butler

server

housekeeper

guest service agent

bartender

The Resort at Paws Up

The incompetence running PAWS UP is staggering. The owners/managers must get a head up when the Forbes secret stayers are coming because there is no way PAWS UP could ever even make the Forbes list without some kind of tip off. It's going to lose the Forbes rating soon. The place is circling the drain. 

The owners are so hands off they don't care at all about the what actually takes place on the ranch. They just collect the millions and millions of dollars that comes in. They make all the money by taking dumbfounding shortcuts and just blatant disregarding of any safety or common sense practices.  

I worked there less than a year and had three different managers. Every one of them quit because the Resort Manager (the narcissist) and the other Ranch Manager (that literally no one knows what he does since all he does is hide and make lower managers do his work) don't support actual common sense practices. Everything is about putting up a good front so things look good to the guests. It doesn't matter that it's all held together with duct tape, bailing wire and chewed gum. 

They'll finally buy new activity equipment only when enough guests get hurt and lawsuits look likely. When someone gets hurt, they blame it on the guest even if it was an equipment malfunction. If an employee is the one on the equipment or in a vehicle that gets wrecked or broken (even though it was already in disrepair from not getting proper maintenance), they fire the employee for causing them to spend too much money out of pocket to fix something instead of turning it in to insurance or just keeping things in running order to begin with. Activities people are put in a rock and a hard place when something goes wrong. If they don't blame the guest then their head is on the chopping block. The narcissist resort manager even fired one of the guides who had been there for years for scoffing at a comment the narcissist made when he was trying to convince all the employees that the resort going "gratuity free" was really best for the employees. No, all it did was give the resort all the tip money and screw the hard working employees out of a lot of money they used to earn by being great at what they do. 

They also screw their employees by coming up with this "base pay" plus a bonus pay amount per hour so if you work any overtime, you only get time and a half of the base pay. You don't get the bonus pay portion of it figured in to your overtime. You actually get paid LESS working overtime than you do working your normal hours. They also only give you the base pay (no bonus part) when you're in orientation. You have to go but don't get paid your full wages for doing it. There's no health insurance, 401 k, etc. Oh yeah, you get a whole 10% off at the Outpost store if you buy something there (with their 300 to 3,000% markup on everything that brands don't regulate the prices on). There's no Christmas bonus, no paid days off, no sick leave, nothing. Just a hire letter telling you you're only employed from this date to that date and the fear every day that you won't even make it to your end date. 

And, you have to work overtime because they never hire enough people or so many people quit that there is never enough in departments to cover the shifts. Camp Chefs work 80 hour weeks working double shifts sometimes with no days off for 20 days! They are quitting right and left. The kitchen is so understaffed that long table events and large dinners are continually screwed up, late and so badly assembled that guests just leave furious and without eating. 

Any managers that have made it any length of time there have only done it by staying hidden and never making any waves. The first time they try to stand up and fix something or point out the ridiculous things going on they get fired. Heads stay buried in the sand, nothing gets fixed and no one makes any waves so they can survive and not get fired. Not a single person (below the narcissist and the manager below him that no one ever sees because he hides and never responds to anything) walk around knowing they will be there the next pay period. 

The safety standards are non existent. There's fire extinguishes that haven't been checked in years, no fire extinguishes in most areas, no posted fire exit routes, no MSDS sheets in any departments with all the chemicals and cleaners they have out there, no fire alarms, live wires, empty and unstocked first aid kits, no safety plans of what to do if someone gets hurt, no first aid/CPR training, no epi-pens available or auto-defibulators even though they are almost an hour away from any hospital, etc. The transportation managers even tell the drivers they have to answer the phones while driving with guests in their vehicles on the ranch, going down the highway and driving in Missoula. Guess laws and common sense doesn't matter. Some of the drivers refuse to and get in trouble for not answering while driving. If the driver gets in a wreck or gets a ticket while on the phone, they have to pay for it, not the managers. You know PAWS UP will get out of any lawsuit claiming the drivers should have been following the law. I could go on and on and on about the staggering middle finger they give to safety and regulations.

