Bolton Valley Resort

7 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 7 waterfront workspaces. Part of its mission is to recruit businesses in Vermont. They invested in us because they’re on Lake Champlain. So, our relationship is symbiotic.” March 2020, with the arrival of COVID, was a bit of a curveball, but Vermont’s Payroll Protection Program (PPP) was a big help since the federal loan was specifically set-up to assist small businesses in coping with all the lockdowns. DesLauriers credits the program with helping navigate Vermont’s strict pandemic mandates. The great relationship between Bolton Valley Resort and the Community National Bank has been integral to the resort’s success, then and now. While everything was closed during the height of the pandemic, all the hotel rooms were renovated. When hotels and restaurants could reopen at half capacity, management converted half of the Inn’s rooms into private ski cabanas. DesLauriers explains, “We rented them out in the winter to season’s pass holders; they had their very own base lodge. We saw the shape of our revenue really change since lodging and food sales diminished. We came out okay because people always want to ski.” One thing that did explode in both interest and sales was night skiing, since Bolton Valley Resort is Vermont’s only ski area offering this perk. During the pandemic it was one of the few safe and socially acceptable ways to have fun with friends. Visitors travel from all over to experience the exhilaration of skiing at night or taking in