She added, “We certainly apologize for any confusion, but we were intentional in specifying ‘mandatory stay-at-home orders’ versus ‘travel restrictions’ on our website and in communications with guests.” These requirements could be changed again, or even eliminated, as soon as next month.” In a statement, a Vail Resorts spokeswoman said, “While Vermont’s quarantine requirements may present challenges for some pass holders, they do not prohibit pass holders from accessing our mountains. All of those states currently have travel restrictions, as does your home state of Massachusetts. For instance, the Northeast Midweek Pass - the one you purchased, which cost around $450 when it was on sale last year - grants access to 17 resorts in New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Vermont. Regional Epic Passes allow skiers and snowboarders to access several mountains over the course of the season. As early as April, the company also announced that its historically nonrefundable Epic Pass, a seasonal pass program, would automatically come with free Epic Coverage, a refund policy that offers protection for a set list of qualifying incidents. Vail Resorts’ individual, date-specific lift tickets, rentals and ski-and-ride school lessons are easily refundable. “Most notably, this guidance requires all guests to attest that they meet the quarantine requirements and understand that failing to do so could result in the loss of their skiing and riding privileges.” “The State of Vermont issued some of the strictest ski resort guidance in the country,” Mr. He said resorts reported a 50-to-70 percent decline in bookings over the holiday season. Eight of those states, Vermont included, currently have quarantine or testing mandates - and sometimes a combination of both - for out-of-state travelers.Īccording to Ted Brady, the deputy secretary of the Vermont Agency Commerce and Community Development, Vermont’s new travel restrictions - which require a 14-day quarantine or a seven-day quarantine plus a negative PCR test, either completed at home or in Vermont - have reduced the number of skiers and snowboarders coming into the state this year. Vail Resorts, one of the biggest players in the ski industry, has more than 30 resorts across 15 states. In an earnings call in December, Vail Resorts announced a net revenue decrease of 51 percent for its first quarter fiscal-year 2021 (the three months ending Oct. Ski resorts around the country are open this year, but despite a slew of new safety measures including increased cleaning, capacity limits, timed tickets and off-limits indoor dining, they are not faring well. Your travel predicament - about an outdoor, socially distanced activity, the issue of quarantines and the inability to get a refund - is just about as “2020” (whoops, 2021) as it gets. The silence is telling: Where’s the corporate responsibility? Rob Dear Rob, Despite a blitz of preseason assurances of risk-free booking on seasonal ski passes, Vail Resorts, Okemo’s parent company, is refusing to issue pass refunds for people facing state quarantine requirements. However, in November, Vermont announced a new set of cross-state travel guidelines, which include a mandatory quarantine that makes it all-but-impossible to visit regularly throughout the winter. I live in Massachusetts and had hoped to ski at Okemo Mountain Resort as much as possible this year.
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