G hits the slopes

[Brett_Tabke]

G hits the slopes [news.com.com]

If you're searching for Google employees this week, they've hit the slopes in Lake Tahoe for an annual company romp in the snow.

Fresh powder, spa treatments and run of the Olympic-grade moguls of the Squaw Valley ski resort await Google's 2,000-plus employees from the Bay Area, who will pack as many as five hotels in the region. The Resort at Squaw Creek, with 404 rooms, commands $294 a night and is busy preparing for the onslaught of Googlers.

[flyerguy]

Wow that's sweet. I was going to go on vacation, but due to the down-date of Dec. 17 I have a wife on my case and bills stacked up in the inbox.

Good that the G employees can have some fun at my expense, at least someones getting some fresh air.

[Lipik]

The Resort at Squaw Creek, with 404 rooms,...

I hope when they arrive it's not "http/1.1 404 hotel not found"

[MHes]

So the people saying google is going down hill are finally proved right.

[zeus]

Then we can not expect any changes on Google this week, said - I realy miss the Google dance, my dance shoes are full of dust.

[Powdork]

Too bad they're not visiting the South Shore. I have tons of information they could use to take the kids sledding, visit the backcountry, get around the resorts easier, take a sleigh ride. etc.
And all of this information is easily accessed via MSN and Yahoo.

[fabfurs]

Thanks Powdork. :))

[amznVibe]

I was just re-watching the 60 minutes Google piece where they were wondering if they could pull off their standard policy of taking EVERYONE on vacation given the fact they were hiring 25 new people a week recently (per month?)

I guess they figured out how to pull it off. I think adwords rates are going to be going up a tad to pay those bills eh? ;)

[figment88]

Google supports the travel industry in many ways.

My company is using frequent flier miles accrued from AdWords payments to fly all of the employees first class to Europe this spring.

[Nikke]

And the Googlebot went too. Only two hits from it today...

Then again, maybe it wasn't allowed to follow the rest of the team...

[WebFusion]

So nice to know their soooo concerned with shareholder return.

So....with all they're employees, what's that costing US....$300,000+ per day?

Glad I could help pay for their perks.

[mastervisa]

Makes you wonder who they left in charge? oh well, I for one am sick of cold and snow. can't pay the heat bill anyway. (wasn't that the sort of thing the busted dot coms were doing? blowing money like it was endless on extravagent things instead of minding the ship?) eehhh, I would probably do the same thing. nah, not where I've been. now you got me started aahrrrh

[Powdork]

So....with all they're employees, what's that costing US....$300,000+ per day?

Not even close. The article mentions 2,000 employees. Airfare is not necessary (for the majority) as the trip from the Bay Area by bus is less than by plane. A lift ticket at Squaw is about $30-$40 for a group that size. The lodging rates quoted for the Resort at Squaw Creek are among the highest in the area so they would go down from there. I would hazard a guess they are spending around $300/day per employee including meals, entertainment, and prizes. This would be $60,000/day. Of course that would be in addition to any vacation pay they are receiving. But that's accounted for already.

So nice to know their soooo concerned with shareholder return.

Perks like these that make you excited about who you work for go a loooong way toward shareholder return. They would have to give out twice the amounts listed above in bonuses to get the goodwill that comes from having a good time.

[Chndru]

>>This would be $60,000/day.

free PR as well as "cool company to work for" image. Not too bad eh? ;) I would say cheap vacation for the millionaires ;)!

[taxpod]

Math Check: $300 per day times 2,000 employees isn't $60,000 per day. It is $600,000!

And I doubt they will get away with this sort of extravagance once earnings flatten out a bit. If they do, shareholders' meetings will be quite interesting.

[nuevojefe]

Math Check:...

Priceless.

[europeforvisitors]

Back in the 1980s, I wrote several brochures for companies that would fly tire dealers or insurance agents overseas for luxury vacations (with a sales meeting thrown in so the cost would be deductible). I remember one trip where dealers spent time in Hong Kong, flew from there to Beijing, and (if they were high enough in the pecking order) spend a few days at a luxury resort in Hawaii on the way home.

