Latest posts for the topic "Ski deals - book now or wait...."

Ski deals - book now or wait....

Thu, 3 Nov 2011 15:48:38 GMT

I'm not sure how many other people out there have noticed ,but i particularly have noticed that there are more and more ski deals to be had this year... Free lift passes, discounts on group booking, early bird ski packages, free this and free that..... I know people are very unsure with the state of the economy and jobs etc but to me there doesn't seem like a better time to go skiing.

Last year when I booked our group chalet holiday we paid GBP750 each inc a full area 3 valleys pass.... It would seem this year for very similar deals your looking at a saving of upto GBP200pp.......

So with all this in mind what are people out there doing, still booking early to take advantage of the above or waiting... ?

Re:Ski deals - book now or wait....

Thu, 3 Nov 2011 19:26:22 GMT

Go as part of a big group, it's loads cheaper! (And more fun!)
I'm taking 21 people to Verbier in Jan. Flights, transfers, catered enhanced chalet, lift pass ski carriage and local tax all for GBP660pp.
Then 41 people to Tignes in March, Flights, transfers, 5* ski lodge, lift pass, ski carriage and local tax for GBP760pp.
Over 30% off brochure price, both booked back in April.

Re:Ski deals - book now or wait....

Fri, 4 Nov 2011 11:34:48 GMT

Usually wait unless I have a particular resort / accommodation in mind and if the resort is small. If its large ski area with Plenty of accommodation then I wait, also departure airports can be a problem but I suppose it depends where u live, but worth bearing in mind.

Re:Ski deals - book now or wait....

Fri, 4 Nov 2011 11:42:41 GMT

Def wait if you can. Prices are already being reduced with some companies offering 2 for 1 lift passes etc. If you are really brave just watch the sites and book the day before you go asking for a better discount....and remind the TO that an empty room is a room that does not earn any money!!! (but you have to be quite brave)

Re:Ski deals - book now or wait....

Fri, 4 Nov 2011 13:25:30 GMT

I think it also depends on what date you are looking?

Cheerz,
Stefan

Re:Ski deals - book now or wait....

Fri, 4 Nov 2011 15:45:59 GMT

Indeed, there are some dates that are sure to go fast and be quickly fully booked, such as Christmas and New year. I would therefore book well in advance to make sure I will be skiing where I want to ski.

Ski deals - book now or wait....

Fri, 4 Nov 2011 16:12:32 GMT

crispyapplepie wrote:I'm not sure how many other people out there have noticed ,but i particularly have noticed that there are more and more ski deals to be had this year... Free lift passes, discounts on group booking, early bird ski packages, free this and free that..... I know people are very unsure with the state of the economy and jobs etc but to me there doesn't seem like a better time to go skiing.

Last year when I booked our group chalet holiday we paid GBP750 each inc a full area 3 valleys pass.... It would seem this year for very similar deals your looking at a saving of upto GBP200pp.......

So with all this in mind what are people out there doing, still booking early to take advantage of the above or waiting... ?

Bizarre, I was only just thinking the other day what a distinct lack of deals there is to be had this season.
I've got one trip booked for March as by playing 2 agents off against each other and the tour op I was able to get GBP140 off per person, and as there was a group going we didnt want to leave it late and risk it being booked.

However, I plan another trip in Jan, and usually by now there are offers available for really good deals, such as GBP510 catered chalet inc full area lift pass that we had in ADH Jan 2010 (blimey, that really was a good one), GBP249 half board Mayrhofen 2008, etc.

Some companies are offering BOGOF lift pass deals, such as Crystal, and advertise ALL holidays to Austria and Switzerland, but this is only limited to certain places, and usually the rubbish ones like Rauris. Other ones where I've looked the holiday price is steep, such as GBP600 for HB in Wengen with BOGOF list passes being charged at GBP270 or something way over what the actual lift pass really is!

No, I have seen nothing to arouse the wallet yet, and by waiting until a week or so before I am looking to go, I fully expect to get a week in a catered chalet for well under GBP300pp, or at the very least a decent HB for about GBP250.
As for lift pass deals, they'll come once the operators panic and realise no one is filling their flights or accommodation due to the ridiculous prise rises this year.

I blame the Greeks.

Ski deals - book now or wait....

Fri, 4 Nov 2011 22:35:05 GMT

Tony_H wrote:

crispyapplepie wrote:I'm not sure how many other people out there have noticed ,but i particularly have noticed that there are more and more ski deals to be had this year... Free lift passes, discounts on group booking, early bird ski packages, free this and free that..... I know people are very unsure with the state of the economy and jobs etc but to me there doesn't seem like a better time to go skiing.

