Cozy and cheap: For decades, the British drove to managed chalets in winter. In the EU, this is now too sensitive for many British tour operators. It hasn’t been worth it in Switzerland for a long time.
Chalet forest in Bellwald: That’s how the Brits would love it.
The Christmas song “Last Christmas” by the British group Wham! you can love or hate. You can’t escape him. Many Britons don’t want that either, because “Last Christmas” means nostalgia: In the video for the song, a group of friends travels to a chalet in the Alps. Thousands of Britons spent their skiing holidays in these chalets for decades – and often could only afford the winter holidays because cheap chalets were available. But Brexit has doomed this type of holiday.
End of the sexy narrow
“Unfortunately, Brexit is having much of the impact we predicted,” said Charles Owen, head of industry association Seasonal Businesses in Travel (SBiT). Tour operators offering stays in serviced chalets in the Alps have organized themselves under this umbrella. The management is the highlight of this package holiday, which is very popular on the island: British travelers share the chalets, but are looked after all around there. The provider provides the staff for the kitchen and room cleaning, for the bar and sometimes also for the ski courses.
This staff was also British, mostly in their 20s and 30s. For the guests, stays in the chalets were as uncomplicated as in a hotel, but more personal and relaxed. There were no communication problems either with the staff or with the strange fellow travelers from the island. The proximity in a narrow chalet even offered a special charm. The included wine was probably not always outstanding, but the atmosphere was mostly. And the “Chalet Boys” and “Chalet Girls” could spend a season in the Alps, received board and lodging and were always allowed to ski as soon as their work permitted.
The chalet trips were often cheap. This was possible because the British seasonal workers were employed on British working conditions. As a rule, wages and taxes were lower than in the continental destination country. Many “boys” and “girls” also saw their work more as a way station before real professional life, where experience abroad and fun in the winter wonderland were also part of the reward.
Bureaucracy instead of freedom of movement
However, the exit of the United Kingdom from the EU undermined this business model. After the end of the free movement of persons, seasonal workers are now subject to all regulations of the destination country, including the local minimum wage and insurance contributions. Their use is now also subject to approval. The fact that Great Britain can no longer participate in the EU’s internal rules on the posting of workers is a serious setback, says Luke Petherbridge from the Association of British Travel Operators (ABTA). Before Brexit, up to 20,000 Britons would have used it each year.
In France, where most British chalet trips lead, tour operators must first advertise the vacancies locally for three weeks. Only if no French employee can be found can they ask for permission to fill the position with a Briton. If this permit is granted, the successful job applicant will need a work visa for France. The whole procedure costs time and money, and the outcome is always uncertain.
Companies used to plan their chalet ski holidays well in advance: accommodation was booked and charter flights arranged up to two years in advance. This allowed the calculation of favorable prices. The organizers could always be sure that they could hire enough British staff to manage the chalets. That security is gone. Booking many chalets in advance is now a significant business risk.
Double whammy with Corona
That has consequences. There were 8,000 Brits working in the French Alps before Brexit in the winter, reports SBiT’s Charles Owen. In the current season there are less than 2000, and the bureaucracy in France still works well. Elsewhere it is more difficult, for example in Austria. The bottom line is the massive contraction of a once thriving industry, Owen said.
Many organizers have drastically reduced their range of chalets. The largest provider of ski holidays, Crystal Ski, a subsidiary of the Tui travel group, no longer has these trips in its program. On top of that, Brexit, which was de facto completed at the beginning of 2021 with the exit from the EU internal market, coincided with the travel restrictions of the corona pandemic. The double whammy was tough: some travel providers went bankrupt.
The Swiss travel giant Hotelplan has also cut its chalet program. Hotelplan is represented by three tour operators in the British ski market. Chalets remain an important part of the mix with apartments and hotels, the company says. However: If a Brit wants to book, he will only find what he is looking for in France, Italy and Austria. In Switzerland of all places, Hotelplan does not offer any serviced chalets for guests from the island.
Switzerland has been behind for a long time
Hotelplan is not alone: Switzerland is avoided. The famous “Last Christmas” music video by Wham! plays in a chalet in Saas-Fee. In 1984, when the song was created, Switzerland was also a popular destination for such trips. But that changed abruptly 30 years later. In 2014, UK seasonal workers in chalets employed by UK-based companies at UK wages were ordered to be paid the Swiss minimum wage.
This prompted most providers to withdraw. Almost only managed luxury chalets remained. As the PlanetSki UK portal reported at the time, the Swiss minimum wage in hospitality was almost a third higher than the UK average wage. The change allegedly came about because Zermatt hoteliers did not appreciate the chalet competition. According to Inghams, a subsidiary of Hotelplan, around 1,500 chalet beds per week were occupied by British guests in Valais alone.
“The Swiss don’t understand that 40 percent of British skiers want chalets, not hotels,” an Inghams representative told PlanetSki UK at the time. The Internet portal concluded that Switzerland had not only shot itself in the knee, but possibly in the head. The marketing organization Switzerland Tourism does not comment on the changed framework conditions.
Locals are often not a solution
Before Brexit and Corona, Switzerland was the fourth most important travel destination for British ski enthusiasts, after France, Austria and Italy. SBiT director Charles Owen attributes the fact that the number of British seasonal workers in France “only” dropped by 75 percent and not entirely to the good cooperation with the authorities when issuing work permits. “We’ve been campaigning heavily that allowing Brits to work in the chalets is good for the local economy,” Owen said. With their low prices, the tour operators attract chalet tourists for the weaker winter months of January and March as well as for the early and late season.
Local alternatives to the British “boys” and “girls” in the chalets are not a golden solution. Two years ago, SBiT placed 8,000 offers on job boards, reports Charles Owen – from cleaning staff to bartenders. “We only got three applications. There is no excess labor supply in many countries,” he says. The tour operator association Abta confirms this: although the employment of locals is often bearable in principle, there is a shortage, especially in winter tourism.
After Brexit, only damage limitation remains. The holiday providers are hoping for a youth mobility agreement between the UK and the EU or individual member countries. This could allow young people to work temporarily abroad without granting them immigration or settlement rights. Great Britain has such an agreement with Australia, for example. But even if that succeeds, the chalet business will no longer be what it was on “Last Christmas” before Brexit.
«Last Christmas» – Chalet ad for Saas-Fee by Wham!.
You can visit Benjamin Triebe, Business Correspondent for the UK and Ireland Twitter Follow.