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Vail cuts summers activities at its resorts

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
Over the past few years ski areas have made summer activities an important part of their business plan. And rightly so; ski areas are a huge investment, and it doesn't make any sense to have them just lie fallow during a good part of the year.

But recently I've been hearing that Vail is cutting its summer activities at some of its resorts. Here are some of the cuts I'm aware of:

Whistler Blackcomb: no glacier skiing, Peak zone TBD
Stevens Pass: no summer operations
Attitash: most activities closed (zip line, mountain coaster, bike park, water slides, and more)
Park City Canyons: village mountain operations unclear
North Star: No bike clinics or lessons
Vail Mountain: No Game Creek zip lines or ropes course.

There are probably others, too, that I'm just not aware of.

So what do you think? Is it still Covid, or is it financial issues? Vail is a public company and has to pay attention to its giving a good return to its shareholders. Is that it?
 

BlizzardBabe

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Staffing problems could be contributing. Around here, a lot of resorts hired foreign college students for seasonal work and there have been visa problems, COVID travel restrictions, etc.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
I think it's a combination of Covid, staffing problems, and perhaps a perception of weak demand. The aforementioned visa problems were part of the Trump immigration program, but now Covid continues to limit international travel. Additionally, many people just aren't going back to work - perhaps Covid caution continues, or they are happy on unemployment, or - who knows? It's a real shame, though.

I wonder if they are still required to limit their numbers? It might be a profit-margin issue, too.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
I think it's a combination of Covid, staffing problems, and perhaps a perception of weak demand.
If VR is thinking there will be weak demand, I'd say they are wrong. Demand is going to be high. That's already been the case for Memorial Weekend.

I'm in Asheville tonight for a quick visit with my daughter. We had dinner downtown. The place was hopping and it's midweek. Going to Biltmore with a friend tomorrow, Friday, and the time slots before 3:00 are sold out. Same for Saturday. Mornings are all sold out all of next week.

Staffing is a huge issue for the entire hospitality industry. The Best Western I'm staying at would like to hire two more people to help with the front desk and breakfast prep.
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
...
Staffing is a huge issue for the entire hospitality industry. The Best Western I'm staying at would like to hire two more people to help with the front desk and breakfast prep.
The exorbitant price for lodging, and/or the lack of it, for seasonal employees who come to vacationland to work is probably a very big factor in the staffing issue.

I am hearing that winter staffing is also going to be an issue. Maybe they will pay us instructors more to coax us into showing up. Wouldn't that be nice?
 
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RachelV

Administrator
Staff member
The cynical take I've been seeing on Twitter is that Vail is axing anything that doesn't directly support Epic Pass sales, but who knows. There are so many factors at play this year that it seems impossible to figure out what's actually going on from the outside.
 

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
I can't really fathom that it's weak demand - it seems like everything outdoors is crazy busy these days. Staffing issues make sense though, especially with restricted international travel/visas since that seems to always be a good portion of seasonal resort staff.
 

NewEnglandSkier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Seems like staffing issues could be the culprit. Around here, any sort of seasonal or hourly work type places (restaurants. shops etc) are all understaffed. They can't find people to fill the jobs.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
@ddskis any insight?

If it's a staffing issue I wonder why they wouldn't just say that, or why they don't just raise wages and raise ticket prices to compensate. I wonder if they just aren't making enough money for this to be worth the while of a big corporation.

I know we've talked about the supposed labor shortage, which economists don't think is a real labor shortage, but in any case...I'd think that if Stevens, for example, just offered a competitive wage, there'd be young people happy to work there. There aren't the commute issues in summer that you have in winter, and the regional population is pretty big. I'd also think the mountain bike crowd that wants the lift served access could absorb some extra costs.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
Didn't the resorts take up summer activities to make more money to cover costs?

If you don't have the staff, though, you'll be dealing with delays, poor service, various closings on the mountain, and a poor experience in general. I hate to sympathize with Vail, though . . .
 

Little Lightning

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
In Summit County, Co the biggest issue is lack of affordable housing. According to Zumper.com the average studio condo rents for $1,800 a month. The 1 bedroom condo next to us seems to have been empty for the last year. It is a yearly rental and as of July 4th, 2020 it was listed for $1,500/month. To live comfortably in Summit one needs to have a yearly income of $72,000.

My 370 sq ft studio condo bought in 2006 for $124,000 is now estimated at $329,309. An 1,100 sq ft condo in our complex just went on the market for $650,000. As property values go up so do the rental prices.

These listing prices are not in the town of Silverthorne, Dillion or Frisco. We're out of town on Buffalo Mountain. I don't dare to look at the property values in areas like Breckenridge or Vail.
 

ddskis

Certified Ski Diva
No insight here other than the cynical VR evil empire POV.

We’re just sad really. The bike park was really a draw and the other summer activities like disc golf, hiking, yoga, etc were great too. Demand was def there.

It was exciting over the last few years (prior to covid) to watch the resort grow and extend to a summer season. There’s really no other place in WA for lift served downhill mtn biking. Trails are built and more were in the works and the place WAS making money. Enough money? Maybe not. Cynical again, but VR is for sure lacking in communication, transparency, and community spirit.

I thought the article in the Seattle Times about the difference between Crystal and Stevens after the mega corp resort takeovers a while back that Christy posted a link to was spot on.

So along comes VR, and covid, and poof; it’s all a memory. What a waste. Sad.
 

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