I've worked at Okemo on and off for a number of years and it was always surprising to me how many employees didn't ski and/or had no use for the free season passes or free dependent passes. The bonus sounds like a great idea. Hopefully that'll help.
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Staffing at Ski Resorts: '21/'22
- Thread starter liquidfeet
- Start date
I've worked at Okemo on and off for a number of years and it was always surprising to me how many employees didn't ski and/or had no use for the free season passes or free dependent passes. The bonus sounds like a great idea. Hopefully that'll help.
BackCountryGirl
Angel Diva
Having managed in the industry, I can get why a resort might not be keen on bringing in someone who wants part-time, can't give the major holidays, or says no to weekends. That's when the bulk of the business is. No resort is "desperate" for help in mid-January. During the down times, there isn't a need for the staff, and you need to give the work to the full-timers to keep them around for the busy times. Nothing worse for morale than underemployed full-time instructors who complain about losing work to those who didn't commit to the busy holidays.
liquidfeet
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Whaoh. I've always said I wouldn't teach over Christmas week. And gotten away with it. But I worked all through President's week, MLK weekend, and almost other weekends all season. I'm in New England. Maybe that makes a difference.
BackCountryGirl
Angel Diva
And, you're already certified. Don't get me wrong, I think instructing is great, but those who say "I'm not in it for the money" but to improve my skills really do a disservice to the profession by allowing resorts to get away with minimal pay.
liquidfeet
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
IMO a ski school director who refuses to hire someone who won't work at Christmas but who will work the rest of the required weekends and holidays is shooting himself (herself) in the foot.
It doesn't matter if that person is certified or not. Level I cert happens with no issues the first year. The mountain training staff supposedly teaches the rookie how to teach the students thaty will get, or at least gives them enough info to get them started. Why turn a willing skier away?
That ski school may not be able to accept a volunteer. Liability comes into play. Anyone leading a bunch of paying customers needs the insurance coverage that comes from employment.
@Polly, it could be that you inadvertently came across as someone not really interested in teaching, just in getting training. But I am totally guessing. It could also be that the SSD is a little warped. I've worked at a ski school where that is the case.
When I taught part time, you work either Christmas day or New Year's day at the resort. When I taught local, the hill wasn't even open Christmas day.
The holidays, be they Christmas week, New Year's week, your Presidents week or school holidays were a show up or else go. I've been hired to do the President's week as there were so many visitors. Also I know that the school has brought in help for the school weeks and pulled them from the instructor training program to help. At Tremblant there is the union to contend with too.
I'm still amazed that any school would hire anyone without a credential because of the insurance aspect.
The holidays, be they Christmas week, New Year's week, your Presidents week or school holidays were a show up or else go. I've been hired to do the President's week as there were so many visitors. Also I know that the school has brought in help for the school weeks and pulled them from the instructor training program to help. At Tremblant there is the union to contend with too.
I'm still amazed that any school would hire anyone without a credential because of the insurance aspect.
marzNC
Angel Diva
Years ago I discussed working as an instructor at my home mountain, Massanutten in northern VA. They are always short on instructors. What the SSD said is that he really needed someone to be able to commit to 20 hours a week during the first season. It's a short season, from mid-Dec to late Feb. That level of work time commitment was necessary for him to justify the OTC training in pre-season, plus the teaching clinics during the season for instructors on staff. Once someone has worked that first season, hopefully passing the Level 1 exam before the snow melts, then working fewer hours or even only during holiday weekends if something he could consider.
If I lived an hour from Mnut, might have considered the idea. But being 4 hours away, doesn't really make sense since I have the financial resources to pay for lessons at Mnut and elsewhere when I take ski trips. Still, I haven't ruled out the idea completely at some point in the future.
marzNC
Angel Diva
I assume the American ski schools have worked out the insurance aspect based on requiring the in-house OTC training. I vaguely remember that some ski schools give the PSIA Level 1 exam during pre-season for those who want to get certified.
For small ski areas in the southeast, someone who is only going to teach locally has little reason to invest the time and money required to pass even the PSIA Level 1 exam. If that were a requirement, ski areas in NC/TN/VA/WV would have very few instructors. Most of the instructors only ski at their home mountain (mostly under 1000 ft vert), less than 100 acres. If they have skied at a big mountain elsewhere, might have only been once or twice in their lives.
Polly
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Yeah I said the same thing and I was free, I wanted to volunteer I just wanted my certs- which I’d pay for anyways! I don’t get it. It’s ok tho. I’m hoping to patrol which is inevitably what I really wanted to get into perhaps even more than instructing so I’ll focus on that instead. Instructing really seems so very fun and I was looking forward to it but :/
MissySki
Angel Diva
At Wachusett they usually advertise for new folks each season and will provide training to get your level 1 certification. I’ve always been intrigued to try, but I haven’t been able to commit to the timelines since I’m usually skiing in Maine every weekend. Maybe someday though.
marzNC
Angel Diva
Sounds like old school Ski Cooper in CO is feeling pretty good about staffing.
September 22, 2021
www.vaildaily.com
" . . .
