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The Federation’s Secretary Generalon Olympic success, industrytrends & participation levels.

theskitrade.com | @theskitrade

With so many official bodies, organisations,

and associations governing the winter

sports industry, it’s often hard to know who

is responsible for what, not to mention the

impact they might have on your winter

sports business. The FIS (International

Ski Federation) is the governing body for

international skiing and snowboarding, and

is the largest international winter sports

federation. Sarah Lewis is the Federation’s

Secretary General.

“There are more than 7000 FIS ski and

snowboard competitions staged annually

and the Federation is recognised by the

International Olympic Committee. We

manage the Olympic disciplines of alpine

skiing, cross-country skiing, ski jumping,

Nordic combined, freestyle skiing and

snowboarding, and we set the international

competition rules. Our role is to develop

specific initiatives to promote snow activities

as a healthy leisure recreation.”

That’s a very admirable goal and something that

all segments of the industry can buy into. It’s all

very well to have ”goals” and ”objectives”, but

what does the FIS do in practice to increase

levels of winter sports participation?

“We introduced World Snow Day in 2012

and 225,000 participants took part, with the

number nearly doubling to 430,000 in 2013.

660 World Snow Day events have been

planned for 2014 so far in 39 participating

countries, and you don’t need mountains

or snow to organise an event. There are

no rules, regulations or registration fees –

anything goes. Being part of the World Snow

Day family means events can be branded

with the recognised identity and publicised

on a global platform. All segments of the

winter sports industry should be involved in

World Snow Day.”

The FIS also takes an active role in

identifying industry patterns, and it’s fair to

say that many negative trends have come

from their research in previous years. If the

winter sports industry is shrinking globally,

what can we do to reverse this?

“There’s huge competition for everyone’s

time, both with other sports and activities,

but especially with computers, games and

television, which is more of a concern.

Additionally there’s a changing population in

many countries. Where winter sports were

a traditional family activity, this is no longer

the case. The traditional ski week or trip that

was part of a school’s curriculum has been

withdrawn, which has had a negative effect

on introducing youngsters to snow activities

at an early age. The FIS ‘Bring Children to

the Snow’ campaign is working to try to

reinvigorate enthusiasm for snow activities.”

Many argue that it’s during this Olympic

winter that the global industry as a whole

has its best opportunity to benefit from

professional sporting success.

“Ahead of the Games, the media will

focus heavily on the ‘road to Sochi’ and

the coverage in all forms of media will

reach new heights. It’s not just the ski and

snowboard media who follow the sport,

but news and features desks get involved

too. The Olympics are a huge opportunity

for the National Ski Associations to

capitalise on the media attention of the

Games. We’ve just launched a brand new

FIS website and an official FIS YouTube

channel which will feature all the FIS

disciplines (Alpine skiing, the Nordic

disciplines, freestyle events

and snowboarding), available free of

charge worldwide.”

Lewis herself skied at the highest level

during her own career, taking part in the 1987

Alpine World Championships and the 1988

Olympics. We wondered how the World Cup

circuit has changed since then.

“That was last century but every year when

the season begins, memories flood back

and it seems only a short while ago! The

World Cup circuit has changed significantly,

but the main change was the introduction

of prize money in the early nineties. There

were already sponsorship opportunities and

commercial partnerships for both teams

and athletes. Over the past 20 years the

commercial side, with opportunities for

exposure of a sponsor’s engagement and its

activation, has developed significantly.”

Lewis’ own professional career is testament

to the opportunities that the global winter

sports industry can provide for athletes,

once the competition days are over. What

opportunities exist for other athletes?

“The FIS Academy is part of the World

Academy of Sport, which delivers learning

programmes for athletes, managers,

administrators, officials and coaches. The FIS

Athlete Certificate covers a range of areas

including personal management, Olympism

and life after competition. The World

Academy of Sport will also be introducing

an International Baccalaureate, providing a

great opportunity for athletes who live much

of their lives on the road.”

Our Team GB athletes in Sochi this winter will

demonstrate how well a non-Alpine nation

can complete against Alpine countries on the

world stage. Does Lewis think we’ll ever be

able to compete at the same level?

