This season has thrown curveballs at resorts across North America. In addition to ever-changing Covid case numbers and protocols, a devastating staffing shortage has created industry-wide ripples. Add to that fickle early snow and warm temperatures, plus loosened or lifted capacity restrictions, and the 2021-22 season began amid a confluence of closures, challenges, and Catch-22s. 

Like a charcuterie board at a farm-to-table restaurant, the challenges over the holidays offered quite the variety. While parts of the West Coast were getting buried with storms of historic proportion around Christmas, resorts in the East were forced to shut down during one of their busiest holiday periods due to rain and hairdryer winds. Mutating Covid mandates left many guests wondering where and when to mask up. And with the Omicron variant raging through mountain towns from coast to coast, managers had to scramble to keep staff safe and on the job while still trying to turn a profit and stay in the game. 

The one constant was the siren call of the mountains, which lured visitors to the slopes over the Christmas/New Year’s holiday and Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. 

Trends in Numbers

Many operators reported growth year-over-year for both holidays, even with operational hurdles. At Timberline Lodge, Ore., visitation during MLK weekend was up 15 percent over last year. “We recognize while things are not perfect or always smooth, we are in much better shape than in January 2021,” said John Burton, director of marketing and PR. “Yield continues to improve and offset shortfalls of ski area visitation due to a late start, fewer occupied hotel rooms, and supply chain issues.”

Popular Purgatory. A strong Christmas period with consistent snowfall created momentum with guests going into the MLK holiday at Purgatory, Colo. “MLK lodging occupancy and lift ticket demand matched Christmas break levels,” said general manager Dave Rathbun, “but passholder visitation declined, as people went back to work and school and the conditions shifted from powder days to sunshine and fresh corduroy.” Still, year-over-year, Purgatory saw a 27 percent increase in MLK visitation and 9 percent increase year to date.

Challenges at the ‘Bush. Christmas week was about average at Sugarbush, Vt., said communications manager John Bleh, despite limited terrain. Very cold temps during MLK weekend squashed visitation for that Saturday and Sunday, too. But a storm overnight into Monday brought guests in droves, leading to one of the resort’s most successful Martin Luther King, Jr. Days in history. 

Cannon fodder. The story was similar at Cannon, N.H. “Christmas week, in general, was pretty steady every day, with things ramping up all week toward that Friday the 31st and then dropping off during the weekend,” said general manager John DeVivo. 

Coming out of the MLK period, revenue and visitation to date were both ahead year-over-year, and those numbers were also ahead of the 10-year average, a sign that the demand generated from lockdowns and Covid mandates has been carrying forward, and consumer confidence has been increasing. That said, DeVivo and his team have opted to limit ticket availability to best offer a product that meets consumers’ expectations. 

The Staffing Conundrum

Chronic staffing shortages, coupled with Covid exclusions through the holidays, forced resorts to scramble to keep operations running. To spread visitors across the mountain over the busy holiday periods, the team at Purgatory had to make tough decisions, closing some non-ski activities to make staff available for mountain operations.

Operations triage. “From 6 to 8 a.m. every day, managers performed schedule triage just to determine what they would be able to open/operate each day based on the number of employees who showed up for work,” said Rathbun. “I’m amazed we were able to keep 95 percent of the operation functioning with all the mayhem.” 

The mayhem included power outages and internet and cellular service glitches, in addition to the daily operations juggling. Customer experience scores during those weeks plummeted, Rathbun said, but recovered by MLK weekend—a sign that many of the issues were temporary. 

Rathbun credited his team for the turnaround, as they never gave up and maintained a “can-do” attitude. “It contributed to the best experience we could muster in the face of extreme obstacles,” he said. “As painful as some of it was, we came through it together and are still here.”

A testament to teamwork. Tackling adverse conditions and staff shortages with a team mentality was the norm. Josh Faber, general manager at Winterplace Ski Resort, W.Va., also credited teamwork for the ski area’s bounce-back success over the MLK holiday. 

