SAM Coverage
Personnel Issues
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Speak Out :: Minimum Wage War
As the minimum wage continues to increase in several states, and even fast-food restaurants are offering higher wages, how are winter resorts being affected—and…
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SNOW Operating to Operate Mountain Creek Ski Resort
SAM Magazine—Vernon, N.J., Aug. 22, 2017—SNOW Operating has entered into a long-term partnership with Mountain Creek Ski Resort, N.J., to manage the resort’s winter…
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Maintaining Mid-Season Momentum
Resorts are taking a variety of steps to avoid late-season burnout. Christmas is over. New Year’s. Crazy busy MLK weekend. The next big holiday…
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When It’s Time to Change, You’ve Got to Rearrange
Year-round operations pose opportunities and challenges for employers and employees. It used to be that many mountain resorts, especially the ones with long winter…
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Greasy Glass Ceiling?
Mountain operations have typically been a male-dominated world. But that is changing as women make their way out of the offices. It wasn’t long…
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Why Is Change Hard?
The second profile in our terrain-based teaching series. Here we take a look at how Jay Peak converted employee culture. This past season Jay…
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Creative Staffing
Technology is not a panacea when it comes to scheduling, but it can often help. Recent seasons have been watersheds for many areas as…
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Driving Employee Engagement
Keeping employees motivated and enthusiastic will increase retention and add to your bottom line. The latest Gallup “State of the American Workplace” survey, released…
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Rescue Me
The National Ski Patrol has been through years of turmoil. Can it be saved? Say you’ve just met someone at a party, and they…
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Online Video Liftie Training
A new tool for lift operations aims to streamline the steps and modernize the process. Many lifties may be bumping chairs mainly for the…
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On the Hill: Alyeska Spring Training – Extreme Tram Evacuation
In this first installation of SAM’s Field Report series, we interview Michelle Cosper from Alyeska Resort about their off-season training routines. Last week SAM…
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20 Under 30 :: 2011
About five years ago, there was a general feeling among top managers that the resort industry faced a looming succession shortage. Guys (and it…
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Workers Everywhere
The upside to a down economy: the labor pool. Not too long ago, ski resorts had trouble filling all of their winter positions. No…
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Give Folks a Lift
Creative ways to get guests and employees to the mountains abound. In a business that offers an outdoor experience in wide-open spaces, it’s ironic…
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Fun and Games for Lifties
The Wasatch Backside Lifty Invitational shows the love to some key employees. A lift operator doesn’t need to clock a co-worker with a chair…
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Cleaning Up
Sugar Bowl’s maintenance building is a model of cleanliness and efficiency thanks to an in-house competition. It’s always a struggle to keep our maintenance…
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Don’t Hire, Audition!
No joke: the ski industry can learn a thing or two about hiring from the amusement park business. It’s a common problem at resorts…
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You Are What You Eat (And Do)
A combination of fitness training and proper nutrition can drastically reduce employee injuries and illness. The rising costs of employee illness and injury at…