By Gordon Dritschilo
Staff Writer
Vermont’s ski resorts lost an estimated $100 million this winter.
The number came from the Vermont Ski Areas Association, and state officials said multiplying by seven would give the overall effect on the economy.
“I think we are just beginning to see what the long-term effects of the pandemic will be,” Vermont Commissioner of Tourism and Marketing Heather Pelham said. “We do expect economic recovery will take several years. I don’t think the economic impacts on our restaurants and innkeepers can be understated.”
While season pass holders got out more, paid skier visits were down roughly 40% through the end of February, according to VSAA president Molly Mahar. One skier at Pico on its final weekend quipped that it felt like skiing at his own private mountain.
While locals felt a lot less crowded on the mountains, they were not actually alone. Mahar acknowledged widespread doubts that the skiers who were coming to Vermont from out-of-state were complying with quarantine requirements.
“It was a difficult thing to enforce,” she said. “If I tell you I’ve quarantined, how do I prove that I have? The state chose not to put any penalties in place, and I don’t know how they would do it. … I think it set up an unfortunate us-versus-them thing with Vermonters not wanting to see out-of-state people.”
Mahar said a number of people relocated to the area for the season, if not permanently, and season pass sales were up for many areas even if overall skier visits were down. She said the three peak weekends, which tend to coincide with family vacations, were off by 35% across the state.
“What that tells me is, a lot of families weren’t able to swing the quarantine,” she said. “I think a lot of people did do it. I’m not going to sit here and tell you everybody did. We know not everybody did, but I think a lot of people did.”
In any case, Mahar said no resorts closed as result of COVID and there were no COVID outbreaks associated with Vermont ski resorts.
While COVID didn’t keep everyone away from the resorts, it did tend to keep them out of the lodges and restaurants and hotels. Mahar said lodging revenue was down by 60% and food and beverage revenue plummeted by 70%.
“Even on a day we had a lot of skiers, you’d go into the cafeteria and there were crickets,” Bolton Valley Resort President Lindsay DesLauriers said. “There was no way around that. There was no way around taking a hit.”
At Pico, tailgating became a common sight in the parking lot. Mahar said she was confident that however much fun visitors had with apres-ski grilling, most of them would be back in the lodges next season.
“It really is weather-dependent, and we do have some cold-weather days,” she said. “That’ll be interesting to see what does change in the long run, but I think people will still want to have their beer at the bar and a hot lunch, and get warm.”
DesLauriers said being one of the state’s smaller resorts worked out strongly in Bolton’s favor this year. She said roughly 70% of their visitors live within a 45-minute radius, so they did not take nearly the same hit as larger resorts more reliant on out-of-state and foreign visitors.
It was hard to get the larger resorts to discuss the season. Killington and Sugarbush did not respond to inquiries and Okemo responded with an email that offered no detail about the 2022-21 season but listed its pass prices for next year.
“Without a doubt, the pandemic has devastated the Vermont economy in so many ways, whether that’s businesses or the people who work for them,” said Betsy Bishop, president of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. “I think as we are all looking forward to a time when we can return to a new normal, there are still going to be difficulties.”
A big part of that difficulty, according to Mahar, Bishop and Pelham, is debt. Just because a business is still running, they said, doesn’t mean they will come out of the pandemic unscathed.
“As we start to see the economy recover, what people don’t see is the amount of debt that’s been acquired in the last 13 months,” Bishop said. “That does not go away in a summer season. … That’s going to take a very long time. … Being open does not equal being profitable. I think there’s a long road to recovery.”
Mahar said a number of resorts are hoping the wedding season will be strong enough to at least begin to close the gap, and Pelham said the state is planning another $50 million in economic recovery grants. Bishop said there is one more challenge to be overcome though — an apparent labor shortage.
“If we don’t have our workers return to work, that will be a restraint on the recovery as well,” she said. “I would encourage people to get their vaccine and bring their patience when they go out to eat or go to a store. … With a decreased workforce and the restaurant industry still having less than 100% capacity, I think demand may stretch our previous business model.”
gordon.dritschilo @rutlandherald.com
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