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European winter sports industry news, events and opinions from The Ski Trade Magazine, printed and distributed monthly during the winter seaon.
Citation preview
OCT
201
3 | I
SSU
E 01
The new BASI chairman tells us where he thinks the industry should be heading 03
theskitrade.com | @theskitrade
Winter Sports Industry News
SKITRADEIS HERE
Welcome to the first issue of The Ski
Trade, a monthly magazine for the
snow sports industry and community
in the UK and further afield. The
magazine will cover everything that’s
important and relevant to you.
Since announcing our new title,
we’ve had a constant stream of
industry insiders identifying with a
publication that will reach everyone
from corporate CEOs to first season
chalet hosts. We’ve also teamed
up with the biggest hitters in the
industry to ensure our new magazine
lives up to your expectations. Whilst
InTheSnow is providing a great trade
distribution channel for us, it doesn’t
end there. Skier and Snowboarder
magazine will be feeding our content
digitally to their large database. Our
editorial team will be at all the winter
sports trade and consumer shows
and events, reporting on the issues
that matter most to you, the trade.
We’re also excited to be working
with Patrick Thorne, a well-renowned
ski journalist with over 20 years
experience, and a knowledge of
resorts that’s second to none. Patrick
will be providing regular features on
what is possibly the most important
topic affecting our industry at the
moment – the environment.
Amie Postings, snowboarder,
Morzine resident, and an
experienced hotelier, writer and
publisher, brings a strong travel
and accommodation angle to our
magazine, providing an insight into
an essential part of our industry. We’ll
also have regular contributions from
a variety of operators, who will share
their challenges, aspirations and
expectations for their ”dream” snow
sports businesses.
Rob Stewart is a qualified ski
instructor for over 20 years, working
in several countries both with ski
schools and tour operators. He’s
been writing about snow sports
for over 7 years, as well as topics
related to equipment, destinations
and ski technique.
We’re passionate about a fantastic
industry, which combines both travel
and sport, where opportunities
for growth continue. At the same
time we’re all relying on increasing
participation levels to survive in the
face of economic, environmental
and social challenges.
We’d like to invite you, the industry, to
get in touch. Let’s share our collective
experiences, knowledge and ideas.
Contributions in all sections of The
Ski Trade are welcome, and we’ve
already persuaded some to take up
the opportunity.
Although our magazine is called
The Ski Trade, we’ll be covering
everything that encompasses winter
mountain travel and all associated
sports. We hope you enjoy the read.
Check out The Ski Trade website too!
At theskitrade.com you’ll not only
find the digital version of The Ski
Trade magazine, but also updated
information, news and events from
the four corners of the European ski
trade. Updated regularly with useful
industry knowledge, theskitrade.com
is where you can have your say too.
You’ll also find The Ski Trade
available to download from the
Apple Newsstand.
Welcome to the first issue of The Ski Trade, a monthly magazine for the snow sports industry and community in the UK and further afield. The magazine will cover everything that’s important and relevant to you.
THE
Rob Stewart + Amie PostingsCo-Editors
02 theskitrade.com | @theskitrade October 2013 | Issue 01
“You’re Mr Olympics!” Not my words, but those of Mr Franz Klammer
Sir Steve started skiing before
he’d stopped rowing ”… when I
used to slip off occasionally during
the winter”. In the modern-day
this would surely mean changing
his passport and donning a false
moustache. Perhaps it was those
sneaky trips to the mountains that
made the difference between
silver and gold? Maybe all Olympic
hopefuls should take a ski break
in January as an addition to their
training programme. Don’t worry
about the highly unlikely chance of
injury, and the results are stunning.
During the years following Sir
Steve’s retirement he started to get
involved in more organised ski trips
like the Crystal Ski Fest, an end-of-
season event that involves coaching
from top instructors, ski racing
competitions, and a bit of après-ski
thrown in for good measure. This is
where Sir Steve met Gareth Roberts,
now BASI Chairman, who started
to persuade him that he should
qualify as a ski instructor. Sir Steve
now has a BASI Level 1 ski instructor
qualification, and has ambitions to
continue further through the system.