“British skiers and snowboarders can certainly

achieve top results, including Olympic, World

Championship and World Cup medals – it’s

not easy, but the Aussies have done it, so why

not! There have been a number of successful

British snow sports athletes, beginning from

just before my era! Gina Hathorn narrowly

missed an Olympic medal in Grenoble 1968,

then Konrad Bartelski made the World Cup

podium in 1982. Shortly afterwards, Martin and

Graham Bell, Lesley Beck, and then Emma

Carrick-Anderson came along. Chemmy Alcott

and Dave Ryding are further examples. More

recently James Woods won the freestyle ski

slopestyle World Cup title last season, which

is a special achievement to show consistency

over the season. Team GB has every reason

to be confident in Sochi this winter.”

Staying on the subject of our non-Alpine

nation, how did a British woman come to

hold one of the most powerful positions in

international snow sports, and have you

faced any particular challenges?

“To be really honest, I don’t recall any

challenges I have faced that are especially

connected to being a Brit or a woman.

There are plenty to deal with without adding

obstacles! I grew up in a girls-only school

environment, while at the same time playing

and watching football with the boys, so I

feel at home wherever I land. Perhaps there

is one challenge to mention – packing for

business trips is more complex for women,

so men have it easy on that score! The major

competitions are the easiest, when we are in

FIS ski gear every day for a couple of weeks!”

Find out more about the work of the FIS on

its website – fis-ski.com.

02 theskitrade.com | @theskitrade December 2013 | Issue 03

FIS’SarahLewISHave you ever wondered how the work of the International

Ski Federation might affect your winter sports business?

Amie PostingsCo-Editor

03theskitrade.com | @theskitradeIssue 03 | December 2013

FIS’SarahLewIS

If you haven’t already experienced your

first slide of the winter by now, then

hopefully it won’t be long until you do.

Here we are, ready to go, with five more

snowy months to look forward to. Initial

signs are positive. We’ve gone from trying

to sound upbeat, to seeing hard figures

suggesting that this winter could be

the best for a very long time in terms of

numbers.

There are very few people I know of that

work in the snow sports industry that

don’t participate themselves, because

they are absolutely passionate about

their sport. Often I hear the words, ”it’s

hard to make money in the ski industry”.

I say it’s hard to make money in any

industry, and to do so, you have to

work hard, be smart, and get a bit lucky

sometimes too.

But what we should all be asking ourselves

is how we can increase participation in

our sport. The Snowsports England’s

(SSE) Go Ski Go Board and Slide To Sochi

campaigns, supported by Snowsport

Industries Of Great Britain, are a fantastic

start, and could be the perfect opportunity

for everyone in the industry to think about

increasing the numbers once again.

Channel Four has commissioned a new

show called The Alpine Challenge, to be

screened in early 2014. Celebrity skiers

pitch themselves against each other in

various disciplines, including some form

of slalom race. There will be groans from

some quarters no doubt, but the fact is

that it will provide yet another platform

for our sport in an Olympic winter, and

if this helps to increase the public’s

awareness then surely this can only be a

good thing?

This is the time of year we should all

be excited, fingers crossed the snow

arrives, stays and produces another epic

winter. The reality for many, including tour

operators, overseas teams, ski schools,

retailers, and anyone in the hospitality

sector, is that the hard work starts here

and it goes on for a very long time.

The best thing about it though, is you get

to go out and play in the snow.

Rob Stewart Co-Editor

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Escape Events Ltd, creators of the original Daily

Mail Ski Show, and the Adventure Travel Show, is

launching the Mountain Life Show at Birmingham’s

NEC on 18–19 October 2014. Promoted as “the UK’s

only lifestyle event dedicated to adventures in the

mountains”, it promises to cover ski, snowboard,

climb, trek, and bike. Martin Anslow of Escape

Events explained, “we’ve identified an opportunity to

introduce an event that will appeal to a discerning,

high-spend core audience aged between 24 and 45,

with exciting new content covering adventures and

outdoor activities. Our team knows the industry well

and will bring a fresh, new approach to marketing,

with an emphasis on connecting exhibitors with new

clients.” More details at mountainlifeshow.com.