The vehicles they have on the ranch, 90% of them should be taken to a junk yard and crushed. The housekeeping dept. has vehicles breaking down on them all the time. They have rusted out vans, broken down golf carts and all of them are 20+ years old. The kitchen and camps don't have vehicles that will haul food correctly and things are always spilling, getting crushed and there is never enough room for what is needed. Camp butlers have to ride around on bicycles trying to hold things because they can't have their own vehicles. The activity vans are ancient, disgustingly dirty and aren't properly maintained. The only place that has any decent vehicles is transportation but even they have vehicles with rubber peeling off their tires that they haul guests around in, doors that won't shut and air conditioning that won't work in summer heat. They got a brand new fleet of Lexus SUVs and Dodge vans but no adequate equipment to keep them clean.

The worst thing about the entire place is the communication problems. Camp butlers don't have computers or access to the app site, the main scheduling and are only given the ancient flip phones that don't work the majority of the time so they are left out of all communication. That causes a lot of problems for the guests staying at the camps because the butlers don't know what's going on and when activities and rides need to happen, transportation can't get ahold of the butlers and everyone gets mad because no one knows what's happening. The computer system is ancient and uses codes that no longer apply to what's going on but the ranch is too busy taking shortcuts to update it so things work right and fit what's going on. There's no inter-department communications so everyone can be on the same page, management doesn't pass on emails that lower employees need to know and too many departments don't even have staff meetings or train new employees right. They just get thrown in and when they screw up, they get yelled at, written up or fired. Bad employees who don't care about anything and do nothing have it made at PAWS UP. If you just hide out, ignore what needs to be done and never complain about what 's going you'll be cherished by your bad and scared manager. Employees that care and complain are the "problem people" for the managers who are too afraid and too unsupported by the top to stick their necks out and run the place right.

Working at The Resort at Paws Up was an absolute nightmare. It is, without a doubt, the worst place to work. The toxic environment and complete disconnect between leadership and the Missoula community made it an unbearable experience.

First and foremost, the work atmosphere was incredibly toxic. The management displayed a complete lack of professionalism and respect towards the employees. There was a pervasive culture of favoritism, where only a select few received any recognition or opportunities for growth. The rest of us were left feeling undervalued and overlooked. This toxic dynamic created a hostile work environment, sapping any enthusiasm or motivation to perform well.

Moreover, the leadership's disconnect with the Missoula community was glaringly evident. Instead of fostering positive relationships and collaborating with local organizations, they seemed more interested in maximizing profits at the expense of community engagement. Their actions demonstrated a complete lack of understanding and disregard for the needs and values of the community they operated in. This detachment further strained the already strained relationship between the resort and the Missoula community.

In terms of work-life balance, it was non-existent. The management constantly demanded long hours and rarely provided adequate compensation or recognition for the extra effort put in by the employees. This disregard for work-life balance took a toll on the overall well-being and morale of the staff.

Furthermore, the lack of effective communication within the organization was astonishing. Important information was often withheld, leaving employees feeling left in the dark. This led to confusion, frustration, and a sense of being undervalued within the company.

In conclusion, I strongly advise against working at The Resort at Paws Up. The toxic work environment, the out-of-touch leadership, and the complete disregard for the Missoula community make it an extremely unpleasant place to work. Save yourself the frustration and seek opportunities elsewhere where your hard work and dedication will be appreciated.

I've been with the Resort for three years now, and in the adventure hospitality business for over a decade, and as far as properties go I could not be more pleased with Paws Up: we have an ownership family that is interested and involved with the operation (one of our owners remembers the names of most of the 250+ employees that she meets during the staff orientations, for example), they care about the community and the environment and ask that their staff do the same, they are constantly looking at ways to continue to be the premier property and experience of this kind... we do not rest on our laurels here, and they care about the staff (they provide monetary carpool incentives, the bonus program for seasonal staff is awesome, and they have a longevity program that thanks/rewards long time staff members); the pay for the seasonal staff is far higher than at many other such properties, in my experience, and the executive management team really try to ensure that the staff feel appreciated. 