Roberts eventually approached Sir
Steve with a proposal to become
BASI’s President and he accepted
on two conditions: ”that they help
me reach my BASI Level 2, and they
start to ensure all instructors wear
helmets when teaching.”
”In the US all ski instructors wear
helmets while instructing,” says Sir
Steve. ”At first, not wearing one was
like an ego thing, but cycling would be
crazy without a helmet now. We made
a family decision to all wear helmets.”
It will be interesting to see where
Sir Steve and BASI take this issue
and if all instructors in Europe will
be mandated to wear helmets
when teaching. Go to theskitrade.
com to take our survey and share
your opinion.
Olympic Glory, can we achieve winter sports success?
”Responding with my head rather
than my heart, I know that it’s a
numbers game and it would take a
very special person, with the right
structure and people behind them,
to achieve the kind of success we’re
talking about.
The achievements that our ski
racers have made are special,
even without winning a gold medal.
Children in Austria have to ski as
part of their curriculum, we can
never match that, and again it’s a
numbers game.
Skiing is not on our doorstep and
the travelling makes it harder. One
of my passions is rugby and there
is an ease of access here, just like
rowing too. There are around half of
Winter Olympic sports that can be
practiced in the UK, and these are
the ones we can focus on achieving
medals in.
We have also been left behind
in sports like short track speed
skating. We were once one of the
best countries in the world, and
with a crossover from cycling we
could potentially become successful
again. Investing in short track speed
skating, and maybe long track,
makes a lot of sense to me.”
From tourists to teachers
”More people ski in this country
(UK) than in any other country
without large Alpine mountains,
and I’m very passionate about that.
Crystal was at the heart of cheap
ski holidays back in the 1980s and
they helped change the face of
skiing in the UK. Also, the ski shows
are bigger here than any other
‘non-Alpine’ nation. Now almost
everybody has the opportunity to
ski and BASI are great at taking
people, training them to instruct,
and encouraging them to pass that
knowledge onto others.”
BASI as an organisation has
certainly achieved the result of
turning ”ordinary” holiday skiers
into paid-up members of the snow
sports industry.
Sir Steve has recently been
heading out to Mürren to take
part in the famous endurance
challenge, The Inferno, a popular
event with many snow sports
industry participants. ”I should
be doing some extra training! It’s
the uphill bits that make all the
difference. You can lose lots of
time uphill and those sections are
very tough. My body weight helps
on the flatter downhill sections but
not on the uphill ones!”
I was intrigued to know what Sir
Steve thought about the chances
of him being a successful
downhill Alpine ski racer
in another life. Would he
have been any good? ”If I
was brought up in the mountains,
yes,” came the definitive answer.
”I like to go fast and I think I could
have been a downhill ski racer,
not in the technical disciplines, but
downhill, yes.” I then mentioned
the great Franz Klammer and
thought about how winning five
gold medals in a Winter Games
would have been quite something.
It turns out that Sir Steve had skied
with Klammer a few years ago near
Salt Lake City on a trip organised
by VISA. They were introduced to
each other at the bottom of the ski
run as they were being split into
groups, and when Franz Klammer
realised who his companion for
the day would be, shook his hands
and simply said, ”ah, so you’re
Mr Olympics!” The way Sir Steve
told me about this moment made
me wonder if it meant as much as
actually winning one of his gold
medals. Perhaps Mr Klammer was
hoping to put some false sense of
security into Sir Steve, a cunning
ploy to ensure he at least had the
upper hand on the ski slopes, if not
on the Olympic medal table.
SIR STEvE REDgRAvE TAlKS SKIThe Ski Trade talks to the British rowing legend, keen skier and BASI (British Association of Snowsports Instructors) President about the Olympics and how he likes to go as fast as possible on skis.
