During a worldwide pandemic, things can change very quickly. Still, Deer Valley Resort is hoping for a normal schedule for the 2020 - 2021 ski season.
Last March, the resort closed suddenly about a month early due to a handful of cases of COVID-19 reported in Summit County. Now, with some experience in keeping their staff and guests safe in a pandemic, the resort plans to reopen for skiing Saturday, December 5th. Resort Marketing Director Colleen Reardon says they’re hoping for the best and will pivot when needed. “We have so much to learn,” she said. “Anything I'm saying is probably hypothetical. It’s the lesson of 2020, right? Flexible and nimble.”
The operations plan was guided by state and Summit County health guidelines as well as the CDC. Working with their sister resorts, Reardon says they feel like they have a good plan.
She adds that being able to partially open for the summer season also taught them some good lessons – number one being – even if outdoors, face coverings are required.
“Human nature you just group, right? People kind of grouping in line and not staying 6 feet apart and then also when they were getting on the lift, they didn't have their mask on,” Reardon said. “So, we implemented that policy just a few days after being open. You have to wear your mask while you're in line and loading. So that was a big learning experience. And also, more queuing like waiting for the ticket office and like I said - it’s human nature - people move forward and they're not even thinking about it. And then, another big one was the dining outside works really well but then we have to do a better job educating our guests about putting their masks back on. They can take it off while they’re drinking or eating, but to put it back on when you're moving through the restaurant, by going to the restroom or going to the hostess stand. We have a good plan in place, but it was just a few tweaks.”
Having the county mask ordinance in place helped staff educate guests. And even if that should expire before the end of the winter, Reardon says Deer Valley will require masks through the ski season.
Controlling access to the day lodges will be challenging. Guests will be able to enter and use the restroom and basket check and lockers; but all restaurants, including Snow Park, Silver Lake and Empire Lodges will be table serviced and reservations will be required.
“We will be monitoring the flow in and out,” Reardon said. “And making sure social distancing or physical distancing is happening. And then, you know, the daytime restaurants, I think that's a big shift. And it's actually going to be a better experience for our guests in that it will be seated service. We will be able to actually serve beer, wine, cocktails for lunch which wasn’t allowed under our license when we were cafeteria style.”
The outdoor decks at Silver Lake and Snow Park will be tented. At Empire Lodge they will have fire pits and propane heaters. All of them will offer grab and go meals. The menus haven’t been created yet, but she guesses they will serve specialty sandwiches and of course, turkey chili.
Unlike Park City Mountain, reservations to ski at Deer Valley will not be required, unless you’re planning to buy a day pass. No day of tickets will be sold.
Deer Valley has always maintained a cap on the number of skiers it allows on the mountain. Reardon says that cap will be cut by about a third.
“We're not announcing what it is because it's going to change. It's going to change depending on, as you know, we factor in not only mountain capacity, but also you know the capacity that the day lodges can handle too,” she explained. “So, we're going to be playing with it, I think. You know it's at least a third less, if not more. And we determined that you know, now that we've gone to RFID ticketing, we've got really good data on what types of passes are used on what days. So, we feel like we can handle it using predictive behavior, so Deer Valley season passes, and Ikon passes won't need a reservation. And then we'll sell daily tickets in advance online. You have to purchase them in advance and that's the only way to guarantee your access is to have the ticket in hand or your season pass, in whichever form.”
Those who have coupon tickets left over from last year will be able to redeem them, except for holidays. Staff will continue to receive day passes as a benefit which can be used day of, as usual. Reardon says they’re stressing to anyone making a reservation for lodging, lessons, or rentals to make sure to also purchase a pass if they don’t have an IKON or season’s pass.
More information can be found on the resort’s website.
