{"id":24328,"date":"2018-10-26T23:51:33","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T23:51:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vailvalleypartnership.com\/?p=24328"},"modified":"2018-10-26T23:51:33","modified_gmt":"2018-10-26T23:51:33","slug":"merchant-ski-pass-is-an-employee-retention-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vailvalleypartnership.com\/2018\/10\/merchant-ski-pass-is-an-employee-retention-tool\/","title":{"rendered":"Merchant ski pass is an employee retention tool"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eagle County\u2019s unemployment toils around 2% – which leads to local businesses being increasingly focused on employee retention efforts. Many businesses \u2013 across industry, and across geography \u2013 simply don\u2019t have enough employees.<\/p>\n

There are numerous ways to focus on employee retention. Good pay, robust benefits, and a good work environment among them. One benefit that shouldn\u2019t be forgotten: the Merchant Pass program.<\/p>\n

The Merchant Pass program has been in existence for many years providing a compelling hiring tool for local businesses due to the wide-ranging benefits for employees and, most importantly, unlike other pass products, the pass ownership resides with the business versus an individual and features a one-time transfer for $110 to accommodate employee changes.<\/p>\n

The Merchant Pass Program includes two options for the Merchant Pass \u2013 the Epic Merchant Pass and the Epic Local Merchant Pass. Both passes have expanded access from the original merchant pass program and offer the local community\u00a0the option to ski and snowboard outside of Colorado.<\/p>\n

Unlike the Epic Pass, which is owned by the pass holder and cannot be revoked or transferred by an employer regardless of who paid for it, the passes available through the Merchant Program are owned by the \u201cmerchant\u201d or business and in the event that an employee leaves, the pass must be deactivated by the business and may be transferred to another employee.<\/p>\n

Both passes available through the Merchant Program provide a number of ancillary benefits to employees. Benefit offerings include access to Vail Resorts\u2019 popular ski and snowboard application, EpicMix<\/a>, six ski-with-a-friend tickets and six buddy lift tickets, summer lift access at Vail and Beaver Creek (excluding bike haul), Adventure Ridge discounts during the winter season, one free ski or snowboard group lesson at Vail or Beaver Creek, Nordic lesson discounts and more. Some restrictions apply for these benefits:<\/p>\n