A number of the biggest ski accommodation providers in France have announced they are relaxing the formerly stringent model of French Saturday to Saturday ski holiday dates.
For decades the affordable French apartment holiday has relied heavily on keeping it efficient. Skiers had to arrive in a fixed narrow time window on a Saturday afternoon to find reception open and check in to their apartment, then they needed to be out by 10am the following Saturday.
But that model has come under increasing pressure in recent years. The concentration on this narrow Saturday time slots was a major contributor to major queues on the roads in to and out of resorts, and similar backlogs and congestion at airports like Geneva, all the time driving prices up in this concentrated time slot and the quality of the holiday experience down.
A more flexible approach could allow families to travel on quieter roads and book cheaper flights and, after much talk, this winter it now seems to be a priority for some of the biggest French accommodation providers.
Pierre & Vacances, the biggest in the country, is one of several pushing new flexible arrival dates along with short stays and add-on packages and services.
Holidaymakers can select exactly which dates work for them and how long they wish to stay.
More than that though they can decide whether they would like to cook for themselves or dine at the surrounding alpine restaurants on pre-booked discounted meal packages. They can have their ski lessons, ski rental, lift passes and childcare booked before they travel.
“Pierre & Vacances holidays have never before been so well-adapted to its customer desires,” a statement from the company reads, continuing, “As well as holidaymakers being able to save money on budget flights and trains that are available mid-week, the flexibility that Pierre & Vacances offers guests is ideal for those who are too busy or restricted on holiday time to ski for a whole week. Since not everyone works a Monday to Friday week and not everyone has children’s school holidays to work around, Pierre & Vacances has modified the holiday time to suit all of its customers.”
Madame Vacances, another big player in the French ski accommodation market who this year celebrate 25 years in business, have a similar policy,
The company, which operates in 26 snowsure resorts, encourages customers to choose how many days they would like to holiday in a destination as well as what day it would suit them most to arrive, whether travelling for two or 20 nights.