Another trip started at the Hotel de Paris in Monaco and included time at a chateau in the Loire Valley as well as a few days at either the Crillon or the George V (I forget which) in Paris.

So Google's R&R doesn't sound too outrageous by corporate standards. And if it helps to retain valued employees, it's well worth it.

[Robert Charlton]

I find it interesting that some Google serps I've been watching, which have been jumping around for a couple of weeks, have suddenly stabilized. I guess nobody's been around to play with the knobs.

(PS: From all I've seen, Google is a great company to work for. Good food in their lunch room too.)

[walkman]

why Google is literally going down the slope:
1. many of it's current employees will eventually leave to retire or open their own firms. It happens with every company because they have the money, they're young and are ambitious. Why work for someone when you think you're just as smart?

2. The new hires will not make the money that they think they will. Make no mistake, stock options are a huge part of why people want to work there. Google is valued at $54 Billion right now. Let's just sit and think for a second. They have one product and one source of revenue that produces about $50-$100 million in profit a quarter. Which way is the stock eventually headed? For most employees to make money the stock has to go up from the day the started or the options were issued. Once they see that they missed the boat, it will be a sad day.

It's all a game of expectations. They hear the stories, they see the guy in the desk to theirs parking his Ferrari and jealousy and resentment sets in. It's human nature. Look what happened to Microsoft. Their stock hasn't moved in about 5 years. At least they had about 20 years of stock gains and many generations of employees profited, with Google it all happened in the first year.

[crobb305]

I bet investors would be happy to see how they are spending their time, in light of the numerous bugs, hijacking issues, etc. What a joke. Everyone is entitled to a vacation, but bad timing IMHO. We just had the holidays 2 weeks ago. Lets get back to work people.

[Powdork]

Math Check: $300 per day times 2,000 employees isn't $60,000 per day. It is $600,000!

Ouch, my bad. I guess that's why my finance degree sits gathering dust.;)

[amznVibe]

For everyone taking pot-shots at them for doing this - the idea is work hard, play hard. This is not just careless extravagance. They will come back refreshed and we'll possibly see new ideas popping up in the Google labs. Think about it, no matter how good the new Microsoft engine becomes or how hard their team works on it, they will never get the reward to go on a week vacation with all their co-workers.

When I worked at AOL (when they were much smaller and actually growing) they did a mini-version of this, renting out a theme park for an entire weekend. If you weren't scheduled to work you could bring your family, if you were working as soon as you were off you could drive down and meet up with everyone. Everyone enjoyed it but they are too big to do that now (and lack the flavor of success).

So let them enjoy themselves - we'll see the benefits of happy, relaxed employees through the rest of the winter.

[anallawalla]

Adwords reps had informed clients about the off-site and that there was a roster for them to check each other's email in case a client had an emergency.

[chrisgarrett]

Good luck to them, who is it hurting?

[inbound]

Who's it Hurting? Maybe the Google staff who haven't been skiing before - at least they'll be breaking bones rather than the google algo.

Seems the algorithm was badly injured on a trip to Florida and is still recovering...

[Liane]

I hope they all have a really good time and a well deserved holiday!

I'm sure the shareholders will not begrudge them their "traditional group holiday". As long as everyone makes money ... everyone should be happy.

Googlebot hasn't gone on vacation ... just the staff! Must be nice to be part of a company which can still operate without the staff! :) Wish I could do that!

Enjoy Googler's!

[Kukenan]

So, they are all gone?

I guess that's why my "request to remove urls" has not been completed.

I thought it was "automated"

Working for Google must be like being in some sort of time warp, back in the "tecno bubble" of the late 90's.

[trillianjedi]

Math Check: $300 per day times 2,000 employees isn't $60,000 per day. It is $600,000!

No wonder my cheques late.

TJ

[GoogleGuy]

So, they are all gone?

Nope, not everyone. There's always folks like me who stick around because they can get a lot of work done when it's quiet. :)

[Trax]

I think I need a vacation as well...