03theskitrade.com | @theskitradeIssue 01 | October 2013
Youth charity Snow-Camp has space on their
annual Morzine-based, 150km, GPS-tracked Alpine
Challenge from 16–19 January 2014. With the help
of sponsor Ellis Brigham, its aim is to raise over
£50,000 to give children from underprivileged
backgrounds the opportunity to experience snow
sports and potentially gain qualifications. The
Challenge, including flights, accommodation, ski
hire and lift pass costs £1000 per team, and the
fundraising target per team is £5000. Snow-Camp is
well supported by the UK winter sports industry and
the Alpine Challenge is becoming a fun, mid-season
opportunity to catch-up with industry peers. The Ski
Club GB, World Snowboard Guide and Snowboard
Club UK have all previously entered teams. To enter
visit snow-camp.org.uk
Fraser Wilkin, ski journalist and Founder of weather
and snowfall site weathertoski.co.uk, has launched
a new bespoke tour operator specialising in the
high-end hotel market. Wilkin is joined by another ski
industry stalwart, Richard Visick, who takes on the
role of Operations Director. Snow-wise will operate in
70 hotels over 35 resorts, combining big names with
a number of “original and unique” offerings, including
Hintertux, Kappl and Warth-Schrocken – the snowiest
resort in the Alps! Wilkin told us, ”The skiing industry
might be having a tough time, but we’ve identified
a gap in the market to provide a tour operator that
prides itself on quality, flexibility, knowledge and
service.” Wilkin and Visick have personally visited all
the hotels they offer to ensure they meet the criteria
required for the Snow-wise experience.
Claire Collins, Group PR and Marketing Manager
at Snow+Rock for the last 7 years has left the
company for a new roll at the clothing retailer
Primark. The Ski Trade spoke to Collins shortly
after her final day, and she told us she was
looking forward to her new job but was sad
to be leaving the snow sports industry. Collins
also said that she’d been "looking for a while"
to find something new, and believed that there
was a vacancy for her old position available
at the company. Snow+Rock has also recently
announced the opening of a new concession in
Selfridges, London, this October where they will
showcase their favourite brand partners, as well
as re-opening the newly-renovated High Street
Kensington store, first opened in 1982.
In response to requests from chalet owners, tour
operators and winter accommodation providers
across the Alps for eco-friendly guest amenities,
Linge des Alpes, the French distributor for ”best
of British” Mitre linen, has added the Bamboo
range of towels and bathrobes to its collection
of chalet and guest supplies for accommodation
providers across the Alps. The Bamboo range
accompanies Linge des Alpes luxury, comfort
and essentials product ranges, which include the
Cow Hide range of furnishings, H2K of Harrogate
skincare and Vogue Beds, in addition to Mitre
bed linen, towels and soft furnishings. Delivery is
available across the Alps in time for the coming
winter season. Visit the Linge des Alps website
for further information (lingedesalpes.com).
As chalet owners and operators across the Alps
enjoyed some well-earned downtime this summer,
we questioned a cross-section on their use of
accommodation listings websites. Our survey
uncovered a huge reliance on directory websites
to generate bookings. What does this mean for the
future of independent chalet operators?
View the full results at theskitrade.com
• On average, accommodation providers will
feature their property on two or three websites.
Almost 30% list on up to seven.
• Over 50% of chalets rely on directories for over
50% of their total winter enquiries. Also, over 50%
of operators spend £500+ per year on listings.
• Online booking facilities were the most important
feature, followed by collecting guest reviews.
• Find out which listings sites are favoured by the
ski accommodation industry on theskitrade.com.
There’s been phenomenal growth in the number
of small, owner-operated chalets across Europe
over the last decade. ”I need to feature on directory
websites, simply because my competitors do,” an
operator in Méribel told us.
Building and maintaining a stand-alone website can
also be expensive. ”If it costs me £350 to list on a
directory website, this gives me an online presence
for far less than building my own website,” explains a
property owner in Verbier.
Many European chalets are lifestyle businesses
for their owners. Time is precious in this industry,
and some directories offer useful tools to help
manage payments and guest profiles, easing
some of the burden.
A further opinion from the industry was the leveling
of the playing field. ”I can’t compete with the big tour
operators with huge SEO budgets. Being listed on a
website means my chalet is more likely to be seen,”
believes a La Plagne chalet operator.
For most, the ski accommodation industry runs on
narrow profit margins and high levels of taxation,
especially when employing staff. To help you decide
whether to invest, here are a few industry opinions
on the future of accommodation websites.
”Holidaymakers now have less time on their
hands. They’re also more aware of using the
internet to get better value for money, and
more choice,“ believes Gerry Lovick of White
Blancmange, a luxury travel website featuring
over 100 high-end European ski chalets.