Another New Exhibition For Birmingham

Aside from the levels of snow, it’s the one thing

that can make or break your business success

this winter. You may have ticked every box on

your maintenance list, and have a killer marketing

strategy in place, but if your winter team isn’t up

to scratch, then your business won’t be either. As

this month’s Ski Trade recruitment survey shows,

87% of you have undertaken recruitment activity

in preparation for this winter season.

View the full results at theskitrade.com.

61% of survey respondents have recruited a

team that is the same size as last winter, while

37% have increased the size of their winter team.

Just 2% of the winter sports industry has reduced

the size of their team.

63% of this winter’s workers have been re-

employed from last season by the same employer

according to our survey. Other popular sources of

new employees include recommendations, social

media posts and websites, and blogs.

91% of this winter season’s workers will work

overseas in Europe, of these 61% have been

employed on a UK-based contract of employment.

34% of employers found the volume and

quality of available candidates to be the same

as in previous years, while 26% believed the

recruitment process has been more difficult than

in previous years.

Although many winter season positions are filled via

word-of-mouth, there’s no doubt that the recruitment

process has moved online. Spencer Collingwood

at AlpJob.com told us, “both new and experienced

season workers typically weigh up their winter job

options online. From there they can compare roles,

and perhaps more importantly, employers. Sites such

as AlpJob.com enable employers and seasonaires

to connect directly, which is especially cost-effective

when filling those last-minute vacancies.”

Meanwhile, over in Bourg St Maurice, Cool Bus airport

transfers serve the resorts of Tignes, Val d’Isère, La

Plagne, and Les Arcs, amongst others. Owner Rob

Forbes explains, “We have 15 new members of staff

this winter, five were hired at the end of last season.

We never offer anyone a job without meeting up with

them face-to-face and seeing them drive one of our

vans. We don’t advertise our vacancies and most

applicants come via word-of-mouth. On the whole it’s

been easier to recruit this season and the quality of

applicants has been much higher.”

The quality and accuracy of pre-employment

information provided, and the thoroughness

of the induction process will often determine

employee retention. “I provide pre-interview job

descriptions and my own guide to working a

season for successful candidates. Our induction

and training process is 2 weeks long and I plan

regular performance appraisals during the course

of the season” one large Val d’Isère-based chalet

operator told us. “Sometimes employees have a

very unrealistic idea about how their season will

go, and despite the preparation, I’ll still have a

dropout rate this winter.”

Rather than examine the rates of pay offered to

season workers this winter, Ski Trade looked at

employment package benefits. A season lift pass,

return flights, shared season accommodation,

uniform, and ski or snowboard equipment rental

are the top five package benefits offered to season

workers this winter, while other ideas to improve

staff retention rates include team trips, staff drinks,

transport outside working hours, and family and

friend discounts.

Do Winter Festivals Increase The Market Size?

Making WinterHolidays More Social

04 theskitrade.com | @theskitrade

Amie PostingsCo-Editor

They certainly do, according to Aidan Byrne

of Altitude Comedy Festival, Europe’s

largest comedy festival on snow. “As Altitude

hosts some of the world’s best and biggest

comedians, comedy fans make the journey to

Mayrhofen simply for the chance to see them

in smaller venues than they’d ever play in the

UK. Comedy fans that have never tried skiing

or snowboarding before come to the festival

and have a go for the first time. We genuinely

believe that Altitude inspires many comedy

lovers to try a winter sports holiday, and a lot

of our audience return every year.” Find out

more about the Altitude Comedy Festival at

altitudefestival.com.

Winter sports accommodation providers, ski schools,

or any industry segment looking to attract the

valuable groups market, should take a look at start-

up Make It Social. It’s essentially a social booking

platform that begins with a simple ”Make It Social”

button on your own website. Your customers then

invite their friends to join their booking via social

media channels, and, perhaps most importantly,

make payments direct to you individually. Payment

gateways are easily integrated, and enquiries are

quickly converted to sales. “While only 10% of

customers trust ads on websites, 70% trust peer

recommendations,” the founders told us. The

platform also has a number of useful features too.

Find out more at makeitsocial.com/business.

