Mountain employee treatment and pay

[Seahaven]

Another thread here has got me thinking about ski mountain employees and their treatment. I'd be interested to hear from those of you who have knowledge about the inner workings of ski resorts as to how well workers are treated.
I'd be especially curious about those behind-the-scenes workers whose skill and experience have such a huge impact on our daily skiing enjoyment, such as those working in areas like snowmaking, grooming, and lift/systems maintenance.
I'm sure treatment of employees varies greatly across the industry, especially since ski operations range from town owned ski hills and family-owned resorts to large entities like Vail that own multiple mountains.

 

[crgildart]

I did it for the free pass, cool jacket, and ESPECIALLY on site gear storage, tuning room, and other friends working there at the time. Money was also better back when I did it. Gotta be pretty high up the chain for any kind of tangeable benefits like healthcare, PTO, 401K stuff.. Senior managers and directors get that sometimes..

 

[ScotsSkier]

Actually at Squaw even seasonal employees have access to the 401k benefit and with an employer contribution. Personally I just put virtually all my earnings there into that to minimize CA taxes

 

[crgildart]

Actually at Squaw even seasonal employees have access to the 401k benefit and with an employer contribution. Personally I just put virtually all my earnings there into that to minimize CA taxes

Interesting, do full time seasonal folks get anything else like access to the group medical PPO or HSA stuff?

 

[Philpug]

There are two types of organizations, those that treat employees like assets and those that treat them like liabilities. If you follow some of the established instuctors on this site, you will quickly see which companies are better.

 

[Seahaven]

There are two types of organizations, those that treat employees like assets and those that treat them like liabilities.

Sometimes the best answers are the most succinct.

 

[KingGrump]

 

[pais alto]

I'm sure treatment of employees varies greatly across the industry, especially since ski operations range from town owned ski hills and family-owned resorts to large entities like Vail that own multiple mountains.

You pretty much answered your own question right there.

 

[4ster]

There are two types of organizations, those that treat employees like assets and those that treat them like liabilities. If you follow some of the established instuctors on this site, you will quickly see what companies are better.

spoken for truth^
l do believe we are seeing less of the former & more of the latter as the ski area/resort model is evolving. It will be interesting to see how the current situation impacts the future of how things are done

I have worked under and with half a dozen different management teams in the ski area world & the most successful treat their employees the way they want their guests to be treated.
Recently I have seen places where the guests are sometimes treated like liabilities, I can only imagine how the employees are treated.
Not many of those Mom & Pop places left.
The ski industry is notorious for low pay but that doesn’t mean that employees cannot be treated well in other ways.

...& that’s probably all I want to say about that.

 

[DanoT]

Aussies, Kiwis, Brits if they are under 30 get to come to Canada on a 2 year renewable Visa that allows them to work or play as little or as much as they want. Most work and ski at a western Canada resort then travel/camp/work in the summer and pick a different resort for the following winter. Pretty good short term lifestyle and somewhat immune to employer or ski town shortcomings.

In the past I have always joked that they couldn't run Sun Peaks without Australia, both staff and customers. In this Covid ski season we will be finding out if it is a joke or truth.

I already talked to the owners of a small cafe who will set up as a takeout and will close Tue and Wed. due to a lack of staff.

Sun Peaks is going to RFID gates, I suspect due to staffing shortages and there will likely be less grooming and shorter retail and restaurant hours.

For this season, paying more to hire staff and then have customer number decreases due to Covid regulations doesn't seem like a good fit as profitability will be down for all ski resort businesses, big and small.

 

[gilligan]

Not too many people work at ski resorts for the high quality treatment you receive as an employee. I worked at A-Basin for a partial season, not years ago, but decades ago, when it was owned by a dog-food company, and well, we were treated like dogs. I moved to Copper Mt and was treated exponentially better. In any event, I skied nearly 100 days and that year is still ranks as one the best of my life.

 

[Core2]

I wonder how all the resorts who can't get J1Vs will fair this season? Gotta hire all the grumpy locals for higher wages now?

 

[Rudi Riet]

I wonder how all the resorts who can't get J1Vs will fair this season? Gotta hire all the grumpy locals for hire wages now?

It's greatly affecting many areas. The J1Vs often do some of the "scut work" jobs that locals would rather not do. There will be staffing shortages that will likely manifest themselves in various ways, up to and including shorter operating schedules for areas.

 

[crgildart]

It's greatly affecting many areas. The J1Vs often do some of the "scut work" jobs that locals would rather not do. There will be staffing shortages that will likely manifest themselves in various ways, up to and including shorter operating schedules for areas.

How much if the "scut work" involves working from 8PM til 8AM blowing and moving around snow to get terrain open? Will there be shortages there impacting what's available to ski and when?

 

[Ogg]

How much if the "scut work" involves working from 8PM til 8AM blowing and moving around snow to get terrain open? Will there be shortages there impacting what's available to ski and when?

From my previous experience in normal years I’d say yes. Snowmaking and grooming is pretty expensive so I would expect that budget to be cut especially later in the season.

 

[Blue Streak]

There are two types of organizations, those that treat employees like assets and those that treat them like liabilities. If you follow some of the established instuctors on this site, you will quickly see what companies are better.

Vail Resorts treats most employees like coal in a steam locomotive: cheap fuel in endless supply.

 

[Rich McP]

Interesting, do full time seasonal folks get anything else like access to the group medical PPO or HSA stuff?

Yep, medical, 401k, and PTO.

 

[Tricia]

Interesting, do full time seasonal folks get anything else like access to the group medical PPO or HSA stuff?

I'm not sure about currently or across the board, but when I was working at Northstar I ended up working full time hours for over a year, even though I was never reclassified as full time. When I asked about the benefits that went with full time status, I was told that the reason they gave me two weeks off during the store flip season was because it classified me as seasonal. The only people who were considered full time and eligble for 401K or insurance were full time year round.
Meanwhile I kept getting notices in the mail that said I qualified for the matching funds 401K. I asked Hr about it more than once and came up against a brick wall.

 

[crgildart]

Yep, medical, 401k, and PTO.

I'm not sure about currently or across the board, but when I was working at Northstar I ended up working full time hours for over a year, even though I was never reclassified as full time. When I asked about the benefits that went with full time status, I was told that the reason they gave me two weeks off during the store flip season was because it classified me as seasonal. The only people who were considered full time and eligble for 401K or insurance were full time year round.
Meanwhile I kept getting notices in the mail that said I qualified for the matching funds 401K. I asked Hr about it more than once and came up against a brick wall.

 

[Tricia]

@crgildart ...like I said, I'm not sure if its across the board at all VRR, or if it was just the brick wall I was coming up against. That's not the only brick wall I experienced.

Edit to add: My experience was from 2012-2017