..just witnessed the chair directly in front of us fall off the haul rope during a wind hold on the peak 8 superconnect at Breckenridge’s Peak 8 SuperConnect. The chair was close to the top terminal and fell about 20 feet. ski patrol was already there and the guy riding the chair is ok.
Vail will collapse. It’s not if but when. When pass prices go up by 20% they can only muster a 6% revenue increase associated with a 12% drop in units sold their upper tier passes while buying FOUR new areas. This all in an economy with huge inflation and huge labor cost increases. The financials just don’t add up to sustainability.
Their Experience Of A Lifetime (TM) is turning people away. Limited snowmaking this year (disasterous last year).
…
Poor grooming quality. I laugh at some of the pics posted to the pass group on Facebook talking about the amazing conditions when there’s huge grooming ruts, 2 foot ice boulders, death cookies galore, etc. in the pics.
Lack of maintenance to their lifts leading them to break down all the time (Attitash last year, Stowe this year). Lack of running lifts. Non lifties running lifts. Grumpy employees some that scream at you for no reason. Bad traffic. Long lines. Charge you to park with no lifts running. I can go on…
Interest rates are through their roof. Their line of credit they’ve been using to fund their upgrades is now suddenly much costlier. Meanwhile their bread and butter resorts — Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckinridge, Keystone — have a ton of aging detachable that need to be replaced within the decade.
Vail has to be one of the worst run companies I’ve ever seen. They pay their employees far less than competitors, and then blame anyone but themselves when they don’t have enough workers to operate the mountains that all of us paid thousands of dollars for passes on. They don’t care, they already have everyone’s money. I know Stevens Pass in Washington, at some point only 1 of the chairlifts was being operated by the lifts department, the rest were being run by other departments like rentals and ski school, simply because they couldn’t find enough suckers to work for their pitiful wages. I’ve heard from instructor friends that they went from 6 people per instructor, to an unlimited number of people per instructor, and my friend had 17 kids in her class. I can walk from my condo to the gondola in Vail, and next year I plan on driving to Copper Mountain and getting an Ikon pass instead. Vail Mountain is great, but the company that runs it can’t go bankrupt soon enough. Maybe then someone else will step in and actually run things the way they used to be.
I’m trying to find a way to make a official post to bring attention to what Vail Resorts is doing. OBVIOUSLY the WORST lines, services in many years. SO, since Vail is going to keep taking everyone’s money and NOT HAVE ENOUGH employees there is a solution. Our Government has a program which allows immigrants to come into the United States of America. It is a Visa called H2-A which allows U.S. Employers to bring in as many as they want. The H2-A visa is based on mainly ONE FACT. That is that there are NOT ENOUGH citizens of the United States to do the SEASONAL WORK which QUALIFIES the Employer as well as the immigrants. This Visa program I mainly designed for farmers and landscape companies during the season. What do you think?? I personally think that I myself would rather stay in a WARMER CLIMATE. If you like what I said please post it out there. And please check out the Government program H2-A Visa. It is VERY CLEAR. GOOD LUCK. and by the way SHAME ON VAIL ASSOCIATES for trying to be the WALMARTS of the SKI INDUSTRY. They are ruining it for EVERYONE
Worst ski experience ever. If you like waiting in long lines for lifts and dining come on down. 30 minute lift lines and they continue to sell ski passes at the base. Lots of snow but 30% of mountain open making congestion all the worse. After buying 5 epic passes per year for 10+ years I am done. Ikon or mountain collective here we come.
Vail resorts is the worst company running multiple ski resorts!! Absolutely horrible! They declined my request to cancel my auto renew and basically live to just steal money from people!!! I’m tempted to file a class action lawsuit but debating if it will be worth my time!! The lines are stupid long constantly… can be our skiing or snowboarding for a full day and only get max 2-3 actual runs in… it’s quicker to hike the mountain than actually ride the lifts!!! DONT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY WITH AN EPIC PASS THIS YEAR!!!!
I just compared what I used to pay a few years ago for a specific ski resort before Vail took it over in 2020. Wow – didn’t realize what these guys are doing. The group has great resorts that we like a lot but will definitely be more conscious choosing where we travel to next time.
Michael Livi via Facebook.com
I purchased tickets in advance to Paoli Peaks, to find out the day of that 12 of the 15 slopes were closed (only 3 open). I called over 10 times to speak with someone about canceling my tickets, but no human would answer a phone. I had to drive 2 hrs to speak with someone at the ski lodge. When arriving, even though I pre-purchased tickets that all claimed to “save time– don’t wait in line,” there were no signs explaining where to go; I still had to wait in the ticket line to speak with someone, who then sent me to guest services in a completely different part of the building. I used the restroom on the way to find it disgusting and out-of-date with no paper towels or driers working to dry my hands. The guest services manager said that a machine wasn’t working to blow fresh snow, so they had to close 80% of the slopes, while still charging people full price and not answering the phones because they were too busy. I’ll choose Perfect North from here on out.