[GM] Torsell says Ski Cooper saw 10-12 percent growth in skier visitation from the 2020-21 season compared to 2018-19, which he said is partially attributable to the expansion. But he said the pandemic has also created a situation where people might feel slightly safer at a smaller resort.
“Ski Cooper and Monarch and a few of the other midsized ski areas are positioned very well for this unfortunate pandemic event; people are looking for more space and less crowds,” Torsell said.
“Our season pass sales were awesome last year, and we’re beating it this year,” Torsell said.
Torsell said Ski Cooper’s increase in visits and revenue have left the ski area in solid financial position.
“I believe firmly that the fruits of these successes need to be shared with the people who make them possible,” Torsell said. “I could list a dozen reasons why current economic and market conditions make this a good move — but the simple fact is it’s just the right thing to do. Our people make Cooper what it is, especially the folks out there on the front lines every day, and we intend to take care of them.”"
September 22, 2021
Ski Cooper looks to outpace nearby Vail with $15.25 per hour starting wage
Hiring has not been a problem so far at Ski Cooper, and the 480-acre ski area in southern Eagle County and northern Lake County hopes to keep it that way.
www.vaildaily.com
[GM] Torsell says Ski Cooper saw 10-12 percent growth in skier visitation from the 2020-21 season compared to 2018-19, which he said is partially attributable to the expansion. But he said the pandemic has also created a situation where people might feel slightly safer at a smaller resort.
“Ski Cooper and Monarch and a few of the other midsized ski areas are positioned very well for this unfortunate pandemic event; people are looking for more space and less crowds,” Torsell said.
‘The right thing to do’
Ski Cooper offered a $249 season pass for returning customers last season — $299 for new pass holders, which Torsell said resulted in strong pass sales. Currently, a season pass at Ski Cooper is $399, with prices set to increase Oct. 1.“Our season pass sales were awesome last year, and we’re beating it this year,” Torsell said.
Torsell said Ski Cooper’s increase in visits and revenue have left the ski area in solid financial position.
“I believe firmly that the fruits of these successes need to be shared with the people who make them possible,” Torsell said. “I could list a dozen reasons why current economic and market conditions make this a good move — but the simple fact is it’s just the right thing to do. Our people make Cooper what it is, especially the folks out there on the front lines every day, and we intend to take care of them.”"
newboots
Angel Diva
Wow! Where could they all live? I can't imagine.
Many are locals, but it's hard to picture. The area is so very rural, except for Rutland.
Abbi
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
it’s a big problem. At this time of year barely a day goes by without someone posting on the Okemo locals page looking for housing after they’ve already excepted a job. They are being directed out as far as Claremont, NH by people on the site.
MissySki
Angel Diva
I guess it depends how low paying the job is.. but I just looked that commute up and it’s less miles and time than my own commute from central MA into Cambridge that I did for years ahead of Covid. This isn’t a new thing for a lot of people, housing near jobs can be way too expensive. But again, I get that there is a difference if we are talking about low paying jobs because that kind of commute costs more in gas/car parts/maintenance/etc. too. So basically, if housing is that scarce and people are willing to commute then the mountains need to pay them to afford to do so.
Abbi
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
$15 an hour minimum, no guarantee of hours for some jobs, no benefits ….
MissySki
Angel Diva
Right, it needs to go up like other areas have, or they aren't going to get/keep staff. Especially when they can go elsewhere for WAY more.
Last weekend for example, we walked by a restaurant right outside of the stadium, and there was someone trying to call people over to ask if they were looking for work or knew someone who was. They want to pay people $25 to stand outside as security/crowd control and for dishwashers. Earlier this summer a burger joint in Bethel, ME wanted to pay cooks $25/hr. I've heard some places you can get paid even higher for dishwashing. I was legit like dang maybe I should go get a side hustle a couple of nights per week for extra play money, places are so desperate. If it wasn't going into winter right now, I'd more seriously consider it. If it's still the case next summer, maybe I would haha.
Point being, places like Killington need to put up or shut up. They either need to help solve the housing issue, or pay more so people can feasibly drive from further away. If they aren't willing to do that I can't feel too sorry for their staffing issues at this point. Everyone is facing the same decisions and hardships with these shortages. I mean at least they can blame housing, I can't really imagine why restaurants who want to pay $25/hr to dishwashers in populated areas are unable to get anyone still.
I was at a jewelry store in the Warwick mall last weekend as well, and have been dealing with the same woman for quite awhile now since she was at a different store previously. She told me that they can't hire anyone. They get a ton of applications, but then can't get anyone to actually even interview when they call back. She believes people are applying just to say they did on unemployment documents, with no intention of actually following through to get a job when they call. So she basically works ALL the time.
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newboots
Angel Diva
Can you imagine how hard it is to own and maintain a car, pay rent, and eat on that kind of money? Health care? Child care?
On top of all that, it’s seasonal.
Ski Sine Fine
Angel Diva
Maybe it has to do with unpredictable hours? You can pay $25/hr, but if you only get 10-20 hours a week, and at unpredictable days at that, that’s not adequate if you need steady cash flow. And people who did it for play money, like you would, might decide it’s not worth it anymore for various reasons.
MissySki
Angel Diva
The one we spoke to this weekend seemed to be specific shifts, though I don't know how many hours per week etc.
