Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) reported an earnings drop of 29% for its fiscal third quarter. Weakness in visits from out-of-state guests was the primary reason. Total skier visits across the company's properties -- Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone and Breckenridge in Colorado, and Heavenly in California -- were down 5.3% relative to the same period for the previous year.

The ski resort operator generated total earnings for the quarter (which ended April 30, 2009) of $61.6 million, which amounts to $1.68 per share. For the quarter ending April 30, 2008, Vail Resorts had earnings of $87.3 million (or, $2.24 per share).

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) Chief Executive Steven Heyer passed up $35 million in severance after he was ousted following allegations of personal misconduct.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal [subscription required], Heyer said he gave up the money because "life is too short" to defend himself against the allegations. "I'm burned out," he told the paper "I wanted to walk away from this job with my head held high."

Heyer's attempt at taking the high road is hard to believe.

An anonymous letter sent to Starwood's board in February had 10 specific instances that alegedly showed that Heyer had created a "hostile work environment," the Journal said, adding that Heyer was accused of making inappropriate physical contact with a female employee outside a public restroom. Heyer denied the allegations.

There must have been pretty damning evidence against him for Heyer to give up a big severance package. He still isn't poor, though, collecting $250,000 in salary, a $2 million bonus, and restricted stock that has vested worth $4.8 million, Bloomberg News said.

Starwood deserves credit for acting swiftly and decisively in this matter. These days, companies have little tolerance these days for this type of boorish behavior from chief executives or anyone else for that matter.

There may be a silver lining in this for investors.

Since Heyer vowed to keep Starwood independent, his departure may lead to a sale of the hotelier to founder Barry Sternlicht, the owner of Starwood Capital, or other private-equity firms, according to Bloomberg.