Special Offer On Winter Season Insurance

As you’ll discover in our article on page 7, a

comprehensive winter season insurance policy

has never been so important. It’s even more

important if you’re relying on your winter team

to provide their own policies. The Ski Trade has

joined forces with MPI Brokers, providers of

overseas resort staff insurance, to offer trade

readers a 5% discount on their Part A policy. Part

A insurance has been specifically designed for

responsible employers, to provide cover for all

team members, and includes emergency medical

expenses, mountain rescue, and personal liability.

Quote ”Ski Trade” when you make an enquiry to

claim your discount. For more information visit

mpibrokers.com.

63% Re-employed from last season

45% Recommended by previous sta

13% Referrals from other operators

9% Client base

35% Own website / blog

35% Social media

13% Natives

7% AlpJob.com

26% Ski-Jobs.co.uk

17% Seasonworkers.com

21% Other

Recruit, Retain, Re-hireWhere Does Your Winter Team Come From?

December 2013 | Issue 03

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05theskitrade.com | @theskitrade

There’s now been a clear focus on being

environmentally-friendly at the world’s ski

areas for the best part of a decade, but of

course it’s a never-ending battle.

Initially the big thing ski resorts did was to

retrofit traditional power-hungry lighting

with low-energy systems, with sensor

controls so that they only worked when

they were required.

Then they worked (and continued to do

so) on bigger capital projects – replacing

old-fashioned snowmaking and grooming

equipment with far more energy-efficient

models. Using their integrated computer

management systems that sense when

the equipment needs to be operated

or not, based on fractional complex

environmental condition calculations,

significant efficiency savings can be

made. Some have sought to generate

their own clean power or buy in green

energy, and others look at ways of

encouraging people to travel to and from

their resorts in as eco-friendly a manner

as possible. Most have looked at all

these things, and many more.

But at ski resorts around the world there

are more unique ideas that push the

envelope.

Step forward the Ecorider Ski School

of Chamonix (ecorider.org). Established

a year ago with the philosophy “be

green, dream white”, it’s a ski school

that supports sustainable development

and offers ”eco-tourists” – or indeed

anyone looking for a green-tinted time

on the slopes of the Chamonix valley –

an environmentally-friendly experience

on the piste. What separates it from

a normal ski school? Well, apart from

teaching its green philosophy, this winter

Ecorider is offering its customers the use

of an eco-designed Dynastar pilot park,

with a new range of skis made with bio-

sourced materials, including their very

own “Cham-Ecorider” model.

In addition, each instructor wears recycled

and bio-sourced skiing gear, and promises

to calculate his/her carbon footprint and try

to reduce it.

The organisation also takes part in a

carbon offset programme by donating to a

reforestation project in Asia with “Pur Projet”.

Fellow French resort Les Gets, widely

regarded as one of the world‘s leading ski

destinations for its environmental initiatives,

is battling to do everything imaginable to

be green too. Beyond big initiatives, such

as a community biomass heating plant

using re-claimed wood, which heats 12

municipal buildings via a heating network

over 1km-long beneath the village, and

ISO 14001 Environmental Management

Certifications for the tourist office and the

local golf club (the first in France to obtain

this Certification), there are some original

and unique ideas too.

These include: using organic products

for ski maintenance, and biodegradable

oil for piste bashers; speed regularisation

of certain lifts to avoid frequent stops

by moving slowly thus reducing energy

consumption; and using solar panels to

power the Chery Nord radio repeater.

It’s not always easy, as evidenced in

one major resort where considerable

energy is used on refrigeration in an

environment generally operating in

sub-zero temperatures, but where no

easy alternatives have been found.

Nevertheless, resorts will keep trying to be

ever-greener, coming up with evermore

creative solutions, and they should be

proud for leading the world in that at least.

Patrick ThorneColumnist

How GreenCan You Go?

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December 2013 | Issue 03

There’s not much room left in the Alps for new ski

resorts. Even without the possible ecological issues,

finding suitable terrain isn’t easy, and there seems

little point when skier numbers are flat at best.

But you can’t stand still in business. Remaining

stationary doesn’t make good reading for

investors or visitors alike. So, neighbouring

Alpine resorts are increasingly looking to engage,

creating a larger marketing platform to compete

with the bigger players.

