 Poster: A snowHead
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@brianatab, afaik insurers will say you need to have the whole holiday covered under the one policy. Even if you renew with them it doesn't matter.
I emailed Snowcard about it a few years ago and that was the answer. I am sure a lot of people renew without or ignoring that. I don't know if in reality a claim would be turned down on that basis.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@mr. mike,
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If one dies of flu, there is a very high likelihood that person was in a severely compromised condition and/or did not bother to get a shot.
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Not necessarily true.
In any given year the WHO decide which of the contemporaneous strains of flu are most likely to escalate. Only the top 3 make the vaccine, so if it's strain number 4 that causes an epidemic then the vaccines are potentially useless.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Found this on moneysaving expert.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/02/coronavirus-travel-help-and-your-rights/#asab
"What if I have an annual policy that's about to expire?
While it's generally difficult to get new travel insurance policies at the moment – and virtually impossible to get one that'll cover cancellation costs related to
coronavirus – if you have an existing annual travel insurance policy, you may well have more joy.
Several travel insurers, including Axa and Coverwise, have told us that if you have an annual policy and choose to renew, you'll still get the same level of cover on your renewed policy as you did on the old one. (Don't assume this applies to all policies or travel insurers though – if renewing, check directly.)
That means if you have a holiday booked and your annual policy expires in the meantime, it may be worth renewing with your current insurer rather than looking for a new policy. Make sure you arrange cover from the day after your current policy expires – that way, you'll have continuous cover.
It's worth noting even with policies that will give you cancellation cover for existing bookings on renewal, you won't be covered for any new trips you're planning. That's because travel insurance is supposed to cover for the unexpected. Equally, you won't be covered for trips booked after the FCO warned against travel to a country, or after coronavirus was declared a pandemic."
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Despite what some people said in the other thread, I think you can only claim on a policy that is in force when the incident occurs that you are claiming for. If I book a holiday now for travel in say 2025 (probably not impossible for some fairly esoteric trips), I can't seee that my current annual policy, expiring in 2021, is going to pay out if I cancel in 2024.
Less clear is the opposite situation, when you have two policies. We have some limited travel insurance automatically included with a bank account, but it doesn't cover some existing medical conditions so have to take out a further policy that does. However with some policies (MPI is one) you have to inform them when you claim if you might be covered under any other policy. So for something like cancellation, which we might be covered for under both, I can still envisage them arguing over who should pay the claim.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@mozwold, Agreed and thats why every year when I get a call from my GP offering me a flu jab I politely decline and say thanks but i'll take my chances, i've never had flu and keep myself reasonably fit and well and have built up my own antibodies, I don't want lots of vaccines in my body, it's personal choice. They always say they reccommend it, i'm sure they do, they are making money by dishing it out for the drug companies. If I get badly ill because i've been negligent that's my lookout imo. That said if and when CV-19 vaccine becomes available i'll have one of those, clearly a really virolent one so my self-assessment includes having one for that, otherwise i'll take the risk.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| brianatab wrote: |
Quick question regarding Annual holiday Insurance.
I booked in Feb'20, under a policy that covers me until 2 days after I plan to travel, so I am covered as far as cancellation due to Covid 19. A renewal will cover the remainder of the holiday, but most likely with exclusions.
My annual policy covers me until Jan'21, but many people will have to renew before then.
If you book under a policy, then renew before you travel, but have to cancel. Which policy would you claim under?
Might make a big difference for cover in the event of any virus forcing a resort to close, or Govt to recommend no travel. |
See page 3 in here: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/2837/49.pdf
"We have therefore come to the view that – when the firm informs customers in this predicament that it cannot provide future cover – it should also give them the option of cancelling the holiday and claiming under the valid policy, even though cancellation may not be medically necessary at that stage."
I looked into the same problem because I have an annual policy under which, in late 2019, I booked a trip to Singapore for late 2020. The policy renews in May. My insurer has two choices - continue to cover me as on the previous policy, or pay for cancellation when my policy expires. Fortunately it's told me that cover will remain for any trip booked pre March 2020.
