 Poster: A snowHead
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| Timmycb5 wrote: |
Yes the leave policy at my work is unchanged. Only allowed to carry forward 5 days and it must be used within 2 months of the new leave cycle.
I can’t imagine many employers allowing people to carry forward as mush as they want. |
Also, employers have a legal obligation that people must take a minimum number of holidays so they are at risk if they let people work all year. IIRC it's 20 days but that includes public holidays.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Out of interest I have just costed what could be our first ski trip for next season. We have a P&O ferry voucher from our cancelled trip Easter 2020 which now has been extended for use by the end of this year. We live in Scotland and have driven to the alps many times so can estimate the costs for a self catering trip. We are both over 70 and its now almost a month since our first vaccine, no underlying conditions, so happy to travel whenever we are allowed. By next season Mr Mogulski will get free ski passes in the major French resorts. I recon we could leave on 1st December drive out to Tignes have 6 days skiing there then 5 days in 3V, arriving back home on 16th. Including our usual overnight stop en route, fuel, tolls, self catering apartments but not including food as we have to buy that at home we can do it for £1600 for the 2 of us. We will not book anything until we know it is possible to travel but hopefully that could be the first of several ski trips next winter. Very little prospect of getting to ski in Scotland this winter unless we all get released from travel restrictions. This is the first season we have not skied (last skiing was Birthday Bash 2020) but not planning to summer ski as we did that for many years when our sons used to train in the alps and it wasn't even that great then. Since our first summer trip to Tignes in 1988 the glacier has melted back so much there isn't much more than you get in a snowdome with teams using much of the safe area.
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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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| richb67 wrote: |
thanks for that, interestingly that detail is absent from their standard Covid page but I did find it buried on an FAQ page. ATM mid Feb flights next year seem to be holding high prices, flights to late March this year are cancelled for the next few weeks and are dirt cheap for the few days after that. So do I risk booking a couple of flights assuming they'll be cancelled next week and I can then get next years at that price or do i hold on to see what happens to prices... worst case I cancel and get a voucher. Hmm... |
Exactly - nothing to lose really, as long as you think you'll be able to use a BA voucher by ?April 2023? (I think the current expiry date)
If you compare March vs June schedules it's easy to work out which flights have consistently been cancelled.
Bear in mind you can only move to a flight within a year of your original date of booking, not date of travel. Book now, change to Feb 2022 is fine, but change to Easter 2022 won't work.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I find that my mind simply won't focus, in February 2021, on holidays in 2022.
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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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It's like the property market. Bit of an unrealistic bubble at the moment.
When economic reality hits, the bubbles will burst....
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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we are on the verge of bagging a chalet that is normally (well it's listed on the usual places) as a catered chalet.
I am guessing owners have not had any reliable contractual offers to rent for the season & are starting to offer SC instead.
What will be interesting is if the TO companies insist on the whole season use & what happens to our contract. 
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Had a quick squint at inghams offerings for jan/Feb 2022 in the dolomites area, prices seem to have risen significantly, although they do seem to offer a slightly different set of hotels and resorts than I previously remember. One thing I did note was that was many of the " offers" were based on 3 or 4 sharing, despite putting in a "2 person" enquiry.
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We've been tentatively looking at Dolomites for Jan/Feb for our lads ski trip (6 x 60yos) and have got these prices for Arraba (Inghams) or Selva val Gardena (Crystal) at a first pass:
INGHAMS
Link 1 - £1038pp Half-board
Link 2 - £1218pp HB
CRYSTAL
Link 3 - £837 B&B
Link 4 - £660 Self-catering
Link 5 - £950 HB
All prices pp for a week including flights from Manchester departing 5th Feb. No idea if this is dearer or not but no decision made yet.
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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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@halfhand, The links are not there?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@halfhand, thanks for that -- not started my 'searching' yet ! 
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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've been looking to try and find something around the school holidays and the prices are up on previous years but I think the biggest problem is more the lack of availability. Its obvious that all the UK tour operators have taken a low risk approach (understandably) and instead of having 15 properties available only have 1 or 2 so which they know they will have enough demand to fill. We normally go with Esprit but they have massively cut their properties so we are now looking at DIY as an alternative because due to the low number of options the holidays are getting all booked up.
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| Rob_Quads wrote: |
| ... the biggest problem is more the lack of availability. Its obvious that all the UK tour operators have taken a low risk approach (understandably) and instead of having 15 properties available only have 1 or 2 so which they know they will have enough demand to fill. ... |
Given the issues this season, and the uncertainty at this stage over next season, this isn't surprising. I think most TOs now operate flexible pricing, i.e. they don't have a printed brochure with a fixed price. Everyone involved wants to recoup some "lost" income: both property owners wanting to lease out a chalet for the season, and TOs selling holidays to the public. If there are people at this stage prepared to pay top prices then it makes sound business sense to take it. But there is still the same amount of accommodation available in total, and outside the peak weeks it won't all be occupied, so it seems likely that prices will fall back more towards "normal" levels.
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You know it makes sense.