Last year when I booked our group chalet holiday we paid GBP750 each inc a full area 3 valleys pass.... It would seem this year for very similar deals your looking at a saving of upto GBP200pp.......

So with all this in mind what are people out there doing, still booking early to take advantage of the above or waiting... ?

Bizarre, I was only just thinking the other day what a distinct lack of deals there is to be had this season.
I've got one trip booked for March as by playing 2 agents off against each other and the tour op I was able to get GBP140 off per person, and as there was a group going we didnt want to leave it late and risk it being booked.

However, I plan another trip in Jan, and usually by now there are offers available for really good deals, such as GBP510 catered chalet inc full area lift pass that we had in ADH Jan 2010 (blimey, that really was a good one), GBP249 half board Mayrhofen 2008, etc.

Some companies are offering BOGOF lift pass deals, such as Crystal, and advertise ALL holidays to Austria and Switzerland, but this is only limited to certain places, and usually the rubbish ones like Rauris. Other ones where I've looked the holiday price is steep, such as GBP600 for HB in Wengen with BOGOF list passes being charged at GBP270 or something way over what the actual lift pass really is!

No, I have seen nothing to arouse the wallet yet, and by waiting until a week or so before I am looking to go, I fully expect to get a week in a catered chalet for well under GBP300pp, or at the very least a decent HB for about GBP250.
As for lift pass deals, they'll come once the operators panic and realise no one is filling their flights or accommodation due to the ridiculous prise rises this year.

I blame the Greeks.

:lol: a lot..... But your probably right here..... Be sure to keep us updated with this 1 tony would be nice to hear what the outcome is......

I was looking at alpine elements who to me seem to have some good deals on short ski breaks. Long weekends etc..... I'm sure as time goes by more and more deals will surface. The best deal I saw last yr annoyingly after I had book a lads week to meribel was a full catered chalet with flights and transfers reduced from GBP890pp to GBP164pp. Let's hope there are plenty more to be found this yr.

Ski deals - book now or wait....

Sat, 5 Nov 2011 11:47:10 GMT

crispyapplepie wrote:The best deal I saw last yr annoyingly after I had book a lads week to meribel was a full catered chalet with flights and transfers reduced from GBP890pp to GBP164pp. Let's hope there are plenty more to be found this yr.

That, is ridiculous. But its what you can get if you sit tight and wait, assuming you can be flexible enough of course. Its the sort of things I'd jump at, even France, EVEN 3 valleys!

Re:Ski deals - book now or wait....

Sat, 5 Nov 2011 13:32:04 GMT

A mate and me once got a last minute deal to Meribel the week after new year for about GBP200. Chalet Astemy really nice, the people that were in it over New Year week had paid best part of a GBP1000. New Year there was no snow, just rain, at resort level and conditions weren't great for them.
As they came off the slopes on their last day it started snowing, continued right through the night and next day. We arrived in a snow storm, which stopped and cleared as we ate breakfast on our first day. It was the quietest week ever, superb snow and blue sky all week.

Re:Ski deals - book now or wait....

Sat, 5 Nov 2011 15:11:53 GMT

I don't know why people are even thinking about/worrying about/ concerned about/ bothered about etc etc etc
The solution is simple and stairing one in the face :mrgreen:

1 - book as early as possible to get exactly the holiday one wants. Flight, transfer, accomodation, time, ski hire etc.
This gets the juices and interest going with something to look forward to.

2 - Watch the last minute offers like a hawk all winter. And book one's holiday when the price/offer is so good that it would be criminal to NOT to book it :mrgreen:
This keeps the juices and interest going all season and is a great excuse to look at a wide variety of webcams/snow reports/piste maps/accomodation reviews/you tube videos etc etc etc

Advantages are that you get two holidays ......
A whole season of excitement ...
A huge range of questions to ask/discuss on here ....

Simples :thumbup:

Re:Ski deals - book now or wait....

Sat, 5 Nov 2011 15:37:36 GMT

OldAndy wrote:

Advantages are that you get two holidays ......
A whole season of excitement ...
A huge range of questions to ask/discuss on here ....

Simples :thumbup:

Absolutely bang on OldAndy :)

Been doing that for several seasons now, and is definitely the way to go :twisted:

Ski deals - book now or wait....

Sat, 5 Nov 2011 17:33:19 GMT

Tony_H wrote:

crispyapplepie wrote:The best deal I saw last yr annoyingly after I had book a lads week to meribel was a full catered chalet with flights and transfers reduced from GBP890pp to GBP164pp. Let's hope there are plenty more to be found this yr.

