Monday,
13th October 2003 |
Edition
No. 4 |
THE MÉRIBEL TIMES
Independent - Méribel - New
| First Snow in Meribel The First snow fell last Sunday leaving Mont Vallon covered and giving snow to the roofes of Motteret. It won’t be long before we will all be skiing again.
Chaudanne with a snowy Mont Vallon Méribel Golf Course to be re-designed The Golf Season in Méribel is now drawing to a close; the last competition has been played, the last put sunk and the last slice sliced out of bounds. The 69 par, 18 hole course plays from June until the snow comes and the year of 2003 has been a pretty good one by all accounts. During a summer when French tourism was down by an estimated 30% Méribel Golf showed an increase of over 8% on last year with a healthy turnover of €550,000. Not bad considering it realistically has only 8 weeks to makes its money. Méribel Golf Association is a non-profit making organisation and is obliged by the Marie (town hall), which owns the land, to plough all profits back into the running of the course. A potted histoire tells us that the founder members of the club created the first three holes back in 1966, and by 1978 nine holes had been completed. The lower nine were added in 1991. These newer holes are the more stunning, winding their way through the spruce with wonderful panoramic views. The third hole is particularly entertaining, an enormous par five where you drive seemingly off the edge of the mountain into oblivion with a view almost to Albertville. In comparison the older, upper nine holes are shorter and easier, which is why they are now in the first stages of a complete overhaul.
The 18th Hole Courtesy of the Meribel Tourist Office Architect Hugues Lambert has been commissioned to transform the upper nine over the next three years with work going on during each spring and autumn to allow the full 18 to be open during the months of July and August. The aim is to upgrade the upper nine to a par 35 with the main changes to the 12th to 15th holes. There is talk of adding a par three above the 13th and 14th and lengthening the 15th but these plans are not yet finalised. With plans for an enlarged club house and new pro shop under consideration, the future look rosy for this, one of the most beautiful golf courses in the Alps. On the other side of la Saulire there are plans for an 18 hole course above Courchevel 1650 (although planning issues are holding back the development), and a group called Le T de Belleville is planning a nine hole course for Les Menuires. It may not be long before the Three Valleys will be mentioned alongside the Algarve as a Golfing holiday destination. Chris Learoyd Ski insurance - why you need it. Last week Mountain Guide Francis Petex explained who is responsible for mountain rescue. This week he looks at how much it costs. Within a ski area an intervention by the Pisteurs secouristes carries a charge. Accompanying an injured person, or applying a dressing on the piste costs 37 Euros. Rescue from zone one (the lower part of the pistes) costs 152 Euros, from zone two (the upper part of the pistes) 266 Euros, and zone three (off piste) 532 Euros. When it is necessary for the pisteurs to call a helicopter (the Three Valleys ski area has a contract with SAF) the cost is 44 Euros per minute. Rescue Insurance (Assurance secours) covers the cost of searching for the victim of an accident and his or her transfer to the nearest treatment centre, resort medical centre or hospital. There are various providers of this essential insurance cover. Many individual and family insurance policies cover these charges – check with your insurer. Certain credit cards such as Visa Premier and Gold may cover these costs under certain conditions – check with the issuer. Carte Neige insurance currently seems to be the best adapted to cover skiing accidents. All the costs of a rescue are covered including: unused days of a ski pass; the loss or theft of your ski pass; broken skis; and unused ski lessons with a guide or instructor. The
cost of Carte Neige insurance for winter 2003 / 2004 is as follows: If you are under the responsibility of a high mountain guide, whom you have engaged and who is a member of the RC du Syndicat National des Guides de Montagne, your rescue may be covered by his insurance up to a sum of 7600 Euros. Francis Petex. |
Snow Fashion – what to be seen in this winter It’s that time of year once more. Time to pack away shorts and sundresses and start organising one’s winter wardrobe. The shops are full of tweed and leather, all lovely for the city, country or club. But what’s on offer for the piste? When C&A disappeared in the UK, taking with it the ski clothing line, Rodeo, it left a gap in the high street for value-for-money ski wear. This season Argos offers an extremely well-priced children’s ski wear range which is most welcome considering the speed at which little ones grow and the expense of family ski holidays in general.
