Resources

Oxbow Bend, Snake River

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Employee Housing and Meals

Kelcy Fowler

Unlike a typical employment situation in a city or town, where you go to work and then go “home,” many of the employers posting on CoolWorks.com are located in resorts or remote areas. It would be nearly impossible to have an employee live in the surrounding areas and travel to work every day. Because of this, a large majority of employers you’ll encounter provide a job with housing and some with meals. Housing can range from rustic to brand new, from bunkhouses to private rooms, and from dormitories to cabins. Some may even include wall tents or camping out.

In most seasonal employment housing arrangements, spaces are limited to employees only. Non-working family members typically cannot be accommodated. Due to health and safety regulations, many employers don’t accommodate pets in company housing. These points are common generalizations, and not always absolutes. Please double-check with the individual employer if you have a question about either of those situations.

The seasonal lifestyle often includes this “24/7” on-site situation. When you live where you work, your job is connected with your housing, and your housing is connected to your work. This is a huge benefit to soaking up an extraordinary place, and also eliminating horrendous commutes! Of course, it’s challenging as well. But overall, the opportunity to take a seasonal job and be provided with housing, new co-workers who quickly become great friends, and sometimes even a dedicated team cooking your meals for you – it’s pretty fantastic when you stop to think about it.

There are exceptions to this scenario as well.  In some cases, there can be non-employee or off-site housing situations. Some seasonal employers also have RV sites for staff who prefer to travel and reside in their own personal home-on-wheels. There are also employers on CoolWorks.com that do not provide housing. Be sure to obtain as much information as possible when exploring your options. 

If an employer-provided housing scenario sounds like it could be up your alley, visit our Jobs with Housing page to jump directly to those employers that have indicated that they provide housing. You can generally discover the details around an employer’s room & board situation within their CoolWorks posting.  If you don’t see any information provided, drop the company contact a line to inquire.