Winter has returned to the Rocky Mountains and Steamboat Ski Area is looking get their employees affordable living, the ski area announced that it will pay an additional $200 a month to qualifying landlords who can house a ski area employee for under $500 a month.
Landlords would receive $200 a month for each ski area employee it houses, this is good for landlords and the ski area’s employees. It’s a shame that the resort had to add an incentive to get their employees affordable housing. But with the way the market is in a resort town such as Steamboat, it’s no surprise that it’s been a struggle for employees to find cheap housing.
Ski area spokeswoman Nicole Miller said Thursday, 50 of the resort’s employees are currently sitting on a waiting list for a room at the Ponds, the ski area’s workforce housing complex. The number of rooms available to rent in the resort town appeared very limited and far from under $500 a month.
Finding housing for employees has been an issue for the ski area and other major employers in Steamboat Springs and they’re not alone, in many resort towns rent has risen and many property owners have begun listing their rooms on rental sites such as Airbnb. Sites like Airbnb only offer short-term living options, which might be better for some property owners, but it takes away options for those looking for long-term options.
Sheraton Steamboat Resort and the property management company Resort Group have been lucky enough to lease entire sections of inoperative hotels in recent years for their workers. Without options such as this, the company would more than likely have to shuttle workers to and from the resort.
This program only applies to employees who are currently on the ski area’s housing wait list and not ski employees that are already renting. Many of the seasonal employees do not have transportation, the housing would need to be within city limits, include a shuttle service or be in an area relatively close to public transportation. Although there are transportation services such as Uber, employees may not have enough money to do that on a daily basis.
Property owners that have rooms available for rent to a ski area employee can contact Housing Manager Alison Brodie at abrodie@steamboat.com or at 970-871-5133. The landlord applications will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
