 Poster: A snowHead
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Sad news and thoughts to all those effected, had some really good holidays with Ski Amis 
https://www.skiamis.com/?fbclid=IwAR0j4dpGZdUTh_3MsfrUSZiBKcRuSgdEPl7xhSfOt7od9XwUQG2Al72nX7E
Ski Amis - for unforgettable ski holidays
A Time of Your Life Travel Brand
It is with great regret that we have taken the decision to cease trading effective from Monday the 30th November 2020.
We would like to thank all of our loyal clients who have chosen us to take their holidays with over the years, along with the staff who have worked hard to provide our clients with the very best holidays.
If you have a holiday booked with us for the coming season, then further information can be found on ABTOT’s website here - https://www.abtot.com/advice-for-customers-of-time-of-your-life-travel-limited-t-as-ski-amis/. If you paid by card then you should contact your card issuer to raise a section 75 chargeback claim and if you paid by bank transfer then you should submit a claim to ABTOT.
We have tried very hard throughout this period however unfortunately we are left with no other alternatives but to take this very difficult step and we are so very sorry to everybody affected.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Thread number three.
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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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but the most detail and a link to the source
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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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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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Keep up 
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How much tax did they pay in France? Or even exist as a company in France?
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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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4th thread and still no not heard of them.....
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@Markymark29, that because they mainly served Trois Vallees and not Austria 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Had some great chalet holidays with them, a good value product shame to see them go, nice people, was never a fan of the Turkey Stew
Let's see how along it is before we get the phoenix thread, oh I see we have a how much tax did they pay in France, why do we need to know, it’s another company that we have lost because of Covid and we are the poorer for it, how many more will there be this year so sad to see peoples businesses disappearing
Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Tue 1-12-20 19:16; edited 1 time in total
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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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Only went with them once but they were good to deal with and lovely chalet, not good for all the staff
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@kitenski, skied there 10 years in the 90’s - don’t know them.
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You know it makes sense.
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@Markymark29, they had a few chalets in La Tania, Les Menuires and Le Bettaix
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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 went with them a couple of times. Very much the classic UK budget chalet operator employing young seasonnaires.
Would have gone again with them in 2020 but for COVID; the subsequent non-refund saga that I and many others experienced didn't endear them to me.
Interesting "expose" of what life was like working for them here: https://www.chaletcouple.com/ Assuming the facts are correct, they were operating at the edge of the envelope and Brexit would have caused them some problems.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@snowdave, interesting read! Don’t think they had as many chalets when we went with them, as they do now, one year we went at the start of the season and the end our chalet hosts were the same but the guys who did the ski hosting had changed. The hosts were definitely told to follow the food menu ours luckily adjusted 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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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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It was consistent with what staff told us for a couple of years, particularly the issues around the staff contracts, mandatory deposits/loans/deductions.
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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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| jellylegs wrote: |
| ... I'm surprised they didn't get an injunction on that one. |
As they're bankrupt it's unlikely they would have the capacity to try to stop ex-employees describing their appalling and probably illegal working practices.
I'm fairly sure you can't generally enforce confidentiality agreements if you're using them to hide
illegal behaviour. If you could, constructive dismissal cases for race/ sex or whatever would be impossible.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@snowdave,
Yes, a horror review! Glad I left the hardworking chalet staff a decent tip last time I stayed. Must admit I thought their resort manager rude and self important.
However, all the other staff I encountered, both in resort and their UK office, were great.
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Well I am very sad to see them go.
Christine & Ed (who were the original proprietors) always offered excellent value for money chalets - with good customer service (IMO).
Ive easily had 20+ holidays with them and going back - almost 20 years if my memory serves me correct - some real bargains!
They always offered good wholesome meals - nothing fancy - but always suited kids/teens well.
And I have never been to another chalet company that would offer a full english breakfast (option to choose whatever you wanted).
Along with 'proper' home made cakes that were always plentiful.
I wonder who will take on their chalets??
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| snowdave wrote: |
Interesting "expose" of what life was like working for them here: https://www.chaletcouple.com/ Assuming the facts are correct, they were operating at the edge of the envelope and Brexit would have caused them some problems. |
This won't go down well with some on Snowheads who believe in unfettered capitalism but this is why there are employment laws to protect people from this kind of exploitation.
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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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| Dippy wrote: |
Well I am very sad to see them go.
Christine & Ed (who were the original proprietors) always offered excellent value for money chalets - with good customer service (IMO).
I've easily had 20+ holidays with them and going back - almost 20 years if my memory serves me correct - some real bargains!
They always offered good wholesome meals - nothing fancy - but always suited kids/teens well.
