lifeguard

cook

chef

sous chef

parking attendant

Kalahari Resorts & Conventions

Pay: throughout the company, they start you off at a decent pay. But their decision of what position gets paid more or less makes no sense. People who have gone to school to become a EMT and Paramedic get paid about the same as lifeguard and lead lifeguard. How does that make sense? Emts and paramedics put between $1,000 to $10,000 and 1 to 2 years into education. Where the lifeguard course is 2 weeks and paid for by kalahari. But ems Providers at Kalahari make the same as lifeguards. Make that make sense. 

Raises: after 12 months of employment, if they decide to keep you on, you may receive up to a 5% raise. You’ll only get a 4-5% raise if you’re a “perfect employee”. Meaning you’ve never called out, barely take a vacation, pick up extra tasks and work beyond your job description, etc. You’ll normally get a 2-3% raise, which is usually between 20-50 cents. 

Hours: you decided to sign on as a full time employee, congrats! You’re probably expecting 40 hours a week and you’ll probably get it; only during high occupancy (70% and higher). Once it drops below 70%, your 40 hours will now be 30 hours. Because in the employee handbook, corporate considers “anything above 30 hours to be full time”. So if you get dropped those 10 hours, that’s about $300-$400 per paycheck you’ll be missing out. But if you’re missing out on hours in your main department, you can pick up extra hours in housekeeping making beds, taking out trash, and doing laundry (for less pay because it’s a different department). 

Job description: if you choose to sign on with kalahari, read your job description very carefully beside you sign it. At the way bottom, end of your job description form, it’ll state “this does not encompass all duties and tasks noted, your supervisor/manager/director may assign additional temporary or permanent new job duties with or without notice”. That’s corporate lingo for “we can change your job to something completely different and pay you the same”. In the EMS Department, we all went to school to be emts and paramedics. But all of a sudden we were assigned to be “osha inspectors” and having to educate department managers on safety topics. I went to school to be an emt, I have zero education in osha, fire safety, health education, etc. When we voiced our concerns, we were told “corporate made the change and we can’t do anything about it”. 

Benefits: if you’re coming to kalahari for benefits; don’t. Cheapest health insurance is about $60-80/paycheck. But that means you’ll be paying $8,000 out of pocket before the insurance will even touch your payments. Second tier is about $120/paycheck, with a $5,000 out of pocket. And top tier is about $200/paycheck, with a $750 out of pocket.  Those numbers are for you only, not for a family or other dependents. That also doesn’t include dental, vision, or short term/long term disability. 

Vacation: good luck putting in for vacation during the following dates; 2nd week of March to 2nd week of April (spring break), June-august (summer break), last 2 weeks of November (thanksgiving), and December-January (winter break). Those are considered high occupancy dates and they limit who can take vacation. Vacation hours you ask? You PTO hours are gained by the hours you work. In your first year, if you work a consistent 40 hours a week, you’ll gain again 3 hours every two weeks of PTO. By the end of the year you’ll have about 30-40 hours of PTO time. 

Pay: throughout the company, they start you off at a decent pay. But their decision of what position gets paid more or less makes no sense. People who have gone to school to become a EMT and Paramedic get paid about the same as lifeguard and lead lifeguard. How does that make sense? Emts and paramedics put between $1,000 to $10,000 and 1 to 2 years into education. Where the lifeguard course is 2 weeks and paid for by kalahari. But ems Providers at Kalahari make the same as lifeguards. Make that make sense. 

Raises: after 12 months of employment, if they decide to keep you on, you may receive up to a 5% raise. You’ll only get a 4-5% raise if you’re a “perfect employee”. Meaning you’ve never called out, barely take a vacation, pick up extra tasks and work beyond your job description, etc. You’ll normally get a 2-3% raise, which is usually between 20-50 cents. 

Hours: you decided to sign on as a full time employee, congrats! You’re probably expecting 40 hours a week and you’ll probably get it; only during high occupancy (70% and higher). Once it drops below 70%, your 40 hours will now be 30 hours. Because in the employee handbook, corporate considers “anything above 30 hours to be full time”. So if you get dropped those 10 hours, that’s about $300-$400 per paycheck you’ll be missing out. But if you’re missing out on hours in your main department, you can pick up extra hours in housekeeping making beds, taking out trash, and doing laundry (for less pay because it’s a different department). 

