Steve Krohn

Matthias Smith

Steve Krohn is president and chief operating officer, and Matthias Smith is executive vice president, of The Resorts Companies, Inc., a 100% employee-owned organization that owns and operates Massanutten Resort, near Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Wilderness Presidential Resort, near Fredericksburg, Virginia. Krohn, an 11-year veteran of The Resorts Companies and an ARDA board member for seven years, has a background in banking; while Smith, who has been with the company for nine years, has worked in hospitality most of his career. They talked about their careers, their current company, and the benefits of ARDA membership. This is a transcript of the conversation, edited for length and clarity.

Steve, to what extent did your previous banking work involve hospitality or resorts, and what prompted you to make a transition to timeshare?

Steve Krohn: My banking background was very broadly generalist, focused on companies like ours, commercial middle-market businesses. And this business was the only hospitality company that I ever had an opportunity to interface with. Very early in my tenure in Virginia, I met our co-founder, Dice Hammer, so I’ve been familiar with the company for almost 25 years. When I decided to make my exit from banking, I reached out to him as a great person to get some perspective from and network with. And he said, “Well, hang on before you network, let’s talk.” And thing one thing led to another, and things worked out wonderfully. Timeshare is a really fascinating business from a sales perspective. From a product standpoint, it is very financially oriented. A lot of pieces of it are very much aligned with what I was familiar with. Candidly though, the timeshare is only a part of what we do. Our company is completely integrated. We run an enormous resort that rivals our timeshare business in size. We run tons of services very vertically integrated. Timeshare drives the engine, no question, but it’s not just timeshare.

Matthias, what drew you to The Resorts Companies, and what has kept you engaged?

Matthias Smith: My parents started restaurants, first in England, and then in Santa Barbara, California, so I guess it’s in my DNA. I’ve been in hospitality for a long time, and my path somewhat crossed over with Steve. After the property that I was working with sold, we started having, probably, a year-long conversation. Particularly being an employee-owned company, you want to make sure that it’s the right fit, not only from a business perspective, but also culture. What I loved about learning about the company is that it was a resort that the community knew and loved for skiing, waterpark, golf, zipline, etc. And then, you learn that it’s a very loyal and committed ownership base that is deep and broad, three and four generations that have been involved in Massanutten. So you get this great combination of the continuity and stability of an owner that’s committed year after year, and the vibrancy and the excitement of amenities. Because an owner is committing capital upfront, they’re committing to the long haul. And by doing that, you start setting the foundation for stability with staff. You get parents working with kids, even grandparents working with kids, and you get very deep relationships.

What have you each liked about working at the Resorts Companies, and Massanutten? How has the company changed, and what are you most proud of?

Krohn: There are two things that are enormously fun about our company. We are 100% employee-owned; and certainly, one of the things I’m most proud of is getting that accomplished, maybe my third or fourth year here. Someone asked me what made our culture so consistent and powerful. I laughed, and I said, “The person beside you is an owner. If you don’t step up, they will manage you out.” By the same token, if you come in and have a little spark, they will take you under their wing. I’m also extremely proud of how we managed through COVID. COVID absolutely crushed our industry. And our company, our board, our employees, our owners, and our guests all responded spectacularly.

Smith: We’re all driven by some sense of purpose to make an impact on the industry you serve, and your client base—but also, as Steve mentioned, by the people you work with, and a culture that really brings the best. What has changed? Our footprint. We’ve grown a lot in our amenity structure. Our restaurants have grown in every offering and will continue to do so at a very fast pace. I also am impressed with how much and in how many ways we stay consistent, and we stay clear and true on our purpose. That allows the group to not only be more focused but have an element of trust for the road ahead. We are also very committed to our community. A lot of us are on boards in a variety of different verticals. We see ourselves as an anchor employer that has a responsibility to serve the community in general.

