Whistler Blackcomb plans to spend an unspecified amount to build new dormitories that will house 200 more beds for staff and be available by 2020, according to the company.
The resort already has dorm-style housing with a total of 1,470 beds for some of its approximately 4,000 employees to use during peak ski season. Whistler Blackcomb corporately owns some of that dormitory space while the rest is leased.
It charges workers $12.65 per night per dorm bed, for a minimum of 14 nights – a cost that works out to about $380 in an average month.
The website Numbeo estimates that the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Whistler’s city centre is $1,800 per month. All of Whistler Blackcomb’s staff housing, however, is in dormitories and there are no subsidized studios or one-bedroom apartments available.
“Housing is a critical issue in Whistler, and a very real day-to-day problem for many of our staff,” said Whistler Blackcomb COO Pete Sonntag in a release.
“Projects like this are instrumental to attracting the talent we need in the resort as we work toward building the stable, sustainable workforce we all envision for the valley.”
The new dormitories will be on Glacier Lane, adjacent to a Whistler Blackcomb operations building, with easy access to transit and within walking distance of the Excalibur Gondola.
Resort Municipality of Whistler Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden said that this project, along with others initiated by a city task force “puts us well on the way to the target of adding 1,000 beds.”
Colorado-based Vail Resorts bought Whistler Blackcomb for $1.4 billion in October 2016 and the resort's strong attendance immediately helped Vail achieve better than expected earnings.
The destination's status as the most visited ski resort in North America and a controversial changes to the resort's seasons pass strategy then helped Vail's earnings earlier this year.
