Planning a group ski holiday is a big responsibility, particularly if it’s your first time. It’s probably most people’s only trip to mountains of the season, so you don’t want to get it wrong by not asking your group some simple but quite key questions.
Ask your group for the following info and your trip will run as smoothly as a speed skier’s latex suit…
You’ll have a fair idea of who will be wanting to go on your trip, so the best question to start off with is 'what dates can/can't people do' and 'how much people can spend' (including lift pass, equipment hire and tuition if needed). This will help determine how many people you’ll have on the trip.
Sending the initial message out will nudge people into thinking about the holiday and also spark any suggestions of other friends or family that might want to come along. The more the merrier, right?
Once you have all possible dates from everyone, work out the two most popular and pass them back out to the group to narrow it down to just one date. Don’t offer too many date options or you’ll be forever going back and forth between the group.
You need to find out what ski or snowboard ability level people are. This will have a big bearing on which resort you should or shouldn’t go to. This is really important, particularly if you have new people in the group that you’ve not met or don’t know well.
Most resorts cater for most ability levels, but some are really not suitable for some ability levels. St Antonin Austria is perfect if you’re all intermediates or advanced levels and want a huge ski area and loads of fun (and safe) off piste to explore. However, a beginner may struggle with the steepness of some of the slopes.
This is another question that may determine how many people you have in your group. Many skiers and boarders have countries and resorts they know they want to go, and possibly more importantly, where they don’t want to go.
Go with the majority again. If most people say they want to go to Italy, go to Italy. It may not be what absolutely everyone wants, but it will avoid a huge amount of debate with the entire group. Organising a group ski holiday doesn’t work well by committee!
Finding out how hard people want to party will also help you decide where to go. You should have a reasonable idea already as you’ll probably be friends with most people anyway, but you don’t want to end up in a quiet, traditional resort with a group of party animals, or vice versa!
On the whole, groups end up going out for a big night at least once throughout the trip and most resorts have at least one or two lively bars to cater for you. Some groups will want to go out more so you'll need to pick a resort with a wider choice like Livigno in Italy, whereas some would like a more laid back feel like Montgenèvre in France.
There are some extras on a ski holiday that you just can’t do without. A lift pass is a good example (unless you like a good walk), so you’ll need to find out what people want.
Do people want a local or an area pass if they’re available? Do people want skis or snowboards and boots? If so, do they want standard, superior or advanced kit? Does anyone want tuition? If so, morning or afternoon and for how many days?
It’s also worth asking people for their height, weight and shoe size as this will speed up the process at the equipment hire shop.
Don’t worry if this all sounds like a logistical nightmare as we’ll help you with all of this, When you book a group with us, we’ll give you a handy and easy to use spreadsheet which helps you manage everybody’s needs.
Depending on the make up of your group, you may want to choose a resort with other activities apart from skiing and snowboarding. Maybe you have some non-skiers or very young kids coming with you. Or maybe you’ll want to do an organised activity as an entire group.
Again, most resorts offer activities like ice skating or snow shoeing, but not all. If you do need more choice for off-the-piste things to do, you’re better off going to a larger resort such as Les Deux Alpes in France. Places like this have a good amount of shops, cinemas, swimming pools and loads of fun activities like tobogganing, snow biking, winter walks and much more.
Armed with your final date, group size, people’s budgets and preferences, you can look at what’s available in the market. By now you should have narrowed it down to one or two resorts and can get a selection of properties together (again, keep it simple).
Ski chalets are always a good bet for groups as they’re yours to make your own. You can tailor them to your needs too like choosing when to have dinner etc., and they come with complimentary wine.
Once you’ve chosen your holiday and everyone has agreed that they’re coming, you need their commitment and their money! Look out for low deposit offers for groups as this can help people make that commitment. Again, book with us and, with your permission, we’ll actually contact each member of the group and collect the deposits to save you the hassle.
Follow these steps and you group ski holiday organisation will be seamless. Visit our groups pages to find out how else we can help you with in organising your next big trip.
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