Dismal Tahoe snow doesn’t doom Vail Resorts profits
By Jason Blevins, Denver Post
Despite one of the worst winters ever for resorts around Lake Tahoe, Vail Resorts on Wednesday reported that stellar snowfall in Colorado buoyed the company’s performance for the 2013-14 ski season.
“Our performance this year reflects our ability to drive outstanding performance across our business despite varied conditions,” Vail Resorts chief Rob Katz said in a statement.
Lift revenue at the company’s eight destination resorts — four in Colorado, three in California and Canyons in Utah — climbed 7.6 percent over the previous season. Visitor spending climbed 7.5 percent for ski lessons, 3.1 percent on food and drink and 5.1 percent on retail and equipment rentals over the 2012-13.
Ample snow and strong visitation to Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone helped Vail Resorts weather a record decline in snowfall at its Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood ski areas.
Total skier visits across its destination resorts climbed 2.3 percent over the 2012-13 ski season.
My son was a lift operator at Heavenly and heard nothing but the opposite from his supervisors all winter long. They gave him short shifts, short work weeks, took lunch out of his paycheck even though he worked through lunch, and made him change in and out of uniform off the clock. All of this was justified to him because revenue was down. At least he learned his lesson and has decided to go to college next year.
Romie, please have your son contact the Department of Labor office to make sure he does not have a valid claim. Heavenly is a federal special use permittee, and must follow DOL wages and hour rules for service employees.
Imagine that! A corporation not following labor rules and taking advantage of line employees.
nurses show up in uniform
doctors show up in uniform
firefighters show up in uniform
police show up in uniform
Exactly who is it that gets paid to dress for work?
Your kid needs to learn some work ethic.
the only thing i can see that they did wrong was not making him take his lunch break off the clock, the other items are normal for every service or retail business, much like the food service industry. and yes heavenly visits were down as we all know so that is why your son go his hours cut. i am pretty sure that he was not told he will get a certain min hours.
Vail has been nickel-and-diming their already low paid employees for years, but those who talk lose their jobs. Just more corporate greed. And this screw-the-employees-for-profit strategy is being rewarded with development gifts from the agencies and the reigns to create more low paying jobs like this under the guise of ‘job growth.’ Does Vail provide their employees housing? Do they provide them with decent health care, with food, etc., all of the items they can’t afford on minimum wage working 2-3 hour/day shifts (at best)? From what I know, the answer is mostly NO. That burden falls on taxpayers, and that burden will grow as the corporations continue to expand their hold on Tahoe.
Again, thanks TRPA for not only abandoning our environment and steamrolling our communities (like Meyers), but for laying the red carpet out for more corporations like this in Tahoe. It’s amazing how those low-paying p/t jobs really help “boost our economy”…
“At least he learned his lesson and has decided to go to college next year.”
That is the best possible scenario after working for Vail. Vail screws over a lot of their employees. Buy your own season pass, don’t let them dangle that over your head.
Old Bill reamed the employee’s every chance he got.
56 hr. work week
when McDonalds was paying more than the Heav. Bill raised the starting wage to match McDonalds.
I worked there for 2 decades and Bill never treated me wrong he treated me like family.
lots of other folks got Porked
Are some of you saying that you feel a seasonal business reliant on weather conditions beyond their control should guarantee there employees 40 per week regardless of weather or skier counts at a wage higher than minimum wage? You do realize it is a business trying to turn a profit don’t you?
Reloman, I agree, the lunch thing is pretty important. But it is hard to police. It sounds like they clocked him out correctly, but he chose to keep working. Its hard to know if the employee is still working or actually taking that time off. I am professional exempt, I work 50 to 60 hours a week for 40 hours pay and that’s totally legal. But taking lunch off is mandatory even for my labor class.
When I worked at Heavenly Valley from 72′ to 76′ My starting wage was $2.25 an hour when I left in 76′ I was making $3.75 an hour. Hugh Killebrew was not known for over paying his employees.
