Summer Workers Set to Return in Full

When Whitefish Mountain Resort (WMR) was gearing up for a busy winter season in December, managers were expecting a staffing shortage for the nearly 500 open full- and part-time positions on the mountain. 

But major shortages were averted due to an increased number of J-1 student visas, which were suspended in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. This season, WMR employed roughly 60 workers on the foreign visas to fill jobs in food and beverage, housekeeping and lift operations – positions few locals apply for. 

To further sweeten the deal of working on the mountain, WMR increased wages for many jobs and renovated the resort-owned Hibernation House, an administrative building and former hotel, for employee housing that provided 48 beds in 24 rooms and a shared kitchen.

Public Relations Manager Chad Sokol said the success of staffing the mountain during the winter makes mountain officials optimistic heading into the summer hiring season.

Last summer, WMR kicked off its seasonal operations over Memorial Day weekend with a greater-than-anticipated number of guests due to summer-like weather at the end of May. After the initial opening, the resort was forced to scale back its offerings, closing two days a week due to a lack of staff. Resort officials said only 65% of the mountain’s open positions were filled by early June. 

“Having the J-1 visas back this year will certainly help during summer,” Sokol said. “Also, in the last four years or so we’ve been looking at younger employees. Lots of attendant jobs are great for high schoolers looking for part-time work and having that younger workforce has allowed us to look for more part-time employees, giving us a bigger pool.”

Sokol also doesn’t expect the hiring process to extend nearly as late into the season this year and said mountain usually aims to be fully staffed by July 4. 

“We’re only just getting started hiring for summer positions,” Sokol said. “We know from years past that summer hiring can be more challenging than winter because we have more competition in the valley, but we’re also looking for a smaller workforce, only about 125 total workers.”

The competition for summer can be fierce as the peak tourism season for northwest Montana drives the need for more employees in hospitality as well as a myriad of outdoor-oriented positions. 

Glacier Guides, an adventure company located just outside Glacier National Park that leads hiking, rafting and biking trips for tourists, has already filled 95% of its summer positions, but those that remain open are support positions — housekeeping and kitchen staff.

“With such a high demand for those jobs in the valley, people are able to just go for the highest paying gigs first,” said Judith Christiansen, hiring manager for the Guides. “I have more confidence this year though. The hiring climate is better, we’re getting set up earlier and our wages have gone up.”

On the actual guiding side of things, Christiansen said there has been more interest than in recent years, with each open guide position receiving numerous applications. 

“It means we’re able to be a little more selective and make sure we’re choosing good people who will work well together and have fun,” Christiansen said, adding that she’s also starting to see a quicker turnover in guides than in previous seasons. 

“I’m not sure if it’s the pandemic, but it seems like the longevity of the guides is getting shorter,” she said. “They’re wanting to stay a season or two instead of five, six or seven. People seem more migratory these days.”

However, with such a high interest in guiding positions, as well as the speed at which the staff has come together, Christiansen is hopeful that Glacier Guides will be able to avoid the stress brought on by staff shortages the last two years. 

“When guides have to take on more work because we have trips booked but a limited number of guides, that just leads to people feeling overworked and underappreciated,” she said. “We don’t want to be on that old work-non-stop mentality. We want people to enjoy the work they do for us in the summer.”