”We have 16 chalets and apartments, I list about
half of them on a selection of websites,” explains
Sam Dredge of More Mountain in Morzine. ”They’re
a great source of new business. I find that the
following season, clients who previously found us
on a directory website will book directly with us.”
”Our site takes a different approach to traditional
chalet directories,” says Alex Narracott, Co-Founder
of MuchBetterChalets. ”It’s free for chalets to reply
to enquiries that come through our site, and they’ll
pay a smaller than average commission, should a
booking result.”
”January each year sees the highest traffic to
our website, which features 1150 European ski
properties,“ Daniel Harrison of ChaletFinder tells us.
”We’ve completely redesigned the front end, we’re
improving the owners administration area, and we’re
placing more emphasis on summer, with our new
ChaletFinder Cycle site, coming soon.”
It’s clear that accommodation directories are here
to stay, and unique ways are being developed to
better serve the market and the chalet owner. That’s
a good thing for us all surely?
TO lIST or Not To List
Spaces Still Available For The Snow-Camp Challenge
New Tour Op Launches Despite Tough Conditions
Snow+Rock's Claire Collins Leaves For Primark
Eco Bamboo Towel & Bathrobe Range In Chalets
04 theskitrade.com | @theskitrade October 2013 | Issue 01
05theskitrade.com | @theskitrade
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When I first started writing about ski resorts
nearly 30 years ago we were, although I didn’t
know it then, still in a period of growth in Europe
and North America. New resorts, such as Beaver
Creek and Valmorel, were still opening and
the news each winter was always of new lifts,
new runs. The environment was sometimes
mentioned, but usually in the context of some
long-haired environmentalists having the audacity
to slow the development of one ski slope or
another – curse them.
By the 1990s the expansion was over, the news
was not of new runs, but of better lifts on existing
routes, and always more and more snowmaking.
Then in 2005 the world’s media cottoned onto
climate change. Somehow ski resorts became
not the victims of it, but the epitome of all that
was wrong with mankind’s excess, destroying
our own planet. Suddenly resorts became
very environmentally aware, not exploiters but
stewards of their local patch.
I realise I have included an awful lot of
generalisations for which I apologise; there are
many ski resorts that have always had a green
ethos, most of which were ahead of increasing
media coverage on the global warming
issue, but I wanted to give this context as a
background to how things have changed, and
continue to change.
Around the time of that explosion in media
interest I had been building a database of the
world’s top 250 resorts, and what they were each
doing on the environment (you can still see the
Green Resort Guide online in the resorts section
of skiclub.co.uk, although it hasn’t been updated
for a few years), and I did have to cut through an
awful lot of guff about ”ethos” and ”principles”
in some cases to find any hard facts about what
some resorts were doing about the environment.
Sometimes it boiled down to zero.
But in the 8 years since, things have changed.
Although the credit crunch and the lack of an
instant catastrophe has pushed climate change
down the public agenda, the subject and, most
importantly, the attitude has visibly become
a part of ski resort DNA. No new project is
announced now without a preamble about the
environmental aspects.
More importantly, some major capital investment
by ski resorts, and the travel companies
that serve them, has helped our industry to
become world-leading, if we weren’t before, in
environmental responsibility.
Examples? In Aspen a new waste gas recycling
scheme from an old coal mine both generates
power and cuts CO2 emissions, which dwarf
energy consumption by the resort, so it can claim
to save more CO2 than it generates. At Whistler
a new hydroelectric scheme also generates
more electricity than is needed by the resort, and
on the US east coast giant new wind turbines
produce all, or nearly all, the power requirements
of a few smaller ski areas you may not have heard
of: Berkshire East and Jiminy Peak.
They’re not all in North America either; a giant
photovoltaic solar array at the Austrian resort of
Werfenweng (it’s in the Crystal brochure!) is part
of a comprehensive project to make the resort
carbon-neutral. There are many more examples.
And more important still, for each of these big capital
projects there have been 1000 smaller initiatives.
The growing snowmaking systems, and the new
replacement lifts, are invariably far more efficient than
those they replace – so newer is happily greener. The
recently announced massive snowmaking system
at Lech in Austria uses the same amount of green
energy in a season as a single 100-bed, 3 hotel.
