hurricanemaxi
Joined: 10 Aug 2011
Posts: 120
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 Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2012 9:34 pm Post subject: No-Snow Winter Sends Skiers Golfing |
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The golf course is getting plenty of use this month at the private Woodmere Club on New York’s Long Island, which has had to adjust to the unseasonably warm and dry winter on the U.S. East Coast.
“I’m a bit of a skier, and I have a place in Vermont that I usually rent out, so I’m now caddying when I’m not managing the club,” General Manager Don Mollitor, 52, said with a laugh. “I need to supplement that rental income.”
Only 29 percent of New York State is covered in snow, compared to 99 percent a year ago, according to the U.S. National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center in Chanhassen, Minnesota. That’s the least amount of snow cover since the center began keeping records in 2004, and an example of the uncommonly dry, warm weather that has made people forget skiing and grab their golf clubs.
Winthrop Smith Jr., a former Merrill Lynch & Co. executive whose company, Summit Ventures (PEF1756), owns the Sugarbush Resort in Warren, Vermont, said his ski area has had 15 percent fewer visitors this winter than last.
“It’s very much like my old world,” Smith, 62, who ran Merrill’s international brokerage unit before leaving the firm in 2001, said in a telephone interview. “You can’t control the market; you can’t control the weather. So you just have to learn how to manage the different environments.”
Smart Snowmaking
Most ski areas are managing well, according to Michael Krongel, a director at Mirus Resort Capital, an adviser to resort companies. Eastern ski areas have faced year-over-year revenue declines averaging about 3 percent, Krongel said, citing a small sample of areas whose financial figures he’s seen. One New York ski area Krongel wouldn’t identify has had 30,000 fewer visitors this season, with revenue down 6 percent. Smart, cautious snowmaking is helping some ski areas during the downturn, as the resorts trim expenses while maintaining their reputations as providers of good skiing surfaces during tough times, Krongel said.
The $6 billion U.S. ski industry had 60.3 million visits last year, according to the National Ski Areas Association. Golf is a $76 billion U.S. industry, according to a 2005 report by Golf 20/20, an industry group.
hgh
Spanish School in Quito |
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