Working for a luxury ski company is very different from working for other ski companies because,
although the job title may be the same the role, it is actually very different.
There is a difference in responsibilities in the chalet, daily duties, and more
importantly, the expectations that the company and clients have of you. There
are 3 most main differences when working for a luxury ski company:
1. The
Chalet – the higher you go in terms of market position, the more luxurious the
chalets are. As you gradually work up from basic chalets in the ‘less frilly
companies’ you will begin to see more ‘toys’ appear in the chalets. By this I
mean hot tubs, swimming pools, saunas, steam rooms, hammams, massage rooms,
gyms, cinemas, outdoor kitchens, wine tasting rooms etc. And when you get to the
top end of the market you’ll find yourself working in places such as our Marco
Polo chalet which has a Spa Area and pool lined with real Italian gold leaf – pretty
bling! At Consensio we operate some of the most luxurious chalets in the French
Alps, and other than being employed in a privately owned chalet, you won’t find
a company which has such a luxurious portfolio of chalets.
2. The
Service – the saying should be true: ‘you get what you pay for’. At the high
end, when clients are paying up to 10 times that of a budget holiday, they do
expect to see something for the cost of their holiday and this is illustrated
in the truly bespoke service we offer. Each chalet holds a team of a minimum of
4 staff members all dedicated to the needs of that one group of guests that
week; the larger chalets have teams up of to 7. This is a large team of staff
for only 12 adult guests! The guests who go with luxury companies such as ours
are very used to having staff as many have staff at home, so this alone isn’t
going to impress them. We therefore expect our staff to deliver above and
beyond the service the guests would find elsewhere. To be honest, whatever the
guests would like we would do our utmost to deliver...however ridiculous their
request may seem. The staff may have been waiting to serve breakfast from 08.00,
however if the guests don’t get up until 15.00 then the staff will be expected
to still be there waiting and smiling (usually through gritted teeth as they
have just missed the best powder day of the season!) ready to serve them
breakfast. Guests come to Consensio knowing that they will have a team: a
Chalet Manager, Chalet Host, Chef and Chauffeur dedicated to satisfy their
every need. They are very used to fine wines and Michelin starred food so the
chefs need to produce food at an exceptionally high standard. We expect the
chefs to be delivering fine dining standards from breakfast, to afternoon tea
to formal tasting menu’s in the evening – 6 days a week – all served by silver
service trained managers and hosts.
3. Clientele
– as you can imagine luxury ski companies attract wealthy clients who have paid
anything up to and beyond £100,000 for their week‘s holiday. When this doesn’t
include their travel or skiing costs you soon get the idea of what they expect
in terms of chalet and levels of service. They expect to experience the holiday
of a lifetime which adds even more pressure to the staff members. They can be
somewhat demanding and difficult, but quite rightly so when they have spent so
much money.
IS THE WORK REALLY AS
HARD AS THEY SAY?
Yes. Fact. The first challenge you will face after deciding that
you would like to work for a luxury ski company is actually securing employment.
There are fewer posts and the requirements are of a much higher standard. For
example, even for the role of Chalet Host I look for candidates with a minimum
of 3 years silver service experience. My time spent at TGI Friday’s whilst at
university was enough to secure me a host role with a lower level company but
unfortunately I would never have stood a chance of securing work at the luxury
end! The chefs have to undergo a cook test, requiring them to cook a formal
dinner menu for 8 guests within a budget. If a chef has problems producing food
of a high enough standard with only the pressure of an interview then they will
stand no chance whatsoever when Russian billionaires arrive into their chalet.
I would never put a chef in that position as they just would not be able to cope
and I would hate to be the person who is responsible for knocking their confidence.
