Don't fall for the Smoke and Mirrors - Anonymous employee Vail Resorts Employee Review

1.0
Apr 15, 2012
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Decent perks, cool industry, terrible compensation

Cons

I agree 110% with all of the reviews on this board describing Vail Resorts as “Dysfunctional” with “Disconnected Management”. As one of the recently departed from the corporate office in Broomfield, after several years including the move from Keystone, all I can say is that I am glad to be gone and wouldn't recommend to anyone. Over the past 2-3 years numerous corporate reorganizations have resulted in very high turnover and the wrong individuals in the wrong positions. Most people who have been with the company for 1+ year are not very happy and would attest to all of this. Definitely not a place where you want to go in order further or progress a career. At one point in time, not too long ago, it did live up to the perceived experience that you would expect (good company, cool industry, etc…). Unfortunately that has all changed and it has become the “Wal-Mart” of the ski industry.

Explore other reviews about Vail Resorts

5.0
Jun 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Upper management was very helpful

Cons

Seasonal position only, wished it was year round

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.

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