 Poster: A snowHead
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So we have the flights booked to Geneva in January 2013 and now it's time to look for self catering chalet / apartment accommodation. We have always gone for resorts around an hour away from Geneva and there will be around nine in our group.
One of our party has made the suggestion that when we find something we like and maybe we don't like the price too much, that we make an offer.
In these economical difficult times, would it be frowned upon to do such a thing?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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If you're booking direct then I can't see a problem. it'll depend when you're going and how big the group is.
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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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jashcroft, you can but try, and who knows you may be successful, but many private owners have not put up their prices by much, if at all, for quite some time now. By the time cleaners, bills and other expenses are paid, there isn't much room left for price cuts. It may not be frowned on, but do expect some firm refusals to negotiate, especially if you are booking well in advance.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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jashcroft, we don't mind reasonable offers for late bookings, although they are not always accepted.
We don't appreciate being told we are too expensive, nor that we should price our 60m2 apartment in an excellent location at the same rate as a 25m2 apartment opposite a nightclub and above the kebab shop...
Good luck!
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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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Pound against Swiss Franc, I wish you luck.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
nor that we should price our 60m2 apartment in an excellent location at the same rate as a 25m2 apartment opposite a nightclub and above the kebab shop...
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May be attractive to some. Screw self catering, no need to cook, just get food from the kebab shop, leave time to spend in the bar, if the place were small sleep in shift and send the others to the night club. Who goes skiing with a cat with it to swing in a 60m2 apartment just to prove it is big enough?
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jashcroft, IME independently owned SC properties tend to be pretty fairly priced so I wouldn't fancy your chances. Catered chalets for a large group are a totally different ballgame and we have always been successful in reasonable negotiations.
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Prices will be competitive for that week anyway.
I've just booked an apartment in Alpe D'Huez for our half term which is the week before most of the country. British owners knew it was half term in some parts and prices were pretty high. I've booked one through a Belgian guy (I've rented another apartment from him before) and it was not a lot at all, about half the price of the following week (UK half term and 1st week of french 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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jashcroft, why not put a post on somewhere like chalets direct with your intended budget - that way you'll know which independent owners are open to it? Of course, you will get offers from owners who are chancing it or who CBA to read your post, but you should get offers from some who genuinely feel they can meet your needs within budget.
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jashcroft, I suspect there are not too many s/c apartments which can comfortably accommodate 9 people within an hour of Geneva so you might find you are negotiating in a seller's market.
You have booked Sat/Sat flights, I suppose?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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saikee, Of course, but if it's attractive to them, why would they want to try and get a discount on my quiet area near the lift station instead?
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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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jashcroft, you can always ask, but at this early stage there may not be much incentive for an owner to accept an offer for what they may already feel is a fairly priced product, given the service, food, location etc., especially if experience of their market tells them that those dates are likely to book anyway. In the past, I have worked with an owner who found themselves with an unsold non-peak week and had to decide whether to drop the price to something that made it barely-viable to operate, purely in order to sell the week, or take a sorely-needed break.....they took the week off 
As miranda, suggests, put the question up on Chalets Direct and see what comes back, but you'll need to compare oranges with oranges to assess if the cheaper price is good value, which isn't always the same thing.
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plus 1 for Chalets Direct solution room, it's a great way to meet landlords and chalet company's, we booked our last three trips via this site.
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You know it makes sense.
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| jashcroft wrote: |
| One of our party has made the suggestion that when we find something we like and maybe we don't like the price too much, that we make an offer. |
Excellent idea.
And then, when you find out the chalet owner has gone bust you can come on here and let us know all about it and how it’s not your fault and isn’t it shocking and . . . . . . . . . .
We haven't had a good Pandora for a while, so we are waiting
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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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It's not that difficult
If you're booking 9 people in a catered chalet at once it's worth a bit of a haggle for "group discount", unless it's the sort of place that's posh enough you only take the property privately.
If you're booking 9 people in a single SC chalet then the owners aren't going to be that amenable to discounting early as their business model is to let the property to 9 people at the same time - maybe one you hit Xmas they might be more flexible.
If you're booking 3 x 3p studio appartments you might chance your arm for a bit of bulk discount.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Frosty wrote: |
| plus 1 for Chalets Direct solution room, it's a great way to meet landlords and chalet company's, we booked our last three trips via this site. |
As you want to be close to Geneva this is the best thing to do, no matter what I ask for , all I get are chalets in Morzine, which should work for you.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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fatbob, the OP wants self-catering. Big self-catering places are scarce, and sought-after; but I'd agree that they might be in with a chance after Christmas. Here's a very nice 5 bedroom one just opposite my place. Expensive, but would be spacious for 9.
