This is the Wal-Mart argument. Cheap labor means lower prices, more capital available for investment, etc. Short term, you're probably right. Long term, you've eliminated hundreds of local jobs and outsourced them to overseas personnel who will accept lower wages. You've artificially depressed the wage market. On the macro level, you'll have fewer people with jobs that can support the local economy and you end up with a continually shrinking middle class.da Pimp wrote:In comes the visa programs. Accomplishes a lot for ski areas, and if those visa workers were not here everyone would be screaming about closed lifts, poor services, etc. Would POWDR do anything different in the long term? I bet they would: Shorten the season, cut full timers, raise prices, reduce snowmaking budgets, FORGET about capital improvements. Just bandaids and more mulch.
So don't be in a rush to condemn visa programs, and don't expect the North American ski are business model to change anytime soon that results in a better product for you. Lets be thankful that K has someone like Mike Solimano who can extract every bit of quality out of the organization. Lots of things are getting better, just not with capital projects that the competition enjoys. I bet their long term Capex plan all goes into their 30% investment of the f'n village and anything else spent here is because it HAS TO BE done now.
I'd rather pay more and maybe even get less service if I can live in a world where my neighbors make a living wage that enables them to buy the stuff I'm selling. I think in the long run this is a better model that will result in better service both on the mountain and off it.