Great experience to live in the mountains and pursue a professional career - Anonymous employee Vail Resorts Employee Review

4.0
Jan 3, 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

During my tenure '99-'07 the Corporate Office was located in Avon and being able to work for a publically traded professional organization and live in the mountains was a great opportunity. During this time Vail Resorts grew significantly and it was exciting to be part of that work.

Cons

In the aftermath of 9/11 the tourism sector took a major hit and it was hard to see the impact that had on the employees in the communities that survive on the tourism business. Vail Resorts had to make some unpopular decisions during this time and it was difficult to see the impact at a personal level.

Explore other reviews about Vail Resorts

5.0
Jun 12, 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
May 14, 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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