The chauffeurs must successfully pass a chauffeur driving assessment before
being considered for any chauffeur role. The managers have a 2 stage interview
process. So as you can see, the recruitment process isn’t as simple as a quick
telephone call or a 1 day assessment day. You need to really want the role to
begin trying to secure employment for a company such as Consensio. Even after
all of this, you need to hope your references from the past 2 years are to my
satisfaction, or otherwise even if your cook test was great, or you
successfully got through 2 interviews I would withdraw my offer of employment.
Once you have successfully secured employment and are out in
the Alps ready to start your season you will immediately see how much higher
our expectations are of you. Whilst you see other ‘seasonnaires’ sporting their
designer stubble and taking part in the ‘who can grow the best moustache’
competitions you will be sent home if you are not clean shaven that morning.
You will be issued warnings for being late to work, which immediately reduces
your end of season bonus. You will be breathalysed before driving a company
vehicle if your Chalet Manager suspects you to be over the limit. Some weeks
you may only be skiing, if lucky, twice a week, rather than every day like a lot
of people in resort. The hours can be long, very long. You will have no choice
but to bust the 16 hour days every day until those particular guests leave.
Don’t get me wrong, your chalet may only be half full the following week and
you may have a very easy week in comparison. But there is no avoiding those odd
weeks which result in you rarely seeing the outdoors for 7 days. Whilst you may
be thinking you’re going to have an easy life having 4 of you managing a chalet
you have to realise that many of these luxury chalets are BIG! So yes, as a
host, you may think it a breeze not having to cook as well as host as you would
for most budget companies, but when you see the amount of housekeeping involved
in order to assure that these amazing chalets continue to look amazing, you
won’t be so smug about the situation.
So, is it as hard as people say? YES!
IS IT WORTH IT?
This completely depends on what you want to get out of your
season. If you want to live the ‘seasonnaire dream’ of partying until 6a.m.
every morning, ski every day whilst being able to just about hold down your
host job then definitely no – this would be a living hell for you! BUT.....
If you want to further your hospitality career whilst
working in some of the most amazing chalets in the Alps and having the
potential to earn a lot of money, then yes. This is completely worth it and it
doesn’t surprise me that I see a lot of my staff wanting to return year after
year. Whilst the work itself is much more demanding there are many benefits to
working for a luxury company. At Consensio, for example, we pay our staff up to
3 times more in terms of a weekly salary and the tip potential is absolutely
huge. So financially you would be able to enjoy your season and go home with some
decent savings (which is just unheard of when working low end). We offer a very
attractive end of season bonus and our staff have a holiday pay scheme which they
accrue throughout the season enabling them to take paid annual leave when their
chalet is un-booked. Their accommodation is pure luxury when compared to the
dreaded dorm rooms of some companies, only having to share with 1 other person
maximum. We provide un-branded North Face jackets for all staff and salopettes
for Chauffeurs. Our staff are flown over to the Alps and met at Geneva, none of
this sitting on a coach for days! We think it is very important to really take
care of our staff, they are not just a number. The Managing Director of
Consensio, Ceri Tinley, knows all staff by name and is as concerned if we have
an unhappy housekeeper as if I was unhappy in my role of HR Manager. Our staff
are invited to a pre season party at London’s Ski Show where they are able to
get to know all the other staff before they have their daunting trip out to the
Alps. Luxury ski companies like ours tend to be much smaller and our staff really
like being part of something special and appreciate that their work is always
recognised and rewarded by both guests and by the company.
SO IS WORKING HIGH
END FOR YOU?
I always say there are 3 things that you will want to do
when away in the Alps for the winter:
WORK
SKI
PARTYING
When working for a high level company, you are physically
only able to perform 2 of these well. This is a proven fact (trust me; I have
tried to prove otherwise!). So my advice is that if you are not willing to
sacrifice one of these then go and work for a less luxurious company where you
are able to do all of these 3 things. If you feel you can sacrifice one of
these to only perform 2 (and no, ‘work’ is not the one to drop!) at any one
time, then why not....come and get involved!
4uNQQ~~60_35.jpg)