Job description: if you choose to sign on with kalahari, read your job description very carefully beside you sign it. At the way bottom, end of your job description form, it’ll state “this does not encompass all duties and tasks noted, your supervisor/manager/director may assign additional temporary or permanent new job duties with or without notice”. That’s corporate lingo for “we can change your job to something completely different and pay you the same”. In the EMS Department, we all went to school to be emts and paramedics. But all of a sudden we were assigned to be “osha inspectors” and having to educate department managers on safety topics. I went to school to be an emt, I have zero education in osha, fire safety, health education, etc. When we voiced our concerns, we were told “corporate made the change and we can’t do anything about it”. 

Benefits: if you’re coming to kalahari for benefits; don’t. Cheapest health insurance is about $60-80/paycheck. But that means you’ll be paying $8,000 out of pocket before the insurance will even touch your payments. Second tier is about $120/paycheck, with a $5,000 out of pocket. And top tier is about $200/paycheck, with a $750 out of pocket.  Those numbers are for you only, not for a family or other dependents. That also doesn’t include dental, vision, or short term/long term disability. 

Nearly 4 years I worked here. I received one raise after almost 2 years of a measly 48 cents. I was thoroughly insulted by this raise but was told that was one of the higher raises?!?! We are supposed to receive regular reviews which never happen. The culture in this place at first seemed ok but over time it became obvious its a non stop backstabbing environment.  In early Jan 2019 I was asked to take over a position, I inquired if there was a salary increase and I was told there was not and I said then I'm not doing it. A few weeks later they came back and asked me again but asked how much it would take I told them I wanted to go up $2 an hour. They immediately agreed. I signed paperwork dated January 25th 2019. I took over the position the week before. I began working ridiculous amounts of hours 13 -15 hour days. I was coming home at night barely able to stand. I am 53 years old and was not expecting this but since they agreed to the salary I asked for, you do what you must. During the 1st weekend in March there was an incident in the department I worked in where a supervisor became extremely hostile and out of control and I felt threatened. BEFORE I could file a complaint I was blindsided but a complaint against me that was so ridiculous and petty I dont wish to mention it here. I was suspended for 3 days. I was told I would be called when to come back, and never was. I finally had to go in to the HR department to ask what was going on and only then was I told I was terminated. I was floored. I NEVER RECEIVED A DIME OF THE RAISE I WAS PROMISED.I Calculated they owed me  $770 in back pay. I filed a complaint with the Dept of Labor of my state providing them the signed paperwork of the promotion. They investigated and  found that it was only a signed agreement with my supervisor which is and closed the case. Since CORPORATE NEVER APPROVED IT. I firmly believe they intended to get rid of me all along because over the couple weeks after I was terminated they cleaned house of a lot of long time employees. I barley saw my family with the house I worked after I accepted the promotion, I was dead on my feet, verbally abused and then was flat out called a racist by management and those who knew me in there have said many times since THAT WAS THE BIGGEST LIE OF ALL.  I was raised to be a hard worker and I was in that place but I was NOT rewarded for my efforts one bit. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE WORK THERE especially if they are looking for any kind of advancement. Poor management and poor corporate overseeing. They have NO IDEA what goes on in their facility

I’ve worked at Kalahari for over a year now, and if I had to describe the experience in one word, it’d be draining. Not because of the work itself, it’s the management, the scheduling, and the overall dysfunction that eats away at you slowly.

Let’s get right into it:

Incompetent management: If you ever wondered what it’s like to be blamed for fixing someone else’s mistake, welcome aboard. No accountability, no structure, just a loop of passing the buck.
Poor scheduling practices: There’s a WhatsApp chat they use for schedules and they didn’t even add me to it until I found out a year in. They’ll change your hours without calling, without texting, without telling you at all.
Toxic culture: You hear people muttering stuff like “I’m going back to hiding because it’s what I do best,” or “Are you crazy yet?” That’s not an exaggeration. That’s an employee quote, and it says more than I ever could.
Office environment? Flies. I’m not kidding. Dead air and flies. Real corporate-level rot.
Blame game: Even when you clean up their mess, you’re still the scapegoat. No win scenarios unless you stay invisible.

Small Pros (And I mean small)
Occasionally they’ll offer free food—but don’t dare try to take it home. That’s a problem apparently.
So much free time because the scheduling is so bad, you can usually knock out your entire workload early. Unless there’s a big setup day, it’s mostly you waiting around, thinking about how far you’ve fallen.

