Senior leadership (Kirsten, Michael, Rob) are extreme micromanagers who do not tolerate dissent or welcome alternative points of view from those below them. They demand that they make all meaningful decisions for the company – and the only people allowed in the room with them are their VPs. As a Director in the corporate office, this was incredible disempowering because it meant that I had no real ownership. Vail describes itself as “the greatest leadership company on earth” – this is laughable. There is no empowerment to make decisions, no respect for work life balance (at one point the CMO literally asked if we could stop taking Thanksgiving as a company holiday, regularly demands people work on Christmas / New Years, etc.), and effectively zero career progression opportunities at the Director level and above unless your only focus is on pleasing those above you. I really, really wanted to like this company. I loved my co-workers. It broke my heart to see it so thoroughly ruined by senior leadership. There is a reason there is SUPER high turnover (which has been the case for years, by the way). When I joined, the average tenure of my coworkers was less than a year. When I left several years later, the average tenure of my coworkers was less than a year. People come here thinking it will be great (who doesn’t want to work in the ski industry?), realize the reality of the situation, and then leave. I ignored the Glassdoor reviews when I took my job there and I regret doing so.
Advice to Management
Honestly, with Kirsten about to become the new CEO, I would not recommend anyone work at Vail’s corporate office. She surrounds herself with people who reinforce her own viewpoints and systematically weeds out anyone who disagrees with her. She talks in public about the importance of sustainability and then literally hours later, in private meetings, creates crushing workloads for the teams under her – I have seen this happen on many, many occasions. These are hallmarks of terrible leadership and a toxic workplace culture.
Vail Resorts Glassdoor review
Tag: CEO
What Vail Resorts employees are saying about Vail
Absolute unfair pay, no holidays, no support from management, no benefits unless employee is full time which is very rare.
No work/life balance, they don’t listen to local resort or community feedback, no consideration for local cultures & values, super corporate, no heart. Morale is terrible. Staff have no sense of ownership of their roles or the company. It feels like working for a faceless corporate overlord when skiing is supposed to be about fun. The company is hated by the local community. I was embarrassed to tell people I worked for them.
Really low pay considering how expensive food is in Vail. You will be exposed to the sun pretty much all day in most work areas so you have to bring your own sun screen. A few crappy management members will try to get you to come in on your days off for extra training or work, and will treat you poorly if you won’t, effectively mandatory overtime despite policies that state otherwise. Sick days are highly discouraged but everyone gets sick because they live in dorm-like conditions. Most of your coworkers will probably be nomad potheads with no goals in life (hence the stricter management protocols).
No room to grow in the company, no pay raise in 5 years, and new manager every season. The communication between different departments is nonexistent.
No work/life balance, unrealistic expectations and forced office fun; little to no diversity.
Vail Reviews at Glassdoor.comHorrible management, no work/life balance, no loyalty, horrendous pay.
Is Vail still not Woke enough? “Vail Resorts Announces Angela Korch as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer”
“We are pleased to welcome Angela back to Vail Resorts as our new CFO. Angela is a strong leader with deep experience in our industry, a passion for our sport, and a long history with our company.”
Chief Executive Officer Kirsten Lynch
The previous CFO – a male called Michael Barkin – has been given the boot. Woke Vail is at it’s best.
“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.
https://jobs.vailresortscareers.com/
More to the story: 5 of the 6 ski areas Vail Resorts owns are now run by women. Is it Woke enough?
“Equal opportunity employer“?
So the employment of the above candidate has nothing to do with their sex? Yeah, right.
5 of the 6 ski areas Vail Resorts owns are now run by women. Is it Woke enough?
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.
travelweekly.com
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.
https://jobs.vailresortscareers.com/
“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”.
Hashtag #VailEpicFail
Vail CEO Kirsten A. Lynch makes $6,6M+ / year
“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.”
Source: Salary.com
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.
Yahoo Finance discussion board for MTN stock ticker
“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.
Yep, MTN stock goes down the tube pretty fast:
Former Northstar employee (Ski Coach): “Run Screaming Into The Night”
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.
Former Northstar employee (Ski Coach)
Source: Glassdoor.com
How Vail Resorts Makes Its MONEY
“Vail is in the business of selling season passes not managing their resorts.”
“Yep, their CEO only knows to sell stuff, not deliver what’s been promised”
“The whole consolidation of all these resorts has been a huge negative. I hate the hoops they make you go thru to buy the pass. What do you get for it? Spamming and them selling off your data. Tell me how many ski runs I have done? Who cares? Every scintilla of data is examined and a way found to monetize. You are being herded into chutes to be sold off to the highest bidder.”
Users comments at YT
Vail Resorts reports skier visits are down for start of the season
“CEO acknowledges early-season challenges as company releases key metrics.
Vail Resorts reported Friday that its skier visits at its North American resorts from the beginning of the season through Jan. 2 are down 1.7% from the prior year, and down 18.3% compared with the same period in the 2019-20 season.
Season-to-date total lift ticket revenue, including an allocated portion of season pass revenue for each applicable period, was up 25.9% compared with the prior year and down 4.6% compared with the 2019-20 season.”
Source: Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily
“Beware – Vail Resorts is NOT a leadership company”
Senior leadership (Kirsten, Michael, Rob) are extreme micromanagers who do not tolerate dissent or welcome alternative points of view from those below them. They demand that they make all meaningful decisions for the company – and the only people allowed in the room with them are their VPs. As a Director in the corporate office, this was incredible disempowering because it meant that I had no real ownership. Vail describes itself as “the greatest leadership company on earth” – this is laughable. There is no empowerment to make decisions, no respect for work life balance (at one point the CMO literally asked if we could stop taking Thanksgiving as a company holiday, regularly demands people work on Christmas / New Years, etc.), and effectively zero career progression opportunities at the Director level and above unless your only focus is on pleasing those above you.
I really, really wanted to like this company. I loved my co-workers. It broke my heart to see it so thoroughly ruined by senior leadership. There is a reason there is SUPER high turnover (which has been the case for years, by the way). When I joined, the average tenure of my coworkers was less than a year. When I left several years later, the average tenure of my coworkers was less than a year. People come here thinking it will be great (who doesn’t want to work in the ski industry?), realize the reality of the situation, and then leave. I ignored the Glassdoor reviews when I took my job there and I regret doing so.
Advice to Management:
Honestly, with Kirsten about to become the new CEO, I would not recommend anyone work at Vail’s corporate office. She surrounds herself with people who reinforce her own viewpoints and systematically weeds out anyone who disagrees with her. She talks in public about the importance of sustainability and then literally hours later, in private meetings, creates crushing workloads for the teams under her – I have seen this happen on many, many occasions. These are hallmarks of terrible leadership and a toxic workplace culture.
Director in Broomfield, CO (via Glassdoor)
Oversold Overpriced tickets
They over sell lift tickets that are already over priced then don’t have enough parking and if you’re lucky enough to get in you can fit in 2-3 runs and buy a $45 dollar hot dogs. The guest services were also rude as when I tried to refund my ticket as we couldn’t park!
Stephanie L. (via Yelp)
From the editor: Kirsten Lynch (who is the CEO of Vail and responsible for day-to-day operations, according to her profile and the article at Aspentimes.com), you are very proud of the increased sales, are you not?
Kirsten and Rob! We think you could shove your “success”. You are complete failure.
NorthStar California Sucks | VailEpicFail 