We’ve seen several announcements for this

winter, including: Warth-Schröcken linking

with Lech-Zürs, in Austria; and in Switzerland,

Grimentz and Zinal are installing a new cable car

providing easier access, and Arosa is linking with

nearby Lenzerheide.

The Ski Amadé region in Austria is a good

example of a large number of small villages,

28 in total, forming a marketing affiliation to

create what’s now the second largest ski area

in Europe. Although not all the separate areas

link up by ski lift, the Amadé brand means the

smaller towns have more chance of survival,

as they can offer so much more than just a few

ski lifts.

We spoke to Marlen Rogenmoser of the

Lenzerheide tourist office and asked why the

CHF40m (£27.5m) investment for the new ski

lifts was worthwhile. Rogenmoser said, ”The

most important opportunity is for a larger

resort with 225km of ski slopes. With it we

gain in attractiveness and reputation. Arosa

Lenzerheide will be the largest contiguous ski

region of Grisons and will be one of the top 10

ski resorts in Switzerland.”

This investment provides what is now a key

driver of revenue for the established ski markets

in Europe – ”attractiveness and reputation” as

Rogenmoser puts it, or as we might also say ”the

USP”. Creating a larger ski resort means it has

more to say, adding value to the product.

Over in Grimentz and Zinal, the construction of a

single cable car has cost CHF28.6m (£19.6m). The

area already has a good reputation amongst the

ski touring and freeride community, and whilst the

new lift will increase accessible off-piste terrain,

it will bring in more visitors, slowly changing the

dynamics of the resort.

Pascal Bourquin from the Grimentz-Zinal

lift company said ”the cable car connection

between the two areas guarantees a critical

mass for the long-term development of the

resorts. Our liaison project aims to increase the

loyalty of our holiday clientele and to capture a

larger share of this market.’

Ultimately, if resorts are confident of growing their

share in a flat market, there will surely be losers.

Small, family, village resorts will fight on price

and perhaps survive by offering good value for

money. We’re therefore likely to see a polarisation

in the industry, where on one side you go big,

spend more, and get a lot for your money. On the

other side you go small, spend less, but get value.

Anyone caught in the middle of that might find

things get increasingly difficult in the future.

06 theskitrade.com | @theskitrade

LISTEX Growth Proves Industry Value

Still Time ForA Challenge

Rob Stewart Co-Editor

wHY Ski reSortS are JoininG ForCeS

LISTEX proved to be a success in its second year,

with a 60% increase in overall attendance, and a

45% increase in the number of trade exchange

participants. The Ski Trade attended to make

a presentation about emerging markets, and

network with some key industry insiders. Apart

from the meetings between travel providers and

industry buyers, there was plenty to listen to during

the forum sessions, which concluded with ”How to

Grow the Market”. James Gambrill, LISTEX Director,

commented, ”LISTEX is now firmly on the map as a

key part of the UK snowsports calendar and gives

an opportunity for professional meetings for both

buyers and suppliers, whilst the forum revealed

the passion within our industry with some heated

debate.“ listex.co.uk

Go Ski Go Board Campaign Well Under Way

The campaign to encourage more people to get into

snow sports is well under way, so far around 9300

have attended Slide to Sochi roadshows around the

country, while 1420 people have taken a GO SKI GO

BOARD taster session at various slopes in England.

”Everyone in the industry should engage in GO

SKI GO BOARD in the lead up to Sochi 2014,” says

Betony Garner, Snowsport Industries of Great Britain

Snowsports Media Officer. ”By getting more people

into snowsports, it can only help build our Industry.“

Get involved by linking to the GO SKI GO BOARD

website, or follow @SnowsportEng on Twitter.

