Vail Resorts has taken its share of heat this ski season, including from guests at Park City Mountain Resort, who have complained about unopened terrain, longer-than-normal lift lines and unwieldy crowds.
Much of the frustration has been justified, and the company itself has acknowledged that the on-mountain experience at PCMR hasn’t always been up to par this winter.
But Vail Resorts did more than offer platitudes Monday when it took a significant step toward addressing the issues that have plagued PCMR and many of its other properties by announcing a minimum hourly starting wage of $20 across the company for next season, a 33% increase from the current mark.
If Parkites complain about Vail Resorts when it fails to meet expectations, they must also give credit when it’s earned. The wage increase — which the company said will cost $175 million annually — should help alleviate staffing shortages at PCMR and improve the product for skiers and snowboarders on the slopes. It also represents a candid acknowledgement from the company that it missed the mark this season, and that it knows it must do better going forward.
At the same time, increasing wages isn’t a cure-all. For one, the labor market is unlikely to loosen significantly in the coming months, meaning PCMR will still face a tall task come hiring season next fall. And even a fully staffed mountain wouldn’t eliminate all the concerns Parkites hold about Vail Resorts and its role in Park City, from the traffic PCMR generates to the effect of having a corporate brand so closely tied to the community.
Monday’s action is encouraging, but if Vail Resorts wants to win over its critics in Park City, it will need to go even further. A common-sense next step? Making good on a commitment CEO Kirsten Lynch offered in a letter to employees to secure more affordable housing, either through the company developing units of its own or reaching agreements with existing affordable developments.
That, too, would show that the company is serious about the well-being of the communities in which it operates. And it would address a major concern of many Parkites, who have called on PCMR and Deer Valley Resort to do more to address the affordable housing crisis that the resorts have a had a big role in creating.
If Lynch’s letter — and more importantly, the wage increase — is any indication, Vail Resorts has learned a lot from what has been a challenging season. The company’s responsibility now is translating it into continued action in order to ensure this winter was a fluke.
Will people still be skeptical? Certainly. Monday’s announcement was not likely enough to satiate frustrated Parkites.
But even they should acknowledge progress when they see it. Vail Resorts in this case deserves kudos for putting its money where its mouth is.