Looking through a recent survey from Le Ski, I was struck by one stat in particular.
While it was encouraging to read that the number of UK skiers and snowboarders is predicted to grow by 14% in winter 2023/24, the fact that only 13% stay in catered chalets highlighted how much the market has changed.
The growth of chalet holidays
My career in the ski industry started in 1988, when I worked a winter season for Bladon Lines, the quintessential British chalet specialist.
The industry saw huge growth throughout the 1980s, although companies such as Bladon Lines struggled to compete as the chalet market matured in the 1990s, with aggressive new companies such as Crystal Ski (who I worked subsequent seasons for) stealing market share.
[For a fuller look at the Rise and Fall of Bladon Lines, please read my article for Ski+Board magazine from earlier this year]
New players might have joined, and the old guard fallen away, but the overall market continued to be strong into the 21st century.

Almost half were staying in chalets or club hotels
In 2009, the Ski Club of Great Britain’s Snowsports Analysis reported that 37% of all British skiers stayed in catered chalets – making it the most popular accommodation option.
This figure excluded Club hotels (effectively a hotel run in a chalet style), which registered 6% of holidaymakers, meaning that close to half of all skiers were staying in catered accommodation, looked after by ‘chalet hosts’.


Chalet market has tumbled
Le Ski’s survey showed that in 2022/23 only 13% of UK skiers and snowboarders stayed in catered chalets – a massive fall that shows how the paradigm of British ski holidays has changed completely since Brexit.
The lobbying group Seasonal Businesses in Travel (SBiT) has been reporting on this change for several years.
In 2019, they estimated that UK travel companies had cut their programmes by 3800 beds per week and reduced their workforce by 30% since 2016.
More recently, SBiT have confirmed there has been a 56% reduction in catered chalets across Europe since Brexit.

Fewer chalets, that are harder to book
The number of chalets may have gone down, but among some British skiers the demand is still there.
“Chalets are more niche than ever – even with prices increasing due to new regulations and additional costs,” Nick Morgan from Le Ski has said.
At least I can close on a positive note, even if the halcyon days of the chalet holiday are clearly behind us.
It seems that a certain hard-core British skier is never going to give up their catered chalet holiday: Le Ski report that they are already 60% booked for this winter.

8 comments
Andrew Johnson says:
Sep 25, 2023
I’m pretty sure that the rise of AirBNB and other instant booking options have been a big part of this. Looking at the prices of catered chalets by comparison, it is hard to make the case for catered chalets for anyone except the very well heeled these days. The numbers don’t add up well.
LeSki are right, the halcyon days have passed in this market and the focus for skiers is affordable skiing over pampered luxury right now. The cost of living crisis is another major factor.
Hey ho. Great days they were in the late ‘80’s and early 90’s. Formative years for those fortunate enough to have worked and played in the Alps back then.
Mark Lightfoot says:
Sep 25, 2023
It is interesting from a ROI point of view that maybe people are making. more money from the likes of AirBnB, buyers are not only buying for lifestyle so there must still be an investment from rentals. I guess that ROI is coming from the likes of AirBnB now. Bit of a game changer and sad that the catered ski chalets are less, I would still book this type of holiday for a group of friends if it was still available.
Simon Hoskyns says:
Oct 4, 2023
I am happy to report that the catered chalet market is very much alive and well!
We have been a chalet broker (for both catered and self-catered properties) for 30+yrs and certainly have seen some changes, especially in recent years, with Brexit and Covid both having a major impact on the ski chalet marketplace. Acting as an agent for almost 150 different ski chalet companies in the Alps we are well-placed to give some headline stats & thoughts.
Pre-2015 our portfolio of properties was made up with 90% catered chalets and 10% self-catered chalets. And when I say self-catered I am not talking about the traditional small apartment type of accommodation but rather chalets with minimum 4 bedrooms simply offered on a self-catered basis. Today the ratio is 70% catered and 30% self-catered.
Covid has had the biggest influence in this swing as skiers started to look for accommodation that was not shared with in-resort chalet staff. Although Covid is thankfully now behind us the benefits of having the freedom to cook what you want, when you want have stuck. Self-catering chalets are here to stay. Secondly, the increasing relative costs of taking a ski holiday have also pushed the market to look for cheaper accommodation, and self-catering chalets provide that option.
However, the biggest change in the ski chalet market (and this has everything to do with Covid) is that chalet companies now shy away from including flights, and therefore selling ‘package holidays’. Travel companies with small margins no longer have the appetite to take on the risk of adhering to the Package Travel Regulations. PTRs (Package Travel Regs) state that 100% of monies paid by clients should be refunded when no alternate holiday can be offered. When the govt travel bans prevented any form of overseas travel, holiday companies were forced to refund all client monies for all bookings, regardless of whether flights had already been bought, and all staff salaries and chalet rents paid. These forced refunds wiped out many travel companies and brought others to their knees. It’s no wonder that most ski travel companies have stopped including flights and now provide holidays that are no longer legally considered a ‘package’.
Today just 30% of the catered chalet holidays we sell are flight inclusive packages (the likes of Le Ski). Until 2020 that figure was more like 85%.
However, the bottom line is that we still sell thousands of catered chalet beds each winter, and through a myriad of ski chalet companies. These range from small owner/managed properties through to large £multi-million businesses with 100+ properties. Those looking for good value ski accommodation can still book a catered chalet, and those looking for luxury also have plenty of options to choose from.
As an ex-Bladon Lines seasonnaire (Meribel ’87-’88) I am happy to report that the catered chalet holiday very much exists and still provides excellent value for money, especially when compared to a hotel-based stay.
iain says:
Oct 4, 2023
Thorough reply thanks Simon. I certainly don’t think the chalet holiday is dead. Le Ski’s bookings for this winter show that clearly. I was more struck by the decline in the market share since the halycon days of the industry
Paddy Griffith says:
Oct 5, 2023
And of course there are ways of making a Self-Catered Chalet, Catered, with services like our own Huski. We will deliver to 10k self-catered chalets this season in France, giving those guests a catered experience but without some of the cost. Those 10k will not show up in the numbers.
As Simon says, I think it’s the digital consumer’s disintermediation of the traditional packaged approach that is driving the stats as much as anything – but still plenty of people finding new ways to build the holidays they want to have.
iain says:
Oct 5, 2023
With you there Paddy (and thanks for teaching me a new word: disintermediation!)
Neil McKenzie says:
Oct 11, 2023
The introduction of the minimum wage in the UK broke the business plan of many chalet operators – remember being told ‘No-one’s here for the money’?
iain says:
Oct 11, 2023
I’m not sure the minimum wage in the UK had much effect. Tour ops were already bundling up accomm and benefits to cover that. More significant was the compulsion to have staff on French payroll and associated welfare benefits.