Slide to Sochi roadshows are scheduled for slopes

in Rossendale, Telford, Aldershot, Southampton,

Bracknell, Silksworth, Snowtrax and The Snow

Centre at Hemel Hempstead. goskigoboard.org.uk

Twenty teams have signed up for the 2014

Alpine Challenge, organised by youth charity

Snow-Camp, from 16–19 January. ”There’s still

space for more teams,“ says Dan Charlish,

Snow-Camp’s Director. ”If you’d like to combine

a two day ski and snowboard-a-thon in Morzine,

raise some money for a great cause and have

the time of your life, then get in touch.“ Some

of the teams already involved include Morzine

Source Magazine, EA Sports, Mountain Mavericks,

DHO, Skills Active, and Norton Rose. Ebay has

also entered a team, making it an eclectic mix of

companies with a variety of ski and snowboard

levels. Teams are made up of four people,

and everyone must ride together through the

challenge. snow-camp.org.uk/alpinechallenge.

International Ski Travel Market Event Shapes Up

Reed Travel Exhibitions will stage the inaugural

International Ski Travel Market (ISTM) from 17–18

March 2014. The forum will bring together around

80 European tourist boards and inbound ski

travel suppliers, with 80 leading outbound tour

operators, at pre-arranged appointments. Major tour

operators such as Crystal are signed up to attend,

as well as niche operators such as Ski Unlimited

and Art De Vivre Voyage-Boutique. ”There is

a tremendous buzz surrounding ISTM and it’s

generating excitement right across the European

ski travel industry. Not only is it the ideal opportunity

to promote and attract business, but it’s also the

perfect way for everyone involved to share ideas

and give an overall boost to the sector,” says Peter

Grimster, Exhibition Manager. istm.co.uk

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Only 23% of respondents in the Ski Trade

recruitment survey (page 4) plan to provide

seasonal insurance within their employee

benefits package this winter. It’s a statistic that

sends shivers down the spine of Michael Pettifer,

MD and Founder of the specialist ski insurance

provider MPI Brokers. “Many winter sports

companies risk endangering their seasonal staff

– and themselves – by failing to provide suitable

insurance for their staff on a corporate basis”

says Pettifer. “Employers have a general duty of

care to ensure their staff members are properly

covered and leaving this to them is fraught with

complications and exposes the company to

potential claims from employees.”

Government and insurance industry estimates

suggest that at least 20–30% of seasonal staff

working in winter resorts do not have adequate

insurance, if any at all, to cover their in-resort

activities. “They should have insurance for loss and

injury for the duration of their employment, and

while travelling to and from their ski resort. They

also need personal liability cover for damage to

property and injury to others” explains Pettifer.

Should a member of staff be involved in a serious

accident, the costs of Alpine rescue, specialist

medical treatment, and repatriation are huge.

Insurance against these costs seems like a small

price to pay. MPI’s overseas resort staff insurance

covers off-piste skiing and snowboarding, with or

without a guide, in addition to ski racing and snow

parks. Cover also includes private physiotherapy

treatment in-resort or in the UK.

“We’ve made it much easier for employers to

manage insurance for this winter with our online

register, where employers can manage leavers

and replacements in their team, swapping leavers

for new starters at no extra cost, providing the

original staff member has not made a claim. Staff

can also have access to their own policy through

our online portal. It couldn’t be easier to manage

your staff insurance requirements this winter.”

MPI Brokers has also responded to the ski

hosting ban by providing liability insurance for

staff ”hosting” – skiing with guests, in a personal

capacity during their free time.

For more information on MPI Brokers, visit

mpibrokers.com or call Michael Pettifer on +44

(0)1428 664265.

Amie PostingsCo-Editor

DutY oF Care

Issue 03 | December 2013

The Ski Trade has recently returned from

a trip to Kazakhstan, where we covered

the United Nations World Tourism

Conference on emerging ski destinations

in Eastern Europe and Asia.

Apart from the opportunity to look at

a country not widely understood by

outsiders, it was also a chance to learn

from experts about the management

of ski resorts, and the challenges they

face when it comes to making money

from them.

In Kazakhstan alone, there are currently

nine ski resort development projects

underway. This looks very ambitious,

and realistically, in the next 10 years, we’ll

probably see only half of those succeed

at the most. Even if they complete two of

these, it will more than double the existing

ski infrastructure currently in place.

There are many other destinations

looking at expanding their mountain

tourism, including Georgia,

Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and

even North Korea.

