Skiers and Snowboarders ride lifts up the mountain at Park City Mountain Resort on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022. Contract negotiations continue between the ski patrol union and Vail-owned Park City Mountain Resort.
PARK CITY, Utah — Vail Resorts, which owns Utah’s Park City Mountain Resort, is raising its minimum wage to $20 per hour.
Vail Resorts CEO Kirsten Lynch sent an email to employees on Monday about the change.
“Today, we are taking some important first steps in this new direction with an incremental annual $175 million investment in our employees,” Lynch said.
Lynch said, while presenting the company’s 2022 second quarter earnings, she thinks this change will help Vail attract and retain more employees.
“I would think about this as a strategic investment in the guest experience. And the goal is to return to full staffing, which we did not have this year,” Lynch said. “We are looking at making our resort talent our strategic priority.”
Park City, and Vail resorts nationwide, have struggled with staffing issues over the last several months. It’s impacted how many lifts the resort can operate, with only 33 of the 42 lifts at Park City currently open.
This minimum wage increase change comes after the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association just approved a new contract with Vail in January. They spent about a year and a half negotiating wages, finally agreeing on $15 per hour. Union members voted to strike if negotiations weren’t successful and there was a petition to evict Vail from Park City.
And it’s not just the Park City Mountain location that will see a boost. All North American Vail employees will see a minimum wage of $20 an hour. Maintenance technicians, certified commercial vehicle drivers, and ski patrollers will make at least $21 per hour.