As a business owner in town managing vacation rentals, I’ve always felt a sort of kinship with Park City Mountain Resort. After all, my guests are also their guests. Over the years, we have wanted the same things for our guests: An experience of a lifetime. A perfect bucket list vacation. A time so special that they tell all of their friends and family how magical Park City is. We’ve shared the same dreams and struggles, from doing snow dances when it’s dry, high-fiving lifties when a chair opens, thanking patrol when a new rope drops. We survived the challenges of the pandemic and a shortage of workers together. I’ve always felt like we were partners. Until now. On Dec. 27, when ski patrollers went on strike, Park City Mountain and Vail Resorts abandoned every semblance of their core values and commitments to this town, but most of all they abandoned their guests and left the rest of the community to pick up the pieces.  Don’t get me wrong, I understand this is a complex issue with valid points coming from all sides. I’m not here to discuss the merits of either side’s argument, I’m here to ask why we, the local businesses, are left to clean up Vail Resorts’ mess? Park City is a town of hospitality and accountability. If a restaurant delivers a sub-par meal, they comp it. If one of my homes has amenities that are not working, the guest gets a discount.  Why is Vail Resorts different? They’ve created a system where customers pay in advance for a promised level of service — the Epic Pass — and when they fall short on those promises, there is no recourse for guests or accountability from Vail Resorts. Vail Resorts refuses to provide refunds to guests who have made significant investments in a ski experience that Vail Resorts cannot provide. This failure was due to a lack of personnel — not weather — and raises not only serious ethical questions, but leaves the rest of us in the community holding the bag.  Yesterday, I met a couple that had saved up for two years to come to our town and mountain. Two years. The wife was in tears as she told me about years of dreaming of skiing Utah powder and the reality of their experience.  The Park City community must take a collective stand and demand that Vail Resorts refund all non-local passes used during the strike. It is the right thing to do. After all, “Do Right” is one of Vail Resorts’ core values. Vail Resorts made a calculated bet that the patrollers would not strike and we are all paying the price. It’s time for Vail Resorts to put some skin in the game, stand with other businesses in the community and refund our out-of-town guests who did not get what they paid for.  Park City is more than just a destination. It is a community that thrives on trust and integrity. It is time for Vail to be the partner they promised our town they would be 10 years ago. Our community deserves nothing less and should demand more.  Sarah Brown  Park City The post Failing us all appeared first on Park Record.