Colorado Ski Country USA slashes staff

Colorado Ski Country USA is ending print and radio advertising and laying off five workers following Vail Resorts’ withdrawal from the trade group.

The five employees, all in marketing and communications, represent one-third of the staff.

Vail Resorts said two weeks ago it was leaving the trade organization due to “philosophical differences.”

The company wanted CSCUSA to focus on its role as a public-policy advocate and leave marketing to resorts or the state tourism office.

Vail Resorts' Breckenridge, Vail Mountain, Beaver Creek and Keystone resorts had paid almost half of the organization’s collections in annual dues, which in turn were about half of the organization's budget.

The ski company’s departure led the organization to cut its budget by about half, to $1.7 million, down from $3.5 million in the last fiscal year.

Rob Perlman, the organization’s outgoing president, said this week that other member resorts are staying with the organization and paying the same dues they paid the past year, despite the marketing cuts. Dues are based on skier visits.

Perlman said the group will focus its marketing efforts online. Officials said they hope the state tourism board will help with marketing.

"We will continue to move forward with the great programs that we've developed over our 45 years and are proud of, but will scale back in terms of breadth and depth, in essence, we'll do more with less,” said spokeswoman Jennifer Rudolph.

In the past, other ski companies have pulled out from the trade group, only to return. Vail Resorts joins the tiny ski areas of Hesperus in Durango and Kendall Mountain in Silverton in not belonging to Colorado Ski Country USA.

Also at Ski Country's annual meeting this past week, attorney Melanie Mills, who has worked as a lobbyist for the group, was named to take over from Perlman as president and chief executive officer.