Ski-resort operators across the state have gotten creative in their recruiting efforts and added cultural ambassadors to the lineup for this ski season.
When Congress changed the rules for H-2B visas last year, resorts were left scrambling to fill jobs previously done by workers on H-2Bs, which let foreign workers fill seasonal, nonagricultural jobs. This year, resorts are ready with an arsenal of new tactics, including the Q-1 visa, which was created for cultural exchange.
“When we looked at the program, it looked like we were already doing a lot of those things. Our instructors were already sharing their culture and lifestyle with our guests,” said Lauren Pelletreau, spokeswoman for Copper Mountain, which is getting 20 Q-1 ski- and ride-school instructors. “It just made sense to formalize that program.”
Aspen is getting 90 Q-1s, Vail Resorts is getting 409, Steamboat picked up 40, and other resorts across the state are also getting Q-1 workers.
The ski resorts and the cultural program are a perfect fit, said Karin Morrison, vice president of American Hospitality Academy, a cultural-exchange program that matches foreign participants with U.S. employers in the hospitality industry.
“It was already naturally happening at the sites, and they were very open to adding the structural components,” Morrison said.
The cultural visa is used largely at Epcot Center and amusement parks. The Q-1 requires employers to provide jobs and environments that have an international-ambassador flair.
So across resorts, cultural days are on the calendar, ethnic food is planned for menus, kids programs have been infused with international lessons and Q-1 workers will talk culture with ski students and day-care participants.
However, resorts are not depending solely on Q-1s, which require holders to return home for 12 months. The resorts increased domestic recruitment, went after summer H-2B resort workers who can apply for extensions, offered more benefits to local workers and added job fairs.
“The big thing was the diversity of our recruitment effort and doing things we hadn’t done before,” said Jeff Hanle, spokesman for Aspen Ski Co. “Q visas are just part of it.”
In Steamboat, the cultural ambassadors will be spread out over lift operations, ski school, the kids vacation center and the ticket office, said spokesman Mike Lane.
Vail Resorts Inc.’s Q-1 visas are being used for ski instructors, said Bob Chapman, director of recruiting for VRI, which operates Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone and Breckenridge.
Visa processes are overseen by the State Department and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offices, said Maria Elena Garcia-Upson, spokeswoman for the CIS.
Garcia-Upson said the switch sounds like an effort to circumvent the law but was not sure about the details of Q-1s.
“Your intention should not be to bring someone in for a particular job skill and then bring them in under another requirement,” she said.
Chapman called that a fair concern but said the industry vetted the program.
“The program is fairly scrutinized. The reality is that the H-2B fits us but the Q makes more sense when we look at the customer experience,” he said. “If we wanted to use this as an end around, we could have used it to get the 2,500 H-2Bs that we typically need.”
Elizabeth Aguilera: 303-954-1372 or eaguilera@denverpost.com
Where they’re working
Colorado resorts’ Q-1 visas for cultural- exchange employees:
90 — Aspen
20 — Copper Mountain
40 — Steamboat
409 — Vail Resorts
