Time for a long update...
Well, it's taken me a little longer than I planned to get this thing updated, so I'd better make it worthwhile now that I've started - this could take some time.
It hardly seems possible, but I've been away for over 6 weeks now, and although I'm lacking a lot of my 'home comforts', this place actually feels like home at the moment. Ah well, to detail, I suppose...
I spent just under a week in Val d'Isere for 'Heads of Department' training after I left the UK. For the most part this was sitting in a room learning procedures, and doing a few stereotypical management training exercises, interspersed with nightly bouts of drinking in Pacific bar and the Moris pub. The training was mostly done in departmental groups, so I spent my days with Head Ski Hosts destined for other resorts, but in the evenings we had to take part in 'team building' games with the other department heads from our intended hotels - in my case this meant my hotel manager - Shonagh, Faye (housekeeping/restaurant), Kerry (childcare), Bryan (accounts), Grant (kitchen) and Vicky (bar). On the Saturday I got a day of 'on snow' training, which basically involved the ski hosts spending the day skiing on the glacier up at Tignes. This was the 25th of November (the official opening of the winter season in Val/Tignes, and the earliest that I've ever skied.
Monday 27th November saw us driving to Alpe d'Huez (ADH from now on) with horrendous hang-overs after a final night session. It's 3 and a half hours in a mini-bus, and there's no shortage of hairpin bends at either end of the journey - not least being the 21 bends up to ADH that form part of the Tour de France every 2 years. Anyway, we made it after 2 McD's stops, and a couple of chunder breaks for Vicky the bar manager.
Starting up a hotel after a closed season is no mean feat, and the first obstacle that we faced at the Mariandre was the fact that a local tradesman had locked our only key inside the hotel the day before we arrived. We had to break into our own hotel on the first day, and this set the precedent for the next few days - the electricity failed for 2 days, then the gas stopped, which left us without heating or hot water... Still, we had 2 weeks before our general staff arrived, and 3 before the first guests. So for the first 10 days or so, we lived in the hotel, gradually getting everything into order, getting to know all the locals, and forging relationships with partners, such as the ski school, local restaurants and the lift company.
So far, so good. We were living in nice hotel rooms, and making ourselves comfortable in what is now my 'local', the O-Bar, owned and run by Vito and Vicky. Then on 8th November, we moved into our proper staff accommodation - 2 floors of a former youth hostel. To say that this is basic would be an understatement. Bryan and I shared a basement room that measures no more that 10 feet square with a wash basin in the corner. There's a maximum of 9 people on my floor, and we share 2 toilets and 2 showers - but it's warm, and relatively comfortable. The next day I went off at some ridiculous hour on a coach to do my first transfer, but not for guests - this was to pick up the staff who would be working for us for the next 4 or 5 months. I'd already seen the staff lists, so I knew the general ages of everyone arriving - mostly between 19 and 25. I also knew that my 2 ski hosts were both girls - Hannah and Vicky. I liked them both instantly, but it was also pretty clear that they were going to be 'high maintenance' - both had more luggage than 1 person could carry. Hannah's overweight luggage charge was £120, and she didn't even have skis or boots - that's a lot of clothes and makeup...
By this time I'd only managed 2 hours skiing in ADH - there just hadn't been much snow - but that weekend we had about 6 inches, so the 3 of us had a chance to get half a day on the slopes before heading off to another Mark Warner hotel, the Christina at La Plagne, for more snow and first aid training. La Plagne centre is a monstrosity - all concrete and tower blocks. It looks like Slough industrial estate. We arrived on Monday night and did our first aid training on the Tuesday. The Wednesday was 'simulation' day for the Christina - this is a dry run that all hotels have before the first batch of guests. A team from head office act as guests, and sample every part of the service. We spent the day with the hosting staff from La Plagne, and joined their simulated hosting - this involves people pretending to break a leg, get lost, become hysterical, suffer from hypothermia etc, just to see how the host handles each situation. That night as we drove the 3 hours 'home', we all agreed that La Plagne is a depressing place, and we'd done well to get ADH.
The next day was our turn for simulation, which we passed without incident, despite having only spent a few hours getting to know the limited slopes that were open. 2 days later, and Hannah and I were off to Geneva to pick up our first real guests, and so the general routine has begun. Along with Kerry, the head Nanny, we take turns to do transfers on a Sunday. This involves 2 of us taking coaches of guests back to Geneva at 6 in the morning, filling up with 60-70 replacements, and getting back to the hotel between 3 and 5 in the afternoon. Once we're back we take care of lift passes and ski hire, and then at 7.30 I give a small speech at the welcome drinks, after which a few drinks are in order.
We run ski hosting Monday to Saturday, with Thursdays off. Hosting consists of each of us taking up to 12 guests out in leisurely, intermediate or fast groups from 9ish until 4.30, with a 1 hour lunch break that we pre-book for all 3 groups - we as guides get a free lunch, naturally... although I'm being pretty good, and choosing a large salad each day - a pizza every day would kill me over the season. As Thursday is our day off, Wednesday is effectively the big night - although for the first few weeks, every night was a big night. Energy and cash levels have gradually changed this...
That's pretty much the routine now, although a few things have changed. Bryan, my room mate, left 2 weeks ago - as have a couple of others. The plus side of this is that I now have a room to myself, and this looks set to last the season. Christmas came and went, and I picked up a chest infection which knocked me out for New Year - I took New Years day off sick, and I'm still on anti-biotics, which is why I'm writing all this drivel instead of hitting the bars.
