Vail Resorts Restructures Its Sales & Marketing

Similarly, the Grand Teton Lodging Company, Vail Resorts Lodging Co. in Denver and the various resort hotels traditionally have had sales and marketing executives in charge at each location. With this change from a centralized to a decentralized focus, the decision-making authority of the existing field marketing personnel will be elevated.

In addition, a smaller central marketing and sales services group will remain in place to coordinate programs that touch all of the various resorts and hotels. Martin White, SVP of marketing for the Company, participated fully in the decision-making process to decentralize the organization. However, given the much broader scope of his current duties, he and Richard Lesman, VP of sales and distribution, will vacate their positions with the company in an "amicable" parting.

"After much thoughtful discussion and analysis, we believe that with the depth and strength of our existing resort-based staff, and the growth and diversity of our travel businesses outside of Colorado, it is both most effective and cost-efficient to decentralize the marketing and sales functions within the company," says Adam Aron, chairman and CEO of Vail Resorts. Decisions will be able to be made quicker and enhanced under a decentralized structure. Also, it will accelerate communication within the company, he said.

"Through more local control, we believe this will allow each of our resorts and reporting segments to more easily focus on those programs which allow them to best and most appropriately market and sell their respective products and services," Aron says. "At the same time, a key core marketing and sales staff will remain in place to continue its cutting edge implementation of marketing and sales programs that cut across and benefit the various resorts and hotels."

Vail Resort's subsidiaries operate the mountain resorts of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado, Heavenly Resort in California and Nevada and the Grand Teton Lodge Co. in Jackson Hole, WY. In addition, its RockResorts luxury resort hotel company, which it owns in partnership with an affiliate of Olympus Real Estate Partners, operates 10 resort hotels throughout the US. Vail Resorts Lodging Co., based in Denver, also manages numerous resort hotels and condominiums.