Eric Bivens via Facebook.com
Tried vailresorts epicpass this year. Their level of transparency was abysmal. Be sure to read the fine print before buying (if you can find it). No transfers, no refunds. You can upgrade, but it will cost you 200% of what you paid originally. 20% off on food/beverages? Only if it is a non-alcoholic beverage. They overpromise and don’t deliver
Russell Huffman via Facebook.com
Nothing surprising from this company and it’s low rating when they hire lying, purple-haired pigs to work in dispatch. The way your employee treats people coupled with your low rating explains it all.
Olena Pearson via Facebook.com
Bought lift tickets through epic pass. Ski school for my daughter and ski rentals. Had to cancel because of winter storm Elliott and the southwest debacle. No flights out of Texas. 25,000 flights cancelled. Couldn’t make the trip. Spent over 1,200 on the trip. Zero refunds. Nada. Because my house wasn’t inhabitable I couldn’t get a refund. Unbelievable. No compassion. Zero common sense.
Donnie Elliott
Let’s get this straight. Vail Resorts does not care about its customers. All they care about is money. The internet is riddles with people talking about the many deceptive business practices Vail Resorts engages in. These policies are absolutely abhorrent and border on theft, if you and I were to do it. They show absolutely no empathy towards their loyal customers at all and as such do not care about retaining customers. They will simply cycle onto the next sucker and screw them next. That is their bottom line business, please stay clear if you can, there are other friendlier ski resorts to ski or snowboard at that actual care about you as a person.
Todd Chamberlin via Facebook
Worst customer support of all time. If you can actually get someone on the phone, good luck with them being able to resolve any issues or actually help.
This company needs to be sued for being predatory, DONT click “Auto Renew” thinking your can just cancel it if you don’t want it. Their policies are completely designed to entrap you and take your money. You can’t be forced to buy something and I can’t believe this company wont work with you if you didn’t use your pass and don’t intend to.
I get that companies need to protect themselves from fraud, but if you make the process so specific and restrictive on purpose, then you are obviously trying to steal peoples money with their “terms and conditions” that you “agreed to”.
EPIC pass misleading! Checked epic profile and no indication of auto renewal. Then got text today eluding to auto renew (after website indicated not) called to cancel/fix before it got renewed – customer service said they could not help & we had to email, emailed address they provided & immediately got a response saying Must Call. Representative still on phone said no & provided a corporate number “to try” which is CLOSED until after auto renewal date
Notify CC company to not process further charges as they are not authorized
doclocke33 via Instagram
laketahoetoday via Instagram
That happened to us too. Vail makes it purposely hard to cancel auto renew. They suck.
And we assume that these “women” are lesbian/non-binary handicapped persons of color.
In fact, five of the six ski areas Vail Resorts owns in the Mountain West region are now run by women, with Howard and Park City’s Deirdra Walsh being joined by Nadia Guerriero at Beaver Creek, Jody Churich at Breckenridge and Tara Schoedinger at Crested Butte.
With the beginning of Amy Ohran’s tenure as general manager of Northstar mountain in North Lake Tahoe this past July, Vail Resorts now has 10 ski areas run by women, including Park City and Vail, which are two of its largest.
“Vail Resorts is an equal opportunity employer“
Vail Resorts is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status or any other status protected by applicable law.
“Equal opportunity employer“? So the employment of the above candidates has nothing to do with their sex? Yeah, right.
Vail is just another failing WOKE corporation. With typical corporate BS, overspending, dumb investments, multi-million bonuses and “golden parachutes” for the top management. Their performance is not gonna change even if they replace every single male with a female or a non-binary “he/her”.
“As Chief Executive Officer at VAIL RESORTS INC, Kirsten A. Lynch made $6,609,628 in total compensation. Of this total $885,999 was received as a salary, $1,188,300 was received as a bonus, $2,249,981 was received in stock options, $2,249,991 was awarded as stock and $35,357 came from other types of compensation. This information is according to proxy statements filed for the 2022 fiscal year.”
So your $235 for 1 day lift ticket, $20 per hamburger and $700 for a crappy shithole cabin “Ski Trail condos” are going into the pocket of the right person. Here is that person:
Kirsten A. Lynch should be fired for her extremely crappy performance, but not rewarded with $6.6M+ in compensation.
Vail MTN is a falling knife now as it breaks down through two top trough support and the 200 day EMA. Selling will accelerate after Dec 23rd ex dividend date. They have a hugely inflated assets on their balance sheet and too much debt. Been cooking the books the past several years.
“Vail is not doing a good job of maximizing revenue”
Vail is not doing a good job of maximizing revenue. At my local resort the restaurant / bar is not open during the holiday week, typically a very busy week.
