What is your biggest pain point when organizing ski trip?

A snowHead

Decided to organize my first ski holiday and got quite overwhelmed after 30+ open tabs and hours of search. Now curious, what is your experience and what are the usual problems you face?

A snowHead

Finding people to join me lol. Skip the pain and join me in via Lattea, IT for super cheap Jan 7/8-16!

Seriously, though, deciding on one plan is reallly hard when I don't have specific goals. I like to use SkyScanner to inspire my plans, and I look for flights on Kayak.com ..def my favorite tool. Airbnb and hostelworld area also my best friends. Good luck!

Ok but if you do want to skip the trouble of planning your own, let me know.. hehe

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Flights first - decide where you are going then book flights early, as they only seem to go up in price. Some airports, like Geneva, give you access to many resorts so even when you book the flights you always arent tied to a resort straight away.

Then lessons (if needed) if you know where you want to go, as these can go quickly in peak seasons, esp group lessons. You usually can get privates more easily . Try CheckYeti as they also can offer cancellation (if still unsure) where if you book direct you dont often get that.

Then book some accomodation and rental car if needed, as both these usually can be booked with free cancellation these days to stay flexible until the last minute, then if you have cancellation you can shop around. But if you are not renting a car and need to get a transfer or public transport then book that as transfers can get booked up and public transport can also increase in price the later you leave it.

You usually can find loads of possible accomodation, even last minute (for a price of course), so unless you are particular (ski in /ski out, chalet vs hotel vs self catering) I wouldnt sweat the accomodation too much.

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Is this TO or DIY?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

As a starting point, I'd determine the key variables and priorities.

Q1. Are you the only/key decision maker, or do others have inputs ?

Assuming you're the only decision maker, split the variables into:
What's fixed. For example dates, maximum budget, child care
What's most important after the fixed items. E.g. quality of you're preferred type of skiing, apres ski, convenience, flexibility
What's nice to have after the above
Then everything else doesn't matter

If other people are involved in the decision, identify common ground and, more importantly, different approaches. Some examples of things to be clear on early are:
How far in advance should things be booked. For example, during quiet times I'm happy waiting till a day or two before departure before booking anything, to make the most of snow conditions, but many people I know are a little less, er, sanguine about this approach
Cost consciousness
Probably lots of other things that are very important to some people, but I'd think are secondary to the fact we'd be going SKIING

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Finding congenial people who want to do the same sort of thing as you, and have similar ideas about the budget and priorities for expenditure, is probably a key starting point.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

There are options for people who don't have such a ready made starting group and are up for independent, solo, travel. Like holidays at UCPA centres in France, all-in costs and good prices, marketed through Action Outdoors in the UK.

After all it is free

Historically getting other people to commit when trying to organise a group...

Loads at work will um and arr about whether they want to go skiing and won't commit without a 'guaranteed' plan, while ignoring that a chalet for 10+ gets a LOT more expensive PP if you only have 2-4...

Give multiple options suitable for different numbers and they will expect you to know which will be used before committing (despite the decision hinging on how many...)

Otherwise, the flight back from the final trip of the year when I realise I am not going to ski for another 9 months snowHead

It is worth collecting money upfront. If someone drops out, it becomes their responsibility to find a alternate to take their place or they do their money - otherwise you wear the responsibility or the loss.

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@alekss,

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Organising our own DIY self-drive, self-cater trips is straightforward and described on another thread (copy below).

I wouldn't organise a group trip - it's just too much potential hassle.

I don't necessarily agree that organising flights is the first step. This was true until a couple of years ago, but the cost of car hire and transfers has sky rocketed recently and there are a lot of threads on the Forum along the lines of 'I've booked flights to 'X' / accommodation in 'Y' but am having trouble finding cheap car hire / transfers / viable public transport links'
______________________________________________________________

A. Self-drive or Flying?

At the moment, with DIY what you're after is first choosing self-drive or flying. If it's self-drive then you can choose any resort because you've got the transportation (i.e. go directly to 'C'). With flying the last couple of years have underlined that it won't be the flights that are the problem - it'll be the transfers (just look at the number of threads on SnowHeads discussing transfer options, or lack of them). Be careful about 'hybrid' trips (where some people go in the car but others fly out/back) because the car owner can often end up being a taxi service for people whov'e booked flights without any thought to transfers, assuming that the driver will do that, which is a bit unfair.

Self-catering

With self-catering you'll get an apartment that's much larger than any hotel room with the flexibility of just buying your own beer/wine rather than spending a fortune in the hotel bar. And you won't be limited by the meal schedule of the hotel. Of course for food, you either have to cook, get catered meals (an increasing option in many resorts), or go out.

B. Flying: 1. Choose a specific airport and 2. Resort(s) accessible from it by public transport

For flying, choose one or more candidate resorts that are accessible by public transport from a specific airport. This gives you the greatest flexibility and choice of transfer options: car rental, train/télépherique/bus, or transfer bus. Make an assumption about what airport you want to use (e.g. GVA) or your choice will be too wide. If it's a group where people are travelling on separate flights, then the public transport option also means that someone can be badly delayed and it doesn't affect the others: they just press on ahead.

C. Peruse Target Resort Rental Agency websites & email Tourism Office

Then just go to the Tourist Office and Rental Agencies in your candidate resorts and see what they have. You should quickly get an idea of costs and trade-offs (e.g. space vs nearness to lifts etc.).

D. Wait 'till flight schedules appear. then parallel book

Then when the flights for your airport appear you turn to the accommodation sites and in parallel you book flights and accommodation and the transfer option (car rental, train, bus, or transfer company). Don't get me wrong - I'm not dissing the package solution, just that if it's proving a problem for you then perhaps take a look at DIY as an alternative. The problem usually comes in terms of their respective pros and cons not being the same i.e. choosing which is best can sometimes be an apples-to-oranges decision.

snow reports

Having people "yes they definately want to come" Then after you have made the booking saying they don't want to come after all.

For that reason I never book the travel to the resort but leave it to the individuals.

Know what limits you & then it's a process of elimination.
If you want to fly, check out the airlines at your preferred airport. See which airports you are limited to.
After that, decide on cost/budget.
Then check flight prices. You may already be priced out of a bunch of resorts due to flight price.
Now you have your flight sorted you can deduct that from your budget.
Accommodation in most resorts are about the same price if you dont care so much for * * * ratings.
So at this point, think about transfers. Transfers can easily cost more than the flight! £100+ for shared bus in France or £50-£60 Austria public transport. So it can be worth double checking flight price again!
Whatever budget is left is for accomodation + Lift pass. So I usually look on Sunweb at this point & tend to find something that suits!

You know it makes sense.

@johnE, +1

Last DIY trip I organised for 15 or so 6-7 years ago turned out to be a nightmare, never again. It was like herding cats.....when eventually all got to resort (no issues really just folks changing last minute arrangements etc) my responsibilities seemed as though they extended to hotel rep, lost luggage rep, ski/ boot hire, what runs to go on at every time of day, and what restaurants to book etc.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

@Markymark29, herding cats pretty much sums it up. Put your money where your mouth is, or stop bothering me. I decide where / when to go. If you like it, good. If you don't like it also good...
In fact I gave up doing this years ago. Just isn't worth the trouble

A snowHead

I feel stressed just reading some of these replies!!!! What's wrong with just sitting around the laptop with whoever you're going with, a takeaway and a couple of beers, looking at the Crystal/Inghams/Mark Warner etc. website, picking a package and booking it?

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@greengriff, nothing whatsoever, just make sure everyone remembers what they committed to the next morning and paid for it. TBH it's when the party starts to grow that things get difficult.
Just this year my wife has organised a trip for 4 of us, basically wife, son, me and a long term friend. She paid the deposit etc and asked our friend for his bit. Nothing heard. Then British Airways* say they are rescheduling the flight earlier. This means that friend has to take an extra day of work. Now we are wondering if he's going to come at all since we get a message saying he is having difficulty getting cover. Eventually all got sorted, but that is only the difficulty with 4 people. Other trips have had people just not pay and withdraw leaving me to canvas new paricipants at a discount basically cutting my losses.

Especially beware friends of friends.

* This will be the first time I've used BA in decades. They sort of pulled out of the UK market. I hope they are OK, but worry having read about their fun and games in America today.

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Ah yes, I've had similar problems getting money out of people 'after the fact' for even small things like concert tickets in the past when someone has had a change of mind for whatever reason. So when it comes to something major like a ski holiday I have a different approach: one of the party pays for the entire holiday on his or her credit card and the rest of us pay that person there and then, no excuses accepted.

Re. BA, what's the problem? I saw they'd had some flights grounded for 'technical issues'. Do you think that's a misleading headline?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Pain point for me is always choosing a resort - it’s why we went to Norway 3 times lol. Despite many years of skiing, and to my husband’s frustration because he considers me a “very competent skier”, I am most comfortable on easy blues and won’t move out of my comfort zone. So I’m restricted on resorts - or rather, I restrict myself on resorts.

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Biggest problem? Far and away "Other people"!

"Who wants to go skiing?"
- 20 people say "Yes!"
- 5 want to go in December, 5 Jan, 5 Feb, 5 March.
- 7 want to go to France, 6 Austria, 6 Italy, and 1 Japan.
- 10 want ski in/ski out, 10 want to be in a proper village.
- 8 refuse to go anywhere that doesn't have 18 black runs (then only ski blues and 2 reds all week).
- 4 rule out anywhere lower than 5,500m as "It needs to be snow sure".
- 6 say anything you suggest that costs more the £250 all in, including lift passes and ski hire is too expensive.
- Only 1 person, you, is actually ready to put their hand in their pocket when it's time to pay.

The best option is to take some inputs - then find something you like the look of and say "I'm going for this, who else is in?". And having done that for one group trip per-year book onto a SnowHeads Bash or 2 and a week or 2 with solo traveller outfit like HOFNAR to fill out rest of the season.

After all it is free

@Mjit,

and then when you get there and there's too many reds, not enough blues, restaurants too expensive, too early/ too late, too noisy, too busy, not enough vegan options etc etc. rolling eyes

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I think the last thing I had any hand in "organising" (we said, "we're going, anyone coming?")...

... a chum brought an acquaintance renewed from a random tube meeting the previous week who (thankfully on the last night) ended a cocaine fuelled rampage by robbing the post office ATM then literally trashing the hotel, including smashing the entrance security doors. Embarassed

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

snow reports

@greengriff, it was rather a rude wake up call from both hotel owners (who we knew well) and two very grumpy gendarmes Shocked

resolved by said individual transferring quite a hefty sum over and promising never to return …

@greengriff,

You know it makes sense.

Different methods for different trips.

Family trips; I decide where I'd like to go and book it.

Multi family trips: they now go every year to the resort I chose years ago. Although the hotel has upgraded.

Lads trips; we discuss where we should go on WhatsApp until everybody agrees with me and we go there. As the team "Yorkshireman" I'm viewed as the most careful with funds, so they're happy to let me get on with it.

I'm lucky in that I rarely get let down by anyone, and even then they tell me up front.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@alekss I know that feeling, a plethora of tabs open across the top of a search engine, in the end unable to see the wood for the trees.

We’re almost always DIY travellers, for many reasons, none financial.

Looking back at my ‘process’, I think I first find two or three resorts I’m very interested in, that will give guaranteed snow at the time of visit.

Then onto tripadvisor for hotels, also using the links to the hotels themselves and booking/hotel.com’s. We have several requirements eg pool, spa, don’t want to walk far in ski boots. But that fussiness adds to price and limits choice. But it makes for a holiday meeting all our ticks.

Getting firm prices and availability.

Then transport, using skyscanner AND EasyJet.

Then a near simultaneous booking of the two.

We do this very early on, so that we get what we desire. Getting to know Austrian hoteliers etc, they now take bookings over a year ahead from loyal guests. That early on for us, means too soon for flights.

Advisable to get travel insurance very early on too.

Leaving transfers, Gatwick parking, lift passes and private tuition bookings until the final weeks, way down the line.

A snowHead

It must be all too much of a pain as the OP hasn’t posted since opening this thread.

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Make sure get a big deposit off people, I took 300 deposit and still 2 people backed off, that finished me organising big groups of people

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

My friends and I try to decide on where we want to go for the next year at the end of our holiday.

There is a core 6 of us and we arrange our own flights, and 1 of the 6 books the accommodation.
And we tell other friends where we are going and they sort out their own trip if they want to come.

We only go to Austria these days so that minimises issues with transfers as they are often shorter and there are often public transport options.

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Of course there is another way..... set up a snow forum and then offer to take 100 people who have never met away at a time Eh oh!

Call it a Brits Away on Snow Holiday or Bash for short snowHead

After all it is free

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What is your biggest pain point when organizing ski trip?

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