I have already written about Vail Resorts having a rocky period in the news. The news is not calming down, and more things are coming to the fore. From a letter sent from a dissatisfied shareholder, Taylor Schmidt of Late Apex Partners asking for the replacement of CEO Kirsten Lynch, to the COO Angela Korch and also Chairman of the board Robert Katz, to more news on potential strike action and employees dissatisfaction.
The letter of Late Apex Partners.
This has been a scathing report on how Vail Resorts is doing business and is asking for a big change, focusing on guests experience and employees’ wellbeing and not so much on acquiring ski areas abroad, while there is still lots to do in the United States with what Vail Resorts got in stock.
The latest development of this is that Late Apex Partner’s Taylor Schmidt been in contact with the local newspaper Vail Daily stating that he is a bigger stockholder than what today the head management of Vail is, when put into doubt how big of a stakeholder he was.
Analysts speaking to the Vail Daily said they believe that Late Apex Partners was a small-time investment firm but they did not want to dismiss the research put into the presentation, as there was lots of detail to just be a headline grab or hoax.
The presentation sent by Late Apex Partners details that the company has seen a 53% drop in stock price and 38% drop in free cash under the tenure of Lynch as CEO and pointed out that Lynch has not acquired any stock of the company while being its CEO. It also states that Katz has sold most of his stock in the same period.
Schmidt said he has received more than 100 emails from skiers, employees and the community thanking him for that report that they say express their feelings.
The follow up to the Park City strikes and Guest Dissatisfaction
Following the strike at Park City during the holiday season talks between the union and Vail Resorts delivered an average wage increase of $4 an hour with veterans getting a $7.75 hourly bump. This immediate pay raise would apply to patrollers of six ski areas where they mitigate avalanche hazards that are not unionised. For those in unions, there will need to be first a negotiation to amend their contracts.
The areas with immediate increase in hourly wages are Vail, Beaver Creek, Whistler Blackomb, Heavenly, Northstar and Kirwood. This raise is part of the company’s Patrol Project, a project that started in 2019 to improve pay, benefits and leadership opportunities for patrollers. At Vail Mountain, the pay increase amounted to a 9 to 18% raise, depending in seniority.
Employers cannot unilaterally increase or decrease wages for unionised employees, as per University of Denver law professor Robert Corrada. But unionised patrollers at Vail Resorts ski areas insist that the company could hand out pay increases without having to go through very long bargaining sessions.
The strike at Park City by the ski patrol union has created ripples through the mountain community. Now there are more workers forming unions, such as the ski patrollers at Arapahoe Basin.
Compensation of Park City Guests for next year’s Epic Pass
For those skiers who visited Park City during the nearly two-week ski patroller strike there will be credits of up to $65.44 for every day skied from Dec 27 to Jan 8, with a minimum discount of 25% off an Epic Pass for the 25-26 ski season.
Those skiers that bought their lift tickets during the strike will receive a 50% credit based on what they’ve paid.
Crested Butte lift mechanics have also authorised a strike.
The lift mechanics at Crested Butte Mountain Resort unionised in June 2023. The CB Lift maintenance Union met with Vail Resort for 13 bargaining sessions from January to October. They are asking for additional wages for those lift mechanics that get extra training and $2 per hour increase overall. The starting wage of a lift mechanic is of $21 an hour, which is kind of low to live at any resort in the USA.
A Public Exchange of Positions between the Keystone Ski Patrol Union and Keystone Resort.
Powder Magazine has published today that Shannon Buhler, VP and GM of Keystone Resort has accused a group of unionised ski patrollers for sharing inaccurate information of their ongoing contract negotiations.
Keystone Resort VP claims the Unionised Ski Patrollers were sharing “inaccurate information” about the contract negotiations. This was regarding the union communication with Powder Mag about Keystone not wanting “their patrollers to prioritize medical care for injured guests, and instead simply transport them off the mountain”. The KSPU also wrote that Vail Resorts “questioned the importance of patrollers with higher medical certifications, such as nurses and paramedics who can perform lifesaving procedures in the field.”
Buhler contacted Powder stating that these claims are not like that, and that Keystone is not questioning any of these. Then KSPU recognised that they should have stated better that Keystone Resort is not reducing wages for patrollers with higher medical certifications and updated their Instagram post. Still KSPU bargaining team believe that Keystone is intentionally spreading misinformation to try to divide the patrol right now. You can read more on this in Powder magazine here.
Employees calling in sick in Breckenridge
To top this up, dozens of Breckenridge Resort employees residing at the employee housing Breckenridge Terrace apartments called in sick to protest on their living conditions. They said that long-standing maintenance issues reached a breaking point this past week, having to withstand sub-zero temperatures in their homes, mold, holes on the ceiling, water dripping in their bathroom and unstable service of water and heating for a long time.
Vail Resorts offered alternative lodging and decrease in rent due to the issue, but many employees complained that the alternative lodging in Keystone is not acceptable for people that do not drive, as the earliest bus from Keystone to Breckenridge departs at 7 AM while many start working at 6.30 AM. You can read more of this saga at the Summit Daily paper.
Hopefully changes are made as Vail Resorts is the biggest mountain operator in the States and you want the customer and employee experience to be a good one, for the good of all mountain lovers
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Featured Image: Park City groomed slope. Photo: Vail Resorts. Vail Resorts Still in the News for the Wrong Reasons
