Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality - 10-K annual report 2013

FORM 10-K

Viad Corp (together with its subsidiaries, “Viad” or the “Company”) derives its revenue from experiential services provided primarily within the exhibition and events industry and the travel and recreation industry. Viad occupies leading positions as a value-added service provider in many of the markets in which it competes. Viad serves clients predominantly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United Arab Emirates.

Viad’s two business groups are supported by Viad Corporate, which provides functional support in the areas of legal, finance and accounting, internal auditing, information technology, insurance, corporate development, real estate and tax.

Within the two business groups, Viad’s organizational structure, operational decision-making authority, allocation of resources and internal reporting are aligned into the following reportable business segments:

Viad’s reportable business segments are described below.

This segment generates revenue from the following services:

The Marketing & Events International segment (the “International segment”) includes all foreign operations of the Marketing & Events Group and consists of two operating segments: Canada and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Asia). The International segment offers services that are similar to those provided by the U.S. segment. These services are delivered by Viad’s wholly-owned subsidiaries including: GES Exposition Services (Canada) Limited, Global Experience Specialists (GES) Limited and affiliates, SDD Exhibitions Limited and GES GmbH & Co. KG.

Travel and recreation services are provided by Brewster Inc. (“Brewster”), Glacier Park, Inc. (“Glacier Park”) and Alaskan Park Properties, Inc. (“Alaska Denali Travel”). Brewster and Alaska Denali Travel are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Viad and Glacier Park is an 80 percent owned subsidiary of Viad.

Brewster is a major tourism service operator in Western Canada, delivering tourism products that include world-class hospitality services, attractions, inbound package tour operations and corporate and event management and transportation services.

Brewster draws its customers from major markets including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia/New Zealand and Asia. Brewster markets directly to consumers, as well as through distribution channels that include tour operators, tour wholesalers, destination management companies and retail travel agencies/organizations.

Glacier Park is an independent hotel owner and operator, with properties located in and around Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, which encompasses Glacier National Park in Montana, one of the most visited national parks in the United States, and Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada. Glacier Park provides lodging accommodations, food and beverage services, retail operations and transportation services in and around Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks.

The operations of Glacier Park are predominately seasonal, typically running from late May until the end of September. During the peak months of July and August, the occupancy level at Glacier Park’s lodges and motor inns typically exceeds 90 percent. During the “shoulder” months of June and September, occupancy typically exceeds 80 percent.

Individual travelers account for over 80 percent of Glacier Park’s customers, and the balance of its customers are tour groups. Demographically, Glacier Park draws over 90 percent of its customers from the United States, with approximately 60 percent of the U.S. customers coming from the Northwest and Midwest regions.

In September 2011, Alaska Denali Travel acquired Denali Backcountry Lodge, a property having 42 guest rooms on six acres inside Denali National Park and Preserve, and Denali Cabins, with 46 guest cabins on six acres near the entrance to Denali National Park and Preserve. Alaska Denali Travel provides food and beverage services with respect to these properties, and operates day trips to its day trip lodge via the scenic park road, a package tours sales and marketing program and daily motorcoach service between Anchorage and Denali National Park and Preserve. Alaska Denali Travel’s operating season runs from June until the end of September.

Although Viad believes that certain of its patents, trademarks and copyrights have substantial value, it does not believe that the loss of any one of these patents, trademarks or copyrights would have a material adverse effect on its financial condition or results of operations.

Compliance with legal requirements and government regulations represents a normal cost of doing business. The principal regulations affecting the day-to-day businesses are rules and regulations relating to transportation (such as regulations promulgated by the U.S. Department of Transportation and its state counterparts), employees (such as regulations implemented by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, equal employment opportunity laws, guidelines implemented pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act and general federal and state employment laws), unionized labor (such as guidelines imposed by the National Labor Relations Act) and U.S. and Canadian regulations relating to national parks (such as regulations established by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Park Service).

Viad believes that relations with its employees are satisfactory and that collective-bargaining agreements expiring in 2014 will be renegotiated in the ordinary course of business without a material adverse effect on Viad’s operations.

Viad Corporate provides management, financial and accounting, internal auditing, tax, administrative, information technology, corporate development, legal and other services to its operating units and handles residual matters pertaining to businesses previously discontinued or sold by the Company. Viad is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of eight non-employee directors and one employee director, and has an executive management team consisting of seven executive officers.

Viad’s operating results are subject to known and unknown risks. As a result, past financial performance and historical trends may not be reliable indicators of future performance.

