[trip style = ski]
TGIF. About to whisk yourself away to Whistler, Vail or Chamonix this weekend? If not and the idea of skiing, apres-ing and hotubbing sounds parfait, then this post is for you. Below you'll find the quickest ways to plan ski vacation in advance or last-minute.
We're in the height of ski season frenzy. January's web searches confirm this too. According to HitWise, people searching for ski vacations online is way up this month. Looks like the masses were waiting to see how the season would shape-up before committing to the slopes.
HINT - Based on year-over-year ski resort bookings, Hoteliers say that most people depend on the prior year's weather and ski conditions when making a determination regarding a present-day booking. Ironically, the present year's weather is not necessarily an indication of next year's weather. Either way, this is an opportunity for the savvy traveller: a) book your vacation once you're aware of the present year's ski conditions or, b) if the previous year was bad, expect bookings to be down and savings to be big!
Planning a Ski Vacation in Advance
- Season & Cost ($ - $$$$$)
- nov - mid dec: $
- mid dec - early jan: $$$$$
- early jan - early mar: $$$
- mar (spring break): $$$$
- apr - jun: $
- Weather
- nov - mid dec: can be sketchy, but also amazing. better to book this micro season 1-month to 1-week prior to arrival.
- mid dec - early jan: usually good conditions. best to book far in advance to get desired booking/price for Christmas & New Years.
- early jan - early mar: typically best conditions of ski season. best to book in advance.
- mar (spring break): decent conditions. book in advance to secure desired destination/room amid family spring break frenzy.
- apr - jun: secret season. good snow mid-to-high mountain as well as good deals. can book last minute.
- Where to book
- ski resort direct
- hotels direct (hint - join your fave hotel's loyalty program for bigger savings and first-to-know promotions)
- ski condo booking websites: vrbo.com, alluradirect.com, ownderdirect.com (best options if you want a kitchen to lessen cost)
- travel resellers like skicentral.com, expedia.com, ski.com or skiresorts.com
- Finding the best deal
- early and late-season most hotels and condos are liable to provide the best deals
- many hotels and now using Twitter to post advance or super last-minute deals, so follow your fave hotels in your ski town
- when there, check in the local newspaper for restaurant promotions and special happy-hour pricing
Planning a Ski Vacation Last-Minute
- Best Last-minute Micro Seasons
- nov - mid dec: the best snow coverage in early season is mid-to-high mountain. resorts are eager to fill rooms and kick start the season's buzz, therefore are more willing to offer lower prices.
- apr - jun: known by many ski resort locals as 'the secret season' when vacationers leave and locals play. good snow mid-to-high mountain and good deals. can book last minute--even 1-2 days prior to leaving.
- Where to book
- ski resort direct (search for website's last-minute booking section)
- hotels direct (hint - join your fave hotel's loyalty program for bigger savings and first-to-know promotions)
- reliable ski condo booking websites: vrbo.com, alluradirect.com, ownderdirect.com (best options if you want a kitchen to lessen cost)
- Finding the best deal
- get a group together and book a condo that's not slope-side. condos farther away from the ski hill offer significant savings and booking with a group allows cost-sharing for accommodation and meals.
- the instantaneous nature of twitter has given hoteliers the best opportunity to offer last-minute booking deals; I follow many ski resort hotels on twitter and frequently see twitter-only rates and promotion codes for online booking, etc...