And remember, hotels in ski resorts use less energy
on heating than equivalent buildings by the Med do
on their air con, and in most cases you produce less
CO2 reaching them too as they’re closer – especially
if you go by Eurostar.
More new projects are being announced for
2013–14 too, including a carbon-neutral ski
resort that is being developed at the site of the
old Kobla ski area, near Bled in Slovenia (2864.
si/en), continuing the trend for ”green” to be
”mainstream”, rather than something first fought
against, and then grudgingly accepted and added
on as an afterthought.
Patrick ThorneColumnist
GOInG FOr GrEEn
Issue 01 | October 2013
EurOstarOpEratOrs Of thE ski train
“We’re expecting our French ski service to
have similar sales results this year as last,”
a Eurostar spokesperson told us. “Initial
sales results have been very positive, and
we're expecting another spike in bookings in
September and October when we'll launch our
station adverts to promote ski.”
ski-Lifts airpOrt transfErsaLps-widE airpOrt transfEr cOmpany
“Our advance bookings are significantly up on
this time last year. The trend of booking earlier
continues, and we’re about 2 months ahead of
the curve for last year,” Managing Director Richard
Smith explains.
snOw ExprEssski cOachEs tO 40+ frEnch rEsOrts
“Our ski coach seats went on sale 6 weeks earlier
than usual this year, on 1 August. There hasn’t been
an overwhelming uptake in the intervening time, but
we’re considering the sales that we have had as very
encouraging for this coming winter season,” David
Manley, Snow Express Director told us.
crystaL ski & snOwbOardthE uk’s biggEst ski tOur OpEratOr
“We’ve increased our capacity for this coming
season by a few percentage points,” said Marion
Telsnig, Head of Public Relations at Crystal Ski. “As
we stand at the moment, we’re ahead of last year’s
bookings for peak dates, while all other dates are on
a par with last year.”
ski famiLLEski chaLEt OpEratOrs acrOss 5 rEsOrts
“Our committed capacity in terms of chalet
beds has remained the same, however we’re
working with two new hotels and a self-catering
residence,” Chris Thompson, Managing Director,
told us. “Our bookings are slightly up on last year
right now, and we expect to see modest growth
on the back of great conditions last winter.”
ELLis brigham mOuntain spOrts24 stOrEs acrOss thE uk
“We are one of the first retailers in the UK
to receive new winter product in August,
and we’ve seen a lot of interest in new
skis and boots – there’s a real buzz about
skis specifically at the moment,” explained
Managing Director Mark Brigham. “We like to
always be optimistic and plan for growth and
given last winter’s fantastic snow conditions
we think this is achievable this winter.”
ski cLub Of grEat britaincOnsumEr rEsEarch survEy pubLishEr
“In the new 2013 Ski Club Consumer Research
91% of people said they were planning to increase
or maintain their skiing habits in the next five
years and 71.5% said they were planning to go
next year’ Frank McCusker, CEO of the Ski Club of
Great Britain told us. ‘We expect to see continued
growth in the wintersports market. Snow
conditions have been fantastic in recent seasons,
the economy continues to stabilize and the Winter
Olympics and a nationwide initiative to increase
participation in skiing are on the horizon. All these
factors will contribute to people's confidence
to book and inspiration to ski. More people are
booking six months or more before they travel
and frewer are booking one to three months
before. The late Easter may be a challenge but
fantastic April snow conditions in recent seasons
will help the perception of Spring skiing.”
Have your say at theskitrade.com
THE STATE OfTHE InDuSTRy
The Crystal Ski report told us that the industry grew by 1% last year. How are things looking for this winter season?
06 October 2013 | Issue 01theskitrade.com | @theskitrade
Once again, Henry Schniewind of Henry’s Avalanche
Talks (HAT) will be embarking on a tour to bring his
expert knowledge of mountain and snow safety to
UK skiers. Often seen as an opportunity to meet with
industry peers, as well as getting that all important
safety briefing before the start of the season, the
talks will take place in several Ellis Brigham stores.
Anyone who takes their mountain safety seriously,
and is considering skiing off-piste this winter,
including instructors, should consider attending one
of Schniewind’s talks to learn or refresh their snow
safety knowledge. Head to theskitrade.com for talk
dates and venues.
