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experimenting with a “Tenants 4 Turns” housing assistance “What we have seen in our community is a growing list
incentive program, offering season pass discounts and other of landlords who previously would rent out rooms or condos
perks to local landlords and home or condo owners who to seasonal workers that have now switched over to VRBO
advertise seasonal rentals through the resort. or Airbnb—which has created a community-wide shortage
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Wyo. (also on public of workforce housing,” said Trish Sullivan, Steamboat’s
lands), has a similar program, offering 15-day pass vouchers vice president of human resources. “It’s a double challenge,
to local homeowners who provide housing for resort employ- because if we can’t offer affordable housing it’s harder to
ees, said Nicola James, JHMR’s human resources director. recruit those seasonal employees in the first place.”
The retail value of that 15-day pass product this season was Steamboat also owns and operates an employee housing
$1,375, which could alternately be applied toward the $1,760 complex at its base area known as The Ponds, where 442 of its
retail price of a full JHMR Grand Pass, she said. 1,650 seasonal workers currently reside. Many of the resort’s
Steamboat Resort, Colo., implemented a new “Winter seasonal employees live in Steamboat Springs
Employee Tenant Incentive” program for the 2016-17 season, year-round, but Sullivan estimates there are
offering cash grants to local landlords offering rooms for rent still about 600 new seasonal workers in need
to resort employees for less than $500 per month. of housing.

Support for Ski Area Employee Housing On Forest Service Land

BY GERALDINE LINK, NSAA DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC POLICY

NSAA is working with the US Forest area; these units house 10 different employee housing on USFS land
Service to explore expanding oppor- types of employees (not just “security/ already exists in a half a dozen states.
tunities for ski areas that want to maintenance” personnel); 65 percent Existing regulatory authority includes
build employee housing, or increase of respondents want more employee our ski area permit language, which
existing employee housing, on Forest housing; and the majority of respon- references employee housing; the Ski
Service land. dents need employee housing on Area Permit Act, which allows for “ski
For some ski areas, the need for public land because nearby private operations and appropriate ancillary
employee housing has never been land is prohibitively expensive, making facilities”; and the Forest Service
greater. A combination of factors have it virtually unavailable for develop- Manual (FSM), which specifically
resulted in a shortage of employee ment of employee housing. allows for employee housing for secu-
housing, including spikes in the cost The reported benefits of addi- rity and safety needs and allows for
of private land in mountain communi- tional employee housing include: the use of public land for recreation
ties, lack of private land in mountain helping attract new employees and facilities when private land is “not rea-
communities that are predominantly retain existing employees; helping sonably available.” Some ski areas lit-
on federal land, and the emergence of transition to a four-season model; erally do not have private land nearby.
VRBO, Airbnb, and other online rental increasing safety for employees For others, the skyrocketing cost of
portals that have eliminated sea- via reduced commuting; reducing private land in mountain communities
son-long rentals for employees. traffic and congestion; improving has rendered private land “reasonably
NSAA surveyed public land air quality and emission reductions; unavailable.”
member resorts in 2016 to gain data providing skeleton crew to open the Stay tuned to see if the Forest SKIDATA is a pioneer and global leader in access and ticketing solutions for mountain
on how much employee housing resort in event of a road closure/dis- Service will enable additional destinations and winter sports regions. For over 35 years, SKIDATA has been helping
exists on public land currently, resorts’ ruptive event; and improving rela- employee housing on USFS land clients increase revenues and optimize business processes. With integrated solution
appetite for additional employee tions between the ski area and the under existing authority. Since the models based on state-of-the-art technology and user-friendly designs, your customers
housing on public land in the future, local community. Trump Administration does not favor will benefit from the greatest possible convenience and the best possible service.
and their reasons for needing it. NSAA’s position is that current “new regulations,” working within
Survey results show that currently regulatory authority allows the agency existing authority may be the only
resorts already have more than 200 to approve employee housing on viable alternative for the ski industry
employee housing units on the permit ski area permit lands. Case in point, and the agency at this point.
www.skidatausa.com
36 | NSAA JOURNAL | SPRING 2017

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