That, is ridiculous. But its what you can get if you sit tight and wait, assuming you can be flexible enough of course. Its the sort of things I'd jump at, even France, EVEN 3 valleys!

Yes I was pretty peeved when I saw it as we had just booked with ski weekends which worked out to be around the same price... Only snag we had to travel by coach....

The things we do for the love of snow....

Re:Ski deals - book now or wait....

Sun, 6 Nov 2011 12:47:49 GMT

The simple answer to the original question here is as Old Andy highlights.

1. Find a place you want to go to, when you want to go, and how you want to get there. Then book it, paying whatever the going rate is. Then you will have no worries, look forward to your holiday, and hopefully have a brilliant time.
If you dont it will be down to you!

2. Concentrate on price as the most important aspect of your holiday. Get a great 'CHEAP' deal to somewhere you dont really want to go, flying from an inconvenient airport at an inconvenient time.
Content yourself with a mediocre week but pat yourself on the back for having got a 'DEAL'!!!(and having your choices made for you by the TO's!!!)

For most people who ski one or two weeks a year route 1 is a No-Brainer in my view.

Re:Ski deals - book now or wait....

Sun, 6 Nov 2011 18:06:37 GMT

Brucie wrote:The simple answer to the original question here is as Old Andy highlights.

1. Find a place you want to go to, when you want to go, and how you want to get there. Then book it, paying whatever the going rate is. Then you will have no worries, look forward to your holiday, and hopefully have a brilliant time.
If you dont it will be down to you!

2. Concentrate on price as the most important aspect of your holiday. Get a great 'CHEAP' deal to somewhere you dont really want to go, flying from an inconvenient airport at an inconvenient time.
Content yourself with a mediocre week but pat yourself on the back for having got a 'DEAL'!!!(and having your choices made for you by the TO's!!!)

For most people who ski one or two weeks a year route 1 is a No-Brainer in my view.

Your version of option 2 seems a little "extreme". I prefer to look at it like this:

2. Concentrate on price as the most important aspect of your holiday. Get a great 'CHEAP' deal to somewhere you would be happy to go to, flying from an airport which is ok for you to use (be flexible here, ie London should include LGW, STN and LTN, might mean an hour extra on the road but oh well.)
Delight yourself with another bargain week and pat yourself on the back for having got a 'DEAL'!!!

For me, I look at deals to countries I want to visit, mainly Italy, Switzerland and Austria, choose an airport ie London, and something will come up.
I am currently looking at Folgarida because there is a holiday down to GBP285pp half board from GBP500pp flying from LGW. Not somewhere I'd have searched for, but reviews on it look interesting, and theres a reasonable amount of skiing to go at.

As the parrot said, thats the way to do it :wink:

Re:Ski deals - book now or wait....

Tue, 8 Nov 2011 16:59:44 GMT

A perfect example of Option 2.............

Where the ***k is Folgarida??????

Re:Ski deals - book now or wait....

Wed, 9 Nov 2011 18:18:17 GMT

Brucie wrote:A perfect example of Option 2.............

Where the ***k is Folgarida??????

Seriously?

Re:Ski deals - book now or wait....

Wed, 9 Nov 2011 19:52:52 GMT

Yep. Seriously. Never heard of it!!

Not marketed by any TO's that I'm aware of.

Surely its not a place that you've always wanted to go Tony?

Re:Ski deals - book now or wait....

Wed, 9 Nov 2011 20:46:14 GMT

Brucie wrote:Yep. Seriously. Never heard of it!!

Not marketed by any TO's that I'm aware of.

Given that Crystal advertise here on J2Ski I am sure Mr Admin will not mind me linking to them, but Crystal do holidays in Folgarida, and I have been looking at the area too.

Crystal Folgarida Page

Re:Ski deals - book now or wait....

Wed, 9 Nov 2011 21:12:09 GMT

Well, you live and learn!!

Don't think it will ever work its way to the top of my 'place's to go' list, but hey, if its cheap fill your boots!!!!!

Re:Ski deals - book now or wait....

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 06:51:07 GMT

Brucie wrote:Well, you live and learn!!

Don't think it will ever work its way to the top of my 'place's to go' list, but hey, if its cheap fill your boots!!!!!

Brucie Im shocked, :wink: How are you fella.

Re:Ski deals - book now or wait....

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 22:31:41 GMT

It's linked to madonna di campiglio and the Deal I saw was neilson so that's 2 big TO's so far then ;-)