If you are the kind of person that enjoys working in a fast paced, ever changing environment where you are allowed to work independently, meet interesting people, and feel rewarded by a job well done; if you are a person that constantly pushes yourself to be better tomorrow than you were the day before, looks for ways to keep busy in a productive manner, doesn't expect to be handed anything and likes puzzles/challenges then you will be successful here and this is the place for you. If you do your job solely for the money and benefits, don't do well with last minute changes (something that happens often here, as we try to do whatever we can to accommodate our guests' requests), need your hand held constantly, and believe that "well enough" will do, then you will not be successful here and this is not the job for you.

Overall, I loved this Job. I was a broke college kid who had no real skills and for the compensation, this place is unbeatable. It sits on some of the most beautiful land in Montana, you work with some truly awesome people ( some of my co-workers I consider my best friends). 

The job itself should be straight-forward, however with most customer service positions, there are variables that can cause an average day to change drastically, so the ability to be flexible and quick on your feet is something I highly recommend.

As a guest service agent, we were tasked with providing transportation to all the guests on the resort at a given time (Avg. guest count was around 200, I believe, with the highest  days reaching about 300), the logistics of this could prove to be difficult if guests didn't have an understanding of the sheer size of the ranch (37,000 acres). Meaning, they would expect a 3 minute car ride when it would take 15-20 min. 

My personal experience with management is different than the average seasonal employee. I was able to work as a managerial intern under my direct department manager. So, because of this, I was able to see more of the inner workings of inter-departmental communication and how Upper and middle management converse with each other. 

My personal opinion in management is that they are doing a good job as a whole. Middle management really carries the weight of the resort as they handle day-to-day operations, and the upper management that I was involved with trusted them. Which is really what the resort needed. 

The hardest part of the job, is the longer than average hours. However, if you're the average college kid, the money is worth the hours. 

Overall, best college job I could have ever asked for and if you're looking for side hustle or a summer job this is the perfect place for you. 

I worked at Paws Up for about a year and it was the most depressed year of my life.  Guests treated employees like dirt, most of upper management was self-involved, inflexible, arrogant at times, and bad at communicating truthfully.  Departments would NOT communicate effectively or in a timely manner, and often times if something was borrowed by another department it was returned trashed and not in the condition that it was lent out.  If you like being verbally abused, try the front desk, guest services, and activities departments.  But if you love working up to 100 or more hours a week work in the kitchen, or be a camp chef.  Tipping is also against company policy, as it is 'inclusive' with the guests bill, though this is quite confusing and nothing else at the resort is inclusive but tips apparently.  
Also, overtime is EXPECTED.  It is not appreciated, it is expected.  This is a hospitality position so overtime happens, but at the rate that this resort demands overtime from employees you'd think that our bonus would affect overtime.  Oh yeah, that's another thing, technically the highest paying departments on the resort only makes 11/hr, but with the bonus it can technically be said it's 20/hr.  However, this bonus situation is so shady and badly explained, there is obviously something illegal going on.  Also, the owners of the resort expect to be waited on hand and foot like paying guests, and demand their personal vehicles be detailed and dropped at the airport for them when they visit.  Not sure about the professionalism there.  
It was nice working in a beautiful part of Montana, but the corporate monster and general evil of the guests and upper management does not make it worth it.  
Just don't work here.

I would look elsewhere. They set up their pay structure so that they what they offer you is actually less than they agree to pay you. They take $4 per hour and tell you its a monthly bonus to be paid out once a month. This allows them to not pay you overtime and also not pay you that $4 an hour after you exceed your hours for the week because the bonus maxes out at 40 hours a week.  Once the season gets busy, people drop off you are having to make up those missing pieces with no overtime and if you decide you are over worked and want to leave earlier than your agreed upon end date they also hold that bonus and  decide not to pay you. Every department is stressed  and the overall feel i got from every department is that they aren't actual care takers of the environment or their staff.  Look elsewhere, I promise its not worth it here.
  To better explain:Agreed hourly : 16$ but they pay you 12$ an hour and hold $4 per hour until the end of the month. They agree to pay you that $4 per hour up to 40 hours per week but if you work more than 40 hours your overtime is only equal to your regular pay.  Then if you dont finish out the month and believe me it gets stressful, they keep your bonus pay. 
I realize that a job is not all about the money and that was the hardest part here. The egos and lack of compassion is what really made it unbearable. You were expected to get down on your knees for anything and everything management wanted. Guests are one thing as we are in the business of guest service but the high and mighty owners and management was out of control. The only thing that keeps people going are the other people they work with but you shouldn't to depend on someone else to keep you going.

