Looking Ahead to Presidents' Week
A Note from mgmt.
Dear Okemo pro’s,
I’d like to focus this newsletter on our Continuous Listening survey that came out a weeks ago as well as our upcoming February Holiday break.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide us feedback in the latest survey. We received more participation in the January survey than the December survey and I hope we continue to increase engagement next month.
Everyone at this resort knew this year was going to be challenging and your feedback certainly reflected that in the latest survey.
Some common themes that came up included group lesson sizes, staffing shortages, onboarding challenges, on-mountain safety and our employee culture at Okemo. It is my responsibility to address these issues in the best way I can and I intend to do so.
I had a strong feeling that this season was going to be much busier than last year but I’m not sure any of us were prepared for the guest visitation and ski school demand we have seen this season, all while trying to operate the resort with a reduced workforce. This coming holiday week will be no different. Fortunately we are skiing and riding on 118 trails with a recently completed park and pipe but our F&B operations will still be running at limited capacity and our parking challenges will not magically go away. It’s great to popular, and great to be busy here at Okemo but I understand how that popularity has taken a toll on all of us. Despite all of it I know this team will show up ready to go and provide great experiences for our guests. Thank you again for your dedication to this resort.
-Steve Clark, Director Skier Services
Presidents week is upon us and it looks like mother nature wants to attend as well, weather for the next 10 days will bring the whole gambit of what a northeast has to offer. This includes the business levels, we are currently fully booked through the following Saturday. The ski and ride school will be busy for the next 10 days and our flexibility to accommodate request privates and extensions for half days going to a full day. Also affected will be our group lessons, if a guest wants to add a day during this holiday period we will not be able to accommodate them. These dates have been unavailable for booking for a number of weeks.
Our goal for setting our inventories is to provide a positive learning environment. There have been some misses this season on our inventory, one of those misses will occur in the middle of next week. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday will be a challenge, and expect to see supervisors and managers teaching or running carpets. This holiday period is filled at the first of the year, normally this does not happen until after Martin Luther King weekend. Anyone that is able to add a day during this period is appreciated.
Amplitude continues to provide the kids with a great experience even as those groups are larger than they have been. We had a few coaches decide not to work this season which has resulted in larger groups.
We as a department do not like to see large classes on the hill, the added stress for staff, and the reduced guest experience. The team has been working to ensure keep our capacities to appropriate levels.
Your hard work is appreciated and recognized. Please remember to take care of yourselves this week, remember to eat well, and hydrate. Safety of self-first.
-Chris Saylor, Sr. Mgr. Ski & Ride School
