Is The 4 Valleys Lift Pass No More?

That was quick, they only had the first mediation session on 18th August. After months of deadlock they have managed to reach an agreement which seems to give Jean-Marie Fournier more or less what he wanted in the first place in only 3 weeks. If Télé-Thyon and Télé-Verbier were prepared to back down so quickly why did they make such a fuss in the first place?

And the net result is an increase in ticket prices...

It was already an expensive ticket, how much will it cost now?
Hopefully the agreement will lead to some much needed improvements to the lift system.

It's not a great difference but it's 70 francs more for the annual pass now. For a day pass you probably pay 2-3 francs more now but I am not too sure as haven't checked prices for day passes

A 6 day 4 Vallées pass will cost CHF 355, (the same as the proposed Verbier Grand Ski pass) which is the same as last season. I don't think they will make much progress with replacing the drag lifts (one of the ones on the Thyon side was built in 1946) until the lift companies merge.

SwingBeep wrote:

Verbier_ski_bum, the Farinet changed hands at the end of 2013, it's now owned by an English hotelier / property developer from Brighton. I don't think he will have too much trouble getting permission to convert it into apartments, according to Lex Weber hotels that are more than 25 years old and no longer financially viable can be converted into second homes.

I presume they are keeping the Hotel de Verbier although I can't think why, most 3 star hotels of this age and size in resorts that only have a winter season don't make any money. Maybe they can't get out of the contract in or maybe they have a stake it.

It looks like the new owner of Farinet will be keeping it as a hotel. There is work going on at the moment, but it's not conversion. In my understanding, the planning permission came with strings attached - Lounge bar, après-ski and Casbah night club are all staying put where they are, so it will be very difficult for the guy to sell flats in this building for any good money.

He might not have applied to convert it in to flats under Lex Weber, anybody wishing to do so must be able to prove that their hotel is no longer financially viable.

"Le changement d'affectation d'établissements hôteliers déjà existants le 11 mars 2012 est admissible dans le cadre de l'art. 4. A titre exceptionnel, de tels établissements peuvent aussi changer d'affectation et devenir des résidences secondaires non affectées à l'hébergement touristique qualifié. Il faut pour cela notamment que l'établissement ait été exploité durant au moins 25 ans et qu'une expertise indépendante constate qu'il ne peut plus l'être demanière rentable et que la faute n'en incombe pas à celui qui en a la possession."

The new management has recently added comments to some of their Tripadvisor reviews. They say they have spent £1 million improving the sound proofing and have converted the rooms on the first floor into a breakfast room. They have also renovated 2 of the guest rooms and will renovate the rest next summer. I can't see how the hotel part can make any money, in other parts of Switzerland you can't get a licence to run a hotel unless it has at least 30 rooms, as they are not considered to be financially viable if they have less than 30 rooms. So they must make the money in the bars.

The Casbah is not part of the Farinet it's a separate business owned by someone else, Warren Smith was one the previous owners.