Lodgings that are deeply integrated with nature have become spectacularly popular since the end of the pandemic. According to the 2024 North American Camping and Outdoor Hospitality Report, over the last decade, tent usage is up 56%, RV usage is up 96%, and camp/glamping use is up 98%. Mountain towns have become especially popular, with Americans flocking to them all year round. For workers looking to work and live in mountain areas, it has become very difficult for them to find seasonal or permanent lodgings. Lodgings have been swallowed up by Airbnb, and hotels have been bought by ski resorts to serve their workers. For people looking to live and work in a mountain town, finding affordable accommodation has never been harder. This is how you can get over that hurdle.
Look for Workforce-Assisted Programs
This is because, according to High Country News, the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments (NWCCOG) concluded in a report that “the marketplace for attainable housing is broken”. To combat the massive shortage in affordable lodgings, some towns and companies have invested in workforce-assisted programs for permanent and seasonal workers. For instance, in Summit County, where Breckenridge is located, local governments are working with the U.S. Forest Service to build housing for workers on federal land. Since 2022, Breckenridge, Colorado has had a $50 million fund that is being spent over five years to build 1,000 new units. Durango and Ouray have repurposed old hotels to use them for workers. Durango is interesting because the residents of a mobile home park are working with a land trust to buy land for a cooperative, instead of letting a company buy the land and raise rents. In 2022, Leadville created a regional housing authority in partnership with the county to help workers with paying their down payments, and provide deed restriction programs and other services.
Whitefish, Montana has developed a “Housing Whitefish” program in order to advocate for, create and plan for “the sustainable supply of housing that everyone in our community can afford”. The organization provides permanent and seasonal workers with rental assistance. Workers are helped with either retaining housing or getting into new rental units. In addition, workers are helped with utility payments and relocation.
The Tahoe Housing Hub is another example of a workforce-assisted program, and it serves North Lake Tahoe and Truckee, California. The area also faces what it calls, “critical shortage of workforce housing”. They too are advocating for more housing, and are working to ease regulations on building new homes, and increase the number of rentals through their “Accessory Dwelling Unit” (ADU) Accelerator program which encourages locals to rent out free spaces to permanent and seasonal workers, for which they will receive “will have access to expert advice, financial planning assistance, and construction management to make ADU development more accessible and efficient.”
Moab, Utah, and the Pitkin and Rouen, Colorado counties have bought parks in order to build housing for workers. Steamboat Springs, Colorado is transferring ownership of a park to mobile-home owners in a new resident-owned community.
Get a Job Before You Move
The smart thing to do is to get a job and seek out your accommodation before you move. This isn’t as hard as it seems. A lot of companies will help you find accommodation after they have hired you, including those offering the best vanilla perfume, so that you won’t have problems when you get to the mountaintown. Look out for employers with housing programs, such as the ones we have discussed above, and others such as Steamboat Ski Resort, the Sun Valley Resort, Killington Resort, the Telluride Ski Resort, and Aspen Snowmass. For example, Breckenridge offers “some transitional employee housing for new employees, although this is very limited. The Town also manages and offers "Employee Downpayment Assistance" & "Rental Deposit Assistance" programs for eligible Town employees who are purchasing a home or renting in the local area.”
You should look at the website of the town you want to work in before applying for a job, to see what the housing situation is and if there are any housing programs for workers. This will save you from getting into difficulties later on.
Try Alternative Lifestyles
You should also consider camping, which will set you back the price of the tent, and car camping fees. In Crested Butte and Durango, Colorado, camping is free.
Search Lodging Platforms
Look at traditional lodging platforms such as Zillow and Craigslist, as well as local Facebook community groups, or local platforms such as Nextdoor and Roomies. Placemate.com is another option, where property owners are paid to turn their homes into rentals for permanent and seasonal workers.
