 Poster: A snowHead
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so obviously now is the time of year to be thoroughly planning next seasons trips, a group of us (around 7ish) usually head to france for a long weekend (4/5 Days). However next year i'd like to try somewhere different.
Im very intrigued by the reports from Austria, however when i've tried to find apartments via the usual channels, i cant seem to get anywhere ( expedia/booking.com/holidayletttings etc)
Is there a good source of apartment availability anywhere that i just havent found, or is everything literally swallowed up by tour operators, which i'd find hard to beleive in this day and age!
would be very interested in any of the main austrian resorts, priority is a nice big ski area, with terrain more suited to keeping ambitious intermediates and expert level skiiers entertained.
oh and the trip has to be fully DIY, as the group tends to have an annoying habit of being Faffy, so people often arrive/depart at different times/days thoughout.
Any help would be massively appreciated!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@mikeholmes25, I wonder if they just haven't got their availability online yet?
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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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A lot of French agencies aren't geared up for next season yet, either. Have you tried the resort websites for the places you're interested in? Or maybe phone tourist offices - they'll all speak English.
I found in the past that very few tour operators do self catering in Austria. In the days before the internet made DIY planning easier, that was the reason we switched to France, as apart from the cost, I don't like hotels. If money was no object I'd stay in a nice apartment where I could relax and fix myself a drink or a snack at any time, then go out to a different restaurant every evening!
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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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@mikeholmes25, there are shed loads. Contact them directly.. although you may find that as the season is just ending/ended folk might be on a break
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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 don't have any availability showing for the winter for my own apartment with either Holiday Lettings or AirBnB, although my own website, and the French-based sites I advertise on show an up to date calendar. Main reason being the commission they charge, and holding on to any payments made , including the booking deposit until after the booking has arrived. So I just use these sites now for last minute bookings.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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They both also charge large booking fees to the guests, so if you do find one on any of them, search elsewhere, and you may get a better 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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thanks for the replies everyone, I did attempt to find austrian accommodation in september/october last year, but came up empty handed then and just went with france as the easy option. I was looking now in case anywhere was still listing for late season, or for summer trips, so rather than looking to actually book, it was just where to find the listings in the first place! so anywhere that currently is listing summer availability for hikers/bikers etc, would presumably switch to snowbased trips in the autumn etc
I hadnt even thought about the resorts own websites!
ive never used AirBnB, and to be honest am rather wary of it and the lack of booking protection you have, have heard horror stories of hosts getting a better offer and just dumping you with nowhere to go!
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I used the Dutch company Chaletsplus (who specialise in Austria) this year for an apartment in Konigsleiten. Their website is also in English. https://www.chaletsplus.com/en/
All seamless. Couldn't fault them. I'd definitely consider using them again.... if only I could find some sensibly priced flight options for next Feb half term - I fear I've already left it too late.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@mikeholmes25,
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I hadnt even thought about the resorts own websites!
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We have found this give far and away the largest choice of apartments in Austria (and the Dolomites). Book direct with the owners, pay a modest deposit, then the rest (usually in cash) when you have finished your stay.
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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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if only I could find some sensibly priced flight options for next Feb half term - I fear I've already left it too late.
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easyJet flights for half term not going to be on sale for a while yet - so don't despair!
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I would think you`d find it hard for anyone to accept at this early stage a booking for an apartment just for a weekend, other than maybe filling in a gap or something between reservations.
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You know it makes sense.
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fortunately we always go in the last week of jan, luckily just when the first decent snow of the year was happening the last couple of years anyway, so at least we dont have to factor in half term demand.
this is the sort of advice I was looking for, i think i'll be spending a lot more time looking into find places and contacting directly, as it seems to cut out the middlemen, making it better for all involved, many thanks to everyone who has replied
Just need spend the rest of the year persuading the french member of our group to agree to going to somewhere other than his homeland!!!
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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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@mikeholmes25, the way to do it is via the tourist office of each resort, which will be prominently linked and probably included in each resorts website. There will be a form, which seems pretty standard across the entire country, to specify your requirements.
There are 3 roughly equal groups of apartment owners: 1.the ones who advertise with up to date availability on the resort website, 2. the ones who don't advertise, but will respond to the tourist office enquiry 3. the ones who don't do 1 or 2, but will respond to direct emails (getting their emails off accommodation lists on the resort website). I don't speak german, but a little google translated apology for that seems to do the trick.
A few tips:
Don't span 2 weeks over a Saturday. Getting Friday->Tuesday accommodation is a *lot* harder than Saturday->Wednesday.
The standard accommodation enquiry forms give you a maximum of 5 responses. If you get 5,there were probably more than 5 offers, so it is worth resubmitting the form to get a different set.
Pension and Apartment owners don't seem too stressed about filling up until late November. I have found very little response asking in the off season, then they come online and become super responsive just before the season starts.