It hardly seems possible, but I've been away for over 6 weeks now, and although I'm lacking a lot of my 'home comforts', this place actually feels like home at the moment. Ah well, to detail, I suppose...
I spent just under a week in Val d'Isere for 'Heads of Department' training after I left the UK. For the most part this was sitting in a room learning procedures, and doing a few stereotypical management training exercises, interspersed with nightly bouts of drinking in Pacific bar and the Moris pub. The training was mostly done in departmental groups, so I spent my days with Head Ski Hosts destined for other resorts, but in the evenings we had to take part in 'team building' games with the other department heads from our intended hotels - in my case this meant my hotel manager - Shonagh, Faye (housekeeping/restaurant), Kerry (childcare), Bryan (accounts), Grant (kitchen) and Vicky (bar). On the Saturday I got a day of 'on snow' training, which basically involved the ski hosts spending the day skiing on the glacier up at Tignes. This was the 25th of November (the official opening of the winter season in Val/Tignes, and the earliest that I've ever skied.
Monday 27th November saw us driving to Alpe d'Huez (ADH from now on) with horrendous hang-overs after a final night session. It's 3 and a half hours in a mini-bus, and there's no shortage of hairpin bends at either end of the journey - not least being the 21 bends up to ADH that form part of the Tour de France every 2 years. Anyway, we made it after 2 McD's stops, and a couple of chunder breaks for Vicky the bar manager.
Starting up a hotel after a closed season is no mean feat, and the first obstacle that we faced at the Mariandre was the fact that a local tradesman had locked our only key inside the hotel the day before we arrived. We had to break into our own hotel on the first day, and this set the precedent for the next few days - the electricity failed for 2 days, then the gas stopped, which left us without heating or hot water... Still, we had 2 weeks before our general staff arrived, and 3 before the first guests. So for the first 10 days or so, we lived in the hotel, gradually getting everything into order, getting to know all the locals, and forging relationships with partners, such as the ski school, local restaurants and the lift company.
So far, so good. We were living in nice hotel rooms, and making ourselves comfortable in what is now my 'local', the O-Bar, owned and run by Vito and Vicky. Then on 8th November, we moved into our proper staff accommodation - 2 floors of a former youth hostel. To say that this is basic would be an understatement. Bryan and I shared a basement room that measures no more that 10 feet square with a wash basin in the corner. There's a maximum of 9 people on my floor, and we share 2 toilets and 2 showers - but it's warm, and relatively comfortable. The next day I went off at some ridiculous hour on a coach to do my first transfer, but not for guests - this was to pick up the staff who would be working for us for the next 4 or 5 months. I'd already seen the staff lists, so I knew the general ages of everyone arriving - mostly between 19 and 25. I also knew that my 2 ski hosts were both girls - Hannah and Vicky. I liked them both instantly, but it was also pretty clear that they were going to be 'high maintenance' - both had more luggage than 1 person could carry. Hannah's overweight luggage charge was £120, and she didn't even have skis or boots - that's a lot of clothes and makeup...
By this time I'd only managed 2 hours skiing in ADH - there just hadn't been much snow - but that weekend we had about 6 inches, so the 3 of us had a chance to get half a day on the slopes before heading off to another Mark Warner hotel, the Christina at La Plagne, for more snow and first aid training. La Plagne centre is a monstrosity - all concrete and tower blocks. It looks like Slough industrial estate. We arrived on Monday night and did our first aid training on the Tuesday. The Wednesday was 'simulation' day for the Christina - this is a dry run that all hotels have before the first batch of guests. A team from head office act as guests, and sample every part of the service. We spent the day with the hosting staff from La Plagne, and joined their simulated hosting - this involves people pretending to break a leg, get lost, become hysterical, suffer from hypothermia etc, just to see how the host handles each situation. That night as we drove the 3 hours 'home', we all agreed that La Plagne is a depressing place, and we'd done well to get ADH.
The next day was our turn for simulation, which we passed without incident, despite having only spent a few hours getting to know the limited slopes that were open. 2 days later, and Hannah and I were off to Geneva to pick up our first real guests, and so the general routine has begun. Along with Kerry, the head Nanny, we take turns to do transfers on a Sunday. This involves 2 of us taking coaches of guests back to Geneva at 6 in the morning, filling up with 60-70 replacements, and getting back to the hotel between 3 and 5 in the afternoon. Once we're back we take care of lift passes and ski hire, and then at 7.30 I give a small speech at the welcome drinks, after which a few drinks are in order.
We run ski hosting Monday to Saturday, with Thursdays off. Hosting consists of each of us taking up to 12 guests out in leisurely, intermediate or fast groups from 9ish until 4.30, with a 1 hour lunch break that we pre-book for all 3 groups - we as guides get a free lunch, naturally... although I'm being pretty good, and choosing a large salad each day - a pizza every day would kill me over the season. As Thursday is our day off, Wednesday is effectively the big night - although for the first few weeks, every night was a big night. Energy and cash levels have gradually changed this...
That's pretty much the routine now, although a few things have changed. Bryan, my room mate, left 2 weeks ago - as have a couple of others. The plus side of this is that I now have a room to myself, and this looks set to last the season. Christmas came and went, and I picked up a chest infection which knocked me out for New Year - I took New Years day off sick, and I'm still on anti-biotics, which is why I'm writing all this drivel instead of hitting the bars.
posted by Ian at 9:47 pm
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