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They must be holding back and seeing how the land lies, surely. Looking at Neilson in Italy for the first week of January, they've only got one place in Sauze and one in Val di Fassa. Two in the whole of Andorra for the same week. Surely it wouldn't be worth their while to operate like that?
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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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Was on a call to my manager earlier, and not skiing, but....
She was looking at flights to Lanzarote for October half term for her family (6 of them) and the flight alone were coming it at £5k!
That’s worse than midday flights to Geneva for Feb half term. If the same kinda things pans out for skiing, then it’s going to be out of my league until my kids have left school.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Timmycb5, I've booked fully packaged, Oct HT to Majorca, self-catering, for 2 adults & 1 child = less than £700.
I reckon there are plenty of firms out there more than willing to take daft money from anyone willing to give it away.
Reminds me of when I paid £30 for a babysitter for Millennium New Year's Eve!
That was a waste!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| NickYoung wrote: |
@Timmycb5, I've booked fully packaged, Oct HT to Majorca, self-catering, for 2 adults & 1 child = less than £700.
I reckon there are plenty of firms out there more than willing to take daft money from anyone willing to give it away.
Reminds me of when I paid £30 for a babysitter for Millennium New Year's Eve!
That was a waste! |
Wow that seems good. Is your Oct half term the same as the rest of the UK? They didn't end up booking at that price. Don't blame 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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LoveHolidays.com --- we'll see how they pan out!
Last week of October.
Lanzarote would defo be more expensive I'm sure, but £5k for flights is bonkers.
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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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We had Club Med credit notes for next season, after cancellation of January 21; when the new programme was released a month ago, most of the group would be required to pay around £300 pp more to rebook the same holiday, but the family with a (by Jan 22) 2 year old, had an increase of c.£1400. We booked a lower Trident rated hotel, for within what we’d already paid, and with some credit left for in-house ski hire.
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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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Our self catered chalet in Vallandry, booked and paid in full for 2021, has doubled in price for 2022! Our choice was to lose 50% of our payment or take the hit and cough up the difference. We paid up not wanting to lose 50% and then fail to find a cheaper option.
It'll be twice as good to be on the slopes next year so still the same value to me! If it triples to move to 2023, that'll be a different story.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Pieandrun, ?? Why would you forfeit 50% of your payment?
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Been scouring AirBnB these past few weeks and to be honest I can't see any noticeable difference in prices. If anything, some good value accommodation on offer.
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been looking austria( usual resort for next year1/2 board central 3-4 star and doesnt seem to be the case that prices are inflated for either next jan or march but not all places are yet open for booking though im independent self drive so have have not checked TO .
Plan is to be patient and keep an eye on things before committing , wont book this far out unless we have a cancellation policy without cost until a week or two before time cos im thinking any forward bookings being deliverable will depend on vaccination interpretation by the authorities either here there or en route nearer the time
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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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booked up for 2nd trip today.
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| NickYoung wrote: |
| @Pieandrun, ?? Why would you forfeit 50% of your payment? |
Because our cancellation policy said we'd forfeit 50%. So the choice was lose £900 or pay an additional £1800. Between 10 beds it still seemed within the realms of normal.
Maybe I should have cancelled and looked for a bargain but for Feb half term I didn't want to risk it.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Pieandrun, If the holiday was cancelled because it couldn't happen due to restrictions, you are surely entitled to the full amount back.
I agree you have made the right choice in carrying the hol over though...£180pp doesn't seem ridiculous, and you still get to look forward to the holiday you wanted in the first place.
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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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@Fridge03,
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Been scouring AirBnB these past few weeks and to be honest I can't see any noticeable difference in prices. If anything, some good value accommodation on offer.
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same for me as well, though with VRBO (used to be homeaway.co.uk), recently booked our self catering apartment for Feb half term in Les Menuires. we have a free cancellation option up to early Feb, so it was a no brainer for me to put down a couple of hundred euros deposit, to ensure the accommodation for then.
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Doing it independently as driving, but got a great deal in Selva (H/B) for 1 week and then in Westendorf (H/B) for 1 week. Prices all seemed similar to 2019 when we visited SkiWelt area, so all appears to be normal. One thing that I have done however is take out a Cancellation policy which includes Coronavirus for both bookings.
Bookings are for January last week and 1st week February 2022. Fingers crossed we can go... 
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You know it makes sense.
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| Rob_Quads wrote: |
| We've been looking to try and find something around the school holidays and the prices are up on previous years but I think the biggest problem is more the lack of availability. Its obvious that all the UK tour operators have taken a low risk approach (understandably) and instead of having 15 properties available only have 1 or 2 so which they know they will have enough demand to fill. We normally go with Esprit but they have massively cut their properties so we are now looking at DIY as an alternative because due to the low number of options the holidays are getting all booked up. |
Yeah when did this happen? I haven't been with them for about 5 years, but looked again a month ago and they're only in 3 resorts! And they seem to have dumped Schatzi in La Ros which was THE best placed chalet when I stayed there.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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"..Yeah when did this happen? .."