And I have never been to another chalet company that would offer a full english breakfast (option to choose whatever you wanted).
Along with 'proper' home made cakes that were always plentiful.
I wonder who will take on their chalets?? |
If you find out what happens to Ski Amis chalets in Les Bruyeres please post here.
The miserable couple clearly got off lightly.
It was not uncommon for a member of the couple to be required to drive airport transfers on Saturdays while the partner turned the chalet over alone.
Christine & Ed sold out but that only lasted one season before Time of Your Life Ltd took over for a season.
TOYL only ran the airport transfers for the one year and were ditching it for 2020/2021 to reduce the work load.
The problem for all catered chalet holiday companies was the hours.
They were all struggling to reduce hours to meet French labour laws.
Now with Brexit they have to advertise locally and then request visas if no French takers, but no guarantee of visas.
How can you offer a holiday when you can not guarantee to be able to staff for it.
Unfortunately the easiest solution is just don't do it anymore.
Apparently the catered chalet offering for 2021/2022 has fallen by a massive 70%.
The European ski resorts will be big losers as people move to summer holidays.
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| philwig wrote: |
| jellylegs wrote: |
| ... I'm surprised they didn't get an injunction on that one. |
As they're bankrupt it's unlikely they would have the capacity to try to stop ex-employees describing their appalling and probably illegal working practices.
I'm fairly sure you can't generally enforce confidentiality agreements if you're using them to hide
illegal behaviour. If you could, constructive dismissal cases for race/ sex or whatever would be impossible. |
Did they actually file for bankruptcy or simply stop trading because they were not financially solvent ?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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So you poms have finally done Brexit.
Now you can't work in Europe without a work visa.
You can't get those unless the company can prove they can not find someone locally.
And then the French can still refuse.
You can wait 10 years for some gigantic agreement with the EU that the French will not honour anyhow.
But do you realise how easy it is for a young Australian.
Our government has led the world in working tourist visas for the young.
Skiing is definitely tourism.
This is what you and your employer must do.
https://france-visas.gouv.fr/web/france-visas/salaried-employment
See Posting to Provide Services
Seasonal Worker
This is what a young Aussie must do.
https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en_US/web/france-visas/young-traveller
That's right just roll up at the border and say I've got a young traveller visa, go find yourself a job if you like.
How easy is that for a catered chalet operator to employ an Aussie.
Forget negotiations for the gigantic agreement, just ask European countries to agree to a reciprocal arrangement for Young Travellers Visas.
We have these reciprocal agreements with heaps of countries.
When are you going to use the one we have with the UK to come work and visit Australia.
(Once we unlock our borders from covid-19, that has allowed us do 50 times better than UK).
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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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@abominable, been twice. Lots of casual racism and scruffy countryside. Vastly overrated destination, couldn't wait to get back to North Yorkshire. Not surprised your young people want to travel so much.
What I did like was that the locals love to rip the Poms, but do expect it back.
Melbourne is a very nice city. Without the river Sydney would be a dreadful place.
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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| @abominable, been twice.....Vastly overrated destination .... a dreadful place. |
And the Oz beers taste like gnats pee compared with Tim Taylor's Ram Tam.
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You know it makes sense.
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@abominable, I'm pretty sure we can't work in Oz without a visa either, so what's the difference?
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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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If you are under 30 then a working holiday visa for Oz is easy to get and valid for a year. If during that year you pick fruit for 3 months then you can extend for a second year. You are restricted on length of any one employment, to I think 3 months. My son went over in 2006, never came back and is now a citizen. I have been twice and agree about the racism but I liked the country. The skiing at Thredbo/Perisher was pretty good too
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
If you are under 30 then a working holiday visa for Oz is easy to get and valid for a year.
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So they are ageist as well as racist then. Seriously I have no idea about levels of racism in Oz, but it does annoy me when the answer to Brits not being able to work abroad is age discriminatory. There are a great many of us older people who have previously taken advantage of rights to do seasonal work abroad, who have had that taken away from us.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
There are a great many of us older people who have previously taken advantage of rights to do seasonal work abroad, who have had that taken away from us.
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Oz came up with a "retiree visa" once. It was so over-subscribed they had to shut it down in the same year it was offered.
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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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| abc wrote: |
Oz came up with a "retiree visa" once. It was so over-subscribed they had to shut it down in the same year it was offered. |
OK Boomer. 
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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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| MorningGory wrote: |
| @abominable, I'm pretty sure we can't work in Oz without a visa either, so what's the difference? |
The difference is you get a working tourist visa and just come.
You don't need a job offer first, to be sponsored by an employer.