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| BergenBergen wrote: |
| Just received a renewal from LV for travel insurance with a quoted increase of £20. Went over to Aviva .com for a comparison but they are not quoting for new customers. Checked back with LV .com as a new customer and they have said the same. I was thinking of cancelling the travel insurance and taking out a new policy when travel restrictions are eased and then getting a full year of cover but now I am not sure this not be possible and that the £20 increase is a price worth paying. |
Mine is also offering a renewal, for a £20 a year increase, Annual Travel insurance.
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I think that continuity of insurer has some value and is worth a certain premium from one year to the next. For example, this can help avoid problems where, say, you book you trip under one insurer's cover, but cancel the holiday under another's. Clearly, it's not worth it if the premium is too high.
I also think a lot of people are unrealistic about the degree of cover you get with very cheap insurance. We travelled back from GVA in March with two other people who'd had ski accidents and it was clear that the guy with the really cheap cover hadn't got anything like the help we'd got from our more pricey policy. Ours included, for example, the LV= doctor checking the hospital's Discharge Report (in French) to make sure they weren't just trying to get rid of my wife ASAP and that she was actually fit to fly, unlike the cheap guy's insurers (who hadn't). It's not until you go through having to claim that some of the differences in quality of service become apparent.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Eurotunnel booked - out Friday evening Dec 18th, back Sunday morning Dec 27th.
Booked same crossings on equivalent dates (20th and 29th respectively) last year. Price comparison:
Outbound: 2019 - £86 / 2020 - £105
Inbound: 2019 - £74 / 2020 - £76
Total: 2019 - £150 / 2020 - £181
Note: Booked 10th August last year as opposed to 8th June this.
For a further comparison we booked a few days before for an April trip in 2019 and paid £109 and £94 respectively.
All bar £1 of the cost today was covered using Tesco Clubcard vouchers - which with no April trip this year had built up a bit.
Conclusion: Maybe a bit of extra demand for the Friday but prices are holding reasonably at this point considering a lot of people on here are saying they are going to be driving next season.
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@Layne, interesting comparison that supports my earlier view that Eurotunnel has general gone up already for next year - my low season week 22-30 Jan is £180 which is what I consider to be peak price for earlyish booking. I think they will go up quite a bit as we head into Autumn and people's plans firm up.
Interestingly, my booking with Clubcard vouchers that got cancelled in April was refunded as the cash value of the booking.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Is there always availability with flexiplus? i.e. can I leave it until a few days before even for let's say the first Saturday of Feb half term?
I guess the alternative is just to book it now and cancel for a refund.
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Re Eurotunnel: When I recently booked our August/Sept 2020 and Jan/Feb 2021 crossings, I was surprised that (a) they certainly weren't discounted and (b) the 2021 calendar said they were 'busy travel' days (and that's for weekdays outside school holidays). I went ahead and booked, because it seemed to me that a lot of people were possibly switching from flying to driving next year. Of course, there might be a high proportion of cancellations but then again, there might not.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I had an email this morning from Avanti insurance saying they're giving cover for becoming ill with covid whilst away:
Be covered for COVID-19 when abroad
We can cover you for medical expenses and repatriation if you become unwell as a result of COVID-19 whilst travelling abroad. Like other insurers, we can’t cover claims related to coronavirus before you travel or if you are positively diagnosed before you leave home. However, we think this will come as a relief for anyone who still hopes to travel outside the UK when restrictions are lifted.^
3 months FREE cover with our annual multi-trip policies
If you're starting to think about when your next holiday may be, then take advantage of our 15 months for the price of 12 special offer on Annual Multi-Trip policies.† Pay for 12 months cover and we give you an extra 3 months FREE.
It doesn't address if your holiday is covered for covid cancellation etc just the health aspect but it's a start. Hopefully others will follow, and build on it.
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Poster: A snowHead
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According to BBC news site, new Govt guidelines on air travel are saying no hand luggage. Well, good news to reduce security queues & C19 safety issues, but apart from airline hold luggage and extra weight charges, going to be an interesting issue re on journey snacks & child foods, essential toiletries & medicines, other things one cannot afford to lose/mislay, cameras, batteries, etc, etc, etc... (And ski boots, natch.)
