Vail Resorts announces raise in base minimum wage to $20 an hour next ski season

Vail Resorts, the parent company of Seven Springs, Hidden Valley and Laurel Mountain ski areas, announced this week the company will be increasing its minimum wage to $20 per hour for next ski season.

The company’s new Chief Executive Officer Kirsten Lynch announced the $20 per hour minimum wage for all 37 of its North America resorts in a letter to employees.

“Our employees’ passion is what makes our resorts so special and our guests’ experience memorable,” Lynch said.

“In my first 100 days as CEO, I have had the opportunity to reflect on what is important and what our company must focus on as we move forward. Our top priority must be to support and invest in our employees – their wages, benefits, human resource support, housing and career development,” Lynch said in her announcement.

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The incremental $175 million annual investment in the employee experience marks a new direction for the company, she said.

“Our employee investments are intended to help us achieve normal staffing levels, and in turn, deliver an outstanding guest experience,” Lynch said.

Vail spokesperson Quinn Kelsey did not disclose the what the average increase with the new base hourly wage will mean for employees at the Western Pennsylvania resorts, but admitted that it “represents a significant increase compared to this season.”

Entry-level ski patrollers and maintenance team members will start at $21 per hour. To ensure career and leadership wage differentials, Vail Resorts is also increasing wages for non-entry level hourly team members, the company said.

”We know this is a sizable, unprecedented increase for our Pennsylvania resorts. Our goal is to build an employment network with the intention of growing talent across our global portfolio,” Kelsey said.

Vail Resorts Inc., with 37 ski resorts across 15 states and three countries, purchased the local resorts for $118 million Dec. 31 from Pittsburgh Pirates owner Bob Nutting.