-- I noticed that they had started to reduce the number of resorts they visited just after the collapse of Thomas Cook, with whom they had some sort of involvement. Then further reductions as the result of Brexit as Rob Quads has said..
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Rob - your link doesn't work - the full stop at the end of the link kills it
" Good interview with the CEO of hotel plan - https://audioboom.com/posts/7806224-a-ski-podcast-special-joe-ponte-ceo-hotelplan-uk Its worth a listen but essentially the chalets of old are finished...."
fixed it
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Rob_Quads wrote: |
| the chalets of old are finished. |
And good riddance
Weve managed to get a 7 bedroom chalet for our group quite central for a decent price.
None of this single occupancy ballocks or being a mile or so away from the main lifts
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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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What I take from the interview is that in essence, he's saying that the classic UK-staffed catered chalet holidays is dead, thanks to Brexit. Because it relied on cheap UK staff undercutting local pay rates for it to be cost-effective, and those staff are just not there any more. So if you want a catered chalet, it will cost more, and be staffed by the resident owners, or EU nationals. Yes, there were business-speak comments about the adjusting to new markets, and the potential for UK workers with EU passports, but I felt he was trying to get listeners to be realistic.
The implication is that if you want to book for 2021-22 season at a reasonable price, then forget about catered chalets. If you want a chalet, fine, you can book one easily enough, but it'll be uncatered: either go for a local catering arrangement or bring your own staff: for the difference (between the same chalet uncatered and catered) I would have thought you could pay a couple of people to come over for the week to cook and clean, and still be in pocket, if that's the sort of arrangement you want.
In our village there are loads of chalets for rent but most are uncatered, while a few are catered by the owners who live on-site in their own sub-apartment. The £/week/person is acutally cheaper than for an apartment, although this relies on you filling the place. If people are saying that they can't find these sorts of places taking bokings for the next season, then I can only think that they're hanging back because of the uncertainty that atill exists. But they need those clients and sooner or later they're going to have to start opening-up for next season.
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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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| NickYoung wrote: |
@Pieandrun, If the holiday was cancelled because it couldn't happen due to restrictions, you are surely entitled to the full amount back.
I agree you have made the right choice in carrying the hol over though...£180pp doesn't seem ridiculous, and you still get to look forward to the holiday you wanted in the first place. |
I imagine the issue is that the chalet is still available, but UK restrictions prevent @Pieandrun traveling there. The accommodation provider is still providing the service they offered. Holidays are still happening in ski resorts in France even without the lifts being open.
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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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It's taught me to pay more attention to cancellation policies in the future. Perhaps I could have made a claim via AirbnB or insurance for a full refund but couldn't be bothered with the inevitable battle.
In the end we've got a beautiful 10 bed chalet for £3600. Seems reasonable enough as long as the 2022 season happens.... (see multiple threads of frustration elsewhere)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| terrygasson wrote: |
@Fridge03,
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Been scouring AirBnB these past few weeks and to be honest I can't see any noticeable difference in prices. If anything, some good value accommodation on offer.
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same for me as well, though with VRBO (used to be homeaway.co.uk), recently booked our self catering apartment for Feb half term in Les Menuires. we have a free cancellation option up to early Feb, so it was a no brainer for me to put down a couple of hundred euros deposit, to ensure the accommodation for then. |
Same for me as well. I've booked all of our ski trips for next season. I always book this early I get the best choice of appartments. I always also only book appartments with favourable cancellation policies, that's not down to CV19 though. Just don't know what kind of injuries I could pick up on my MTB or on an earlier ski trip in the season
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So how does this work?
26th Feb. Obergurgl with Inghams from Birmingham. Flight supplement = £19 p/p.
One week before (19th Feb) the flight supplement = £169 p/p !!!!! This is on top of the already increased holiday cost. Plus the lift pass is £10 more p/p.
How can a flight supplement charge increase by £150 p/p in one week?
Fortunately we go on the 26th.
I am also going to Obergurgl on the 19th March. Flight supplement = £39 p/p (we payed £19 p/p at the time of booking).
Do they just pluck these figures out of thin air?
I thought flight supplements were there to cover increased fuel costs etc........... it appears more to me like they are just ripping of those who have no option than to travel at peak times of the season.
If anyone can explain to me the reason for the increase I Would be interested to know.
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@Eggfried100, half term
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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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@Eggfried100, presumably the flight supplement is simply to cover the increased costs of laying on aircraft or providing a scheduled flight at HT rather than just fuel etc.
I booked BA flights for half term and before I did some on miles and going a day early etc it was working out around 850pp to a return to Zurich 
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I appreciate that it is half term but they had already loaded the cost of the holiday.
If we went in the 19th Feb the holiday would have been £310 p/p more than the following week.
I understand the price increase in the holiday cost. But the flight supplement increase of £150 appears outrageous to me.
I feel for those with children who have no choice but to travel during half term. An increase of £310 p/p for a family of four May mean that some families may have to miss out on their holiday next season.
I can see why some people choose to take their kids out of school and risk paying the fine !!!
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FAQ