Viad’s Board of Directors authorized management to explore and evaluate opportunities to enhance shareholder value, including a potential separation of its Travel & Recreation and Marketing & Events business groups. The Company engaged J.P. Morgan Securities LLC as its financial advisor to assist in this evaluation process. No decision has been made to separate the two business groups, and Viad cannot assure that it will identify and undertake a transaction that allows its shareholders to realize an increase in the value of Viad’s stock or provide any guidance on the timing of any such action. Viad also cannot assure that any potential transaction or other strategic alternative, if identified, evaluated and consummated, will provide greater value to its shareholders than that reflected in the current stock price. Any potential transaction would be dependent upon a number of factors that may be beyond Viad’s control, including, among other factors, the U.S. and global economic and market conditions, industry trends, the interest of third parties in Viad’s businesses and the availability of financing to potential buyers on reasonable terms.

Viad’s businesses are sensitive to fluctuations in general economic conditions and are impacted by increases and decreases in the cost of materials and operating supplies. Operating results for the Marketing & Events U.S. and International segments depend largely on the number of exhibitions held and on the size of exhibitors’ marketing expenditures, which in turn depend partly on the strength of particular industries in which exhibitors operate. The number and size of exhibitions generally decrease when the economy weakens.

Further, many exhibitors’ marketing budgets are partly discretionary, and are frequently among the first expenditures reduced by exhibitors when economic conditions deteriorate, resulting in reduced spending by exhibitors for the Company’s services. Marketing expenditures often are not increased until economic conditions improve. As a result, during periods of general economic weakness, the operating results for the Marketing & Events Group are adversely affected. Similarly, many of the retail shopping mall and lifestyle center clients of the Marketing & Events Group may reduce marketing expenditures when economic conditions deteriorate.

Revenues from the Travel & Recreation Group businesses depend largely on the amount of disposable income that consumers have available for travel and vacations. This amount decreases during periods of weak general economic conditions.

Viad conducts foreign operations primarily in Canada, the United Kingdom and, to a lesser extent, in certain other countries. The functional currency of Viad’s foreign subsidiaries is their local currency. Accordingly, for purposes of consolidation, Viad translates the assets and liabilities of its foreign subsidiaries into U.S. dollars at the foreign exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date. The unrealized gains or losses resulting from the translation of these foreign denominated assets and liabilities are included as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income in Viad’s consolidated balance sheets. Significant fluctuations in foreign exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar may result in material changes to Viad’s net equity position reported in its consolidated balance sheets. Viad has not hedged its equity risk arising from the translation of foreign denominated assets and liabilities.

In addition, for purposes of consolidation, the revenue, expenses and gains and losses related to Viad’s foreign operations are translated into U.S. dollars at the average foreign exchange rates for the period. As a result, Viad’s consolidated results of operations are exposed to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, even when the functional currency amounts have not changed. Accordingly, fluctuations in the exchange rates affect overall profitability and historical period-to-period comparisons. Viad has not hedged its net earnings exposure arising from the translation of its foreign operating results.

The business activities of the Marketing & Events Group are largely dependent upon the frequency, timing and location of exhibitions and events. Some large exhibitions are not held annually (they may be held once every two or three years or longer). Some large exhibitions may be held at a different time of year than when they have historically been held. In addition, the same exhibition may be held in different locations in different years, and may result in Viad generating lower margins in a given period if the exhibition shifts to a higher-cost city.

As a consequence of these factors, the operating results for these businesses may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter or from year to year, making periodic comparisons difficult.

The success of Viad’s businesses depends largely on the ability and willingness of people, whether exhibitors, exhibition attendees or others, to travel. Factors adversely affecting the travel industry as a whole, and particularly the airline and hotel industries, generally also adversely affect Viad’s businesses and results of operations. Factors that could adversely affect the travel industry as a whole include high or rising fuel prices, increased security and passport requirements, weather conditions, airline accidents and international political instability and hostilities. Unexpected events of this nature, or other events that may have an impact on the availability and pricing of air travel and accommodations, could adversely affect Viad’s businesses and results of operations.

In addition, revenue of the Marketing & Events Group may be significantly impacted if certain exhibition facilities choose to in-source electrical, plumbing or other services. When the Marketing & Events Group is hired as the official services contractor for an exhibition, the show organizer contractually grants an exclusive right to perform these electrical and plumbing services, subject in each case to the exhibition facility’s option to in-source the services (either by performing the services themselves or by hiring a separate service provider). Many exhibition facilities are under financial pressure as a result of conditions generally affecting their industry, including an increased supply of exhibition space. As a result, some of these facilities have sought to in-source all or a large portion of these services. If a large number of facilities with which the Marketing & Events Group has these relationships moves these services in-house, Viad’s revenue and operating results could be adversely affected.

