Despite the economic downturn and the overall decline in skier numbers heading to the Alps from the UK, the proportion of people taking short ski breaks continues to grow in popularity, as many value taking a couple of short breaks where they can ski three or four days at a time, using less holiday but also increasing their chances of finding great snow conditions.
Three of the companies that are particular experts in short ski breaks are skiweekends.com, Flexiski and iGOSKi and InTheSnow spoke to the men running each of them about trends in the short ski break market. “People are favouring the bigger ski areas with high altitude slopes and good snow- making, but are happy to stay a little out of the way to save money, which is why Brides les Bains wins for Les 3 Vallées ,” says Daniel Fox, Managing Director of skiweekends.com.
“Short transfer times are often discussed as a major factor for resort choice and again a lack of having to use transport to get around the resort is also high on the list,” adds Peter Hillyard, New Business and Operations Manager At Flexiski.
Another trend is a return to packages after the hassles and unexpected add-on costs people have experienced when organising their trips independently, including falling prey to” no- frills” airlines and transfer companies. “People are definitely pro-hotels and half board. I think with the exchange rate they have realised that apartments may look cheap but when you’ve added on the cost of the food it’s not such great value,” says Daniel.
Coach weekends are a phenomenon of their own that has become a particularly successful niche market sector with one day off work giving three days on the slopes. “We can’t stop them growing, and even though we added 40% to our capacity last year we are already full on some dates and considering adding extra coaches. I think in part people have tried coach for financial reasons- it’s typically £150 cheaper- then they are so surprised it’s not a nightmare they stick with it! Of course you can get an extra day by coach on a week too,” says Daniel.
Flexiski has seen growth in mid-week holidays away from the weekend, for still lower prices. “The weekend demand is still strong with the classic Thursday- Sunday being the most requested, but we have seen a growth in the start of the week arrivals market, i.e. Sunday-Wednesday which offers great flexibility in resorts, and some fantastic price savings” says Peter.
Another sign of the success of the short break ski market is that specialist iGOSKi has made its first ever block-booking on a weekend ski flight. Company boss James Hardiman explains, “Weekends are traditionally booked late and skiers rightly expect a 3-4 day break to be cheaper – however the rising cost of airfuel and the rising popularity of weekends is making them more expensive than weekly holidays. We have tried to combat this by allocating seats with BA on a fixed cost basis. We also offer skiers a cheaper alternative Sunday to Wednesay break.. It’s a huge risk for us, butthis will mean fixed flight prices instead of skiers being at the mercy of the ‘no- frills’ airline’s “variable” pricing and thus ensure late- bookers aren’t paying £200 plus for their flight alone.”
The new package prices start at £495 for three-four days skiing, BA flights, three-course catering, chalet or hotel, and transfers. Furthermore, at the moment all the City flight weekend packages are offered with a 10% discount as an “introductory offer”.
So are there any limits on the short break market? “Short breaks, particularly over peak weeks, are notoriously hard to find, with the majority of hotels reverting back to seven nights, so any properties that offer shorter durations for these peak weeks are usually the first to sell out. We have also seen a movement in the corporate market, where traditionally March was the favoured month. Recently the demand from these clients has moved to travelling mid- to late- January to take advantage of quieter slopes, good conditions and favourable pricing,” says Peter.
And Daniel warns that although it’s tempting to book a cheap flight and then look for a short break, it’s best to do things the other way round. “Top tip, don’t book flights because they are cheap, then expect to find accommodation to match, we see this all the time and regularly have people abandoning their “bargain flights” to book a package.
All in all, ski weekends have the image of being suitable for either the rich taking a quick jolly on top of their regular week in St Moritz, or students on a budget. In reality there’s as mixed a client base as with any other type of ski package.
“Our clients are literally students to surgeons and we have all ages- with singles, friends, stag and hen do’s, plus families and older skiers into their 80’s. One thing that’s for sure is that most of my friends now prefer a few days hard skiing and actually find a week too much,” says Daniel.
FlexiSki (020 8939 0862; flexiski.com).
iGOSKi (0844 770 4074; http://www.igoski.co.uk).
SkiWeekends.com (08444 060600; skiweekends.com).
