Holiday Valley:
A Glimpse into the Future
By Jim Gill (8/1/2008)

During my former career I’ve had the opportunity to meet with a large number of executives in a variety of companies most of whom had a single goal, to make their company financially successful, in many cases regardless of the consequences in meeting their objective. This week I had the opportunity to meet with Dennis Eshbaugh, President of Win-Sum Corporation, a CEO with a different philosophy on company goals.

Yes, while profits are, and must be of the essence there is another aspect that comes into play before major decisions are made at Holiday Valley that separates Win-Sum (winter/summer) Ski Corporation from many others. The difference is a company that places a high value on their relationship with the citizens and business community in the village and town. Prior to many decisions being made, one of the first questions asked by the board of directors is how will this affect the community?

Dennis has a long history with Holiday Valley starting in 1976 when he was a ski instructor, prior to becoming president he served as Special Project Manager, Assistant General Manager, Director of Operations and General Manager. He presides over a board of 7 directors who share a long standing philosophy of directing almost 100% of profits back into the company, a very small percentage is paid out in dividends.

In a market that during the 60’s and 70’s had over 2,000 ski areas throughout the country and today has only 500, their philosophy has paid major dividends in meeting the needs in a ever changing market for the estimated 55 million skiers and snowboarders. During the past 15 years Win-Sum has invested 51million dollars into improving the resort, 15 million on real estate and recently 40 million on Tamarack Club to meet and even exceed the changing needs in their market. Their plans reach well into the future assuring their reputation as one of the paramount resorts in the nation.
Experiencing slow but steady growth during the 80’ and 90’s, the years 2001 and 2002 were record years on the slopes of Holiday Valley, growth has been stable since then averaging almost 550,000 skiers per season. The golfing facilities draw another 18-20,000 annually. In addition, the main chalet and the inn host a number of weddings, banquets and small conventions throughout the year. Banquets, weddings, conventions and “drop ins” account for an estimated additional 200,000 visitors annually.
The 1.3 million investments on upgrades for the new Double Black Diamond golf course during the past 3 years were not driven as many thought, to attract a major tournament. Host professional Steve Carney wanted to take the course to a higher level and during the much needed renovations take advantage of the inimitable terrain the course is located on. The end result is one of the best courses in Western New York, picturesque while providing a challenge for golfers of all levels.
As far back as the 80’s and 90’s Dennis and the board investigated the feasibility of time share units at the Valley, as the fractional concept was proving to be more popular in resort areas, board members realized they had the perfect slopeside location and the market to support a development, thus Tamarack Club was created. Expectations were quickly exceeded, as Eshbaugh pointed out most fractional developments have taken one to two years to reach the goal of being 60% sold before the shovels go into the ground, Tamarack Club took 90 days! Scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2009 this state of the art development plays a huge role in the future success at the valley.
As Tamarack is being built most of the existing infrastructure i.e. roads and parking areas will be changed, the improvements are expected to assist traffic flow and provide easier access to parking areas at the lower level for guests.

The next major step in their ongoing improvements will be replacement of the existing Clubhouse Chalet. According to Dennis Eshbaugh the current building has become outdated and not up to Holiday Valley’s standards. One example is the cafeteria dining style being replaced by the concept similar to the existing Marketplace Café in the Yodeler Lodge; numerous other improvements will be built into the designs to improve convention facilities, meeting rooms and banquet services. The Valley strives to maintain a balance of on-slope improvements to facility improvements. To this effect, a new high speed quad chair at Morning Star is planned for the 2010 season. Slope work to extend this popular lift to the base of the Eagle Quad has already begun.

So why have only 25% of the ski resorts survived over the past 30 plus years? The main reason relates to a market that has changed dramatically and the failure to meet the ever changing needs. The word failure does not appear to be in the vocabulary of board members at the Valley, yes there have been some missteps along the way yet over the years their foresight and long range planning has led to a showcase operation.