Viad has acquired businesses and intends to continue to pursue opportunities to acquire businesses that complement, enhance or expand Viad’s current businesses or offer growth opportunities to Viad. Any acquisition can involve a number of risks, including: the failure to achieve the financial and strategic goals and other benefits from the acquisition; the inability to successfully integrate the acquired business into Viad’s ongoing businesses; the inability to retain key personnel or customers of the acquired business; the inability to successfully integrate financial reporting and internal control systems; the disruption of Viad’s ongoing businesses and distraction of senior management and employees of Viad from other opportunities and challenges due to the integration of the acquired business; and the potential existence of liabilities or contingencies not disclosed to or known by Viad prior to closing the acquisition or not otherwise provided for through the purchase agreement.

From time to time, in an effort to seize opportunities that complement, enhance and expand its businesses, Viad pursues new capital projects. Capital projects are subject to a number of risks, including unanticipated delays and cost overruns, failure to achieve established financial and strategic goals and the inability to successfully integrate into Viad’s ongoing businesses, as well as additional risks specific to a project. The occurrence of any of the events described above could prevent a new capital project from performing in accordance with Viad’s commercial expectations and could have a material adverse effect on its businesses and results of operations.

The Marketing & Events U.S. and International segments rely on independent transportation carriers to send materials and exhibits to and from exhibitions, warehouse facilities and customer facilities. If they were unable to secure the services of these independent transportation carriers at favorable rates, it could have a material adverse effect on these businesses and their results of operations. In addition, disruption of transportation services because of weather-related problems, strikes, lockouts or other events could adversely affect their ability to supply services to customers and could cause the cancellation of exhibitions, which may have a material adverse effect on these businesses and operating results. Similarly, disruption of transportation services could adversely affect the ability of the Marketing & Events Group to supply time-sensitive holiday-themed exhibits and experiences to retail shopping mall and lifestyle center customers and could cause the cancellation of the exhibits and experiences.

A significant portion of Viad’s employees are unionized and Viad’s businesses are party to approximately 100 collective-bargaining agreements, with approximately one-third requiring renegotiation each year. If the results of labor negotiations caused the Company to increase wages or benefits, which increases total labor costs, the increased costs could either be absorbed (which would adversely affect operating margins) or passed on to customers, which may lead customers to turn to other vendors in response to higher prices. In either event, Viad’s businesses and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Moreover, if the Company were unable to reach an agreement with a union during the collective-bargaining process, the union may strike or carry out other types of work stoppages. In such a circumstance, Viad might be unable to find substitute workers with the necessary skills to perform many of the services, or may incur additional costs to do so, which could adversely affect the Company’s businesses and results of operations.

Viad is engaged in a number of highly competitive industries. Competition in the exhibition and events industry and the exhibits and experiential environments industries is driven by price and service quality, among other factors. To the extent competitors seek to gain or retain their market presence through aggressive underpricing strategies, Viad may be required to lower its prices and rates to avoid loss of related business, thereby adversely affecting operating results. In addition, if Viad is unable to anticipate and respond as effectively as competitors to changing business conditions, including new technologies and business models, Viad could lose market share to its competitors. If Viad were unable to meet the challenges presented by the competitive environment, results of operations could be adversely affected.

Viad and its predecessors have a corporate history spanning over eight decades and involving approximately 2,400 previous subsidiaries in diverse businesses, such as the manufacturing of locomotives, buses, industrial chemicals, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, leather, textiles, food and fresh meats. Some of these businesses used raw materials that have been, and may continue to be, the subject of litigation. Moreover, some of the raw materials used and the waste produced by these businesses have been and are the subject of U.S. federal and state environmental regulations, including laws enacted under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or its state law counterparts. In addition, Viad may incur other liabilities, resulting from indemnification claims involving sold subsidiaries, as well as from past operations of predecessors or their subsidiaries. Although the Company believes it has adequate reserves and sufficient insurance coverage to cover these future

The occurrence of catastrophic events ranging from natural disasters (such as hurricanes and floods), health epidemics or pandemics, acts of war or terrorism, or the prospect of these events could disrupt Viad’s businesses. Such catastrophic events could impact the Marketing & Events Group’s production facilities, preventing the Company from timely completing exhibit fabrication and other projects for customers, and also could cause a cancellation of exhibitions and other events held in public venues or a disruption in the services the Company provides to its customers at convention centers, exhibition halls, hotels and other public venues. Such catastrophic events also could adversely impact the Travel & Recreation Group businesses, which are heavily dependent on the ability and willingness of its guests to travel. The guests serviced by the Travel & Recreation Group tend to delay or postpone vacations if natural conditions differ from those that typically prevail at competing lodges, resorts and attractions during a given season, and catastrophic events could impede the guests’ ability to travel, interrupt the Company’s business operations and/or cause damage to the Company’s properties. If the conditions arising from such events persist or worsen, Viad could experience continuing or increased adverse effects on its results of operations and financial condition.