What I’ve Learned
Honestly? Patience. Tolerance. And how to keep a straight face when your soul wants to scream.
This place doesn’t teach you skills—it teaches you to endure. That’s it.

Hardest Part of the Job
Hands down: management. Nothing else even comes close.

Easiest / Best Part
Some of the people on the team genuinely care. They make it bearable—for a few hours at least. Shoutout to those folks still grinding despite it all.

Final Verdict
I would not recommend working at Kalahari Resorts unless you literally have no other option and sincerely want to start eroding your mental health.
This is not a career. It’s not even a stable job. It’s a soul tax.

As a front desk agent, there are many different occurrences that could happen in a day when checking in/out guests. You interact with guests who are appreciative of your assistance or guests who take advantage of you helping them and are quite rude. Comes with the customer service territory, but whenever there's an issue with a guest, one of the Supervisors/Managers definitely has your back. They're easy to get along with and receive help from, same with co-workers. 

However, not all co-workers are held accountable when playing around, or not doing all that is required of them on the job, especially when management/supervisors spend most of their time behind the scenes and are not seeing all of what happens at the front desk unless they need to go out to the front desk to speak to a guest or agent. 

Interacting with various kinds of people (employees and guests) presents something new amongst the monotonous check-in/outs and busy work to fill down time. Even though there are opportunities to sign up for additional front office/guest services tasks if they're available and apply for additional employment within the resort, you'll find yourself sticking to this job based on hours (not necessarily how many they give (max of 40hrs/week), but bc not all shifts are accommodating to an outside/additional work and living) and already being acclimated to the front desk culture. And it can get old doing the same thing over and over. Most take on this job as something temporary (i.e. summer job, gaining experience for college, practicum/internship, temporary money-maker). You may start off at around $9 per hour with increases once training/time-based milestones are made.

I'd recommend using this job as a stepping stone to get to where you want to in the commercial tourism and hospitality industry, unless you want to end up a little bored, restless, and irritated for years. But to each his/her own.

Working at Kalahari is unlike working at any other hotel or resort. It is a leader in the Wisconsin Dells community in innovation and hospitality. A typical day at work is hard to describe, because each and every day there are different guests and different situations. Everyday we set up the restaurants and food and beverage outlets in the same exact way, hoping to tackle anything the guests will throw at us that particular day. Working at Kalahari, I learned to take pride in my work and put confidence and personality into every aspect of my job. My co-workers are amazing. I've been lucky enough to have the greatest manager, who taught me practically everything I know when it comes to supervisory/management skills and techniques. My staff is one of a kind and everyone has something to offer. That's another thing I learned. That each and every individual is different. They work and learn differently and all have different skills, but everyone has something that they excel at and you need to put everyone in a position where their strengths are utilized. The hardest part of my job is knowing that no matter what kind of a problem there is, no matter how difficult it may be, even if I don't have the resources to get it done or accomplish it, I must and will make it happen. At the end of the day, the customers need to be taken care of, and that's what we will do. The most enjoyable part of the job would be the diversity of the resort. I've gotten to meet so many different people, including employees and guests. I've had the chance to participate in many different aspects of the resort, including every restaurant's kitchen, the Andy North and Friends ceremony at Trapper's Turn golf course, and even the sister resort in Sandusky, Ohio. I've been very privileged working here, and I will always remember and appreciate what I've done here.

When I first come in to work I would go and put my things in my locker. Then I would go down to the hallway to clock in. I would usually wait till they told me where I was going to be that day. After they told me where I was going to be for that day, I would go up to the level get my cleaning cart ready and get ready to work. When I was working there I learn a lot. I learn what type of cleaning materials they used. They would use this yellow chemical for cleaning the dust and mirrors. Then there was the pink chemical they used to clean the bathroom. I learn that housekeeping was very important to the hotel because if they didn't have the housekeeper who would clean the rooms to make them look as good as they do. I also learn how to find bed bugs too. So when I was there I learned a lot more then what I expected. The management there was amazing. They was always on top of things making sure that rooms was getting done like they should be and always saying positive words to get through the day. My co-workers was just amazing as the management there. When I would get stuck on a room, my co-workers would come and help me so I could get done. Everyone there are a team and we worked as a team. The hardest part about my job was making the beds I would say. The reason I say that is because you had to lift them up a little to put the sheets under the bed and the beds was not light at all. Also just being on your feel. Sometimes you didn't get breaks if the place was busy so being on your feet cleaning was not always easy. Now the most enjoyable part of my job was just working there. Everyone was nice. Also I just loved helping the customers. If they needed anything and if I didn't have it I would go and make sure that everyone was happy. I very much enjoyed working there.

