk. In addition, Mark will explore new insurance products — or twists on old ones — as well as fresh ways to look at general liability, workers’ compensation, auto, and property insurance coverages and programs. This session will provide GMs, CFOs, and risk managers with effective tools for better understanding insurance and negotiating with brokers and insurance companies.

Carbon Inventories and Strategic Energy Planning — the Next Wave in Sustainability
Moderated by Judy Dorsey, Brendle Group

Some form of climate change regulation — capping carbon or pricing emissions through either congressional legislation or EPA regulations — is lurking on the near horizon. In anticipation of this fast-approaching reality, along with concerns about the vulnerability of our industry to a changing climate, resorts are taking proactive steps on developing climate plans, calculating their carbon footprints, and developing inventive sustainability programs. We’ve invited a great cross-section of resorts with innovative ideas — Grand Targhee and Alta among them, as well as Efficiency Vermont, a novel, state-funded agency that aids Vermont ski areas on improving their energy efficiency and reducing their energy costs. Our panelists will explore carbon inventories, energy efficiency, and forward-looking energy strategies as promising ways to plan for anticipated climate regulation — and reduce resort costs at the same time.

Trial and Error: A Renewed Focus on Level One Lesson Volume
Michael Berry, NSAA President, and Nate Fristoe, Director, RRC Associates

Recent operator-reported declines in the volume of Level I lessons have troubling implications for the future of snowsports, and the ultimate success of the Model for Growth. This presentation will examine in detail what — and why — it’s happening with regards to Level I lesson volume, trends in the likelihood of taking a lesson among first timers, and the consequences to beginner conversion rates. We will explore strategies aimed at reversing this downward trend, urging resorts to recognize this as one of their highest priorities in light of the fast-approaching exodus of Baby Boomers.

The View from Washington Insiders
Mark Rey, The Livingston Group, and Andrew Spielman, Hogan & Hartson

We’ve teamed up two Washington insiders to give you the latest news and opinion from Capitol Hill. How is the Obama Administration faring with major legislation? How will the November elections shake out, and what are the implications for the ski industry? Mark Rey, who served eight years as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment in the Bush administration, and Andy Spielman, a partner with Hogan & Hartson with a focus on public lands and renewable energy, share their insights and perspectives on major legislation and policies of importance to the ski industry, including public lands, climate change, renewable energy, water rights, immigration, and even health care reform.

Kottke End of Season Analysis – Reading the Tea Leaves for Next Season
Nolan Rosall, President, and Dave Belin, Director, RRC Associates

As the economy struggles to regain its footing, signs of recovery exist, but unemployment remains disturbingly high. What does all this mean for ski areas? In an El Niño weather year — coupled with a struggling economy — how did ski resorts fare? Nolan Rosall of RRC Associates parses this season’s numbers, with an eye on what it all means for next year. How did this season stack up compared with the Great Recession year of 2008/09 in terms of skier visits, retail sales, lessons, snowfall, concessions, and overall ticket sales. RRC Associates will comb through the data, including demographic and financial trends, to help ski areas makes sense of this season.

Learn to Ski & Snowboard Month — A Model for the Industry’s Future
Moderated by Mary Jo Tarallo, Director, Learn to Ski & Snowboard Month

Your bottom line may look healthy now, but no business thrives for long without future planning — and demand for the consumer’s leisure time is extremely competitive. This workshop features a panel of industry professionals who will address challenges outlined in the Model for Growth, and how a simple concept like Learn to Ski & Snowboard Month can increase business in our own back yards — without breaking the bank. This session will review success stories from the 2009-10 season, and big plans for 2010-11 season, and how resorts benefit from the initiative. We have also invited the head of the golf industry’s First Tee program and the role their grass-roots program has played in activating youth in that sport, and how the ski industry can learn from them.

How Dehydration Undermines the Skier Experience – and your Resort’s Bottom Line
Dr. John Seifert, Professor of Exercise Physiology, Montana State University; Douglas Wales, Director of Marketing, Bridger Bowl Ski Area

Call it a “dry topic” — but the latest hydration research on skiers and riders shows that about half make no special effort to hydrate before their day begins, and even fewer hydrate while on the slopes. Fact is, most guests are irrecoverably dehydrated by the time they break for lunch on the mountain. Dr. Seifert, a Montana State professor and former scientist with Gatorade, and Doug Wales, a former wellness director and 20-year veteran of ski area marketing, understand the true extent of the hydration problem in the industry. Here, they unveil the results of their recent hydration study – conducted at Bridger Bowl Ski Area — that indicates skiers are terribly unaware of how they are adversely affected by cold weather, altitude, and physical exertion while skiing. This session will address the full spectrum of hydration strategies for your guests that can affect your resort’s bottom line, both positively and negatively.