After five inches of rain over Christmas week wiped out its snow base, Winterplace had to start over. To get through it, Faber—who joined Winterplace as GM in November—leaned on his team. “I have always been a firm believer in listening to the team so that I can learn from them and take that information to steer all of us on the right path,” he said. 

As with many other ski areas, Winterplace felt the impact of staffing shortages. Faber said his team is running close to their original operating plan, but only because managers stepped outside their silos. “There have been a few days that I have had to run lifts, help make snow, and groom the slopes. It takes all of us to step up and do what is necessary,” he noted.

That theme was widespread.

“I’m now just a part-time GM, but a full-time snowmaker-custodian-lift-operator-rental-boot guy,” joked Cannon’s DeVivo, who has implemented daily “snowplan” meetings with the mountain operations departments to maintain awareness of the area’s critical needs.

Serving Up F&B

Manning the front lines. F&B was another all-hands-on-deck operation for many. Guests and employees at Sugarbush frequently saw VP of food and beverage operations Keith Paxman rolling burritos on the front line over the holidays. 

Enduring Covid options. Takeout was big, too. Keeping outdoor accommodations like grab-and-go food available this season at Sugarbush has been a worthwhile investment in the overall guest experience, according to Bleh.

“We definitely learned from last winter into this current one that people are still reluctant to spend too much time inside,” said Bleh. “They remain willing to adapt their experience accordingly, however, booting up in cars and eating outside. So, continuing to incorporate fire pits, outdoor heaters, and takeout at all eating establishments—people really appreciate that.”

Managing volume. On New Year’s Eve, the Snowbird, Utah, food and beverage team found itself down to one server in the resort’s busy SeventyOne restaurant. The server had stayed on since the breakfast shift and was staring down 270 reservations for the final dinner of 2021. Working together, the entire food and beverage team rallied to serve every guest that night. 

According to Snowbird communications manager Sarah Sherman, these types of staffing issues continued to impact operations through the MLK holiday, but managers have been motivated to adapt accordingly and help wherever they’re needed. 

To mitigate some of the resort’s food and beverage challenges, Sherman said dining reservations were made mandatory across the mountain and its hotels, allowing the Snowbird team to take a more strategic approach to staffing while still accommodating guests. “Meanwhile,” Sherman added, “we worked with our teams across the mountain to educate and communicate with our guests, and to set expectations and understanding around what was going on.”

Communications Success Stories

While marketing teams have often been accused of sugar coating their communications in the past, more and more this season, areas are seeing success by painting the whole operational picture in their guest-facing communications. Information pages complement nearly every ski area website with facts about temporary closures, Covid policies, and ticket limitations. 

Bolton Valley, Vt., said its online snow report was the communications lifeline for resort personnel and guests alike. The resort had turned the report into a catch-all for communication prior to the pandemic, and providing up-to-date information built trust with guests, especially during the Christmas holiday. According to resort president Lindsay DesLauriers, streamlining this info took the burden of communication off of frontline staff—guests (and staff) simply had to “hit the refresh button” for a trustworthy report outlining resort operations in real time. 

Mt. Hood Meadows, Ore., began using social media to provide informational updates several years ago, said VP of marketing and sales Dave Tragethon. What started out as an accidental Facebook post about bad traffic en route to the resort quickly became a lesson in strategic real-time updates.

“We have received great feedback and praise from our guests for announcing in advance many of the challenges (weather and otherwise) we are facing—and there seems to be greater appreciation and positivity as a result,” said Tragethon.

At Cannon, DeVivo said his team has been proactive with guest communication as well, and their transparency has yielded similarly positive results. “We all knew we’d be short going into this season,” explained DeVivo. “Covid has certainly just forced us all to be more creative in dealing with the daily juxtaposing, and truthful when relaying info to our guests and prospective guests about our efforts to run as fully as possible at all times.”

While growth year-over-year amid operating difficulties is a boon for the industry, the value of open communication and the other lessons learned during the Christmas and MLK holidays are the real wins from the early season. Across the country, managers and staff have seen how new strategies can ensure that the show goes on, even in the face of daunting challenges.