Viad’s businesses operate service or production facilities and maintain sales and service offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United Arab Emirates and the Netherlands. The principal properties of Viad are operated by the Marketing & Events Group, the Travel & Recreation Group and Viad Corporate as follows:

Management believes that the Company’s facilities in the aggregate are adequate and suitable for their purposes and that capacity is sufficient for current needs.

As of January 31, 2014, there were 7,165 shareholders of record of Viad’s common stock following the one-for-four reverse stock split effective on July 1, 2004. There were also 608 shareholders of record as of January 31, 2014 that had not converted pre-split shares into the post-split common stock. Accordingly, there were a total of 7,773 shareholders of record as of January 31, 2014.

For information regarding security ownership of certain beneficial owners and management and related shareholder matters, refer to Part III, Item 12, “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters” in this Annual Report.

The graph below assumes $100 was invested on December 31, 2008 in Viad’s common stock, Standard & Poor’s SmallCap 600 Media Index, Standard & Poor’s SmallCap 600 Commercial Services & Supplies Index, Standard & Poor’s SmallCap 600 Index, Russell 2000 Index and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index with reinvestment of all dividends.

Viad Corp (“Viad” or the “Company”) operates in three reportable business segments: Marketing & Events U.S., Marketing & Events International and Travel & Recreation Group.

The Marketing & Events Group, comprised of Global Experience Specialists, Inc. and affiliates (“GES”), specializes in all aspects of the design, planning and production of face-to-face events, immersive environments and brand-based experiences for clients, including show organizers, corporate brand marketers and retail shopping centers. In addition, the Marketing & Events Group provides a variety of immersive, entertaining attractions and brand-based experiences, sponsored events, mobile marketing and other branded entertainment and face-to-face marketing solutions for clients and venues, including shopping malls, movie studios, museums and leading consumer brands.

The Travel & Recreation Group segment consists of Brewster Inc. (“Brewster”), Glacier Park, Inc. (“Glacier Park”) and Alaskan Park Properties, Inc. (“Alaska Denali Travel”). Brewster provides tourism products and experiential services in the Canadian Rockies in Alberta and in other parts of Western Canada. Brewster’s operations include the Banff Gondola, Columbia Icefield Glacier Adventure, motorcoach services, charter and sightseeing services, tour boat operations, inbound package tour operations and hotel operations. During 2013, Glacier Park, an 80 percent owned subsidiary of Viad, operated five lodges, three motor inns and one four-season resort hotel and provided food and beverage operations, retail operations and tour and transportation services in and around Glacier National Park in Montana and Waterton Lake National Park in Alberta, Canada. Glacier Park’s concession portion of its business with the U.S. National Park Service (the “Park Service”) for Glacier National Park expired on December 31, 2013. Thereafter, the ongoing operations of Glacier Park will include: Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier, Montana; Grouse Mountain Lodge in Whitefish, Montana; St. Mary Lodge in St. Mary, Montana; Motel Lake McDonald, an in-holding within Glacier National Park and the Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton Lakes National Park. Alaska Denali Travel operates the Denali Backcountry Lodge and Denali Cabins. In addition to lodging, Alaska Denali Travel also provides food and beverage operations and package tour and transportation services in and around Denali National Park and Preserve.

In December 2012, Viad announced that its Board of Directors authorized management to explore and evaluate opportunities to enhance shareholder value, including a potential separation of its Travel & Recreation and Marketing & Events business groups. Viad engaged J.P. Morgan Securities LLC as its financial advisor to assist in this evaluation process.

The following discussion includes a presentation of Adjusted EBITDA, which is utilized by management to measure the profit and performance of Viad’s operations and to facilitate period-to-period comparisons. “Adjusted EBITDA” is defined by Viad as net income attributable to Viad before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, impairment charges and recoveries, changes in accounting principles and the effects of discontinued operations. The presentation of Adjusted EBITDA is supplemental to results presented under GAAP and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. Adjusted EBITDA is considered a useful operating metric as potential variations arising from taxes, depreciation, debt service costs, impairment charges and recoveries, changes in accounting principles and the effects of discontinued operations are eliminated, thus resulting in an additional measure considered to be indicative of Viad’s ongoing operations. This non-GAAP measure should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP.

Management believes that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors regarding Viad’s results of operations for trending, analyzing and benchmarking the performance and value of Viad’s business. Management uses Adjusted EBITDA primarily as a performance measure and believes that the GAAP financial measure most directly comparable to this non-GAAP measure is net income attributable to Viad. Although Adjusted EBITDA is used as a financial measure to assess the performance of the business, the use of Adjusted EBITDA is limited because it does not consider material costs, expenses and other items necessary to operate the business. These items include debt service costs, non-cash depreciation and amortization expense associated with long-lived assets, expenses related to U.S. federal, state, local and foreign income taxes, impairment charges or recoveries, and the effects of accounting changes and discontinued operations. Because Adjusted EBITDA does not consider the above items, a user of Viad’s financial information should consider net income attributable to Viad as an important measure of financial performance because it provides a more complete measure of the Company’s performance.

