Work at Aspen, Deer Valley or Jackson instead - Ski Instructor Vail Resorts Employee Review

2.0
15 Apr 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The clients, the infrastructure, the skiing, fellow employees.

Cons

The company solicits favorable business media exposure, but does not live up to corporate values with regard to pay, environmental responsibility or ethics of management. Employees from line through middle management are drastically underpaid, while the company continues to purchase new resorts with cash outright. It saves even more by recruiting a foreign workforce, cutting corners on building repair and facility maintenance, using volunteer labor in exchange for lift passes, and maintaining substandard salary and hourly pay levels for employees other than senior management. Its infrastructure exists on federal public lands where it notoriously and annually escalates prices because there is a legislated lack of competition. While recent magazine articles have touted the company's "compassionate culture", the reality is very different. If you're looking for a classic, alienating corporate experience, this publicly-owned company becomes a more discomfiting workplace every year. Talk about transparently/exploitatively managing for the lowest common denominator - this is why the best and brightest here at all levels are continually exiting. Those who stay are often not here because of the company's excellence, but because of the healthy mountain lifestyle and need for family stability. If you're single and looking for a real career with real economic self-betterment on a timeline, go elsewhere.

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Vail Resorts Response
10y
Thank you for your comments. We are happy to hear you enjoyed your co-workers, free ski pass and your clients. We strive to provide a positive experience for our employees and offering perks and benefits is something we continue to improve upon. Vail Resorts is committed to ensuring that all have the opportunity to succeed and advance their career. We want our employees to love where they work and will take these issues seriously as we look further in to your concerns.

Explore other reviews about Vail Resorts

5.0
12 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The managers were really cool and the work was fun. Pretty relaxed environment.

Cons

It was cold sometimes and long hours standing but that was all in the job description and we got jackets.

2.0
14 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Most people are smart, passionate, and enjoyable to work with and be around. - Fairly frequent opportunities for development and advancement through the internal job board. - Nice perks if you're into skiing or riding.

Cons

- There's an unspoken expectation to regularly work significantly more hours because the majority of employees are very passionate about the ski and ride industry, which isn't great for work life balance. There's not much down time either; you're either hustling in season or hustling to prepare for the next season. - Climate change poses a significant threat to the future of the company. The season pass model mitigates some of the impacts, but not as much as senior leadership asserts. And, since bonuses are tied to company results, you can end up working super hard all year and still end up getting half of your bonus target due to uncontrollable weather conditions. - The culture has taken a serious hit since enterprise transformation work began. Lots of people are constantly stressed out and the atmosphere in the office is depressing. - Most of the time, it feels like senior leadership makes decisions in a vacuum without consulting any of the people that would be responsible for the downstream work associated with the decision. For example, I've seen senior leaders decide on a savings target multiple times without consulting the experts, who then have to scramble to figure out how to make it work. It creates chaos and negatively impacts morale. - This organization has a wordsmithing problem. I've never worked at a company that spends such an inordinate amount of time on the framing of a message compared to the actual substance of the message.

4
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