 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
just seeing which sites people use for last minute deals?
We've got a group of 5 looking to go on the weekend of the 16th and got a few options but always looking for more. Ideally we'd want one that doesn't charge single supplements too as we're an odd group
Last year I ended up booking a great last minute place through ice and fire in La Plagne which I found via a similar thread on here (cant seem to find it now otherwise Id of resurrected it)
The ones Im aware of are:
igluski
alpine elements
apline action
plus all the usual TO's
Can anyone recommend any more or if any chalet owners fancy PMing me some great deals Id be really interested.
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Check chaletdirect you can post in the solutions room with your requirements and see what they offer.
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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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Yes chaletsdirect.com could work for you, or try alpineanswers.co.uk - used them a few times in the past and it's easy to tailor your search
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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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Thanks for those, got about 30 offers from chalets direct already, theyre on the ball on that site 
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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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skiolympic
skitotal
some good prices on crystalski too
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Some good deals on Crystal at the moment. We have just booked a trip to Auris en Oisans (part of the Alpe D'Huez network) on 23rd January for £250pp travel & SC accommodation (block has a pool, sauna etc though). Would have been £166pp had there been 4 of us!
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Wed 6-01-16 17:50; edited 1 time in total
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duplicate by accident
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Wed 6-01-16 17:39; edited 1 time in total
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Skiworld have the standard 7 day chalet deal for less than 400 quid in Tignes for that week. If you phone them direct I'm sure they would be interested in dealing. The problem with the brokers is you are not talking to the horses mouth so their scope will be limited.
Plus 1 for Ski Olympic - some of their chalets have bedrooms for 3 (eg Foret in Vallandry (Paradiski)) if that suits your party - ring the office direct in Doncaster on 01302 328820. Their website has various deals that week.
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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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Interactive Resorts
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Snowtrex is pretty good if you want a really cheap deal in some of the lesser-known resorts. For 5 people, self catering that week, you could pay £118 per person in Devoluy with a free area-wide lift pass included.
You'd need to get yourself out there as it doesn't include travel, but you'd pay more than £118 just for the lift pass itself I would think.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Kingofthec wrote: |
Snowtrex is pretty good if you want a really cheap deal in some of the lesser-known resorts. For 5 people, self catering that week, you could pay £118 per person in Devoluy with a free area-wide lift pass included.
You'd need to get yourself out there as it doesn't include travel, but you'd pay more than £118 just for the lift pass itself I would think. |
Sunweb is another of the really budget places like Snowtrex as well.
I've used Snowtrex once before (for Devoluy in fact) and it was ok, though the accommodation was a bit spartan (what I expected for the price to be honest) and I've booked somewhere for February with Sunweb but couldn't actually comment on what they're like past the website booking functionality!
note Devoluy currently only has about 10% of its runs open... though the website seems to suggest they have coverage of between 25 and 40cm...
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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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I've just received an email from alpineelements - last min deals, incl flights, t'fer and catered chalets less than £300!
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I used to ski Christmas half term and Easter [ in education ]. I would book the half term ahead but leave Christmas and Easter till the last minute looking for good snow and a good deal.
I got frustrated with the sites run by Crystal Thomson Neilson etc as they would have good deals on their site but you had to phone where you would discover that deal had gone and heavy upsell would start. The good deals never got taken down.
Skiworld has a god web site with a page devoted to discounted last minute deals. It is kept up to date so you can watch to see if places are going fast and book at the last minute. Not so deeply discounted nowadays though I think.
However some of the best deals I had were through a company called Skiline, they had a couple of people there who really were very helpful, I would call on Wednesday with my parameters and call back on Friday if I had not heard and take whatever they had going, flying out next day ticket on departure.
In about 20 years I never once failed to get away. But I did make the acquaintance of some funny little airports and odd airlines.
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You know it makes sense.
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I like the sound of this on the Skiline website!
"Our ski rental rates from Ski Set are very competitive and in some cases we are up to 100% cheaper than many ski tour operators charge."
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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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Any advice on how close to going you can book with the big TOs?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Its a while since I did it as I bought my own apartment but I regularly booked on a Wednesday for a Saturday, with electronic ticketing life is less complicated than finding a rep at the airport.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@chocksaway, thanks- booked first week in April off but don't want to decide until last minute if/where we are going to go - especially now realised its English school hols and its looking expensive that week. 
