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Show Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, August 24-27, 2019 A-15 The Park Record Resort town wages weighed Central Rockies ski hills compare notes on minimum TAYLOR SIENKIEWICZ Summit Daily FRISCO, Colo. — Aspen Skiing Co. announced last week that it would raise its starting hourly pay from $13.50 to $15 for winter. The move originally was made in June for summer employees, and the company said it would carry over to ski season. Ski Co. said the change also will increase wages for second- and third-year employees. So where do Summit County, Colorado’s resorts stand? The four ski resorts — Arapahoe Basin Ski Area, Breckenridge Ski Resort, Copper Mountain Resort and Keystone Resort — keep their wages similar to one another to stay competitive in the area. Each year, ski resorts re-evaluate their employee wages. Minimum wages at ski resorts tend to be higher than state and national averages because the cost of living is higher in resort towns, even if you are lucky enough to score employee housing. Breckenridge and Keystone fall under Vail Resorts’ Colorado entry-level wage, which is $12.25 per hour. Copper also has established a $12.25 per hour entry-level wage, which was raised last year in anticipation of the upcoming 2019-20 ski season. Arapahoe Basin has not finalized its starting hourly pay for the coming season, but spokeswoman Katherine Fuller said the ski area is looking at the surrounding market to consider options. While the starting pay at Summit ski resorts is below Aspen’s, other factors, mainly a difference in cost of living, give context to these differences. The Summit ski resort minimum wage of $12.25 is more than $1 above the state minimum wage of $11.10. As for cost of living, Aspen is 2% higher than Summit County. Looking specifically at housing, the cost in Aspen is 6% higher than Summit County. But the minimum pay doesn’t always reflect cost of living. All of Colorado’s Vail-owned resorts have the same starting pay, putting Vail and Beaver Creek employees at the same rate as those at Breckenridge and Keystone despite a cost of living in Vail that is 6% higher than it is in Summit County. Employee housing, which all of the mentioned ski resorts provide in some form, is often what makes an entry-level ski resort employee salary liveable. Monthly rent can be as low as $337, which is the standard rent at Copper’s main employee housing facility, the Edge. While an uptick in Aspen wages could affect Summit County, the four Summit ski resorts are more dictated by wage changes at Vail Resorts. As we inch closer to ski season, Summit County resorts turn their attention to employee housing, with new affordable housing projects underway at Keystone, which will be made available to employees across the county, and Copper Mountain. Vail explores unified brand LOOKING TO EXPAND Vail Resorts and town aim for a consistent service SCOTT MILLER Vail Daily VAIL, Colo. — It’s often said that visitors don’t know, or care, who runs a ski mountain, a business or a town. It’s all one place. A group of Vail residents and business representatives, along with Vail Resorts, have been meeting for the past few months to talk about ways to create a seamless guest experience. The Vail Town Council this summer got its first look at that plan. Committee member Yann Benjamin of Vail Resorts told the council that the idea of guest service training has a couple of goals. The first is presenting a con- sistent message, from art galleries to on-mountain restaurants. The other is trying to improve employee retention. People who stick around may be more likely to understand Vail’s guest service standards. Whether new or returning, “a continuous message is key,” Benjamin said. If employees are excited for a season, guests will pick up on that enthusiasm, he added. Components of the program include training and leadership development forums through the season. Vail Resorts will provide training content. That can build on the success of Vail’s on-mountain team. Benjamin said that team’s customer satisfaction scores have grown over the past several years. ‘About creating community’ Committee member Mia Vlaar, the town’s economic development director, said engaging employees can build on the success the Vail Chamber & Business As- sociation had last season, working with 400 people working for chamber businesses. Vlaar said that program helped create connections among people working in town. “It’s about creating community,” Vlaar said. The proposed training and engagement is scheduled to start in late October and run into roughly mid-December. In addition to training, merchant tours and employee appreciation events, the proposal would also include sessions dedicated to Vail’s history. The combination of training and still-unspecified events comes with a price tag. The committee estimates that the town would need to put more than $150,000 into the effort in this calendar year. Mayor Dave Chapin praised the committee’s work, saying there’s value in what’s being proposed. “Ultimately, it’s the guest that benefits,” Chapin said. YOUR BUSINESS? CONTACT THE SALES REPRESENTATIVES AT THE PARK RECORD TO LEARN HOW ONE OF OUR PRINT AND DIGITAL PACKAGES CAN GET YOUR BUSINESS NOTICED 435.649.9014 • Scheduling to accommodate your extra curricular passion $25 O $75 $10 O $30 • Flexible, structured and highly supportive learning environment Does not include alcohol. Not valid w/ other promotions Limit 2 per table. 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