“This stock MTN will be a two digit stock price by March”
Oh boy, wait til Christmas crash for MTN. when it goes ex dividend on the 23rd the tax loss selling will accelerate. The selling in January and February will be stunning as Vail’s super inflated balance sheet is revealed. Too much debt vs inflated assets probably leads to a secondary stock offering in early 2023. This stock MTN will be a two digit stock price by March. They went on an acquisition spree the past 5 years right into the teeth of the biggest asset bubble in history. Combined with huge labor cost inflation and higher interest rates….dead company walking.
The majority of the management, both senior and mid level, had nothing but the companies bottom dollar in interest. From the CEO/COO down to ski team management. I was told by a ski team manager that coaches “should not let their athletes progress too fast because then the parents would realize they needed better coaches and a better mountain”, and that the goal was to keep them long enough to buy a house at northstar and lock them into the vail ecosystem. This same director drove away an alarming number of coaches, predominantly female. There’s no room for misogyny in the ski industry any more. Although apparently Vail/Northstar doesn’t feel the same. The bottom line 100% financially based decision making was an utter disappointment for someone who has put decades into the ski industry. The lack of livable pay or easily accessible and quality benefits for seasonal employees is pathetic. You can’t survive in a ski town with what they pay, and they expect you to dedicate more time than you’re paid for.
Advice to Management: Just give up. Quit. Stop trying.
The particular unit we rented was extremely dated. Comforters were made into the bed under sheets and mine had oatmeal or something all over it. Furniture in living area was all torn up.(leather)
Susan
Too expensive for being old. We did not stay in the main resort, there were only 2 restaurants open and in one you had to make reservations. The pizza place packed and waiting 1 hr for pizza.
Mariana
The staff were unhelpful. I asked for assistance a few times by Phone email and no response. The tvs in the rooms did not work, there was a long winded explanation of how they worked, which did not actually work. Non of the shops were open and food and drink was expensive but a free bus ride, which no one was told about, on arrival, meant you could go to the supermarket and buy things cheaper
Lain
We had a mix of rooms it took hours to check in. Staff didn’t follow thru on getting keys to us they committed too. Floors were dirty. Beds were not comfortable.
Ellington
This was my third stay and I was really disappointed with the apartment I was assigned. The whole place needed a serious update. I was a little grossed out by the bathtub and the curtain shower to be honest. I understand that each apartment has its own decoration as they are privately owned, but it was a big step down from the apartment I stayed in last time. I also had a family upstairs that was very very loud and constantly running.
Silvia
They need to start remodeling there units. It’s time. Bathrooms, tubs and interiors need a major update
Antranig
Top bunk bed missing sheets and ladder. Smelled very stuffy in the house. Staff very unhelpful when we ran into an issue (at the village)
Alisha
Property is run down. Main element on stove would not light, dining room light not working, bathroom electric outlet not working. Property reviews said it was steps from the ski lifts, but actually you have to take a shuttle bus.
Stephen
Soon as you walk in you’re greeted with bugs crawling all over the floor and furniture.
Shashi
Service to get fans was a hassle, and one condo was about 3 miles away and was not cleaned had webs, lights not working, window screens were missing and no regular coffee. Very hot and no fans worked. Our family was not comfortable.
Reginajo
Not in village like booking showed. Bare minimum with amenities, towels etc. paying to get in pool. Was not that impressed with property
Monica
Dishwasher wasn’t working. We had to evacuate the room in a snow storm for maintenance. Lodging was not prepped before we arrived.
Roger
The 2nd bathroom was tiny and the shower head was not doable for a proper shower. The temp in the bedrooms was not consistent and blowing in one direction only. The TV screen was small. Everything was dated.
Having been a season pass holder for nearly 20 years I have seen the changes. Great mountain but since Vail took over and the aftermath of the pandemic there are troubles everywhere. Five feet of new snow for December 2022 and they cannot groom the mountain. Did you are an intermediate or beginner you will be on the same runs everyday. If you are here only for a day, well not so bad. Why can’t they groom one new run a day? Pretty easy, but they do the same ones just about everyday. And why does it take days to open the backside. It’s crazy. Either Vail resorts want to save money with limited staffing ie. less operations or they just cannot hire enough people. They should let their customers know what’s going on.
Rick Hirshberg via OnTheSnow.com
“Waiting and waiting and waiting”
Let me start with the parking lot first. Arrived at the parking lot at 9:39 am. Then, wait for the Shuttle bus for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Finally got to the first lift and waited 25 minutes. The second lift waited for 35 minutes. The third lift (Comstock) waited for 1 hour 20 minutes. Finally got to the top of the Mountain at 1:45 pm. Waiting and waiting and waiting..
Ray Fang via OnTheSnow.com
“The resort seems to be mismanaged”
The resort seems to be mismanaged. Visited December 17-22. Unbelievable lift lines (20 minutes throughout the day). Plenty of snow, but only a few runs open. Backside closed. New app for shuttle buses doesn’t work, and again, very long (20-30 mins) wait for transportation around the resort. Many stores in the Village are shuttered. This is our long-time home resort and it’s depressing to see what Vail is doing to it!
NorthStar California Sucks | VailEpicFail 