With record last minute ski bookings,
why are so many disappointed,
and how can you beat the system?
how to bag the best last minute ski deals
It’s my first winter on the inside of the ski travel industry and I’m learning exactly how the giant winter travel companies work. All my skiing and snowboarding mates want to know the same thing – how can you ensure you (a) grab the best last minute ski holidays before they’re gone and (b) find the very cheapest last minute ski deals.
Here are 3 simple tips that explain why you might have struggled in the past, and how to land the best last minute ski holidays in future:
1. Search the “fresh” last minute ski deals in the morning, and call to book straight away.
My first tip explains “when” the industry insiders get the best deals. I’ve told all my friends and customers the answer to this… and its simple too… just go look for deals in the morning, not the afternoon or evening!
Why? It’s because of how online ski holidays work – basically all the websites update overnight (i.e. not in real time, like the booking systems we travel professionals use). The new deals will appear when you go look in the morning, but the best deals get seen by everyone, so they start to sell out during the day. The upshot is that skiers who go look, and then call to book that very morning, are likely to find those online ski deals are still available… those who do it after work in the evening will be less successful.
2. Don’t procrastinate or try to wait for a little extra discount – if you spot it, grab it!
My second tip is that “procrastination” is the enemy of any attempt to book a last minute ski deal. Every day, I tell people who are deliberating over a ski trip, “there is only 1 of these rooms left, it is the cheapest one in ‘x’ ski resort, everyone else will see this too, if you want it, you must grab it”… only to get a call back from them, a whole day later, saying “we’d like to book that ski deal now…” and of course by then it has long gone. I’m unsure why they don’t take the urgency seriously – maybe they think I’m just trying to sell them something, or maybe it’s human nature to think the world will work the way we want it to… either way, the people who get the best ski deals are those who realise that waiting for one final thirty quid discount is really only going to lose you the whole thing. Carpe diem
3. For the very cheapest last minute ski holidays, take your snow mates.
The cheapest last minute ski deals are usually for groups of 4, because the most available ski accommodation, in the last week before departure, is the self catering apartment – most of these are for up to 4 or more, and those amazing prices you see online are for “maximum occupancy”. If you put only 2 people in an apartment for 4, it’s unlikely to be the same price per person.
In the past, only a few intrepid deal hunters went looking for last minute ski deals online, but now it has become the norm. It’s good because tour operators are discounting more at the last minute, but it’s tough because you’re searching in competition with thousands of other bargain hunters.
Follow these three simple rules and finding a last minute ski deal is easy – happy hunting!
(thanks to LastMinuteSki.net for allowing us to share these last minute ski deals top tips)