Huge disconnect between Upper Management and Customer - Mid-Level Manager Vail Resorts Employee Review

2.0
8 Dec 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

It hugely depends why you are working for the company. If you are an individual just using the company for a ski pass and have no interest in a career, then you get what you want. Also after you have worked for the company it does stand out on a resume, a great talking point with future employers. Excellent insurance plan for full time employees.

Cons

No personality at all as a whole trickled down from upper management. As mentioned below, huge disconnect in the layers between upper management to corporate employees and then to hospitality employees on site in mountain resorts. I have worked for other corporations and this company does stand out as particularly callous and not interested in employee satisfaction. The company has the potential to be much more profitable than they currently are. Without rehashing, everything mentioned below is definitely true. You have to understand that this company is being run exactly to design. The company in reality is much smaller than it seems. Most employees are line level making $10/hr. They effectively discourage employees above line level from staying longer than 2 years. They are a machine. They own a product that sells itself and they manage it exactly like you would imagine a bunch of bankers and accountants would. They bring you in with the feeling that you are working for a unique company but once you are there they work you heavy without the payoff. The CEO of the company is a Wall Street 1%'er. He knows how to manipulate the stock price through "influence" of the instutional investors, I've seen them all getting out of their private shuttles for their "week" prior to the 3rd qtr filings. There is no way the share price should be up at $70 share, the revenue and debt do not support this. There is no light or reward at the end of the tunnel for your hard work. Your salary will never go up. There really are very few opportunities to move beyond your $30k starting salary and almost none above the $50k line. These will be filled by outside hires.

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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