Do we all go back to the huge multi pocketed jacket days of early Ryanair? 
(I remember this after 9/11, to be fair - didn't last long or work very well then...)
ED - to be fair, having found the guidelines, it says should be encouraged to "minimise" hand luggage - interesting to see how that works out.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-air-travel-guidance-for-passengers
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Grizzler, yep, hard to see this working when some airlines (including BA) have reduced food services to a sandwich, a packet of crisps and a bottle of water. For a flight to the US.
It also means spending more time at the airport, which itself isn't an ideal location. I can't see how the first-saturday-of-half-term check-in queue will be appropriately socially distant!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Grizzler, I would advise anyone flying while this rule is in place to check travel insurance small print to see if it covers valuables in suitcases in the hold. I had a camera stolen from a locked case on a flight to Nairobi once and Kuoni insurance did not pay out because there was something in their small print saying valuables in checked in luggage weren't covered.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@snowymum, is that not the responsibility of the airline/baggage handling company?
anyeway, it's a recommendation not a rule
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@bambionskiis, Thanks for that info on medical expenses re COVID while away.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I don't see the point of humping anything unnecessary through the airport, and trying to stuff it into the overhead lockers.
Most of gear stuffed in with skis, boots + remainder in a holdall that is "volunteered" to go in the hold if flight is full, leaving just a small backpack with passport, cash, cameras/chargers, snack, drink etc., which can be stashed under the seat.
Makes the security process much quicker and less stressful. Nothing for them to investigate, or ask you to open.
I even use a plastic belt, which doesn't trigger the scanners.
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@brianatab, unless we're transporting skis or lots of family luggage for a long trip, we don't need to check anything in, which means we can arrive relatively late at the airport, not have to queue up anywhere, get a meal pre flight, and be on the road at the other end before the baggage carousel is even turning.
We don't yet know what post-COVID air travel will really look like, but given the options of "more queues" or "fewer queues", I'm going with "more", so any queue avoidance will be a good thing.
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@brianatab,
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I even use a plastic belt, which doesn't trigger the scanners.
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I thought that I'd been smart with a webbing belt so as as not to trigger the scanners etc. But I still got pulled over and asked to remove it. "Something could be concealed within it or behind it" was the reason given.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Pulled the trigger on an apartment in Tignes which was excellent value. Not many apartment owners have prices up yet for next winter so went for it and paid the deposit. We DIY every year anyway but thought that worth the risk given more and more people will want to self cater next season.
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Hope I'm wrong but I am fully expecting french fishermen to cause havoc at Calais at the end of the year due to the restrictions in fishing rights resulting from Brexit negotiation breakdown. If they cant fish they will be camped out on the A26
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| brianatab wrote: |
| I don't see the point of ... trying to stuff it into the overhead lockers. .. |
I think this is the critical point of the "minimise hand baggage" request. A small bag that will go under the seat in front isn't a problem. It avoids boarding delays, avoids people trying to get stuff from the overheads mid-flight, and lets everyone easily dismembark strictly by row to maintain distancing.
It is use of the overhead lockers that is really being discouraged. Even possible that this will be enforced by, or on, airlines in order that they can safely restart and still achieve reasonable load factors.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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We had EasyJet flights for four to Portugal in July but decided we did not want to go and have a duff holiday experience even if FCO lift travel restrictions so I’ve just changed them to first week of Easter 2021 to GVA. We’ve never skied at Easter before but vowed never again for feb half term after this year so that was really our best option. Fingers crossed there’ll be enough snow, probably look for a chalet/apartment in Les Arcs or La Plagne, somewhere high anyways.
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@jirac18, they'll be enough snow to have a decent weeks piste skiing, I can guarantee that. What is in the laps of the weather gods is what %age of runs is open and whether there is off piste worthy of the name.
Are you OK with slush? Can be good fun, even off piste if you can ski it - not that there is some magic skill to it.
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You know it makes sense.
