Skipedia

The sad demise of the catered chalet ski holiday

by iain on Sep 25, 2023 • 8 Comments

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...

Ideas

Will ChatGPT make ‘ski experts’ redundant?

by iain on May 11, 2023 • No Comments

AI (Artificial Intelligence) is changing fast. A few years ago, it was just the name of one of Steven Spielberg’s less good movies, but in 2023 AI has moved from the world of ‘futurologists’ into the mainstream. The chances are that even if you haven’t tried ChatGPT (or Google’s ‘Bard’),...

Iain / Ideas / Tour Operators

‘Parrots in the Snow: the rise and fall of Bladon Lines’ – article in ‘Ski+Board’ magazine

by iain on Mar 8, 2023 • 3 Comments

Iain’s article ‘Parrots in the Snow: the rise and fall of Bladon Lines‘ has now been published in ‘Ski+Board’ magazine. It’s also now available as a special episode of The Ski Podcast My first experience of working in the ski industry came 35 years ago when I went to Chatel...

Iain / Resorts

Ski Touring in Morocco: A Photo Essay

by iain on Feb 8, 2019 • No Comments

Iain from Skipedia recently went ski touring in Morocco. Flying into Marrakech, and then travelling to Imlil (1740m), Iain then spent three nights at the Refuge des Mouflons (3207m), ski touring to different 4000m peaks. Ski hire was from Braemar Mountain Sports, guiding and logistics were organised by Toubkal Guide. You...

Resorts / Tour Operators

‘I’m a modern-day Batman’ says anti-ESF campaigner

by iain on Nov 2, 2014 • No Comments

These are difficult days for the ESF in the UK. The current legal cases against Simon Butler and Le Ski have stirred up plenty of negative sentiment within the British market against the ESF. Both cases – which deal with different aspects of the law – are currently at different...

Tour Operators

Why do chalet girls bake a cake every day?

by iain on Aug 13, 2011 • 2 Comments

Okay, not strictly anything to do with marketing, but just for fun… So why do chalet girls bake a cake every day? As far as I know chalets have always left out a cake for their guests to tuck into for ‘afternoon tea’. After a long day on the slopes,...

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Ideas

Forget brainstorming, you need to be brainwriting…

by iain on Apr 28, 2014 • 1 Comment

Last week I attended Brighton SEO. This superb event is not only on my doorstep, but it’s free to attend (assuming you are super quick off the draw – this one sold out in 11 minutes). I always come away from the event with a long ‘To Do’ list with lots of great new tools and...

Events / Ideas

British Snowboarder Jake Terry Aims to Emulate Olympic Success on Junior Freeride World Tour

by iain on Apr 4, 2014 • No Comments

After Jenny Jones’ tremendous success at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games, interest in snowboarding in the UK has never been higher. With three top 10 finishes in the slopestyle, there’s clearly plenty of talent in the UK, but not all of it is in the Olympic events. Jake Terry – up and coming junior snowboarder...

Resorts / Social Media / Tour Operators

Five Snowsports Videos of ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams

by iain on Apr 1, 2014 • 3 Comments

‘Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof” We all know the lyric, we all know the song. Pharrell Williams’ ‘Happy’ has been a phenomenal global success since it was released in November 2013. A massive improvement on the Harlem Shake No doubt inspired by the original collection of videos posted to...

Social Media / Tour Operators

Esprit Ski Hit The Spot With Great Video Content

by iain on Apr 1, 2014 • No Comments

With so much noise in social media to work your way through, it can be hard to make an impression. That’s why Esprit Ski has stood out for us this season for the quality and quantity of their video content. The best resource that most tour operators have is their staff that in resort. What...

Advertising / Marketing

‘Do It For Denmark’ – Danish Travel Agent campaign goes viral

by iain on Mar 27, 2014 • No Comments

You have to hand it to Danish travel agency Spies Rejser, their new ‘Do It For Denmark’ campaign is going viral, fast. The video leading the campaign was only posted yesterday and already has 385,000 views. Do It for Denmark Spies Travel have scored an instant success with their tongue-in-cheek competition, notionally aimed at addressing...

Marketing / Tour Operators

Ski Beat advert suggests poor season for UK ski companies

by iain on Mar 17, 2014 • 2 Comments

The travel section of The Guardian this weekend featured this full page ad (see below) from Ski Beat that we found very worrying, even if it’s great for the consumer. The ad itself looks great. The message is clear: ‘End of Season Chalet Clearance Sale’, with ‘Massive reductions’. And there’s a reminder that you can ‘SAVE...

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