Independent ski and snowboard rental chain, Ski Republic, reports that around 50% of all ski hire bookings are now being made online, and at least 12% of British and Irish skiers book more than two months in advance of their trip.
This is a dramatic turnaround compared with five years ago when the majority of British and Irish skiers would automatically book via their ski holiday tour operator at the same time as booking their ski holiday, while a only handful would wait until arrival in resort.
A spokesperson Ski Republic, which offers 'two for one' ski equipment hire from 46 retail outlets in France and the Pyrenees, says
"As recently as five years ago it was common practice for British and Irish skiers to automatically book their 'ski packs' via the tour operator they booked their holiday with. Tour operators were making a healthy commission on ski equipment bookings and consequently the skier was paying more overall for their ski holiday.
These days the majority of British and Irish skiers and boarders more often than not make their own arrangements for equipment rental, usually booking online with companies such as ours with the majority of them booking within the last few weeks before travel. Online booking ahead of the ski holiday ensures the equipment is waiting in resort for them, there are no queues and ski hire prices are keener than before".
Ski Republic receive around 38% of all website visits from UK and Irish guests and around 51% of online bookings are made from the UK and Irish market as price-keen skiers respond posivitely to Ski Republic's 'two for one' ski equipment hire offer.
Claire Drapier continued "It's very convenient for British and Irish skiers to shop around and then book online. Ski Republic's English language site is user-friendly and on arrival in resort, all of our multi-national employees speak both French and English fluently".
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Example packages are:-
JUNIOR package : (skis + boots + poles), from 72€ for two children 6 - 12 years old, plus free insurance and free helmet rental.
BEGINNER / SPORT package: (skis + boots + poles), from 120€ for two adults old, plus free helmet rental and optional insurance, 2€ / day
ADVANCED / PRIVILEGE : (skis + boots + poles), from 300€ for two adults old, plus free helmet rental and optional insurance, 2€ / day
SPECIAL FAMILY offer : Two pairs of the brand new Salomon BBR 7.9 skis for adults, plus two junior ski equipment packages, for only 300€ / week
Rental can be pre-booked in advance via the company's website at www.ski-republic.com and all ski rentals include free helmet hire.
A full list of Ski Republic outlets can be found at
https://www.ski-republic.com/en/ski-hire-resorts
Source: prlog.org
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
