Private Equity and Real Estate: How Platform Investing Drives Operational Value - Eric Resnick - CEO at KSL Capital Partners

Oct 28, 2025

Eric Resnick, CEO of KSL Capital Partners, shares his journey from a ski enthusiast to a leader in travel investment. He discusses how KSL evolved from its recreation roots to encompass a global reach in hospitality. Key topics include insights on the Ikon Pass, aligning real estate with operational excellence, and current trends in luxury travel and wellness. Eric emphasizes the importance of authenticity and agility in leadership while exploring how AI is reshaping guest experiences. His passion reflects a unique blend of business acumen and love for leisure.

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ANECDOTE

From Ski Trips To Strategic Planning

Eric Resnick traced his path from childhood ski trips and math studies to McKinsey and then Vail Resorts.
A hallway introduction and a handwritten letter strategy landed him a strategic planning role at Vail in 1996.

ANECDOTE

Handwritten Letters Won Jobs

Ralph Walton advised Resnick to send handwritten letters to ski resort leaders, offering to take a pay cut.
That outreach produced multiple interviews and a job offer at Vail as manager of strategic planning.

ANECDOTE

Bogus Basin Sparked Season Passes

Resnick recounted Bogus Basin's Buddy Pass inspiring season-pass innovations across the industry.
That local experiment helped seed products like the Colorado Pass, Epic Pass, and later the Ikon Pass.

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Eric Resnick joins host Brandon Sedloff to discuss his remarkable journey from a lifelong passion for skiing to leading one of the world’s most prominent travel and leisure investment firms, KSL Capital Partners. Eric shares how early lessons in combining vocation with avocation shaped his career, from his first role at McKinsey to helping professionalize the ski industry with Vail Resorts. He details KSL’s evolution from its early recreation roots to its current global platform investing across hotels, resorts, health clubs, and hospitality businesses. The conversation explores the firm’s investment philosophy, the development of the Ikon Pass, and the operational discipline behind building authenticity at scale in leisure-focused businesses.

They discuss: • The origins of KSL and its transformation from recreation to global travel and leisure investing • Lessons from the early institutionalization of the ski industry and creation of the Epic and Ikon Passes • How KSL creates value through operational excellence and alignment between real estate and operations • The future of travel: luxury experiential trends, wellness, and the role of AI in shaping guest experiences • Leadership lessons on authenticity, culture, and staying nimble in times of uncertainty

Links:

Eric Resnick on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-resnick-1b96a8b6/

KSL Capital Partners - https://www.kslcapital.com/

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:01:51) - Meet Eric Resnick: CEO of KSL Capital Partners
(00:14:43) - The evolution of Vail Resorts and the ski industry
(00:18:14) - Founding of KSL Capital Partners
(00:22:24) - KSL's investment strategy and industry impact
(00:24:01) - The intersection of real estate and private equity
(00:29:39) - Challenges in raising a first-time fund
(00:30:58) - Key factors for success in platform investing
(00:34:24) - KSL's current scale and investment strategies
(00:40:51) - The Icon Pass: revolutionizing the ski industry
(00:46:40) - Future trends in travel and leisure
(00:52:01) - Balancing authenticity and scale in hospitality
(00:55:41) - Navigating volatility and cybersecurity concerns
(00:59:19) - Conclusion and final thoughts