Unfortunately, Paws Up pays well enough to treat their current employees like garbage. They will always entice replacement workers with their pay. 
They lied to me about my schedule when they hired me, then changed it whenever they wanted without notice.
Management doesn't value experience or skilled labor. Top management has no business running a seasonal resort. They refuse to pay to keep essential equipment running, especially during the winter months when occupancy is low. They don't plan ahead for expenses and labor costs to keep the place functional when transitioning into, and through winter. Top management doesn't even understand that there are four seasons in Montana because they aren't from here. Once winter comes, they fire a lot of people, and if you are inside of their 6 month probation period, they will attempt to change your job title and schedule to cover the positions they eliminated, and threaten your job if you protest. This also takes manpower away from the department you were originally hired for. 
OSHA would have a field day at this place. Unsafe work trucks (non-working seat belts, etc.), stacks of paint, chemicals, and aerosols stored inside buildings with no fire cabinets, no SDS program to speak of, exposed wiring everywhere, daisy-chained power strips and extension cords all over, blocked access to electrical panels everywhere...I could go on and on.
In short, avoid this place if you have any self respect.

The Resort at Paws Up is truly a one of a kind experience for both guests and employees.  As the Lodging Director at this very seasonal resort, I was expected to be on property or on call through the duration of our busy season.  It was quite common to work 70 hour, 7 day work weeks between the months of May and September.  The resort caters to a very privileged clientele, and as such, every guest need was determined and planned in advance of their arrival.  As my first director level position in the lodging department of a hotel/resort, I learned a great deal about housekeeping, night audit skills and furthered my knowledge of PMS management.  After years of working in guest services and sales, I really enjoyed the experience of planning guest visits from start to finish.  The extensive activities, food and beverage, and spa departments, which my departments were responsible for scheduling, allowed me further my knowledge of what superior customer service truly means.  We often began planning guest stays six months prior to arrival, and my role on property allowed me to remain in contact with the guests until after their departure.

I'll start by saying the Night Auditor kinda gets the short end of the desk stick. It's drilled into you that you need to be at the ready 100%, all night long, but you're still required to clock out and take a lunch. So effectively take a working lunch , which the lone handyman was nice enough to put in a fridge for me. Later on my supervisor said something about the Night Auditor not qualifying for the lunch perk!

If you're in a bind, the Bell staff was often useless, but they still expected you to bend over for the guest and even take over their duties.

Supervisors will throw anyone in front of them under the bus to save their own image in the owners eyes. If you break 40 hrs in any way, expect to take an essay test on why and how it happened.

Paws Up has had such a high turnover rate that everyone from Missoula and Bonner has worked there, so they started flying kids in from out of state and putting them up in employee bunk housing.

The only good part was getting a bonus every few weeks; on a schedule, if I recall correctly. And being up all night to see the Northern lights in the summer when a solar storm hits  :)

Business decisions and HR practices are somewhat questionable. Employs "seasonal" staff year round but calls them seasonal to avoid benefits. It is a good job if you truly are seasonal. Many of the managers are great leaders and care about their staff. It is a difficult place though, very busy, hectic, fast paced and custer service is biggest priority. If you fit the mold great! 

Lowest rating is for senior management. Hard to work with, communication to front line staff is poor, very little/no recognition programs. Moral is low as employees are often asked to perform "miracles". Employee development is non existent, except for Forbes customer service training. 

Owners do some good community service work and volunteer to help a few programs to "give back". Thanks to the female half of ownership, otherwise it might not happen!

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Butler 41 salaries reported	$20.24 per hour
Server 19 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Housekeeper 36 salaries reported	$19.22 per hour
Guest service agent 20 salaries reported	$19.38 per hour
Bartender 18 salaries reported	$22.00 per hour

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