SAM Magazine-Broomfield, Colo., Jan. 8, 2010-Vail Resorts, Inc. (VR) has seen a slight decrease in business levels from a year ago, according to data released by the company today.

Lift ticket revenue through Jan. 6, including an allocated portion of season pass revenue, was down approximately 0.4 percent compared to last year's comparable period (through Jan. 7, 2009). Skier visits for VR's five mountain resorts were down approximately 2.7 percent for the period, but increased allocated pass revenue-despite lower visitation by passholders-helped offset the decline. VR has increased prices of several pass products this year, though they still remain a relative bargain.

"We are pleased with our early season metrics, particularly given the current state of the economy and since snowfall came late to our Colorado resorts this year," said VR CEO Rob Katz. Recent storms have allowed VR to expand operations from just 19 lifts and 28 percent of its terrain on Dec. 19 to 30 lifts and 95 percent of its terrain today.

Ski school and retail/rental revenue declined only 0.6 percent and 0.8, respectively, in line with total lift ticket revenue, partly reflecting improvement from a number of newly launched programs, VR said. But those figures are still down about 20 percent from two years ago.

Dining revenue tracked more closely to the decline in total skier visits, with improvements from VR's new dining initiatives more than offset by the lack of facilities being open in the early season, the company said.

Lodging bookings for the remainder of the season remain soft, a reflection of what VR sees as an increasing trend toward last-minute reservations. "As evidenced by our mountain metric results to date, we continue to believe these booking trends are much more of a reflection of a shorter booking window than necessarily an indication of lower future visitation," the company said.