Starting pay for most positions is minimum. They tell you when hired it is full-time work, year round, and it definitely is not. When business slows down for a day, week or even month at a time, they do not schedule you for hours and you have to scramble to pick them up in another department with no notice. They also send you home immediately after you get there if there is not enough business. They also frequently "cancel" shifts a few hours before your scheduled time and tell you not to come in at all. 

They say they are "associate friendly" and have wonderful advancement opportunities. This was not my experience. I contacted HR more than 3 times and my direct manager at least that many times regarding cross-training, advancement options and any other suggestions they had for me, as I was very experienced in my field before taking the position there. They did nothing whatsoever to utilize my potential. One lady in reservations had an extraordinary amount of experience and education in her field. She repeatedly applied for supervisory positions and was overlooked time and again. I personally applied for a position within the organization, having had a number of years experience and very transferable skills, and was not even acknowledged for applying.

When it's "peak time" they will work the staff 12 and 14 hour shifts to cover, and they expect you to do it with no warning, making child care and carpooling nearly impossible. It is held against you if you say you have to leave for any personal reason, even if you have already worked 8 or 10 hours that day. 

If you apply there and are hired, do not believe the hype and "caring" attitude. You are there to make the company money, and that is your only purpose for being there.

good pay but that’s about it. They treat the employees like complete GARBAGE and if you ever go to kalahari, yes everybody is friendly , but it’s what we’re SUPPOSED to do, every employee you see despises working there and i guarantee that but of course they won’t tell you. No room for growth especially as a woman unless you plan on giving your .... away to the managers after work. (all the managers are male). any Leads, if they’re male, if you have .... with them, they’ll talk to the managers about giving you a promotion, but hard work and many hours for hardworking people in there have yet to grow they way the deserve. I’ve witnessed with my own eyes. But they’ll give rooms to people higher up and that’s when they’ll bring somebody up to give them their “promotion” Half the leads or people higher up, don’t bother to listen or even care about your own wellbeing unless the guests are happy or unless they recognize they could really get sued...Horrible workplace in any and every department. As well as in the kitchen, the wrong people have been promoted and they have allowed cross contamination of raw meats next to cooked meats and when an employee confronted the manager about it, he proceeded with saying “you know we don’t care about that”.  Truly disgusting workplace  and no growth within the company unless you mess with one of the managers. I have never believed that was they way to earning promotion but in this company working hard doesn’t get you noticed either. As for males, it’s ~slightly 1.2%  easier to get promoted than females but you still barely get noticed for the hard work, multiple picking up of shifts, shift coverings. Truly disgusting company when you see from the inside 120%

Had to do more than what was my actual job, overworked myself for the company for almost a year and someone else got a promotion to supervisor in training meanwhile he did a bad job.  They have empty promises, they say advancement within the company is priority while they keep giving supervisor position to someone that just got hired.
Competitive pay is a joke, they pay really bad at front desk, meanwhile you overwork yourself face to face with guest, those who do not deal with guests get paid more than you.  Other hotels pay way more for doing the same thing or for less work, so no, the pay at this hotel is not competitive at all.
They also mistreat employees by telling them they need to improve in an area someone in a higher position is worse at.  

HR is also as bad, they try to keep it quiet but will try to take money from you without noticing, and whatever they owe you they make it difficult to get when it should be as easy to make you a check.
The only reason this company gets away with it it's because it's a family owned resort that everyone knows in the Dells and no one dares to confront them legally.  If the owners tried to put as much attention & effort in their management as they do with how fast they make new locations, then maybe they wouldn't be understaffed.  Not to mention they get enough money for a small room to give a higher pay rate to employees.  The company is not a bad place, biggest problem and maybe the biggest change they could have to make it better is MANAGEMENT.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Lifeguard 3 salaries reported	$13.33 per hour
Cook 4 salaries reported	$17.25 per hour
Chef 1 salary reported	$72,500 per year
Sous chef 3 salaries reported	$65,500 per year
Parking attendant 4 salaries reported	$13.00 per hour

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