Revenues for 2013 decreased 5.1 percent to $972.8 million, as compared to $1.0 billion in 2012. Viad’s income from continuing operations before income taxes was $29.1 million for 2013, as compared to $26.8 million in 2012. Impairment losses for 2013 totaled $5.4 million, primarily related to the non-cash write-down of goodwill at Glacier Park of $4.5 million and the write-off of certain assets within the Marketing & Events Group of $952,000. Net restructuring charges in 2013 were $3.9 million, as compared to $4.9 million in 2012. The 2013 charges related to reorganization activities in the Marketing & Events Group,

During 2013, foreign exchange rate variances resulted in decreases in revenues and segment operating income of $7.0 million and $1.0 million, respectively, as compared to 2012. Viad conducts its foreign operations primarily in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and to a lesser extent in certain other countries.

The following table summarizes the effects of foreign exchange rate variances on revenues and segment operating results from Viad’s significant international operations:

Viad’s results were primarily impacted by the weakening of the Canadian dollar and British pound relative to the U.S. dollar. Future changes in the exchange rates may impact overall expected profitability and historical period-to-period comparisons when operating results are translated into U.S. dollars.

The Company is continuing to execute against a number of margin improvement initiatives designed to more effectively manage labor costs (the “Labor Management” initiative) and to reduce the physical footprint and the overhead associated with the U.S. warehousing operation (the “Service Delivery Network” initiative). The focus of the Labor Management initiative is on driving productivity gains through rigorous and strategic pre-show planning that reduces the ratio of labor costs to revenues. Driving this measure down continues to be a primary focus for management and the benefits are shown through a 70 basis point improvement in the variable labor-to-revenue ratio on a U.S. base same-show basis, as compared to 2012. The Company is also working to develop new tools to support and systematize show site labor planning, measurement and benchmarking. Through the Service Delivery Network initiative, the Company has reduced its U.S. facility footprint by approximately 1.1 million square feet since 2008, with annualized cost savings of $7.7 million realized through the end of 2013.

In connection with the Service Delivery Network initiative, Viad finalized plans to relocate the Marketing & Events Group’s New Jersey operations as a result of the facility no longer meeting the operational needs of the Company. Viad sold the facility and the land upon which it was situated for $12.7 million (net of selling costs) during the third quarter of 2013. Management realized a pre-tax gain on the sale of $4.8 million during the third quarter of 2013, which is included in the U.S. segment operating results and is partially offset by facility relocation costs during the fourth quarter of 2013.

Revenues for the Marketing & Events International segment were $229.3 million for 2013, down 4.5 percent, as compared to $240.1 million in 2012. Segment operating income was $9.1 million in 2013, as compared to $12.3 million in 2012. As discussed above, period-to-period comparisons for this segment were affected by exchange rate variances, which had an unfavorable impact on revenues of $4.3 million and segment operating income of $240,000, as compared to 2012. Excluding exchange rate variances, 2013 revenues decreased by $6.6 million, or 2.7 percent, and segment operating income decreased by $3.0 million, or 24.5 percent. These decreases were primarily driven by services provided for the 2012 London Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games, partially offset by positive show rotation revenues of approximately $6 million.

Although the Marketing & Events Group has a diversified revenue base and long-term contracts for future shows, its revenues are affected by general economic and industry-specific conditions. The prospects for individual shows tend to be driven by the success of the industry related to those shows. In general, the exhibition and event industry is experiencing modest improvement. Marketing & Events U.S. base same-show revenues have increased on a full year basis for 2011, 2012 and 2013.

For the 2014 full year, management expects U.S. base same-show revenues to increase at a low-to mid-single digit rate and show rotation to have a net positive impact on full year revenue of approximately $55 million. Additionally, management anticipates that foreign currency exchange rate variances versus 2013 will not have a meaningful impact on the Marketing & Events Group’s 2014 full year revenues and segment operating income. Management remains focused on improving the profitability of the Marketing & Events U.S. segment through continued integration and consolidation of operations to increase capacity utilization and reduce costs. Additional restructuring charges may be incurred as further cost structure improvements are made.

Results in 2013 were negatively impacted by extensive flooding that took place on June 20, 2013, in Alberta, Canada. Major pieces of infrastructure in the province were affected and many roads became impassable, which temporarily restricted access to Brewster’s hotel properties and attractions in the area. The provincial authorities were able to restore road access to Banff for both commercial and private vehicles by June 26, 2013, ahead of the Canada Day holiday weekend. Management started seeing more normalized occupancy and visitor traffic in August. Management estimates that the flooding had an unfavorable impact on 2013 revenues of approximately $2 million. Brewster recovered well from the flooding that occurred in late June and delivered solid growth for the full year across nearly all of its lines of business.

