Verbier Cuts Prices By 15%

The powers-that-be in Verbier have decided to cut prices on some lift passes, rentals and holiday accommodation by 15% ("terms and conditions apply") in response to the Swiss National Bank's decision to end its policy of a fixed exchange rate pegged to 1.20 Swiss francs for 1 euro, a decision which has had the effect of making holidays to the resort for Brits about 15% more expensive.

The price cut announcement came after business leaders in the resort met to discuss possible solutions to combat the strength of the franc.

The Association des Gérants Immobiliers de Verbier (Verbier Real Estate Agent Association) has decided to grant – for all new holiday reservations made up and until the end of April – a discount of up to 15% on all accommodation offers published on Verbier's official website.
Sports shops which are members of the Société des Commerçants et Artisans de Verbier (Verbier Association of Retailers and Artisans) have decided to offer a 15% reduction on clothing, equipment and rentals.

Téléverbier will offer a 15% reduction on pre purchased six-day ski passes for Tour Operators working in the UK when offered as an accommodation and ski pass package, and bought and paid for at least 10 days prior to customers' arrival in the resort.

"Verbier values its clients and hopes through these efforts that clients can benefit from a number of advantages, despite the strong franc. The region cares about its clients and above all, wishes to retain both its Swiss and overseas visitors," said a statement from the resort.

That's pretty generous for the Swiss. At moment the pound is currently 9.3% down from where it was immediately before the SNB withdrew the peg and the euro is down 12.9%.

Does the lift pass reduction also apply to the 4 Vallées lift pass?

Since the peg was withdrawn there have been few cancelations, but there have been hardly any new bookings.

A couple of the smaller resorts have introduced their own euro peg, in Grächen the rate is 1.35 and in Belalp it's 1.20.

The skiing industry is struggling at the moment, so far in Switzerland overall skier numbers are 15.1% down on last season and in the Bernese Oberland there're down 28.1%, numbers in France are also down. The equipment business doesn't seem to be doing too well either, Group Rossignol is stopping production at their factory in Sallanches for a month.

Seem to be pricing themselves out of the market. Deserve everything they get in that case.

My reading of the Swiss news articles on the year-on-year drop in numbers is that to date, this is due to a late start to the season and poor snow until just last week, not the CHF:€ un-pinning. It won't really be until the end of the season that the comparison can be made, and then you'd still have to normalise for last year being an exceptionally early season start. It'll be interesting to see whether there's really a big difference, once the dust has settled. A lot of the noise from the UK seems to be from journalists and posters who would never have considered going to CH in the first place, and who always considered it too exepensive for their budget.

Judging by the accents in Verbier's Olympic restaurant last week, there are as many, if not more Brits than usual. The average occupancy rate in Verbier is around 12.5% i.e. 87.5% of the accomodatino is actually empty at any one time: testament to the high proportion of private chalets and apartments that aren't rented out when their owners are elsewhere.

It wasn't 'cheap' before the un-pinning, but then that's not what its about. If you want a 'cheap' holiday go to Bulgaria.

We went to Saas-Fee three years ago and the man who owned the hotel we stayed in told us that everyone running tourism businesses were very concerned about the strong Franc and its effect on tourism. They were lobbying for a weaker Franc, not a stronger one.

I think that the landscape is quite complex: some Swiss are very critical of the big resorts on two counts - 1. Authorities have allowed far too much building of apartments and chalets that are then never let out to tourists and 2. Too little investment in hotel refurbishment (basically, owners resting on their laurels and not re-investing profits). Locals also tend to complain that people can't afford local housing, as almost all the property is owned as second homes, prices are inflated, nd most stnad empty most of the year.

It seems that Swiss hoteliers have been resting on their laurels for a few years now. The Director of Verbier Tourism has said that they're main competitor is Austria and that frankly, a key discriminator is the more friendly and customer-focused welcome that people receive there. Basically, Swiss hoteliers have wanted to charge 5-Star prices for 3/4-Star accomodation, and have been unwilling to invest, or to adapt to a changing customer base.

So yes, most of those in tourism see a cheaper CHF as the soltuion to all their problems, but the reality is that while it is a factor, it is only one of many.

Brucie wrote:It wasn't 'cheap' before the un-pinning, but then that's not what its about. If you want a 'cheap' holiday go to Bulgaria.

Its all relevant and subjective, Brucie, hence my post on Ally's holiday thread.

What is a cheap ski holiday? £129 for a week HB in Sauze 8 years ago was ridiculously cheap. £260 for a week in Verbier 7 years ago was cheap. £249 for a week HB in Maxyrhofen 6 years ago was cheap.
£1000 for a week pretty much anywhere in Europe - is that cheap, or is it good value? To some people that may be a lot of money. To others where money is no object, why worry about the cost at all.

Its all relative.

But its important when factoring in what you want from a holiday, and what you can actually afford to pay for. I still think my £1000 budget for a trip is good if you can get it, but prices this season are making that hard to achieve, unless you choose somewhere you don't really want to go to like Soll, Niederau, Flaine, Sauze, Borovets, Kranska Gora, Arinsal..........