Where I live in St Kilda, a sandy beach side suburb of Melbourne on Port Phillip Bay there are many backpacker hostels and at least 50 eateries.
Foreign nationals rock up find temporary job in eateries, retail etc make a bit of money travel around, relocate to Sydney, Brisbane everywhere.
When someone moves on knowledge of job vacancies get shared around.
Note Australia's border's have been frozen shut since 18 March 2020 and are yet to reopen.
Citizens and permanent residents are struggling to return as there are not enough quarantine hotel beds available.
Enforced 2 weeks quarantine on return.
That is part of why our covid infection and death rates per capita are less than 2% of the U.K.
Our vaccination program is not as advanced as the UK.
The EU delayed ordering vaccines so as to order equal quantities of the German BioNtech (Pfizer) and French Sanofi Pasteur vaccines - illegal behaviour under EU law.
But the Sanofi Pasteur vaccine was a failure, the had to try again maybe by end 2021 start 2022.
That left the EU way short of supply.
Australia ordered first but now the EU politicains is trying to cover up their failures by hijacking vaccines destined for Australia.
Fortunately Australia arranged an agreement with AstraZenica for Australian CSL Seqirus to make the AZ vaccine.
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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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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
@abominable, been twice. Lots of casual racism and scruffy countryside. Vastly overrated destination, couldn't wait to get back to North Yorkshire. Not surprised your young people want to travel so much.
What I did like was that the locals love to rip the Poms, but do expect it back.
Melbourne is a very nice city. Without the river Sydney would be a dreadful place. |
We really hate the poms especially when they beat us at cricket.
So much so that my sister got revenge by marrying a migrant from Liverpool 35 years ago, converted to a Liverpool supporter, had a son who is a dual national, Australian citizen by birth and British by immediate descent.
Brother in law will be 70 in a few months and she will never let him go free.
My brother did the same to a Kiwi lady.
We all went to school in the UK for 2 years in the early 60s when our father was a defence industries representative at Australia House, London.
I will soon reach 200 weeks in British catered ski chalets, hence my concern about the apparent collapsing of the sector.
I definitely want to ski on my 70th birthday next year.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Don't lose track of my idea.
Brexit will limit British employment in Europe and severely impact work in catered ski chalets and summer holidays.
An arrangement that allows for everyone to work will take for ever to negotiate because of job protectionism on both sides.
But a working holiday arrangement is easy to negotiate because most European countries already have them with non European countries.
Such an arrangement could allow working in catered ski chalets to once again become a right of passage for British skiers.
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| Dippy wrote: |
Well I am very sad to see them go.
Christine & Ed (who were the original proprietors) always offered excellent value for money chalets - with good customer service (IMO).
Ive easily had 20+ holidays with them and going back - almost 20 years if my memory serves me correct - some real bargains!
They always offered good wholesome meals - nothing fancy - but always suited kids/teens well.
And I have never been to another chalet company that would offer a full english breakfast (option to choose whatever you wanted).
Along with 'proper' home made cakes that were always plentiful.
I wonder who will take on their chalets?? |
Just seen this thread and I am sad they have gone. That said they changed owners for the last couple of seasons they were operating and definitely werent the same. When I first went to them quite a few years ago they were excellent and had some of the best staff I have encountered but the last couple of years they definitely had lost their edge - My last prepandemic ski Holiday was to their Chalet Sermoz in Peisy-Vallandry and that was one of my favourite chalets of theirs - also the first one of theirs I ever stayed in though I stayed many times in the chalets les Breviers or Bettex
If anyone knows who has taken on their chalets I would definitely like to know
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@Farnham_Red, Sermoz was my favourite also - loved the views from the hot tub! It was also where I spent my last holiday with skiamis.
I only know Freeride have taken over Titania in LaTania - no idea re any of the others - I'm sure I saw Bruyere as self catered, pity, loved the location of those chalets and the little ones in Le Bettex
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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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| Dippy wrote: |
@Farnham_Red, Sermoz was my favourite also - loved the views from the hot tub! It was also where I spent my last holiday with skiamis.
I only know Freeride have taken over Titania in LaTania - no idea re any of the others - I'm sure I saw Bruyere as self catered, pity, loved the location of those chalets and the little ones in Le Bettex |
Thanks - never stayed in their La Tania chalets - will try and find out what happened to Sermoz and also Les Bettex - I expect the Breviers ones will stay self catering given the block they are in, which is a shame as its one of the best ski in ski out places I have stayed in over 35 years of ski holidays. I also loved the Bettex ones -especially after the new lift was installed
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@Farnham_Red, Well if you find out if any are still being run as catered chalets please let me know - I dont do self catering!
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FAQ