The following table provides Travel & Recreation Group revenues by line of business:

Management uses the following key business metrics to evaluate the Travel & Recreation Group hospitality business: RevPAR, average daily rate (“ADR”) and occupancy. These metrics are commonly used in the hospitality industry to measure performance.

RevPAR is calculated as total rooms revenue divided by the total number of room nights available for all comparable Travel & Recreation Group hospitality properties during the period. Total rooms revenue does not include non-rooms revenue, which consists of ancillary revenue generated by hospitality properties, such as food and beverage and retail revenue. RevPAR measures the period-over-period change in rooms revenue for comparable hospitality properties. RevPAR is affected by average daily rate and occupancy, which have different implications on profitability.

ADR is calculated as total rooms revenue divided by the total number of room nights sold for all comparable Travel & Recreation Group hospitality properties during the period. ADR is used to assess the pricing levels that the hospitality properties are able to generate. Increases in ADR at hospitality properties lead to increases in rooms revenue with no substantial effect on variable costs, therefore having a greater impact on margins than increases in occupancy.

Occupancy is calculated as the total number of room nights sold divided by the total number of room nights available for all comparable Travel & Recreation Group hospitality properties during the period. Occupancy measures the utilization of the available capacity at the hospitality properties. Increases in occupancy result in increases in rooms revenue and additional variable operating costs (including housekeeping services, utilities and room amenity costs), as well as lead to increased ancillary non-rooms revenue (including food and beverage and retail revenue).

Management evaluates the performance of the Travel & Recreation Group attractions business utilizing the number of passengers and total attraction revenue per passenger. The number of passengers allows management to assess the volume of visitor activity at each attraction during the period. Total attraction revenue per passenger is calculated as total attraction revenue divided by the total number of passengers at all Travel & Recreation Group attractions during the period. Total attraction revenue includes ticket sales and ancillary revenue generated by attractions, such as food and beverage and retail revenue. Total attraction revenue per passenger measures the total spend per visitor that attraction properties are able to capture, which is important to the profitability of the attractions business.

The following table provides Travel & Recreation Group same-store key performance indicators. The same-store metrics below indicate the performance of all Travel & Recreation Group properties that were owned by Viad and operating at full capacity, considering seasonal closures, for the entirety of both periods presented. For Travel & Recreation Group properties located in Canada, comparisons to the prior year are on a constant U.S. dollar basis, using the current year quarterly average exchange rates for previous periods, to eliminate the positive or negative effects that result from translating. Management believes that this same-store constant currency basis provides better comparability between reporting periods. The same-store key performance indicators for hospitality properties presented below for 2013 exclude the rooms at the Banff International Hotel (acquired in March 2012) that do not have comparable results for 2012.

Room nights available decreased in 2013 due to changes in seasonal opening dates of certain Glacier Park properties. Management schedules opening dates to optimize profitability based on anticipated travel patterns, and forecasted occupancy levels and operating expenses. The increase in RevPAR reflects improvement across most properties. The Grouse Mountain Lodge experienced particularly strong growth in both ADR and occupancy driven by the Company’s refresh initiatives.

The number of passengers increased across all of the Travel & Recreation Group’s attractions, despite the flood impact. Revenue per passenger increase was mainly driven by increased ticket prices at the Banff Gondola attraction.

During 2013, approximately 64 percent of revenues and 74 percent of segment operating income generated in the Travel & Recreation Group segment were derived through its Canadian operations. These operations are largely affected by foreign customer visitation, and, accordingly, increases in the value of the Canadian dollar, as compared to other currencies, could adversely affect customer volumes, revenues and segment operating income for the Travel & Recreation Group. Additionally, the Travel & Recreation Group is affected by consumer discretionary spending on tourism activities.

Management anticipates that foreign currency exchange rate variances versus 2013 will have an unfavorable impact on the Travel & Recreation Group’s 2014 full year revenues of approximately $3 million. Also, management anticipates the four acquisitions completed by Viad since the beginning of 2011 will generate approximately $27 million in revenues in 2014 with an average Adjusted EBITDA margin (defined as Adjusted EBITDA divided by revenues) of more than 30 percent. By leveraging economies of scale and scope and repositioning the acquired assets for higher returns, management expects to grow this revenue base by three percent in 2014, with continued revenue growth and expanding Adjusted EBITDA margins in future years.