But, like nearly all French-owned places, no "planning" for 2013 yet. Might be worth an offer after Christmas - those January weeks are quite hard to sell in French-dominated places. But you'd probably need to speak a bit of French to haggle effectively!!
http://www.gites-de-france-savoie.com/gite-rural-villard-sur-doron-les-saisies-73G317117.html#photo5
A little over an hour from Geneva, though less than 2.
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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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Hi jashcroft,,
Every one has valid points think from what I know from friends renting apartments in resort is pretty cheap... and you can haggle... it all really depends on when you want to all go... may be worth checking out skipad and people like ski weekends, ski power, and chalets direct solution room posting section is pretty good as the cahlet / apartment operators will apply directly to you ....
Another thought have you tried a Hotel?
Good luck hope this helps 
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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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true but hotels are self catering ..... you can get a room / rooms meals extra as long as it is not inclusive
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KSNOWZ, not really, bit hard to knock up a spag bol in a hotel bedroom
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True but but I was thinking eating out otherwise pot noodles 
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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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| Quote: |
hotels are self catering
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I give up!
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| jashcroft wrote: |
| In these economical difficult times |
Err...What? Near Geneva?
I guess you must mean France?
Just dont make an offer with any watse paper GBP or Euro Chocolate coins.
Offers should be in Swiss francs or gold.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Everything is negotiable.
As has been said, slow weeks should be easier.
For me the key is to maintain face on all sides. I start with asking if an offer would be acceptable, if yes then make a low but not insulting offer, the seller should then counter with what they want.
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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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The hotel we stay at in Seefled has a self catering option. There are proper kitchens in the family appartments. The first time we went was in summer and we were self catering them, but after seeing the food and the small increase in price we had to go full board after that!
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| jbob wrote: |
| I start with asking if an offer would be acceptable, if yes then make a low but not insulting offer, the seller should then counter with what they want. |
If you really don't want to insult, why not just politely state the price you are prepared to pay and if it's acceptable great, if not, say thanks anyway for your time and look elsewhere?
I'd hate it if potential guests started making me feel like a contestant in The Apprentice 
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You know it makes sense.
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I hope this notion of haggling for accommodation doesn't catch on. Somehow I doubt whether French owners will be willing to haggle. They tend to be impervious to any suggestion of other than Sat/Sat rentals, for example - as hotels can be, too. I once failed to find a night in any of three hotels, in mid January, which I knew to be virtually empty...... English owners, who tend to start with substantially higher prices than French owners of identical apartments (that's my experience in our development, anyway) might be more amenable to an offer.
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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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pam w, I think you're spot on - French and Austrian culture seems very much to be fixed around a fixed price/fixed date model so haggling or is met with blankness IME. Whether this is eveidence of lack of commercial savvy or in fact just the benefit of experience which tells them it really isn't worth the hassle of dicking around I don't know. It's quite nice that locally owned places I've stayed don't feel the need to email me frequently with "offers" and snow updates unlike their Brit owned counterparts.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Hi jashcroft,
Our chalet is catered, so it might be different, but we don't have any issues with people asking for a reduction or a deal - it happens more and more in these difficult times and it is flattering that people want to stay in our chalet. We don't always say yes obviously!
It might be worth offering to be flexible about dates, to pay then and there in full, to pay by bank transfer (credit card payments have a cost to the company) etc etc.
Good luck - hope you find somewhere that suits . . .
Heather
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Asking for the possibility of, say, a last minute discount is one thing, but the owner has already stated the price they want on their website/in the brochure, so deliberately going in lower than you're actually prepared to pay, and so compelling the need for further negotiation, would make me uncomfortable. I also wouldn't ask different people to pay different prices for the same week because some people are less pushy/more organised than others!
I'd much rather price things fairly in the first place and so avoid the issue.
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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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Personally I never haggle with owners directly, I believe in being fair with them however T/O's are another matter IMO.
I gave up using them years ago because of the way they treated me over lousy transfers, sub-standard accommodation and basically because IME Crystal/ Inghams/ First Choice/ TUI etc all seem to employ arrogant youngsters on minimum wage who are all on commission to sell to me add-ons I dont want. Consequently I'd rather pay more to be in control, and avoid the inevitable "how much did you pay?" question with others around the chalet table, only to find that others had paid much less than I had, which annoyed me!!
Consequently its either the car via P&O or Eurotunnel or scheduled flights, plus book our own train transfers and accommodation and passes etc, the internet is a great thing!
Until the time when a "proper" T/O who does none of the above and provides quality service and accom without the big-sell at a reasonable price (not into Scott Dunn et al, posy places) and takes a realistic 5-10% margin we'll be doing it ourselves. Anyone know of any? 
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