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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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If you're self-drive, self-catering in France: ski-futé, revaski. I've used both to book great last-minute- where's-the-snow deals in Alpes du nord (VT, Tignes, Flaine) 
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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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You can book up to about 7pm the night before, assuming they're still open. Generally prices won't be different than that morning though, so if you're keen for super late then try the morning before you go.
www.ifyouski.com carry deals from all the big TOs as well, worth a shot...
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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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Used https://www.muchbetteradventures.com/ski/ a couple of times. Put in your requirements and chalet owners email you directly and make you the best offer. You can then speak to them directly to negotiate.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Silverski have some offers at £329 inc flight supplements for chalet in La Plagne
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| redbaron51 wrote: |
skiolympic
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Minus 1 for Ski Olympic.
My Daughter worked for them last year, I knew that they had spare beds in her chalet for a particular week, I rang Ski O for a price. They left the rooms empty rather than match the prices that Ski Beat were advertising for a virtually identical package in the same resort.The Ski O telesales guy was was also sailing pretty close to rude in his refusal to match. The Ski Beat hosts happened to remark during our week, that they'd had a few Ski Olympic staff parents stay with them.
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I dont see why Ski Olympic should be criticised for not discounting or price-matching - thats their choice. There are reasons why businesses wouldnt do that, among them not wanting to be perceived as a discounter, impact on their brand, setting up an expectation that they will discount in future, etc. Discounting should have a rationale within the business strategy, doing it indiscriminately will potentially undermine the profitability and sustainability of the business.
 No harm in looking for a better price but if they say no then walk away and look elsewhere if thats what you are after.
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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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@andy1234,
So where would you suggest the difference is, between a good 'last minute deal' company and one that is prepared to leave beds empty, rather than discount them for fear of be perceived as a 'discounter'?
Presumably, one company cannot be both, as one practice contradicts the other as a business model.
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Used to be Teletext. How I miss that. Bloody internet....
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@MCL, as you've booked a ski holiday week off you might be lucky to get a good last minute deal anywhere with good snow but it's low season for French accommodation. Weekend flights will be expensive but driving could offer big savings, especially if there are four of you. The kind of "all in" deal described above, combined with self drive and a car full of stores could make for a cheap holiday and help avoid the holiday crowds in the big British TO 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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Ski Olympic are known as particularly stubborn and I've heard from them in the past that they don't want to set a precedent by ever negotiating on price. I can see the logic as people will expect to be able to do that next time and word spreads. On the other side of the coin, I was willing to pay full adult price for sole use of a twin in a chalet a couple of seasons ago, on the day before departure. SO's position on it was simple, adult price x 2 or no booking. On the date in question they had loads of capacity (50-odd beds and flight seats) unsold.
I get the philosophy behind not negotiating but in this particular instance I would say it makes more business sense to take the booking for a chalet and flight seats that you're 100% committed to. If I remember rightly I was ready to part with £595 for a twin in a large chalet. in the end that £595 went to a different operator, so SO had another empty room and flight seat whilst one of the competitors got my cash...
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| froomie wrote: |
| I was ready to part with £595 for a twin in a large chalet. in the end that £595 went to a different operator, so SO had another empty room and flight seat whilst one of the competitors got my cash... |
Ditto x2 (my Wife and I).
I see no logic in this policy. Hold firm on price when demand is strong, be flexible rather than leave beds empty when not so. The plane is paid for, along with the transfer bus and fridges are full. The fixed costs are fixed.
As for repeat customers expecting/requesting discounts, it would depend entirely on when they chose to travel.
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You know it makes sense.
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ski Olympic have been around a long time and have a good reputation. They must be doing something right.
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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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Yes, fixed costs are fixed, flights are chartered, transfer coaches are booked, chalets are rented and staffed, so the extra cost of another last-minute passenger is the food they eat and the hot water they use, some of that might even be recouped through profits on ski-passes, excursions and equipment hire that they might purchase, so getting a few hundred quid out of them is all bunce that goes onto the Operator's bottom-line profit...so makes a lot of sense to discount to fill spaces last minute.
