Low Cost Holidays in Tignes

One thing our customers often ask us is

'how do you keep your prices so low?'.

'Is there something we should know?'.

This question crops up a number of times so I thought I'd write a few lines about how we do it.

We manage to keep prices low in a number of ways. Broadly speaking we try to minimise our costs and then we pass these savings on to you.

1/ We have a large number of beds in resort and, as with any other business, we are able to make savings through our buying power by negotiating very good deals with our suppliers and property owners.

2/ We have low overheads as we are an internet based business and don't have large and expensive offices in London nor do we have a large team of full-time staff to pay. All our bookings are managed via the website and the telephones and computers used to run the system are portable so go with us wherever we are at that time.

3/ By selling directly to you, the customer, we avoid paying commissions to travel agents or re-sellers.

4/ We do not have a large scale advertising budget. We rely on word-of-mouth recommendations and the power of the internet to allow our customers to find us.

5/ We sell to you in Euros and therefore do not need to pay large fees to protect us against currency movements. Remember when you look at our prices they are in EUROS and NOT in sterling.

6/ Finally we are a family owned and run business. We don't have shareholders or banks pressurising us into producing large profits. We like to ski as much as you do and we like to live here and take advantage of the mountains. This means we can make a living out of the business rather just making the largest possible profit and this means lower prices to our customers.

Some ways we DO NOT save money are:-

1/ Food. We use the same suppliers and the same produce as every other chalet company. Our chefs are all highly qualified and we have a very similar menu to every other chalet company in Tignes. Indeed because we have a lot of customers we can afford to employ very good chefs to produce our meals rather than the young and unqualified 'chalet girls/boys' who are often to be found cooking and cleaning in many smaller chalets for so-called 'premium' chalet companies.

2/ Organisation. All our bookings are followed by a computerised booking system and all your emails are logged and available to us from any location.

3/ Company. We are a registered French company trading for more than 15 years. We file annual accounts with the 'Greffe de Commerce' in Chambery and are audited the same as any sizable company in Europe. We carry professional insurance on all our buildings and maintain statutory records and very sizeable quantities of paperwork!

4/ Safety. Our hotel is registered (type 'RH N O 4' for those who like French Law) and we are obliged to undergo a full safety and fire inspection every three years to be allowed to operate. Our Fire Rating is the highest available for a hotel of less than 100 beds and we have authorisation to have groups of children staying. We must have yearly inspections of fire alarms, extinguishers, gas and electric systems, heating sytems, emergency lighting and all other safety installations.

5/ Customer Service. You can be sure to receive a warm and personal welcome from the staff in resort. We only operate in Tignes and we're relatively small so your booking means a lot to us so we'll work extra hard to make sure you're happy with your stay. The office in the hotel is open most of the day and you can be sure you won't need to troop to some dingy bar for the 'rep's office hour' if you have a problem with something.

I hope this has answered any questions you may have. Contact us if you have anything else to ask us.