Krohn: Let me add one other comment because I think it’s incredibly powerful: Massanutten resort, a year ago, celebrated its 50th anniversary as a ski resort. Our company has controlled that resort for 40 years. So Matthias alluded to the positives of stability, but you’d also think, “They’re a little long in the tooth.” But we have completely redone every single restaurant. Our ski operation is undergoing the most significant expansion it’s ever undergone. We are about to embark on the first expansion of our waterpark since it opened in 2005. We are in the final phase of timeshare unit refurbs, probably 75% complete. So for a 40-year-old company, the level of entrepreneurial spirit is just unbelievable. Everybody asks, “What’s next?” There’s no rearview mirror in our blood.

Smith: The “what’s next” is what the customer expects. If you’re not going to add, you’re going to fall behind. We’ve received industry awards, which are a reflection of the quality and integrity of our staff, and they are important for a few reasons. One, for our owners to really maintain that sense of pride. Two, for our staff to be driven toward excellence. And third, it maintains a mark that’s forever. While a sense of continuity is important to us, excellence is too. And that requires agility, forward-thinking, strategy, commitment, and investment—not only of capital, but time and effort.

It looks like your company has been a member for basically ARDA’s entire existence. What do you feel like you’ve been getting out of that membership?

Krohn: Certainly, the relationships within the industry, within the organization itself, with staff, are paramount. We’re one of the very small handful of remaining independent timeshare companies, and that creates a lot of interesting dynamics for us. Staying plugged in to how the industry is evolving in every manner—from a regulatory standpoint, sales and marketing standpoint, brand reputation standpoint—we wouldn’t be able to stay in touch with that nearly as effectively if it wasn’t through ARDA.

Smith: ARDA has been invaluable. The timeshare industry was new to me, and while there’s a strong overlap with the hotel space in general, there are some specifics that are very important to learn. There’s a great foundation of content that ARDA produces, through AIF directly and then just in general. But two, just being able to have a series of lifelines. The more I’m getting involved with ARDA, the deeper those relationships are, not only to get up to speed with what the industry is, and where it’s been, but where it’s going. It’s all about finding new recipes to add delight and make an impact. And that could be talking to a senator to make sure they absorb the information and react properly, or to a local business owner that you need to build partnerships with. ARDA does a great job of curating the right conversations.

What does your company have to offer other members, including your board membership, Steve, and the other leadership roles you have played?

Krohn: Certainly, Catherine Lacey has been very proactive in engaging us in different sessions. I enjoy that aspect to get more hands-on involved and make your contribution back. There have been a couple of board committees that our employees have participated on. We try and step up, anytime there’s an opportunity. We might be one of the closest-headquartered resorts to the Washington staff. So we always try and remember them for the Christmas party and give them a weekend stay. I got to watch [ARDA CEO] Jason Gamel’s daughters learn how to snow ski. That was awesome.

Smith: I’ve been involved less in an official capacity. But we’re a pretty big player in the resort industry, certainly in the timeshare space. So my phone rings a decent amount as people are thinking about smaller programs and launching them. We try and just add value wherever we can. That can be in general, in the vacation and amenity space, and it can be in particular areas.

What is each of your favorite place to travel, and why?

Smith: In the winter, I’d probably pick Mammoth [Mountain]. I grew up in California mostly. So that’s the hometown ski area, and a good spring and summer place for hiking. And then, I have a lot of family in Europe. I’d probably pick Sicily. That has a good combination of history and culture and great food, great wine—and good RCI representation, which is also a plus.

Krohn: I’ll do the same thing he did, I’ll go seasonal. Park City, Utah, is my favorite winter destination, largely because that was the first ski resort destination our family went to. We went snowshoeing, we went dog sledding, and we just had a spectacular time. In more warmer climates, we gravitate to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. And we love it in large part because it is relatively undeveloped. But I also love it because we all need to detach. And we stay on the far side of the island. There is no cell service. It is very encouraging to simply put it in airline mode and leave it there for a week.