But...it might also wee wee off their loyal early-bookers to find out peeps in the chalet have paid less than half what they paid and ended up with the best (previously unsold) room in the chalet!!  So, maybe that's why some companies refuse to discount...still plenty that do...they would be getting my cash as pure profit...plenty of operators willing to do last-minute deals this season so far!! 
Whenever I've been on a last-minute deal I never talk about what I paid unless pressed...OK, I might reveal it if someone starts bragging around the dinner table about the deal he got and I got it even cheaper!! 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Can we not say 'p i s s' on here??
It just got auto-censored to wee wee!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| pam w wrote: |
| ski Olympic have been around a long time and have a good reputation. . |
For now.
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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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@Mollerski,
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So where would you suggest the difference is, between a good 'last minute deal' company and one that is prepared to leave beds empty, rather than discount them for fear of be perceived as a 'discounter'?
Presumably, one company cannot be both, as one practice contradicts the other as a business model.
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I dont think its possible to identify a good last minute deal company, IMO thats going to be a moving target and largely down to the person taking up the offer of the service. Thats why I mentioned a couple of businesses that highlight deals from tour operators. Clearly there is the option of cutting deals with smaller operators down to an individual chalet/apartment/hotel or bed level.
As regards the suggestion that a company cant be both a discounter and something else, that might be true. I seem to recall that competitive strategy suggested businesses could compete on either a low cost or a differentiated strategy (eg high quality, uniqueness) but not both. It was suggested at the time that those who tried to do both would be stuck in the middle and perhaps fail. And there again, perhaps thinking has moved on in the last 20 years.
By the way, I have never been with Ski Olympic though thats just coincidence.
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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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@luigi, sure you can say piss. Maybe it's just you?
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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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| luigi wrote: |
Yes, fixed costs are fixed, flights are chartered, transfer coaches are booked, chalets are rented and staffed, so the extra cost of another last-minute passenger is the food they eat and the hot water they use, some of that might even be recouped through profits on ski-passes, excursions and equipment hire that they might purchase, so getting a few hundred quid out of them is all bunce that goes onto the Operator's bottom-line profit...so makes a lot of sense to discount to fill spaces last minute.
But...it might also wee wee off their loyal early-bookers to find out peeps in the chalet have paid less than half what they paid and ended up with the best (previously unsold) room in the chalet!! So, maybe that's why some companies refuse to discount...still plenty that do...they would be getting my cash as pure profit...plenty of operators willing to do last-minute deals this season so far!!
Whenever I've been on a last-minute deal I never talk about what I paid unless pressed...OK, I might reveal it if someone starts bragging around the dinner table about the deal he got and I got it even cheaper!! |
All good points. Marginal cost of one extra passenger booked on pre-paid charter flight seats is limited to food and drink, linen, a smidgen of a utility bill and an extra seat on a transfer coach but well under £100 total. Comparing what you paid in comparison with someone else at the dinner table is really only relevant if you both booked at exactly the same time. Anyone who is pissed off because they booked 6 months ahead and paid more than the last minute bargain hunter who took what was available is not really understanding the nature of holidays. If I buy a pint of milk in Tesco on Tuesday for 50p and go back in on Friday and see pints of milk discounted to 20p, does that entitle me to make a fuss?
Anyway, this is all hot air as I very much doubt Ski Olympic will change their approach, seems to suit them and as others say they've been around long enough and have a decent reputation. If you want to negotiate on price then simply call someone else...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Meanwhile you can still go to the 3V tomorrow for £395 with.............. Ski Olympic.
Don't mistake rude for Yorkshire directness. As Pam says it works for them and it is their 30th birthday this year. An awful lot of small companies that started in the 80s era are long gone.
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Skiline had CHALET TRIOLET in Courcheval for 319 quid
Skiworld have several chalets in La Rosiere at 279 quid with 1/2 m of fresh snow forecast in the next week. They also have some space in VT for 375 quid.
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Suffice to say, Ski Olympic is then NOT a place to look for a last minute 'deal'
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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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skyscanner + booking.com & / or tourist office websites is my usual approach these days, especially for long weekends when tour operators are either no use or very expensive.
I seldom bother with tour companies at all, but having read this thread maybe I'm missing out on some good deals:)
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Me too
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FAQ