Avalanche Talks With HAT To Be Held In Several Ellis Brigham Stores
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Gavin Kerr Hunter. Director, SnowPerformance
The Ski Trade attended the recent launch of the new
Go Ski Go Board initiative at The Snow Centre, Hemel
Hempstead. The campaign, orchestrated by Snowsports
England (SSE), is the largest ever to entice people to either
learn to ski for the first time, or return to the sport after
a long break. For the snow sports industry, we think this
campaign could prove to be the spark that encourages
growth once again, after several years of declining
numbers. School ski trips, in particular, have seen the
biggest drop in numbers, down over 11% in the last 3 years.
We’ll be watching the events, including the Slide2Sochi
Roadshow that compliments the Go Ski Go Board
campaign, with interest and there will be further coverage
of the initiative in our second edition, including comments
from Tim Falke of SSE and other industry members.
Go Ski Go Board Initiative Launches
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Issue 01 | October 2013 07theskitrade.com | @theskitrade
A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to walk
around the offices and factories of Atomic, Rossignol
and Head. Every year, these three companies alone
produce over 2m pairs of skis, and anyone who
loves snow sports can’t help but get excited by the
piles of wood that sit around waiting to be crafted
into our favourite tools to slide on.
But during the last few years, they’ve all seen
a decline in production as fewer skis get sold,
and smaller ski manufacturers spring up around
them. Despite this fact, we continue to witness the
launch of yet more ”exciting” innovations in ski
technology. The big manufacturers invest millions in
R&D, constantly pushing the boundaries to create
equipment that improve our on-snow experiences.
So how can these manufacturers innovate when
the hardware sales continue to decrease? When
fewer people are buying skis, but there are more ski
brands in the market, how can any brand survive and
grow in that environment?
Focusing on what was a niche area in the market,
but is now the fastest growing sector – freeskiing
– companies like Scott Sports has targeted
aspirational skiers and found themselves at the heart
of what’s now a mainstream area. A recent report
from the SnowSports Industries America showed the
category of freeski has grown by nearly double since
the 2008–09 winter ski season, to over half a million
participants in North America. Every other category,
with the exception of telemark, has shrunk during
the same period.
InTheSnow asked Herve Maneint, Chief Product
Manager at Scott Sports how it manages to invest
in innovation, whilst predicting what the consumer
wants. ”You must stay specific in the market and then
consumers will put trust in you. A brand cannot play
one day here and then the next over there, the online
community generation have already accelerated the
trends process with faster communication.”
”The sport drives the lifestyle choices of consumers
today and skiing or snowboarding reflects their
identity. Styles change, but what’s really important
for people passionate about their sport are
the technology benefits and today that means
weight, mobility and forgiveness. But it’s not hard
to innovate, you just need to get close to your
environment and have passion.“
Equipped For BusinessHow hard is it to innovate in this challenging climate?
Alpine Ski Snowboard Cross-Country Ski Freeski Snowshoe Telemark Ski
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2K
4K
6K
8K
10K
12K
No.
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now
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rts
Par
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ants 2008/09
2009/10
2011/12
2010/11
2012/13
There have never been more
opportunities for the winter sports trade
to meet and do business. The Ski Trade
will be at all of these events, get in touch
if you’d like to meet us.
tELEgraph ski shOw nOrthEvEntcity, manchEstEr25 – 27 October 2013
Open to members of the public, snowsports community and industry
Kicking off this winter’s round of
events, there are high expectations
for the first Ski and Snowboard Show
North, organised by VOS Media.
A consumer show this
may be, but a lot of business-to-
business networking is expected to
take place with involvement from
industry-wide exhibitors.
skiandsnowboard.co.uk/manchester
ListEx (LOndOn int ski travEL ExchangE)LOndOn rOwing cLub28 – 29 October 2013
Open to tour operators, travel agents and other buyers meet resort reps, hotels and other suppliersLISTEX launched last year to positive
reviews and we’re looking forward to see
how this event develops in year two. The
organisers tell us there’ll be more buyers,
extended forum sessions, and social
events too.