For the rest of us the choice is vast with designs to suit all budgets, tastes and technical requirements. Colour is making a comeback. Reds and blues team with white and the essential black (think Prada) to overrule the grungy browns and greens that were so strong a few years back. We rarely see radical style changes to ski wear but improvements in women’s styling continue with feminine cuts and colours. Check out Eider and, for the young and more fashion conscious, Roxy by Quicksilver. Technical innovation abounds. Soft shell systems now offer an alternative to hard shell. These soft, often slightly stretchy fabrics, move more easily with the body for greater comfort and keep one’s body temperature regulated with superior breathable qualities. Designs using both systems are more minimal to reduce weight and bulk. Patagonia and Arc’teryx are leaders in this field. For ultimate comfort choose underwear and mid layers that draw (wick) moisture away from the body. You’ll keep dry and thus warmer. Cotton is a big no-no. Look for tops and bottoms made from manmade fabrics such as those from Lowe Alpine and Capilene® from Patagonia or as an alternative, merino wool garments from Ice Breaker. Colours and designs are suitable to show alone – gone are the days of dingy undies! Emma Kennedy The 35-hour working week. The debate over the 35-hour week has resurfaced in France recently. Some would blame it for everything from the pensions deficit to the hospital death toll during the summer heat wave. Many employers view it as an administrative nightmare and in many instances not only business practices but also whole sectors of business activity have had to be totally revised. On average businesses employ 4.5% more workers than before the “trente cinq” was introduced and 31% of businesses attribute this rise directly to it. Workers now have more leisure time – however they may well have less money to spend on it as the opportunity to earn overtime has been reduced. Rather than taking the traditional week or fortnight long holiday it seems that people now take more frequent, shorter breaks. So what does this have to do with Méribel? Can the authorities not appreciate that the revenues generated by large-scale seasonal tourism, both for local business and consequently for the government’s coffers, make it worth turning a blind eye to non-compliance with working hours? Some allowances can be worked into the system but the days of resort staff working every hour that God sends throughout the winter season are over. It is now only business owners and / or those classed as “cadre” in their contracts (loosely, this relates to management positions) who are not restricted as to the hours that they may work The arguments with regards to chalet staff are many, complex and varied. Many will work more than the regulatory number of hours; employers will argue that they are under British contracts and not subject to French regulations. Arguments abound that staff wages are actually in compliance with minimum wage laws but that cost of their accommodation / uniform / lift pass is deducted in equal parts over their period of employment. Some companies pay their staff more but then insist as a term of their contract that staff set up a direct debit to reimburse these costs. French hoteliers will point to the difference in staffing costs and claim that this puts them at a competitive disadvantage. Chalet companies will point to the fact that to pay such amounts would lead to the cost of chalet holidays becoming prohibitive and that the resultant loss of travellers would mean resorts lost far more than they would gain through employment taxes. Court cases have been won and lost, thousands of Euros spent and pages of legal opinion written to try to resolve both the issue of working hours and that of whether UK companies have the right to employ staff in France on UK contracts. It is certainly not for me to say who is in the right. What is clear is that the 35-hour week has complicated employment procedures for French companies and as a result increased resentment of British companies who, rightly or wrongly, are perceived as not being bound by the same strictures. Simon Rowe |
One-armed road bandits? In a recent letter from a reader to an “Ex-pat” newspaper the author commented on the extraordinary ability that the French male has developed to drive along with his left arm hanging out of the window whilst steering, changing gear, tuning the radio, smoking and using a mobile ‘phone with the right arm. With winter coming, this form of arm dangling brings with it not only the inherent road safety risks but also those of frostbite. It is well that this acts as a deterrent – otherwise the task of wiping condensation from the inside of the windscreen whilst peering through a 15cm square patch of de-iced glass would be added to the list of tasks for the overworked right arm! Simon Rowe Méribel property - letting your chalet or apartment. Whilst some non-resident Méribel owners chose to leave their property empty outside their periods of winter occupation, many look to generate a contribution towards the expense of financing, maintaining and operating their Alpine acquisition. On the other hand, some purchases are simply made as an “investment” for the purpose of producing a return and are put up for rental on an on-going basis.
Courtesy of the Meribel Tourist Office An owner looking to rent out his property has various options, the most common of which, particularly for apartments, is to obtain weekly holiday lets through one of the established estate agents in the resort and although this is certainly convenient, the agents’ commission, which is typically between 30 and 40%, along with the other running costs, tends to eat into the season’s rental proceeds. Obviously, the number of weeks the property is available for let will have an effect on the revenue potential but it important to remember that high season dates are easier to fill at a good level of rent whilst some low season weeks are almost un-rentable, whatever the price. An owner who occupies his apartment for all of the most popular dates should not therefore be surprised at a disappointing level of rental income If the property is available for the entire season without interruption, a single tenancy for the whole period from early December through ‘till after Easter can be a very attractive option. In the case of apartments, there is generally a dearth of resort accommodation for “workers” and so rents are correspondingly high whilst individual chalets will attract UK tour operators who are constantly looking towards increasing the quality and range of their “portfolio”. Landlords should satisfy themselves that their seasonal tenant is good for the rent which can be charged monthly during the tenancy or in advance of the season. In the case of rentals to chalet tour operators however, it is more usual for a deposit of around 10 to 20% to be paid during the preceding summer with the balance of rent due being settled in three or four payments spread out during the course of the winter. In any case, it is important that a suitable rental agreement be drawn-up for which a specialist should be consulted. Although Méribel does has a busy summer season, the availability of accommodation far outweighs demand and so rental levels are dramatically lower than for the winter season; so much so that in many cases, landlords find little advantage in renting their properties out at all. The summer is therefore when a large number of owners chose to take advantage of their Alpine homes themselves, along with the extensive range of activities the resort has to offer. It should be noted that the above in no way constitutes professional advice which should be obtained from a suitable specialist on an individual basis. Edward Mannix Contributors: Ed Mannix runs London Overseas Consultancy, and specialises in advising British property owners in Méribel. Emma
Ward is fashion and Accessory buyer, Freeride Chris Learoyd is Director of luxury chalet company Alp Leisure Ltd (www.alpleisure.com) Simon Rowe is an accounts consultant. Francis Petex is a Guide de Haute Montagne fpetex@aol.com We’re interested in your views. Please e-mail us at yourviews@themeribeltimes.com For more information on Méribel see independent website www.merinet.com, and www.meribel.net, the official Tourist Office site Feel free to forward this to friend but please keep it in its entirety. All rights are reserved. To
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