Glacier Park operated the concession portion of its business under a concession contract with the U.S. National Park Service (the “Park Service”) for Glacier National Park. On December 31, 2013, the concession contract expired. Upon completion of the contract term, the Company received cash payments in January 2014 totaling $25 million for the Company’s “possessory interest,” which generally means the value of the structures acquired or constructed, fixtures installed and improvements made to the concession property at Glacier National Park during the term of the concession contract. The Company anticipates a cash payment of approximately $5 million for the personal property Glacier Park used at the facilities covered by the concession contract. Glacier Park generated approximately 47 percent of its 2013 revenues through its concession contract for services provided within Glacier National Park.

Based on the above, management revised its outlook for future revenues and earnings from Glacier Park and performed an impairment evaluation of goodwill at the Glacier Park reporting unit. Based on this evaluation, the Company recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $4.5 million representing all of the goodwill at Glacier Park, of which $892,000 related to the noncontrolling interest.

As a result of the concession contract expiration, partially offset by continued organic growth at the five remaining properties, management anticipates a full year revenue decline at Glacier Park of approximately $19 million. The majority of the revenue impact will occur during the third quarter of 2014, with an approximate $3 million decline expected during the second quarter. Management anticipates a reduction in Glacier Park’s segment operating income of approximately $3.5 million to $4 million in 2014. Due to the seasonal nature of the concession operations, management anticipates Glacier Park’s third quarter operating income to be about $6 million lower than 2013, as this is when the concession properties run at full capacity. During the first,

Revenues for 2012 increased 8.8 percent to $1.0 billion, as compared to $942.4 million in 2011. Viad’s income from continuing operations before income taxes was $26.8 million for 2012, as compared to $13.2 million in 2011. These increases were primarily due to same-show growth, new business wins, positive show rotation revenue of approximately $16 million from non-annual shows that took place during 2012 and continued focus on operating efficiencies at Viad’s Marketing & Events Group, as well as the first peak season contributions from Alaska Denali Travel and the Banff International Hotel, the newly renovated rooms at the Many Glacier Hotel and organic growth at the Company’s Travel & Recreation Group. Net restructuring charges in 2012 were $4.9 million, as compared to $3.8 million in 2011, both primarily related to reorganization activities in the Marketing & Events Group, comprised of facility consolidations, as well as the elimination of certain positions.

During 2012, foreign exchange rate variances resulted in decreases in revenues and segment operating income of $6.6 million and $886,000, respectively, as compared to 2011. Viad conducts its foreign operations primarily in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and to a lesser extent in certain other countries.

The following table summarizes the effects of foreign exchange rate variances on revenues and segment operating results from Viad’s significant international operations:

Viad’s results were impacted by the weakening of the Canadian dollar, British pound and Euro relative to the U.S. dollar. Future changes in the exchange rates may impact overall expected profitability and historical period-to-period comparisons when operating results are translated into U.S. dollars.

Revenues for the Marketing & Events International segment were $240.1 million for 2012, up 9.8 percent, as compared to $218.6 million in 2011. Segment operating income was $12.3 million in 2012, as compared to $11.4 million in 2011. As discussed above, period-to-period comparisons for this segment were affected by exchange rate variances, which had an unfavorable impact on revenues of $4.6 million and segment operating income of $160,000, as compared to 2011. Excluding exchange rate variances, 2012 revenues increased by $26.1 million, or 11.9 percent, and operating income increased by $1.0 million, or 9.0 percent. These increases were primarily driven by services provided for the 2012 London Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games, as well as increased demand and new show wins, partially offset by net negative show rotation revenues of approximately $5 million.

The following table provides Travel & Recreation Group revenues by line of business:

Revenue growth from hospitality properties benefited from the initial peak season contributions from the Alaska Denali Travel business (acquired in September 2011) and the Banff International Hotel (acquired in March 2012), with approximately $11.9 million of incremental revenues. St. Mary Lodge and Grouse Mountain Lodge, both in their second year as part of the Travel & Recreation Group in 2012 and renovated as part of the Company’s Refresh-Build-Buy strategy, also increased revenue

The following table provides Travel & Recreation Group same-store key performance indicators. The same-store key performance indicators for hospitality properties for 2012 exclude the rooms at the following properties that do not have comparable results for 2011: Banff International Hotel (acquired March 2012), Denali Cabins (acquired September 2011), Denali Backcountry Lodge (acquired September 2011), St. Mary Lodge (acquired June 2011) and Many Glacier Hotel (rooms closed for renovation during 2011).

Room nights available saw a slight decrease in 2012 primarily due to the change in seasonal opening and closing dates of certain Glacier Park properties. RevPAR increased due to improved results, primarily driven by the Lake McDonald Lodge and Glacier View Inn.

The number of passengers increased across all of the Travel & Recreation Group’s attractions. Revenue per passenger increased mainly driven by increased ticket prices at the Banff Gondola attraction.

