Booking a ski holiday for a large group of friends or family, or a work group with differing skiing abilities is exciting, but it can also feel like herding cats.
We’ve produced this helpful guide to assist you in taking the pain out of the process and ensure that choosing and planning your group ski trip is as much fun as the holiday itself.
Well, almost....
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Start early!
The earlier you book, the more choice there will be. You have the best chance of finding the perfect holiday deal, meeting all your groups’ preferences. Don’t wait or another party might have snapped up the best group ski accommodation.
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Nominate a group leader
An organised group leader is worth their weight in snow! Once you have one, support them and allow them to make decisions on behalf of the whole group. The first day can be a bit hectic sorting out everyone’s equipment hire, lift passes, tuition timesplus any teething troubles that may occur. A good group leader will work with us to make sure everyone is happy.
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Set a budget
Every group has differing budgets. Some have no limit whilst others need to be careful with money, so it’s important to set a budget that everyone is happy with and then stick to it. Sort out what people want to have included in the budget too i.e. flights, transfers and accommodation. Decide early on if the group is looking for catered or self-catered chalets. Use a spreadsheet to build costs and set expectations.
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Choose your dates
The week you choose to go will have an effect on how much you pay. If you don’t have kids in the group and you can avoid the school holidays, your price will be lower. You'll find some great ski deals in January and March, but pre-Christmas is great value too.
If you do go in the school holidays, the Easter holidays work out cheaper than February. You’ll also have warmer weather which favours the smallest members of your group.
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Work out ability levels
Before you choose where to go, you need to understand the skiing and snowboarding ability levels of your group. Ask people how many weeks skiing or boarding they’ve done. You don’t want to go to a ski area that mainly suits hardcore skiers if you have mostly beginners in your party. You’ll just end up with a grumpy group and that’s never good!
If you have a variety of ability levels, choose a larger ski area as that’s more likely to cater for everyone – the Grand Massif area has over 265km of piste and endless off-piste. A larger ski area also favours any non-skiers in the group as there will be more choice of activities on offer.
Discuss and understand as a group, especially if you are of mixed abilities, that you will probably not spend days skiing together. You may break off in different groups, some having lessons, some going extreme and some even wanting a day off. This is all par for the course, after all a group is made up of individuals. It may be worth considering lunch time meets, on the mountain, or at the end of the day for a great après session, where you can swap your day’s adventures. Setting up a WhatsApp group is great for this.
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Where to stay
Once you’ve picked a resort, it’s good to work out what’s important for your group – is it distance to the ski lift/a hot-tub/an open log fire?
Often the most ideal place to stay for a large group is a catered ski chalet like Chalet Bobeau. They make a great home from home, where your group can relax together in front of the fire, make the place your own and create your own atmosphere. You also have the added bonus of having your very own PureChalets chalet hosts who will cook your meals, serve up the complimentary wine with your dinner, clean every day, and be a font of all knowledge for info about Samoens.
Do you have a lot of couples, or a lot of singles in your group? Many of our chalets have beds that can either be doubles or twin beds, which offers lots of flexibility.
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Payments
It’s frustrating when people say they’re up for the holiday and they’re definitely in (probably from a conversation in the pub) but when it comes to confirming and paying up, they’re not so sure. Set a deadline for people to confirm if they are going or not.
A good tip is to build in some wriggle room by telling people that the balance is due two weeks before it actually is. PureChalets asks for balance payments 8 weeks before your arrival date.
Make sure that all members of the group have sorted out their own travel insurance, and that their travel documentation is valid.
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Children
If you are going on a ski holiday with children, it’s a good idea to set holiday ground rules about bedtimes and mealtimes and if they are different from at home, explain carefully why. Otherwise each evening could turn into a battle ground.
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PureChalets here to help!
We are here to help you organise all aspects of your holiday before you arrive in Samoens. We can organise ski lessons, book airport transfers from Geneva, send discount codes for snow equipment hire, or book restaurants in advance. When you arrive in resort, we and our chalet hosts are here to provide the best tips.
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Enjoy!
Last of all, but most importantly, RELAX. You’re on holiday!