Now all things being relative, gasoline was still in the 30 cent range, my first house cost me $20 grand and you could eat at the Sahara buffet for 3 bucks.
Working at a ski resort is alot of fun, especially when you’re young, or the young at heart, like Martin Hollay!!!
The young couple that were living on the next street over this winter couldn’t make it working at Heavenly. Low pay and short hours. They packed up and moved back to Grass Valley. Hated to see them go…good kids!
Darn near any job in a resort town makes it difficult to get by. Cost of living is high and the pay is low. Maybe they’ll be better times ahead… we can only hope. Take care, OLS
@j&b
“Does Vail provide their employees housing? Do they provide them with decent health care, with food, etc.”
1)Employee housing is at the corner of Keller and pioneer. Cheapest living in town by far.
2) Full time year round staff has health care. Can’t say the same if you work at mont blu.
3) Almost every 2 weeks vail has a FREE dinner for all active employees. Great meals and all you can eat. I have had my plate fill by the head of heavenly Pete Sontag. That doesn’t happen every day.
All in all everyone here loves to hate on Vail and even Heavenly. Funny how it’s the employers fault for the employee not being able to manage their lives. I just know for a fact if it wasn’t for Heavenly this town wouldn’t be what it is today and if Vail hadn’t saved Heavenly from bankruptcy well… This town would have dryed up along time ago. It’s almost everyones stepping stone for moving to this town and it’s almost every tourists destination.
P.s. Vail has all employee sign a waver giving up their rights to a lunch break. Also the time clocks asked every time you clock out if you have had your 10 minute break and 30 minute lunch. So good luck with that one.
I have a friend that works at McDonalds ,been there for 3 years, No raise,and very reliable, 8 bucks a hr, still,cant figure that out, He keeps asking the manager ,she says I will look into it, hummmmm.Been 3 years, nothing yet,I guess you get what is offered in Lake Tahoe and take it with the grain of salt,I also have a friend that works at heavenly .making more money then Mc DONALDS,We need to get raises here up to survive,No wonder people are standing out with signs ,help needed any thing will do ,going hungry, Its so sad,
The only private industry at South Shore showing generally consistent growth and healthy profits is Heavenly. During adverse times like this past winter, Heavenly does that by controlling its variable costs, like any well-managed profitable private business. Heavenly is not a subsidized, benevolent mother hen like STPUD, Barton Hospital, government agencies, and South Tahoe Refuse which are systemically guaranteed their revenue streams no matter what.
Why bag on Heavenly? They’re a major employer and tax generator. They create jobs, train people, and provide a huge draw to the community. Without Heavenly, I am pretty certain there wouldn’t be a South Lake Tahoe.
Am I missing something here?
“… it’s the employers fault for the employee not being able to manage their lives.” Good point!
Heavenly and McDonald’s should just take care of everyone cradle to grave. If you have worked somewhere for 3 years with no raise shame on you for staying that long and hoping for a different result. Maybe your friend does not work hard enough for a raise. People are not rewarded for time served.
SLT is a tough place to make a living and you know that growing up there. There is no manufacturing, tech, or industry other than tourism which is seasonal and weather dependant.
No one is going to take care of you and nor should they. Wake up and make something of yourself don’t wait for someone to do it for you.
Business is for profit and if you’re not profitable you cannot stay in business, large or small.
I am not “bagging” on Heavenly, however they have to follow California employment law no matter what their revenues are. Being paid to put on a uniform (if it can’t be considered street clothes) is not a matter of bad “work ethics”, but Federal Law. Not being paid for time worked through lunch is a California Law and it is likely that the automated payroll system (like ADP or Paychex) is automatically set up to deduct the time for lunch. This is common, though generally best practice and the HR dept may not be aware that the manager kept him working through that break. You son should contact the HR department with the days he worked through lunch and the time he spent changing in his uniform (again if the uniform couldn’t be considered “street clothes”, but I have a feeling the lift operators jackets CAN be considered street clothes). No company is above the law.