 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi
We are just booking a last minute ski holiday for Xmas and was wondering if joining the club is worth it cost wise? Will we get the money back on discounts. We are a family of 4 adults, my husband has skied lots of times , me and the boys have only twice and that was 5 years ago.
We all intend having lessons.
Thanks for any advice
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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If you get the money back why not?
Though if you are in lessons you will not use a leader even if you are in a leader resort.
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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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I've never found it worth it. Have you checked out SCUK (snowboard club uk)? Much cheaper membership and some of the discounts are great. I bought a new board last year and saved over £100 with my SCUK membership....the membership is only £15.
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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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| Joto wrote: |
Hi
We are just booking a last minute ski holiday for Xmas and was wondering if joining the club is worth it cost wise? Will we get the money back on discounts. We are a family of 4 adults, my husband has skied lots of times , me and the boys have only twice and that was 5 years ago.
We all intend having lessons.
Thanks for any advice |
http://www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclub/membersonly/discounts/calculator.aspx
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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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Hi thanks for the replies. I knew we wouldn't use a leader, just wondered if we would get the cost of membership back through discounts on booking holidays, ski hire and clothing etc. I'll have a look at snowboard uk, thanks
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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 have found that I have always made my money back on membership (family of 4) through discounts received on equipment purchases etc. And if by chance you do fancy using the leadership service (new to resort or whatever) I have found that a great plus too.
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Joto, it depends on where you plan to go skiing, which tour op you plan to go with (if any) how you plan to get there and what kit you need to buy, it's certainly possible to recoup the membership costs of a ski holiday and a bit more, but the SCGB is not the only club to offer memberships and you may find that you can get better offers due to last minute discounts or other means that you cannot improve using discounts from the ski club.
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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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ITs always been worth it for me, tend to make the membership back in a ski season + other outdoors purchases (15% off at cotswold outdoor)...
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With first timer SCGB membership now at £23.00 buying membership to get more than £23.00 of discount is worthwhile, just don't forget to cancel the direct debit before it renews.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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How does the leader thing work? Is it a guide around the resort?
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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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It usually is on a Sunday. But then each leader has a further 5 day program each week. The program varies from intermediate to advanced (subject to weather and conditions). It can take in small forays off-piste (within sight of lifts though) but the leader will suggest alternative routes for those who want to stay on-piste. On Thursdays, if enough are interested, they will arrange for the hire of a guide from the local ski school for smaller groups.
For me, one of the great benefits is to meet up at the prescribed location, and if there are to many, forming a breakaway group of like standard skiers.
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That sounds worth something then.
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You know it makes sense.
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Thanks for all the replies. The £23 is interesting I was looking at the family membership for £90, hence the query. Just spent the whole day going round and round looking at resorts and hotels for a Xmas holiday and have given up and hit the wine instead. Summer hols are much easier to organise
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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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Can anyone smell mackerel?
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Poster: A snowHead
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| halfhand wrote: |
| Can anyone smell mackerel? |
You suspect a ski club shill of setting up six years in advance? They're craftier than I would have expected!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| finestgreen wrote: |
| halfhand wrote: |
| Can anyone smell mackerel? |
You suspect a ski club shill of setting up six years in advance? They're craftier than I would have expected! |
Beware. They have sleepers everywhere
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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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Joto:
"We are just booking a last minute ski holiday for Xmas and was wondering if joining the club is worth it cost wise? Will we get the money back on discounts. We are a family of 4 adults, my husband has skied lots of times , me and the boys have only twice and that was 5 years ago."
boredsurfin:
"With first timer SCGB membership now at £23.00 buying membership to get more than £23.00 of discount is worthwhile, just don't forget to cancel the direct debit before it renews."
Indeed. Looking at the panel (right), the Ski Club seems to be promoting this "beginner" membership as "beginner to SCGB".
Joto's family are clearly anything but beginners in skiing terms, but boredsurfin is recommending a year's beginner membership and then cancelling the renewal. Seems a perfectly legitimate action on the face of it ...
.... So the Skeeb sells a loss-leader membership (joke opportunity: leader service lost at this membership rate), heavily subsidised by regular members of the Club, and the Club then runs a significant chance of the £23 member never renewing at £62.
Where's the sense in that?
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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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Comedy Goldsmith, The only change here is it's now £1.00 cheaper. Previously to get the discounts one would only have to buy a Child under 24? membership. The key is cancelling the STO, of course 
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Joto, why would the whole family join? Just the person doing the booking, get the relevant code/offer from the TO, and book the holiday. Nobody at the TO is going to check whether the kids have got SCGB membership. Or just ask a member to get the code for you 
My experience is that TOs, if you call them, will do the same deal as membership of most clubs will get you anyhow. Just ring them up, tell them you know there is X% discount for a member of Y club, and ask them for the same deal. Usually they will give it to you, and then you don't need to join a club that you don't need to join anyhow.
Better than all of this is to just ask us what you are looking for, give us a rough budget, and we can help you out with finding a great holiday for a good price, saves all the messing about with discount codes and everything.
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The only reason I remain a member now is to go on Ski Club of GB holidays which are very good (for me it is the advanced off piste holidays but there are many kinds). To start with I went with the leaders but didn't use the discounts enough to be worth it otherwise . However now that I have enough ski friends of my ski standard from those holidays I seem to always arrange my own holidays for my group and book a guide, so I'm not sure if I'll continue.
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My main reason for being a member is also for the holidays. As far as the discounts are concerned they are a nice little bonus. I ski usually three and sometimes four weeks a year and so there always seems to be something I need to buy. If I am in the market for skis for example, I will wait until the end of season to get a real bargain but otherwise I am happy with the ski club discounts. I might get a better price elsewhere but I am content to get what I feel is a reasonable price rather than a rip off price and I am more than happy for the retailer to get a reasonable margin.
When this subject comes up there will always be someone that will say you can get a better price still by negotiating. Well maybe you can but a lot of people do not like negotiating. If you subscribe to Which magazine this is a topic that they have mentioned really. Negotiating is not something that most Brits like to do or have done traditionally. Having been self employed for the last ten years of my full time career I like to think I have affair amount of experience when it comes to negotiating, but in my private life I prefer not to.
There are plenty of people who neither want or need to go trawling around the internet for the best possible solution, or have the time to do so. I accept that I might get discounts as good elsewhere, but the convenience of the ski club discounts is that pretty well anything I need for a ski trip is readily available.
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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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| richjp wrote: |
| Negotiating is not something that most Brits like to do or have done traditionally. |
Got a source for this, or just random stat made up because you don't like doing it?
My experience, though this does not constitute evidence, is that everybody I know negotiates anything which is perceived to be negotiable, and holidays are perceived by most to be negotiable.
I don't know anybody who pays screen price for a car. I don't know many people who offer the asking price for a house. Then again, people do look at me a bit funny when I tell them that I have quite successfully negotiated with my local Sainsbury's
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Mistress Panda,
No I do not have a stat but I am quoting recent issues of Which magazine which is hardly a random source.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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How much does this ski leading service cost? Is it available in all the maijn resorts?
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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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emwmarine, It is free. You can ski with the rep once in the week without joining the ski club. After that you have to join if you want to ski with him/her again.
Generally the major European resorts (about 30 I think) with a few exceptions - the major one being St Anton, which had a disagreement with the Ski Club (normally the resort partially hosts the rep). Only a few in America.
See http://www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclub/skiclubleaders/default.aspx#.UqcSj66QYyE
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You know it makes sense.
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Joto, Oh I'm still firendly 
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FAQ
and that snowheads is still the friendly bunch I remember from when I first joined.