listex.co.uk
tELEgraph ski shOw LOndOnEarLs cOurt 2, LOndOn30 October – 3 November 2013
Open to members of the public, snowsports community and industryLong-established as the UK’s largest
and most visited ski show, the
London event offers trade networking
opportunities on the exhibition floor,
particularly at quieter times such as
press day. Organiser VOS Media
recognise that the London ski show lost
its way in recent years, but feel it put
the buzz back into the event last year.
skiandsnowboard.co.uk
wOrLd travEL markEtExcEL LOndOn4 – 7 November 2013
Open to global travel operators, destination marketers and tourism organisations from the global winter sports industryOrganiser Reed Travel Exhibitions tells
us that £2bn worth of travel industry
deals are done at WTM, and ski
contracting is a significant percentage
of this. You’ll find destination marketing
agencies and large ski tour operators.
There’s a lot of ground to cover at
WTM, so spend time working out who
you want to visit in advance.
wtmlondon.com
istm (intErnatiOnaL ski travEL markEt)a-rOsa hOtEL, kitzbÜhEL, austria17 – 18 March 2014
Open to suppliers - hotels, resorts and tourist offices. Buyers - tour operators and agents A new winter sports trade event
organised by Reed Exhibitions, buyers
pre-schedule appointments with suppliers
and vice versa. We’re told several buyer
and supplier brands are already on board,
and we’re looking forward to seeing how
this new event develops.
istm.co.uk
ispOmEssE mÜnchEn, munich26 – 29 January 2014
Open to winter sports equipment manufacturers, clothing brands, agents, distributors and buyersPretty much every global winter sports
brand exhibits to the trade at ISPO, making
the show your opportunity to check out
who is innovating and developing. 80,000
visitors from 100 countries pass through
the event each year.
ispo.com/munich
sLidEtELfOrd intErnatiOnaL cEntrE18 – 20 February 2013
Open to action sports and streetwear retailers, distributors and buyersThis is the UK’s only winter sports product
trade exhibition. Slide offers a unique
opportunity to catch up with industry
contacts, and to learn about new products
and brands launching in the industry.
slide.uk.co.uk
Time is precious out here in the
Alps. We moved to Morzine to
start our chalet business in 2006,
and we hoped that the pace of life
would be somewhat more relaxed
than back in the UK. In reality,
we’ve taken on more and more
accommodation as new properties
have become available, and at the
start of last winter we added Hotel
L’Aubergade, a 1954, 17-bedroom
hotel to our business.
Staying on top of reservations admin,
while growing your business and
training new staff, can be a juggling
act. Many of our guests return to our
chalets year after year, and we get to
know everything from their children’s
birthdays to their favourite après tipple.
I really didn’t want to lose that personal
touch as we grew our business.
ChaletManager is a web-hosted
management system that has helped us
run our business in so many ways. We
started using it in 2011, and I really can’t
remember a time without it. As is usually
the case with many chalet operators,
our winter team changes each year.
We love the ChaletManager ”guest”
function, which enables us to record
all the various likes and dislikes of our
guests. It means that when they come to
stay with us they have the most perfect
holiday possible, because we make sure
everything is just as they desire.
Back when we had a few smaller
chalets, I’d use a spreadsheet
to manage our reservations.
The ChaletManager ”calendar”
function now means that I can
check availability in an instant, and
take bookings very quickly. Our
reservations team has grown with
us, and we’re now really efficient
at recording enquiries and better
managing our availability. The time
saving really is phenomenal. It gives
me more opportunities to get to
know our guests and make them feel
really welcome.
Knowing that our reservation
information is stored in one central
point also gives me enormous
peace of mind. As we were opening
L’Aubergade at the beginning of last
winter, I’d be taking reservations in
between moving furniture, and all
details were stored safely in one
central place.
I’ve also found ChaletManager to be
very responsive as a company. They
listen to our ideas and requests for
new developments and modifications,
and they’ll then make system
improvements that are rolled out
to all users. Every growing chalet
business will save time by using
ChaletManager.
ChaletManager
www.chaletmanager.com
Mountain Mavericks
www.mountainmavericks.com
How my business grew …Emma Lambourne, Mountain Mavericks
Meet the trade at these great shows …
Emma Lambourne at Hotel L’Aubergade
08 October 2013 | Issue 01theskitrade.com | @theskitrade
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