During 2012, approximately 65 percent of revenues and 77 percent of segment operating income generated in the Travel & Recreation Group segment were derived through its Canadian operations. These operations are largely affected by foreign customer visitation, and, accordingly, increases in the value of the Canadian dollar, as compared to other currencies, could adversely affect customer volumes, revenues and segment operating income for the Travel & Recreation Group. Additionally, the Travel & Recreation Group is affected by consumer discretionary spending on tourism activities.

During 2012, the Company began construction on the Glacier Skywalk, a 1,312-foot guided interpretive walkway with a 98-foot glass-floored observation area overlooking the Sunwapta Valley in close proximity to the Company’s Columbia Icefield attraction in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. In 2012, the Travel & Recreation Group incurred $8.9 million in capital

Effective November 14, 2013, the Credit Facility was amended to remove the liquidity covenant that required Viad to maintain at all times not less than $50 million of unrestricted cash and cash equivalent investments, as that term is defined in the Credit Facility. With the amendment, the Credit Facility no longer requires any minimum amount of unrestricted cash and cash equivalent investments.

Viad is subject to various U.S. federal, state and foreign laws and regulations governing the prevention of pollution and the protection of the environment in the jurisdictions in which Viad has or had operations. If the Company has failed to comply with these environmental laws and regulations, civil and criminal penalties could be imposed and Viad could become subject to regulatory enforcement actions in the form of injunctions and cease and desist orders. As is the case with many companies, Viad also faces

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities in the consolidated financial statements. The SEC has defined a company’s most critical accounting policies as those that are most important to the portrayal of a company’s financial position and results of operations, and that require a company to make its most difficult and subjective judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates of matters that are inherently uncertain. Based on these criteria, Viad has identified and discussed with its audit committee the following critical accounting policies and estimates pertaining to Viad, and the methodology and disclosures related to those estimates:

For impairment testing purposes, the goodwill related to the Marketing & Events U.S. segment is assigned to and tested at the operating segment level, which represents all domestic operations of GES. Furthermore, the goodwill related to the Marketing & Events International segment is assigned to and tested based on the segment’s geographical operations. For the Marketing & Events International segment the reporting units are GES United Kingdom and GES Canada. Brewster, Glacier Park and Alaska Denali Travel are considered reporting units for goodwill impairment testing purposes.

Viad uses a discounted expected future cash flow methodology (income approach) in order to estimate the fair value of its reporting units for purposes of goodwill impairment testing. The estimates and assumptions regarding expected future cash flows, discount rates and terminal values require considerable judgment and are based on market conditions, financial forecasts, industry trends and historical experience.

The most critical assumptions and estimates in determining the estimated fair value of its reporting units relate to the amounts and timing of expected future cash flows for each reporting unit and the reporting unit cost of capital (discount rate) applied to those cash flows. Furthermore, the assumed reporting unit cost of capital rates (discount rates) are estimated using a build-up method based on the perceived risk associated with the cash flows pertaining to the specific reporting unit. In order to assess the reasonableness of its fair value estimates, the Company performs a reconciliation of the aggregate fair values of its reporting units to Viad’s market capitalization.

As noted above, Viad uses considerable judgment in forming a conclusion regarding the recoverability of its deferred tax assets. As a result, there are inherent uncertainties regarding the ultimate realization of these assets, which is primarily dependent on Viad’s ability to generate sufficient taxable income in future periods. In future periods, it is reasonably possible that the relative weight of positive and negative evidence regarding the recoverability of Viad’s deferred tax assets may change, which could result in a material increase or decrease in the Company’s valuation allowance. If such a change in the valuation allowance were to occur, it would result in a material increase or decrease to income tax expense in the period the assessment was made.

Viad and certain of its subsidiaries have defined benefit postretirement plans that provide medical and life insurance for certain eligible employees, retirees and dependents. The related postretirement benefit liabilities are recognized over the period that services are provided by employees. In addition, Viad retained the obligations for these benefits for retirees of certain sold businesses. While the plans have no funding requirements, Viad expects to contribute $950,000 to the plans in 2014.

The assumed health care cost trend rate used in measuring the December 31, 2013 accumulated postretirement benefit obligation was 8.0 percent, declining one-half percent each year to the ultimate rate of 5.0 percent by the year 2019 and remaining at that level thereafter. The assumed health care cost trend rate used in measuring the December 31, 2012 accumulated postretirement benefit obligation was 8.5 percent, declining one-half percent each year to the ultimate rate of 5.0 percent by the year 2019 and remaining at that level thereafter.

A one-percentage-point increase in the assumed health care cost trend rate for each year would increase the accumulated postretirement benefit obligation as of December 31, 2013 by approximately $1.5 million and the total of service and interest cost

The weighted-average assumptions used to determine the pension and postretirement benefit obligations as of December 31 were as follows:

The weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost were as follows: