 Poster: A snowHead
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spud, It still seems high to me but I'll accept your experience.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We got sod all tips. I never saw a penny in my pocket. I was KP/Night Porter in a hotel though so rarely saw customers except when they were furious about something in the middle of the night. Like one lady who went through every different set of spare pillows in the hotel and complained about all of them. As a night porter you could do anything you could think of to help someone and get zero thanks; IME people aren't very thankful at 2am when their kids have chucked up on the carpet in their room.
I also have a feeling that most tips left in rooms were taken on the sly by the people cleaning the rooms rather than put in the pot, or taken by the waiters who collected them. There was supposed to be a system where all tips were collected and then supposed to be shared out at the end of the season. Apparently it was massive but all we got was a hoody and the rest of it just seemed to vanish.
[/bitter]
The head chef got left tips a few times by satisfied guests, which he then spent on beers for us which was nice.
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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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Blimey...that sounds a nightmare.
I always left a comments book next to the afternoon tea. People would read it and make comments themselves. But...They would constantly read about the tips left by previous guests and roughly how much. In chatting they would also hear about the Season Ski Course i was saving up for the following year. Keeping it in the psyche is always good.
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bobmcstuff, hotel staff are the lowest of the low - paid less than everyone else, made to pay for their passes (in certain cases, step forward Skiplan), worked harder than chalet staff or reps, housed like animals, fed on filth and treated like scum by the higher-ups. (I exaggerate, but not much.)
Despite all that I always managed to wring enough tips out of guests to buy everyone a hoody, takeaway pizza dinner and a load of beers at the end of the season. If your tips weren't making it into the communal jar then your manager was pants.
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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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Lizzard, sounds like I didn't get it as bad as I could have then... Free pass, decent room (shared a 3 bed ensuite with 1 other person), moderate food - much improved by working in the kitchen as a KP/having free run of the hotel as a NP.
We were apparently in one of the company's best hotels so they expected us to make it that bit better - but obviously without paying us more. I knew someone at another hotel with the same company in a different resort who was working about 2hr a day less than us while KP'ing. Didn't help that we had more covers in the restaurant than any of the other hotels of course.
The best bit about being a night porter was being able to ski the whole time the lifts were open (but crappy social life), and only having to work 8 hours... The best bit about being in the kitchen was a guaranteed 3-5 hour gap in the middle of the day; hotel assistants were rota'd such that they didn't get to ski every day.
I was trying to persuade my GF to come chalet host with me this year but she doesn't really like skiing (I know, right?) and now we've both gone and got proper grad jobs anyway.
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spud, got to admit, that seems pretty high levels of tippage for anyone I know round here.
As the business owners, we get feck-all 'cos we're raking it in....  (I exaggerate, we do still get the odd tip but you have to do something way above and beyond to earn it!) Nice when people tip our staff though.
Rule of thumb has always been - 10€/person is reasonable, 20€/person is generous. So if you're running a 10-bed chalet, you might get 100-150€ per week, split between 2 people.
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Most people i know run a chalet on their own, and aim for between a 10-12 person. They don't have to share the tips. Also, they've got it off to a 'T'. Stipulating your prefered type of chalet to run at the start of the season can definately work to your advantage when it comes to tips. I personally like to work on my own too.
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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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there is of course the other side to that coin....
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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Yep...you're a Cynic  Tbh...most shop workers are reluctant to become mates to start with. There is a them and us attitude. When they realise you're just a normal person on their wavelength, who they can hang out with, it becomes cool. Lots of bartering goes on in resort. It has too, as wages are generally poor.
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You know it makes sense.
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| spud wrote: |
| It has too, as wages are generally poor. |
But you are claiming on getting £250 a week in wages and tips, That's £1000 a month I would be happy with that in the UK.
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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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| spud wrote: |
| Yep...you're a Cynic Tbh...most shop workers are reluctant to become mates to start with. There is a them and us attitude. . |
thats becouse its pointless getting to know people who are gone in a couple of months time.
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Poster: A snowHead
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That all depends whether you are a spotty 18 year old on a gap year, or someone who wants to work as a seasonnaire full time and go back time and again.
If people get to know that...then attitudes change.
There also becomes a 'them and thus' attitude between Chalet hosts and punters. But most of these 'punters' are just like us...ordinary people with a passion for skiing and the mountains. It's purely about getting on with people.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Dwarf Vader wrote: |
| spud wrote: |
| It has too, as wages are generally poor. |
But you are claiming on getting £250 a week in wages and tips, That's £1000 a month I would be happy with that in the UK. |
Maybe if you work for Scott Dunn.... Any other TO. No.
Chalet hosts, depending on the "class" of the chalet got between 0 to 60€ each a week in the resort I worked at. Resort reps, got.. a fiver every few months, and managers got nothing.
The hosts got paid around 30-60 quid a week. So you're looking at max 100 pounds a 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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Timmaah, try to keep up, that's what spud, claimed to be earning.
