As Telluride Ski Resort and its ski patrollers’ union prepare to head back to the bargaining table this weekend, local business owners are increasingly on edge about how negotiations and a potential strike during the holidays could affect the remote community on Colorado’s Western Slope.
“I’ll be honest, I’ve been losing a lot of sleep the last week,” said Chris Fish, co-owner of Telluride Brewing Co. “Right now, the keyword is uncertainty.”
Like many mountain towns, Telluride’s local economy depends heavily on tourism. After nearly three months of offseason, business owners like Fish count on Christmas visitors to jump-start revenue and lay the foundation for a successful winter season.
The lack of snow this far into December was already a concern, since it has inhibited Telluride Ski Resort from opening much terrain. But as negotiations between the resort and its ski patrollers have turned contentious and spilled into the public eye, it has compounded worries about the potential ramifications on tourism.
On Wednesday, Telluride Mayor Teddy Errico issued a public statement calling on both parties to quickly reach a resolution and “avoid potentially serious consequences for our retailers, restaurant and bar owners, small businesses, residents and children, visitors, and destination this winter.”
Business owners here are walking a fine line, as they understand both the challenges of running an enterprise in a remote box canyon and living in one of Colorado’s most expensive enclaves. In a community of roughly 2,500 year-round residents, most also know people on both sides of negotiations.
“Compensation conversations are always extremely sensitive,” said Jason Vargas, general manager of Exceptional Stays vacation rental company. “Being a business operator myself, I get that – both from Telski’s position, where they’re trying to ensure that they’re providing a fair and equitable wage, and from the union’s standpoint. I understand Telluride’s a beautiful place and many beautiful places like Telluride, the cost of living is certainly a factor.”
Vargas said seeing both parties present and willing to talk about the issues gives him hope they truly want to make it work. When guests and homeowners inquire about the negotiations, he relays what he knows to be true: The mountain is currently open and welcoming visitors as those talks continue. Exceptional Stays has not seen mass cancellations, he added.
Telluride Ski & Golf, colloquially known as Telski, is the region’s largest employer and integral to the local economy. Though the relationship between locals and ski resort owner Chuck Horning has been tenuous in recent years, there’s undoubtedly a symbiotic bond between the company and the community.
There’s little indication that tourists have canceled their holiday plans, but the ski resort hasn’t done much to calm anxiety about the situation.
In recent weeks, Horning sent messages to local businesses threatening to raise lift ticket prices should it “cave” to wage demands from the union, the Telluride Professional Ski Patrollers Association. A spokesperson also suggested the resort would communicate with ticketholders about a potential strike so they understand their holiday experience might be impacted.
Separately, the union has staged practice pickets and leveraged social media to apply pressure throughout bargaining. Both parties – which are expected to return to the bargaining table on Saturday – have published a dizzying number of wage figures and statistics to shape the narrative.
All the back and forth has caused confusion and made it difficult to plan.
“Small business owners work extremely hard to keep their doors open and to not have people come at the busiest time of year would put a tremendous stress on the town,” said Caci Grinspan, owner of Cashmere Red in Telluride, adding that December is typically one of the store’s busiest months for sales. “The repercussions are not just for this season and the rest of the season, but for years to come.”
Telluride Brewing Co. operates a brewpub in Mountain Village, at the base of the ski resort, and Fish said he’s unsure how much food to order in preparation of Christmas and New Year’s Eve. That’s especially pertinent since money is tight coming out of the offseason, he said, and because the brewery recently acquired a restaurant next door to its facility in Lawson Hill, outside of downtown Telluride, to expand its footprint and offerings.
“It’s time for not just the businesses, but everyone who works here to pay their bills,” Fish said. “We hope that we can get a resolution here that’s good for both sides and get back to business as usual, which is probably worrying about when we’re going to get more snow.”
