Every winter, Alpine resorts look for thousands of people to work in hotels, restaurants, cable cars and ski schools. Many employers provide a room, often with meals. But no two regions are alike: season length, snow reliability, pay after deductions, the team and life after your shift differ a lot. We compared the best-known regions in both countries and linked the current jobs on Job & Stay for each one.
How we rated them
- Demand: how many seasonal jobs the portals and our own search show
- Accommodation: how often employers offer staff housing and what it costs
- Pay: minimum wage under the collective agreement and what is left after accommodation
- Season: length of winter and summer, chance of a year-round job
- Climate: sun and snow reliability
- Life: leisure, train connections, costs and how international the team is
No portal publishes a reliable total number of open jobs per region. The ranking is therefore an editorial assessment based on these criteria, and we count the jobs on Job & Stay live every day.
🇨🇭 Switzerland: high pay, high costs
The hospitality sector is covered by the L-GAV collective agreement with 13 monthly salaries. In 2026 the minimum wage without a vocational qualification is around CHF 3,700 gross per month, and with a qualification (EFZ) around CHF 4,500. For a room and full board, the employer may deduct at most around CHF 990 a month, and often it is less. EU and EFTA citizens can work freely: for up to three months a simple notification is enough, for longer you get a short-term or residence permit. For people from outside the EU it is difficult, because quotas and priority for local workers apply.
🇦🇹 Austria: accommodation is often free
The hotel and hospitality sector is covered by the collective agreement. Since October 2026 the minimum wage for assistants in Tyrol and Salzburg is around €2,096 gross per month, and for skilled kitchen and service staff around €2,232, plus the 13th and 14th salary. In the ski resorts, room and board are very often free, so a lot of your pay stays with you. EU citizens and Swiss citizens can work freely, and for people from outside the EU there are seasonal quotas via the AMS.
Photo: Florian Lindner, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
Fiperly
Mutify
KIPODE
Birthday Paper
Mia Amare
HealthMetricsLab
