11 tips to plan your group ski holiday

1. Pick a resort with varied terrain for all levels. Skiing is fun, but it’s also challenging, so picking a resort with a variety of ski runs will allow everyone in your group to hit the slopes and have fun. Morzine is perfect for this. With 650 km of runs in the Porte du Soleil, you couldn’t base yourself in a better place. From excellent beginner areas and plenty of cruisey blues, to incredible off piste havens and the infamously steep Swiss Wall, there is an endless amount of fun to be had by all abilities.

2. Settle on dates and a budget. This can be one of the most difficult parts of planning a group holiday, so use polls to get input about various aspects of the holiday, and nail down the dates that everyone can do. It’s also worth creating a clear budget and establishing what it will include. This will help you to refine your search for accommodation and activities later on.

3. Avoid confusion by giving clear options. Don’t overwhelm people with lots of choices – for example give two different accommodation options at the most. Give deadlines for decisions and payments, and be strict with sticking to them.

4. Get deposits as soon as possible, because money = commitment! It’s quite common for the group leader to foot the deposit and be repaid by each member of the group. This is fine if you have organised friends/family, but it can feel like a big chunk of money in one go. With AliKats’ booking system, group leaders don’t need to collect deposits at all – everyone can pay their share individually and directly via the system.

5. Adjust your attitude to apres. Having drinks after a day on the mountain is one of the many pleasures of going on a ski holiday with friends and family. However, do you really want a throbbing head when you have a mountain to explore? A group ski holiday doesn’t have to mean a prolonged hangover. The growing demand for wellness activities has sprouted a surge of wellness options, from in-chalet massages to spa afternoons, from yoga to snowshoeing trips. Have a few drinks for sure, but it’s well worth holding back a bit and spending that extra cash on experiences that will nourish your body and keep you fit for the mountain.

6. Have a day off. Morzine and the wider area has some incredible non-skiing activities to explore. Try taking a mid-week break from the pistes and book something fun and unusual. For some ideas, take a look at our post about non-skiing winter activities.

7. Consider travelling here by rail over air. Although it may seem quicker, travelling by plane can be frustrating, hectic and not actually that much quicker than taking the train. Meanwhile, the train allows for a much more relaxing and social start to your holiday. It’s also often easier for people coming from all over the place to get to a central train station than an airport. Travelling by train has the added bonus of being far more environmentally friendly and therefore opens up the potential for in-resort discounts through Montagne Verte and our own Low Impact Award. For full details, visit our page on travelling by rail.

8. Avoid stress by pre-arranging the chalet hosts’ night off. This can easily catch people out and leave you trying to find a last-minute group reservation in fully booked restaurants. You can easily avoid this by booking in advance, or if you fancy a night in, you can order a raclette through AliKats, which will be freshly prepared and delivered to you on the day.

9. Don’t panic if changes happen. Life happens and drop-outs are unavoidable. An exclusive booking with AliKats means that you can easily make changes and swap one member of your group for another if someone can’t make it.

10. Allocate rooms in advance. Unless you’re all keen for a race to bag the best room, choosing who’s going to sleep where when you arrive in your chalet can be a long and boring process. Save yourselves the time and send over the specs in advance. The good thing is, if you stay in an AliKats chalet, every room is stunning!

11. Tick off the extras before you arrive. Crucial things like ski hire, lessons and lift passes can be easily overlooked, but can really slow down getting on the slopes. All of these things can be planned in advance and are really worth it in order to maximise your time on the hill.

So here’s our list of top tips for planning a group ski trip. And rest assured if checking into an AliKats’ chalet, you’ll be well looked after with our fantastic team on hand to help you with everything you need. Check out our range of Morzine catered chalets and start getting those polls sent out – winter is coming, and it’s going to be a blast!