Career Report

By: Abbye Schomer

Introduction:
● The name of the candidate that I interviewed is Carol Hoffman. She works for Vail
as the Manager of Product Sales and Services for Seven Springs, Hidden Valley,
and Laurel Mountain Resorts.
● I interviewed her on October 22nd, 2022.
● I chose to interview Carol because I have interest in working at a resort for a
career later on in life. I think that resorts are so cool and I like that Seven Springs
is in Pennsylvania. I figured that talking to her would give me a good insight on
what it’s like working at a large resort.
● Carol has been working for Seven Springs for 22 years. She did not mention
having a degree from anywhere, but said she started working at Seven Springs
after her friend asked her for a favor. She helped with kids skiing. Eventually, she
decided she liked it there and eventually, worked her way up.

Mission/Purpose of the Agency/Department

● The agency’s mission statement is to give “The Experience of a Lifetime”.
● Carol mentioned how the goal is to pass this onto the guests.
● Vail and Seven Springs do not necessarily have different mission statements.
The main mission statement is used as a whole in each different department.
● Carol said this year's focus was service to others.

Clientele Served:
● The clients served at this agency are greatly varied. There are kids, adults, and a
great diversity of people who visit Seven Springs, as well as other Vail Resorts.
With that being said, the ages of the clients is such a range.
● For Vail as a whole, there are 41 resorts that each have different membership
levels. The advanced membership level allows any person to use the pass at any
of the PA resorts and other Vail places.
● The geographic location from where people come from greatly varies. Vail has
added so many resorts over the last few years which allows people to travel to
various locations that may be closer to where they live. Vail strives to give the
people from very different demographics the opportunity to enjoy skiing and other
experiences that they could not participate in where they live. Because of this,
they are known to come and participate in the programs and services that the
various resorts have to offer.
 ● There are no qualifying demographics necessarily. Carol mentioned how recently,
there have been major conversations about diversity and inclusion. Vail is
working on trying to make their resorts a place accessible to anyone.
● Vail has a statement called “Epic Promise”, which strives to make the experience
“epic” for anyone. They have sponsorship to boys and girls clubs.
● Carol mentioned that the most typical demographic are white males that visit, but
the company wants everyone to be represented and is pushing strongly for
inclusion.

Services and Programs Provided

● The programs and services that Vail provides are the same at any of their
resorts. Everything is there so you can do what you need and the resources you
need are available. There are rental shops so that you do not have to rent
outside of the resort, they give ski lessons, have ski patrol, and they have a
safety department.
● To be able to have these services, there are ski lifts to get up the mountain and
there are specific areas at the resorts to rent ski items.
● There are also many places to lodge on site, ranging from hotels to full houses.
● They also have the resources and space for conventions and events.

Staffing
● For Vail itself, there are around 55,000 employees.
● For Seven Springs, there are around 1,900 employees around winter time.
● For the recreation department specifically at Seven Springs, there are around
100 employees in product sales and services, 300 in the snow sports school, and
the rental shop has about 80 tech service individuals.
● When it comes to full-time employees, it varies across resorts. For the resorts
that are open all 4 seasons (including Seven Springs and many in the east),
there are core full-time staff, as compared to the resorts that close during the
summer. The resorts that are not open year-round are mainly part-time staff.
● Seven Springs has 600 staff year round that are helpful for conventions in the
off-season.
● Seasonal employees are used.
● Seven Springs used to have volunteers, but ski laws changed, so now everyone
is paid.
Funding Sources
● To pay staff and maintain the programs, services, and facilities, Vail gets a
majority of its money from advanced commitment products. This is when guests
buy their winter passes in advance, typically around May, because they are a
great price!
● A lot of capital comes from single day commitments as well.
● Income can also come from conventions. Seven Springs is unique because they
can host larger functions and be used greatly, as there are not a ton of places in
the area where you hold bigger events.
● Vail is also a publicly traded company so there are stakeholders beyond the
resorts.
● Funds are used diligently as Vail realizes that the money they use to put into their
resorts is someone else’s money.

Professional Issues
● Carol finds excitement in her career as it’s always changing and it’s a job that
doesn’t feel like a job. She said that there is always something different and that
working there has allowed her to grow as a person and that it’s fun as well.
● Some challenges that Carol spoke of is that switching between seasons can be
difficult. She said that you have to make sure to meter yourself, or else you can
burn out as there are so many people to serve. She told me what’s been helpful
and something that she suggests is to build a network under you that’s strong
and make sure you are willing to grow.
Thank You Note