Bonded Tours - Protect Your Catered Chalet Holiday

It's a dream come true for many people to book a catered chalet near the fabled Three Valleys (Les Trois Vallées); it's the largest ski area in the world, with plenty of modern lifts to transport skiers around its many slopes. Many tour agencies and operators connect people to the various hotels, chalets, villas and resorts located within the region.

The sheer number of prospective tourists lining up to avail of these services means that you’ll have to book your trip well in advance, but what exactly should you look for in an operator? One way of ensuring you choose a reputable agency with trustworthy credentials is to make sure they are "bonded". Below you will see why.

Dealing with Risk

Risk is a reality that any business has to deal with. Resorts, agencies and tour operators offering catered chalet getaways are not exempt from this fact of life. One of the biggest skiing upsets in recent years was when the Transmontagne Group declared bankruptcy in 2007. The company was well known for managing ski domains, from Superdévoluy and la Joue du Loup to the Dubai Snowdome, had it been completed. The group even managed the resort used in the 1968 Olympics in Chamrousse. Imagine the surprise of the skiing community when they found out this large, seemingly unshakeable giant had filed for bankruptcy.

This is not just a problem involving some far-off corporate entity. Small and mid-sized operators can also face problems and, with these smaller operators, it doesn't often make the news - but the effects can be just as devastating to their clients as the bigger companies like the Transmontagne Group.

For the average person, a failed tour operator can instantly derail holidays planned months in advance. Without the proper protection, a holidaymaker would lose all the money spent on booking a stay in a luxurious catered chalet, lift passes for the ski piste, equipment hired, and transportation if it was paid for in advance. This is where bonds come in to the picture.

Financial Protection

Let’s say that you had planned to rent out a catered chalet in Les Menuires, one of the premier skiing locations in the Les Trois Vallées. You decide to bring your entire family – two adults and two children – along with two other family friends during the peak season of March. Factor in air transportation, land transportation, skiing reservations, ski gear, travel insurance and accommodation in a catered chalet. You would then have to put a large deposit (or pay in full) with your tour operator, who arranges all this for you.

Now let’s say that March finally arrives but the problem is, your tour operator has gone bankrupt within that time and can no longer provide the services you were promised. If that tour operator were bonded, the bonding agency would step in and reimburse your cash. If not, then there is no practical way you can recover the money you put down.

The Exceptions

Do note, however, that the bond of your tour operator does not extend to any plans you make on your own. If, for example, you independently book a flight with a carrier to avail of a discount or promo, the money you paid for your flight will not be reimbursed if your bonded tour operator goes bankrupt.

Keep these issues in mind when booking a catered chalet for a ski holiday and you’ll understand why finding and working with bonded tour operators is a must.

Danielle Hodges is the Marketing Manager for Ski Amis, a specialist ski travel agency and booking service offering bonded holidays staying in a catered or self catered chalet in La Tania and other fantastic destinations. For a luxury or good-value skiing holiday and the best catered chalets call Ski Amis.

Writer and Online Marketing Manager in London.