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Anything that deters the Wheelie-bin Brigade is fine by me. But it just won't work unless it's strictly enforced as an actual rule - not voluntary. Otherwise people will just ignore it and we'll have the usual 'I'm sure .. push .. that there's .. shove .. enough space .. elbow .. for my .. [crunching sound] .. enormous soft bag .. [tinkling of glass] .. to fit [snapping sound] Yes. No problem [drip, drip] See?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@jirac18, I love to ski at Easter! Didn't get to go this year (for obvious reasons!) but the previous year we had excellent snow conditions in Val d'isere/tignes. No powder, but excellent piste skiing and sunshine for after skiing beers  we have Easter flights booked to GVA for 2021 but not decided which resort yet.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@jirac18, Easter is pretty early next year, April 4th. We were planning to be in Les Arcs that week this year and from the webcams the conditions looked fantastic. I have skied Les Arcs most Easters in the last 20 years, even when it has been a couple weeks later and we have always had a good time. Sometimes it can be solid in the morning and slush in the afternoon, sometimes the very bottom of the resort the snow is getting to a bit rubbish and sometimes some runs, particularly those below 1600, are closed. Sometimes there is fresh powder. Most of the time the snow depth is greater than Christmas/New Year and a greater proportion of runs are open.
One thing to be aware of, however, is that the sun can be pretty fierce that time of the year. We have had friends pretty badly burned. Use plenty of factor 50 and watch out for openng the jacket when you have a wide necked T shirt underneath.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@LaForet, I'm with you on that one. The best thing you hear at checkin is "we'll put that carry on bag in the hold for you free of charge if you like"
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But it just won't work unless it's strictly enforced as an actual rule - not voluntary.
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Like when we discovered that the lockdown rules weren't actual rules but mearly advisory and 17,000 people mistakenly fined for breaching them.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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We've always gone at Easter to VT (Tignes next year)-never had any problems with quality or quantity of snow, even when the slopes have been bare passing through Les Menuires on the way up. Orientation (avoiding south facing slopes) is just as important as altitude is.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Any thoughts on when Eurostar will release the ski train service for next season? IIRC, tickets are usually released in mid-July? I've got a couple of Eurotunnel bookings already, and will want to get some Eurostar bookings as soon as they are released.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I’ve skied late March before just saying never in Easter school holidays as we’ve traditionally done Christmas new year and feb. All well versed with variable conditions from slush to powder so no worries on that front. I would bet a whole bunch that conditions will be no worse than feb half term at Samoens this year which was awful bar last two days when it snowed heavily before turning back to rain! We’ll decide where nearer the time I guess.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| Any thoughts on when Eurostar will release the ski train service for next season? IIRC, tickets are usually released in mid-July? I've got a couple of Eurotunnel bookings already, and will want to get some Eurostar bookings as soon as they are released. |
As of a few days ago, Eurostar still hasn't given any indication that the release of tickets is going to be delayed. Nor has it confirmed that tickets will go on sale mid-July. It does seem to be planning to run the service. Normally it keeps it's cards very close to its chest, annoyingly, only making announcements about the Ski Train a few days before tickets go on sale.
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@Daniel Snowcarbon, thanks. I'd love Eurostar to release tickets on the same schedule as airlines.
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| jirac18 wrote: |
| We had EasyJet flights for four to Portugal in July but decided we did not want to go and have a duff holiday experience even if FCO lift travel restrictions so I’ve just changed them to first week of Easter 2021 to GVA. We’ve never skied at Easter before but vowed never again for feb half term after this year so that was really our best option. Fingers crossed there’ll be enough snow, probably look for a chalet/apartment in Les Arcs or La Plagne, somewhere high anyways. |
Did easyjet let you change the flights okay? We are due to fly to a villa in Portugal in late July with Jet2. Technically I suspect the flight will be running by then, so won't be entitled to a refund if we decide not to go. I'd be prepared to pay an admin fee to change the flights to Geneva next year, probably also Easter. Looks like you can pay an admin fee to change dates, but not necessarily change the route. How did Easyjet approach this?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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You can change flights completely free of any admin charge at the moment. Destinations and dates. Just pay any difference in price above your initial booking. If you wait and have to pay the admin charges, coz they will reinstate them soon I believe, it will cost £32 per person per flight to change Plus any difference in booking so it gets expensive.
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JanetS and I have a job running a chalet for next season - so everybody get booking please 
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FAQ