But where are the skiers going to

come from? There are around 6000

ski areas worldwide ranging from one

ski lift upwards. Only 100 of these are

considered to be international resorts

that attract foreign visitors. All other areas

rely completely on local and domestic

tourism for their business.

The emerging nations, therefore,

have to invest in creating a ski

culture within the region and beyond.

Crucial to this will be programmes in

schools that are government-funded,

allowing children to start skiing and,

hopefully, they’ll want to continue

into adulthood. Perhaps countries

like Georgia, which gets a lot of snow

and, therefore, can attract a freeride,

heli-ski fraternity, will be able to entice

foreign skiers, but they will still be

relatively small in number.

South Korea is an interesting example

of how to grow a snow sports market.

Before 1975 there were no ski areas

and few skiers, but they invested

heavily and created a widespread

schools programme. It has also created

resorts that have a theme-park feel,

catering for the demands of the public.

Night skiing is very popular, and some

areas open until 4am. It’s also worth

noting that 70% of visitors to the ski

areas are snowboarders, reflecting

the success of attracting a younger

generation to the sport.

Today it’s crucial to invest in a year-

round resort providing summer

activities. When French purpose-built

resorts first sprung up in the 1960s

and 70s, there was no requirement to

ensure a summer trade too. This will

not be the case for any emerging ski

resort destination, where both summer

and winter activities must be available

to guarantee survival.

If we look at the case of China then we

can see large growth in skier numbers

during the previous decade, with 16m

skier days last winter. However, there is

only a 20% return rate on this because

the experience is not always a good one.

In many cases the 523 ski areas within

China (there are only 11 with over 300m

of vertical) are too far from the main

populations, and the ones that are closer

are not always the best.

For countries looking at expanding their

mountain resorts, bearing in mind that

creating a local ski culture is crucial for

success, proximity to large conurbations

is important.

Perhaps creating these new markets will

start to help increase overall worldwide

skier numbers again, and then who

knows? We might see them heading to

the slopes of Europe one day too.

We started with a single 12-bed

chalet in Les Coches, La Plagne, in

France. Eleven years ago we added

a 16-bedroom chalet hotel to our

collection, sleeping up to 56 guests in

the Dolomites, and Mountainsun was

born. We had a data system developed

for us to manage our reservation

process, but eventually it couldn’t keep

up with our rate of expansion.

Winter 2013–14 sees Mountainsun grow

to six properties, and more than 200

beds in five different resorts across two

different countries. Our reservations

office is based in the UK, and our ground

staff in-resort need a lot of information

on a daily and weekly basis in order for

our holidays to run efficiently.

Growing an accommodation business

of this size, while making sure that

guests remain at the centre of

everything we do, has been very

tricky. The flow of information was at

times very tough and time-consuming.

We knew we needed to invest in a

professional system to help us manage

our expansion.

This is our second winter using the

ChaletManager system, and my

advice to similar businesses would

be to research data system options

thoroughly before deciding where to

invest. It’s a big job to change the way

your business communicates!

The ChaletManager ”Admin” function

means that within a couple of clicks,

we can provide guests with all of

their holiday information in a very

professional way. The time-saving

implication of this means that we’ve

never been so up to date with

receiving guests’ balance payments,

which in turn greatly improves the

company’s cash flow ahead of the

new winter season. If you have

multiple properties, you’ll know how

important this is! We find the ”My

Booking” function invaluable as it gives

guests access to their own holiday

information, and reduces the number

of pre-holiday questions that used to

fill up our email inbox every day!

My colleague and I communicate with

our teams on the ground in resorts

every day, but they are also able to

access their own property and guest

information using ChaletManager.

This reduces the margin for error, and

enhances our professionalism. The

ChaletManager “Reports” function

means our teams can quickly view

guest, finance, lift pass, equipment

hire, and transfer information, without

waiting for our reservations office to

send reports, and ChaletManager

has also been fantastic at making

tweaks to our reporting functions

very quickly.

ChaletManager

www.chaletmanager.com

MountainSun:

mountainsunltd.com

Multiple Properties, Multipleresorts, Multiple CountriesJude Lamb, Mountainsun

build Them, But Will They Come?

08 theskitrade.com | @theskitrade

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December 2013 | Issue 03