Sugarbush Launches Tenants For Turns

Sugarbush Resort has unveiled a new program, Tenants for Turns, that incentivizes local landowners to supply affordable housing to resort employees.

Tenants for Turns was developed by several Western ski resorts, including Jackson Hole and Stevens Pass Mountain Resort, but Sugarbush’s program is the first of its kind in the East. The Mad River Valley Planning District jumped in, wanting to better understand the Mad River Valley’s housing challenges and identify ways to increase housing options in the area. The resulting program creates a mutually beneficial relationship for resort employees and local landlords.

The program is designed to suggest an affordable rent to property owners based on the surrounding rental market and employee salaries. The program works as follows:

• Local homeowners and landlords fill out an application to advertise their rental with Sugarbush.
• Sugarbush maintains a list of rentals, and makes it available to any hired employee.
• Once Sugarbush receives a signed rental agreement, the landlord will receive one of the following incentives of their choice:     
  • A 2017/18 premium season pass for $100
  • 10 all-mountain lift vouchers for the 2017/18 winter season.
  • A family or individual Health and Recreation Center (SHaRC) membership for the 2017/18 winter season

The news is perhaps part of a trend to help ski communities; it comes just as Vail announces its pledge for a $58 million fund for ski towns. Vail Resort’s CEO Rob Katz, with his wife Elana Amsterdam, will provide grants to ski towns with Vail-owned resorts, helping to address the challenges of those communities.