Vermont Ski Resorts Face Worker Shortage As They Prepare For Upcoming Season
Mike Solimano, president of Killington and Pico Ski Resorts, says this winter he expects to be 20-30% short on staffing. Resorts across Vermont are expected to face similar staffing challenges. (Nina Keck/VPR)
Vermont’s ski industry lost an estimated $100 million last winter due to COVID-19. That means this year is critical.
With travel restrictions loosened, many in the ski industry hoped this season would be easier.
But a housing crunch and worker shortage — problems that have been simmering for years — have gotten even worse since the pandemic.
So ski resorts, and businesses that rely on them, are having to get creative about doing more with fewer people.
Mike Solimano, president of Killington and Pico ski resorts, says last year, he was worried about just being able to open.
This year, his biggest headache is staffing.
“It is the issue. It’s pretty much all we talk about,” he said. “It’s depressing. You go to job fairs in town, and two or three people show up.”
The unemployment rate in Vermont is just 3%, well below the national rate of 5.2%. And since the pandemic, Vermont’s workforce has shrunk by nearly 30,000.
For Solimano, the shortage of workers has forced the resort to prioritize.