CBMR workforce stretched thin during economic slump

Skier visits 20 percent down

With only six weeks left in the ski season, officials at Crested Butte Mountain Resort are feeling the strain of the national economic slump. Over President’s Day weekend some of CBMR’s management staff were seen checking tickets or stationed as Guest Services attendants.

CBMR chief operating officer Ken Stone says year-to-date skier visits are down about 20 percent compared to last season. “It’s pretty devastating this year,” he says. But Stone says CBMR is still finding itself in better shape than a lot of other resorts, which are 20 percent to 30 percent down in skier visits. CBMR has tallied 216,000 skier visits so far this year.
Stone says President’s Day weekend was a strong holiday, with skier visits up 5 percent between Thursday, February 12 and Monday, February 16 over the same holiday weekend last year. President’s Day weekend brought nearly 6,000 skiers to the slopes each day. But so far, Stone says, February has also been behind in skier visits.
Stone says room bookings and lodging revenue so far in February are pacing even. However, Crested Butte Vacations director Jeff Moffett says group business is up, while regular vacation bookings are down, which evens out the number of people using the resort’s lodging.
Stone says lodging bookings in March are 17 percent down.
Airline ticket sales are pacing ahead for February and March, but the connection between airline sales and resort revenues is hard to track. Stone says some of the airline travel can be attributed to locals and second homeowners taking advantage of currently low airfares. He also says the resort may also be affected by ski area visitors cutting back on their vacation experience. Some visitors may choose to stay at a friend’s house rather than use local lodging, while others may forego a ski school lesson.
Stone says the drop in skier visits and loss in revenue means CBMR has to be as efficient as possible in its day-to-day operations. “All our revenue centers are affected. We have to be much more efficient and that means we have to scale back in some areas and use our labor in the company effectively,” he says.
Stone says most of the resort’s full time (summer and winter) employees are working six days a week to help out in other areas of resort operations. He says some of the seasonal employees are getting fewer hours as a result. But Stone says he feels that’s a better compromise than laying off large sections of the workforce, which other resorts have been forced to do.
Earlier this winter Vail Resorts announced the layoff of more than 80 personnel due to financial constraints. “Our goal was to try to continue to employ as many employees as possible,” Stone says. CBMR presently employs more than 1,100 people.
Stone says CBMR has already begun preparing for a potentially weak economy next season. “It’s going to be this way for the next few years,” he predicts. But in spite of the challenges ahead, Stone says, CBMR will still work hard to provide the highest level of safety and services for resort guests.