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and of course you all declared these tips to the taxman when completing your tax return, didn't 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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Guvnor, but do they declare to the UK or the French taxman?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Dwarf Vader wrote: |
| spud wrote: |
| It has too, as wages are generally poor. |
But you are claiming on getting £250 a week in wages and tips, That's £1000 a month I would be happy with that in the UK. |
Really? £12k isn't far off minimum wage, if you were living at home rent free it'd be pretty decent I guess, but otherwise it doesn't sound like a lot...
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bobmcstuff, Where do you live? in my neck of the woods £1000/month would be a low/average wage and over the summer I've earned less some months.
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At the moment, in Manchester. Before that, near Bristol. My current job isn't compatible with working ski seasons so doesn't count, I guess I was approaching it from the wrong perspective.
I suppose thinking about it £1k per month would be pretty decent if you were just in the UK between seasons. Especially if you could live at home for reduced/no rent, which is what I used to do in uni holidays.
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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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| Dwarf Vader wrote: |
| Timmaah, try to keep up, that's what spud, claimed to be earning. |
My bad!
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Tips for me have varied from €0 to €120 (have had tips in the 3 figures more than I've had nothing). The tips were generally lower in the chalet hotels as there are more staff for the number of guests, but I reckon probably averaged at about €30-€40 per week in those. Averaged about €60 per week in the chalets I've worked in, my first season was in a chalet that was the same size as the chalet hotels I've worked in, the second in a smaller one so fewer staff and fewer guests.
That's not including any income from the honesty bar.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Well, I enjoyed it.
Good luck to you BdN...
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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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anyone know of any other winter season blogs 
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You know it makes sense.
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| bobmcstuff wrote: |
| Really? £12k isn't far off minimum wage, if you were living at home rent free it'd be pretty decent I guess, but otherwise it doesn't sound like a lot... |
But when it's all spending money - as you're living rent and food free - it's a fortune. It's well over the average UK disposable income.
Anyway, DV I'll make sure I tip less in future as I'm clearly tipping too much, and I'll tell all the people I stay with too. That said, you sound like a miserable so and so, so I'd rather stay in Spud's chalet, and I'm sure he'd be well tipped.
Who'd be a resort manager? Way into poverty that!
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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 have a philosophy in life...treat people how you would wish to be treated.
It's served me well so far.
As for running Chalets... I realise for many people staying, that it is their only week away skiing and that they have spent good money for the privilege.
Often, the holiday is spoilt by the standard of the Chalet, and it is cramped with small sleeping arrangements. That's the biggest complaint i've heard.
However...I've always tried to keep everyone's spirits up, run a tight ship, be as friendly and accomodating as possible, and produce gorgeous food.
A good chalet host can be out skiing from 10.30 and not return until 5.00-5.30 without compromising the Chalet and it's occupants. Again out in the evening by 9.30-10.00.
Generally you get one day off, and two days in the week where you don't get out skiing. Shopping day and change over day.
So as a Seasonaire you get plenty of free time. As for tips. It doesn't go very far in resort, as the prices are so high, even with Seasonaire rates. But in saying that...how many people get to go out every night and party at home...which tbh, is what everyone does. The downside is often sharing a small cramped cupboard to sleep in, and being treated as a dogsbody by imature resort managers.
If you can find a chalet host that is slighly older in years or does it as a 'career', then generally you will find good standards. If you end up with a 18 year old 'Gappy' then it's a complete lottery.
That's my experience with larger TO's...it is probably completely different from privately run chalets or more upmarket businesses.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Belle de Neige is hilarious. Sure, she isn't sweet and nice about everyone but what kind of decent writer is? She's filthily funny, she's witty and if she doesn't take the guests that seriously, she sure as hell doesn't take herself too seriously either. I'm looking forward to reading her next winter of adventures... though it sounds like it won't be in the alps. Which is probably a good idea on her part, since there is no bloody snow yet.
Just finished a book about ski seasons also written from the point of view of the seasonnaire - I don't know if any of the people who have responded to this post have mentioned it already but if not, take a look - www.warandpiste.com. It only came out about a month ago. They had a stand at the London Freeze and the author was signing books.
It's funny and it is authentic, IMO. Quite different to Belle's blog - Alex Thomas goes a lot easier on the TOs and the guests and focuses on the workers themselves mostly. She's also not talking about being a chalet girl, but working in tour ops and doing a sh!tload of skiing. Highly recommend. Laugh out loud funny. Both Belle and Alex both seem to be on to something here - writing about filthy resort shenanigans and not making it girly chick lit, but something properly amusing.
Looking forward to the next one.
Nice to see resort life hitting the mainstream of people's interest. But will it make people stop thinking we all need to go get real jobs..?
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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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LenaJ, Mike Pow, I concur! Picked up this book and loved it from start to finish after I was lucky enough to get a signed copy during the Ski Show. "Impossible to put down" - that was my husband's review in fact...
Different sense of humour to Belle, different type of storytelling and a different angle on the season.
Will post something separate on this actually.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Elske, impossible to pick up, judging from the exert I just read on the website. To quote Frank Zappa; "Talking about music is like dancing about architecture". I feel the same regarding reading about skiing.
I watched Chalet Girl. I still haven't managed to get that 90 minutes of my life back.
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