Emerging specialty positions include those in public/government affairs and travel. Some specialties have changed. Food and beverage used to consist of cafeteria-style arrangements, now, many resorts have elaborate restaurants and functions, like sleigh ride dinners.
Salaries vary considerably from area to area but generally are on the low side (even for the travel industry). For example, a President might make $50,000 to $75,000; Department Director, $35,000 to $40,000; Assistant Director, $20,000 to $27,000; and Staff Assistant, $18,000 to $20,000 (according to Colorado Ski Country, USA).
Benefits abound, however, including free skiing for the entire family (in New England, employees of one mountain can ski free midweek at any other New England area), reduced rate day care, health club membership, and (occasionally) free food. Subsidized housing is sometimes provided for seasonal employees, but housing costs at ski areas tend to be high.
A Competitive Job Market
From time to time, the ski industry runs job expos and aggressive recruitment campaigns. At the start of the decade, however, jobs were very competitive particularly due to an influx of young, out of work former professionals who, not being able to find positions in their own fields decided to enjoy them at a ski area and took whatever jobs were available.
One woman, laid off from a marketing position with a Wall Street firm, left New York City and a $900/month apartment for Sugarloaf, ME, thinking to become a lift operator. Instead, she landed a job in the ski area's marketing department (earning $20,000 compared with the $55,000 she earned on Wall Street). 'It's a nicer life, a nicer lifestyle," she commented.
She was one of the lucky ones. "There are so many resumes from attorneys, doctors, and real estate people, people who have come here to ski and want to stay," said Jerry Oliver, vice president of administration of Vail Associates. 'It is hard to break into industry at middle- or senior management level because enough of those people stay on. Management jobs pay well; you need three to five years experience in hospitality to be marketable."
The leading edge ski companies today include Vail Associates Ski Ltd., which owns Killington and Mt. Snow in Vermont and Bear Mountain in California Victoria Ltd., a Japanese company that owns Breckenridge in Colorado and Stratton in Vermont; and another Japanese company, Kamori Kanko, which owns Steamboat in Colorado and Heavenly in California. Japanese ownership has mainly resulted in more capital for development (Stratton, for example, was able to develop its Sun Bowl) with minimal impact (so far) on career opportunities for Americans. In addition, Japanese ownership has helped areas attract Asian skiers, putting American ski areas in a better position to draw more of the international market.
Although growth has slowed, new areas are opening. Catamount, near Steamboat Springs, CO, is a ski area that will be about the size of Steamboat and that is being developed by one of the former owners of Steamboat Ski Corporation, in joint venture with Mitchell Engineering Corporation, Houston. Four Seasons in the state of Washington will be one of the only destination resorts in the entire state. Other new areas include Silver Mountain in Silver Valley and Val Bois in Cascade, ID.
"The industry has become more sophisticated," said David Ingemie, president of United Ski Industries Association. "It's still entrepreneurial, but as the industry matures, business practices are becoming more sophisticated in terms of marketing, accounting, strategic planning, opening up new specialties, and tiers of management.
'It's still a career path for ski bums, but for the most part, management is chosen from specialized fields such as real estate, accounting, customer service, travel operations, public relations. It's the kind of business where you either stay a season or two or a lifetime."
Robert Gillen, assistant vice president of corporate communications for Crested Butte, CO, is one who sees a bright future for the ski industry and for career opportunities for professionals. "The ski bum is on the endangered list. Continued maturation of the ski industry means growing professionalism. There is demand for professionals from business, sales, public relations, advertising, and a lot of flushing out of the hale and hardy ski bums. You have to make a commitment over a few years. You sacrifice income for the view. And you have to work hard-salespeople work 60 to 70 hours a week sometimes."
But you do get to ski. Gillen, who came to the ski industry by way of Ski magazine, purchased new ski boots that were easy to get on so that he could be out the door of his office and on the slopes within 10 minutes. He managed to ski 100 days one season.
An Example: Vail Associates
Vail Associates is widely regarded as one of the largest and most forward looking ski companies in the country. The company generates $100 million in sales, mainly from operating Vail Mountain and Beaver Creek. In addition, Vail Associates now manages Eldora near Boulder and Ski Broad moor. The company maintains year-round employment of 675, peaking out in winter at 3,500; in summer, the company employs 900. Vail is organized into six major divisions: finance, administration, marketing (public relations, advertising and sales), real estate, hospitality, (and travel) and mountain operations.
Vail, like so many ski companies, is developing summer programs to balance out seasonality. It created a music festival and special children's camp, Camp Matawan Village, which attempts to create an Indian experience. It also introduced a "Peak Performance" program of customized plans (similar to Outward Bound experiences) geared to corporate groups.
Besides operating the ski lifts and other ski-related facilities, Vail manages various hotels, condominium units, and homes; has a large real estate brokerage; and handles time-share management. The company now has a full scale in house tour company and travel agency, with 30 reservationists on staff in the winter (2 in the off-season), that sell only Vail products. The travel company has people on staff that negotiates with airlines, transportation companies, lodges, tour operators, travel agencies, and ski clubs.
As you would expect considering Vail's premier position, salaries are at the top of the pay scale, along with those of Aspen, Deer Valley, and Killington, as compared with those of Steamboat or Crested Butte. They still would be considered relatively low compared with salaries in other parts of the travel industry, however.
Vail employs 1,100 ski instructors (a career in itself) including 175 who teach only children. In addition, 185 children's caretakers, many of whom are child development specialists, are employed in the nursery and day camp, and oversee some 73,000 children in a season.
Emerging specialties are in areas having to do with children's programs (which, at Vail, like so many other ski areas across the country, are getting special emphasis), as well as adult sports camps. Hospitality is also a developing area. Indeed, Vail is a community of 30,000 "pillows" plus 15 to 20 restaurants. For positions in this area, including those of resident managers and office personnel, Vail looks for people with hospitality (resort) operations experience.
People involved in the technical area of mountain management have the least turnover. Vail employs three people for ski patrol, skier services, and the race department.
Some internships are available, such as for lift operators and for food service personnel. Every year, Vail recruits 1,000 new people to replace about 25 to 30 percent of the staff.
Oliver, who came to the ski industry from another field (theme parks) observed, "The ski industry and the theme park are very similar. Skiing is nature's version of a thrill ride." The theme park influence at Vail is clear: Fort Whippersnapper (Oliver chose the name) provides a themed frontier experience as a training ground for the children's learn-to-ski program.