I'm sure you'll have a wishlist of resorts to choose (St. Anton, Saalbach, Ischgl?) , but if you get stuck, my "bankers" where flexible accommodation is gettable throughout the season, are Niederau (for Niederau itself, Auffach, Alpbach and Ski Welt via Westendorf) and Mautendorf (for Grosseck-Spierek, Obertauern, Katschberg).
Good luck!
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Poster: A snowHead
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@mikeholmes25, Try HomeAway.co.uk, or Booking.com to find owners who are actively listing on this type of website. Also the Tourist Office websites - most seem to follow the format 'resort'.com, e.g. Saalbach.com
If no joy there, try Google - 'apartment "resort"' to find owners with their own websites.
Few, if any, British Tour Operators offer apartments in Austria. The market is DIY groups and families (Salzburgerland is very easy to DIY as all resorts are within 90 mins of Salzburg Airport and there is a well-organised system of Transfer taxis offering airport to accommodation transfers) and is very popular with Dutch and Scandinavian guests, so you could look at a company such as Sunweb, who are Dutch but who also have a British office.
As @JimiHendrix, says, apartment owners are reluctant to book across a weekend as this blocks two weeks. Most apartments in the major resorts are booked Saturday - Saturday. You should also look at individual B&Bs/Pensions as many of these have apartments as well as rooms and will rent these as self-catered.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@mikeholmes25, I'm surprised that you've found it difficult to find apartments via the channels mentioned, although many apartment owners, like us, prefer to rely on recommendations, word of mouth and their own websites, rather than the booking agencies mentioned, which (as Hells Bells says) charge commission to both parties. We have avoided such agencies, not only because of their charges, but also because we've found that we don't need their services; also it would make it more difficult to vet applicants and avoid accepting the wrong kind of guests.
One non-commission-based agency that we do use and can recommend is Simply Alpine ( http://www.simply-chalets.co.uk/) (www.ski-apartments-austria.co.uk ). However the best advice I can give is to make contact directly with the accommodation owner, who, even if fully booked or not accepting part-week bookings, will often know of other apartments and be able to put you in touch with someone who may be able to help you. For example, we are friendly with at least half a dozen other British apartment owners in Saalbach, some of whom are prepared to accept long weekend bookings, and we can circulate the details of anyone looking for accommodation with one simple Facebook message. Several times this season we have managed to help people find accommodation in this way.
Two other pieces of advice: find out exactly where the apartment is located (I often get asked and am always willing to help) - it will make a big difference if the accommodation is slope-side and therefore ski-in ski-out, rather than a long walk or bus/taxi-ride from the nearest lift. Also don't wait too long if your preferred resort is popular; well-located apartments may be booked a year or more in advance (we have already have 6 bookings for next season, and a couple of seasons ago were surprised to be fully booked by the middle of August).
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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 done 3 trips this year to the Ski Amade area, all have been staying in self catered apartments. We didn't book any of them until about a month before we went and we were travelling in school hols. I wouldn't leave it that late for Feb half term, but you shouldn't have too much trouble for the end of Jan.
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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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@hammerite, On the other hand, we're already provisionally booked (subject to confirmation and deposits) for the weeks commencing 14th and 28th January, and we've just declined a booking for w/c 21st from a group that seemed possibly unsuitable - so people are certainly looking and booking. Much may depend on choice of resort and where the accommodation is located.
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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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Find the area you want to go - choose the village you want to stay - find their touristinformation homepage - choose accommodation, Ferienwohnung or whatever they call it - in that way you will find thousands - but don't think they are ready for booking next winter - so leave out dates!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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there have been loads of apartments available next season on AIRnb and booking.com for a few weeks now, I have booked for this xmas via booking.com, to be honest I did not have a clue where to go, just knew I wanted to be close to either Innsbruck or saltzburg. with booking.com (generally you can provisionally boos as well) I just put in the dates I wanted, then maximised/minimised their map and it shows what is available and at what price. A bit like throwing a dart at map but that is how we found this feb's apartment and resort as well, it seems a good way to find an area/resort that is off the beaten track, as you can always rely on this forum for resort advice from my experience.
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| Tatman's Tours wrote: |
| @hammerite, On the other hand, we're already provisionally booked (subject to confirmation and deposits) for the weeks commencing 14th and 28th January, and we've just declined a booking for w/c 21st from a group that seemed possibly unsuitable - so people are certainly looking and booking. Much may depend on choice of resort and where the accommodation is located. |
Not saying people aren't booking or looking yet, just that if the OPs requirements are fairly fluid then there is likely to be suitable accommodation if he leaves it until later - and that accommodation is likely to be found on the usual sources (of our 3 trips we booked through booking.com x 2 and AirBnB the other).
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@hammerite, Agreed, if they're flexible about where they go and about the location, there will always be something.
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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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think its going to be St Anton, so by using the various channels mentioned, i'm pretty confident we'll be able to find somewhere!
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