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Vail Resorts To Acquire Majority Interest in Rockresorts 
and Acquire The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage 
from Olympus Real Estate Partners

VAIL, Colo., Oct. 17, 2001 - Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN) announced today that the Company has entered into an agreement with Olympus Real Estate Partners, a private investment fund, to acquire a majority interest in Rockresorts International LLC, a luxury resort hotel management company, and has secured management contracts on its five resort hotels across the United States.  Vail Resorts also announced that the Company has entered into a contract to acquire The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage from Olympus.  The hotel will be renamed The Lodge at Rancho Mirage and will be managed by Rockresorts.  Additionally, Vail Resorts announced that five of its existing hotels, currently managed as independent properties, will be re-branded and managed by Rockresorts.

Both transactions combined are expected to be accretive by one to two cents in fully diluted earnings per share in fiscal 2002. Vail Resorts and Olympus also announced their intention, separately and together, to grow the Rockresorts brand further, through additional resort hotel acquisitions and management contracts in the future.

ROCKRESORTS
     
It is anticipated that Vail Resorts will acquire majority interest in Rockresorts on Nov. 1, 2001, for a total immediate consideration of $7.5 million to the current owner, Olympus.  Rockresorts International LLC, will be an independent subsidiary of Vail Resorts.  Vail Resorts and Olympus representatives will serve on the Rockresorts Board of Directors through at least 2004, although Vail Resorts will control most operational decisions, and will retain all of Rockresorts' cash flow resulting from current management contract fee income.  Cash flows from new Rockresorts management contracts will be split between the parties.  In 2004 - 2005, Vail Resorts will acquire the remaining interest in Rockresorts through an
additional payment to Olympus, to be determined at that time, based on the growth of the venture.

The Rockresorts brand, originally created in 1956 by Laurance Rockefeller, has a rich and vibrant history, as well as a legendary reputation in the U.S. hotel industry.  At one time, the Rockresort brand included such notable properties as Mauna Kea, Little Dix Bay and Caneel Bay. The brand had been idle for several years when Olympus acquired it in 1999, with the intention of resurrecting the tradition of providing outstanding service and extraordinary locales for travelers. The Rockresorts portfolio currently consists of five Olympus-owned luxury resort hotels: the Cheeca Lodge in the Florida Keys, The Equinox in Manchester Village, Vt., La Posada Resort & Spa in Santa Fe, N.M., Rosario Resort in the San Juan Islands, Wash., and Casa Madrona in Sausalito, Calif.  Rockresorts will manage these five resort hotel properties, although they will remain under the ownership of Olympus.
     
Additionally, Vail Resorts will add critical mass to the Rockresorts brand by re-flagging five of its own premium hotel properties as Rockresorts: The Great Divide Lodge in Breckenridge, The Lodge at Vail, The Keystone Lodge, and Beaver Creek's Pines Lodge, all located in Colo., as well as The Snake River Lodge & Spa in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Rockresorts will initially operate 11 luxury resort hotels under the Rockresorts brand: five owned by Olympus; the five currently owned by Vail Resorts; and the newly acquired Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage which will be renamed the Lodge at Rancho Mirage.

RITZ-CARLTON Rancho Mirage    

The acquisition of The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage is also expected to close on Nov. 1, 2001, for an initial consideration of $20 million, followed by a second payment of $25 million two years later.  After closing, the hotel will be renamed the Lodge at Rancho Mirage and will be managed by Rockresorts as the 11th Rockresort.  In calendar 2000, the hotel reported EBITDA of $6.6 million prior to management fees and a reserve for furniture, fixtures and equipment replacement.

The four-star, four-diamond Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage is located 650 feet above the Coachella Valley floor near Palm Springs, Calif.  The hotel has 240 guest rooms, including 21 suites; a full service spa, salon and fitness center; an outdoor swimming pool and jacuzzi; three restaurants and a bar; almost 12,000 square feet of conference and meeting space (including an 8,400-square-foot ballroom); additional outdoor function space; a gift shop; and two leased retail spaces.

Adam M. Aron, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts, commented, "Vail Resorts is embarking on a bold and important new strategic direction with our investment in the legendary resort hotel brand, Rockresorts.  This is consistent with our strategy to aggressively grow our hospitality business, creates a strategic platform for future resort hotel acquisitions and management contracts across North America, and helps our company to reduce weather dependency and seasonality.
     
"The Rockresorts brand has a distinguished history, and plays extremely well with travel agents (the source of future customers) and with hotel owners (the source of future management contracts)."
     
Aron added, "Vail Resorts is equally excited about the acquisition of The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage and the opportunity to add a prestigious hotel of this caliber to the Rockresorts brand.  Together with the five new properties we will be managing for Olympus under the Rockresorts flag, Vail Resorts will now own or manage more than 7,000 hotel and condominium guest bedrooms spanning all across the U.S.  This is impressive growth considering we managed only 300 bedrooms just four years ago."
     
Clark W. Hanrattie, Partner with Olympus Real Estate Partners, said, "The formation of Rockresorts International LLC is consistent with Olympus' strategy to build upon the legacy of one of the world's most storied resort brands.  In Vail Resorts, we have found the ideal partner to accelerate that
strategy.  The Rockresorts brand and our resort portfolio, combined with Vail Resorts' outstanding lodging assets, proven leadership in the leisure industry, and appetite for growth in the resort sector, will provide the catalyst for creating a truly remarkable destination resort brand."
     
Vail Resorts, Inc. is the premier mountain resort operator in North America.  The Company operates the Colo. mountain resorts of Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone and Beaver Creek, and the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyo.  
     
Olympus Real Estate Partners invests in real estate properties, mortgages and securities in major markets throughout the United States. With offices in Dallas and New York, Olympus and its affiliates have more than 3,500 employees. The firm's eight partners include co-founder and general managing partner David B. Deniger, Gregory C. Adair, Hal R. Hall, Clark W. Hanrattie, Robert P.  Landin, Jeffrey G. Mundy, Robert S. Riggs and Timothy B. Smith. Since the company was founded in 1994, Olympus has evolved into one of the nation's largest, domestically focused real estate funds. The firm has invested more than $5 billion in U.S. real estate assets, including more than 2.3 million square feet of commercial space, nearly 52,000 apartment units, 53 resorts and hotels totaling 8,100 rooms, 40 golf courses and 57 residential subdivisions.

Statements in this press release, other than statements of historical information, are forward looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

###
Contact:

 Vail Resorts, Inc.
Justine Reed
+1-970-845-2714
 [email protected]
http://www.vailresorts.com

 
Also See Olympus Hospitality Group Breathing New Life into a Legendary Name in the World of International Resorts; Rockresorts / Mar 2000 
Olympus Making Bold Moves - Olympus Real Estate of Dallas Spends$1 Million Buying the Rockresort / JMBM / March 2000

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