The Ski Chalet Holiday: Motivators and the Experience Revisited
Introduction
The concept and origins of the ski chalet holiday were originally explored by Major (2006).
The ski chalet holiday model has been an integral and important part of the growth of the
winter sports industry in the UK, yet remains under-researched. Despite a downward turn in
snow sports during the recession the European ski holiday market has returned to growth
(Crystal, 2013; Mintel, 2014) with chalet and chalet/club hotels again showing strong
increases in demand. The catered chalet model is popular with tour operators who have 81%
of the snow sports market (Mintel, 2014). Tour operator’s share of the snow sports market is
continuing to increase making the market more competitive and the need to understand
consumer motivations and the skier experience greater than ever before.
Despite the enduring popularity of ski chalet holidays, to the best of our knowledge, no
academic research has been undertaken since Major’s (2006) original article. Our objectives
are to address current gaps in the literature by exploring the concept of the ski chalet holiday;
summarise recent trends, identify key motivators to take a chalet holiday, and explore the
factors that influence the consumer experience. Understanding the motivational factors
involved in booking a ski chalet holiday and the ski experience will place tour operators in a
better position to market their holiday to the desired segment (Snepenger, King, Marshall and
Uysal, 2006).
Theoretical foundation/review of literature
The ski chalet holiday remains a uniquely British experience involving the bundling of
multiple components into an inclusive package. The service delivered by the operator is
fragmented, multifaceted and personal. The original ski chalet package consisted of flights,
transfers, accommodation and full or half board. Consumers like the value presented by
catered chalets and although there are now many variations on the package the fundamental
prototype remains the same. The model of the ski chalet party is based on friends booking
together, although it also lends itself well to the single traveller; ‘will share if appropriate’
was a phrase utilised by chalet operators well into the 1960’s (Major, 2006). The market was
initially predominantly male and the common interest was a love of skiing: guests could ski
all day and then “bore each other with tall stories in the evening over dinner” (Murison-Small,
2003). Chalets generally range in size from approximately four to twenty beds after which
they tend to evolve into chalet hotels or club hotels (Major, 2006, Crystal, 2013). Meals are
taken by all guests at the same time and at one large table where possible, with the staff
eating with the guests. Afternoon tea and home-made cakes is a customary feature and guests
can invite friends to join them at their chalet.
Motivations can be thought of as forces within individuals which cause them to fulfil a
psychological desire or act in a specific goal directed manner (Kurtzman and Zauhaur, 2005).
In their study of what motivates consumers to visit a ski area in the summer, Needham,
Rollins, Ceurvorst, Wood, Grimm and Dearden (2011) summarise the approaches that
researchers in the travel and tourism sectors have used for measuring motivations. These
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include the recreation experience preference scale (REP); paragraphs about leisure scale
(PAL); and internal push or external pull factors. Push motivations for visiting ski areas in
winter include relaxation, achievement; thrill seeking and excitement while pull factors
include terrain, snow conditions, lodging and resort services (Konu, Laukkanen and
Komppula 2011; Needham et al. 2011). Most research has focussed on the tangible factors
such as challenging terrain and favourable snow conditions that a resort can offer rather than
intangibles (Richards, 1996; Hudson and Haworth, 2003; Buckley, 2012). As such, there is a
need for further research that includes intangible factors and explores linkages with the skier
experience which we address in this paper.
In addition to identifying key motivators that drive consumers to take a ski chalet holiday, we
explore the experience of the ski chalet party. Reference to the experience concept is
unavoidable in current marketing strategies (Frochot and Batat, 2013). This is despite the
notion of hedonic consumption, the base of experience research, being first developed by
Abbott, 1955 (Palmer, 2010) and expanded upon in the 1980’s (Holbrooke and Hirschman,
1982; Hirschman, 1984; Pine and Gilmore, 1998; Holbrook, 2001; Holbrook, 2006).
Academics and practitioners have therefore taken a substantial period to fully utilise models
and concepts of the travel and tourist experience and convert them to managerial applications.
Management practices which focus on making the customer experience central to an
organisations strategic planning, marketing and operations are finally now fundamental
(Morgan and Watson, 2009). Hedonism undoubtedly pays a large part in the holiday
experience (Holbrooke and Hirschman, 1982, Ryan, 2002; Wickens, 2002; Major and Mcleay
2012a, 2012b, 2013) and the ski chalet experience explored in this research typifies
experiential features.
Research methodology
An interpretivist approach was undertaken to study how motivations that drive chalet ski
holidays purchases and actual consumer experiences while on holiday. Phenomenological
interviews were undertaken with 16 different consumers at ski chalets in the villages of Vald'Isère, La Daille, Le Villaret, and Tignes les Brevieres at the Espace Killy ski region in
France. After transcription, thematic analysis was used to identify key motivators and
experience factors which are described below.
Research findings
Six key motivators for participating in ski chalet holidays were identified and are presented in
Figure 1. Some motivators such as social, location and active hedonistic skiing have been
identified in earlier studies of ski destination choice (for example Konu et al. 2011). Others
such as customisation and flexibility, the value and savings associated with the ski holiday
package and accommodation offerings are however more unique to ski chalet
holidays. Word of mouth (WOM) and electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) are a key theme
and mean that operators must pay attention to satisfying previous customers and encouraging
them to post online reviews or tell their friends if they have a positive ski chalet party
experience. There is some overlap with existing theories that have been utilised to explain
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travellers’ motivations such as Iso-Ahola’s escaping-seeking dichotomy, the Travel Career
Ladder, and pull-push factors. However, while traditional theories help explain certain
motivators they do not provide a holistic all-encompassing lens for observing ski-chalet
tourists. Tools, techniques and theoretical underpinnings used to study motivations in the
adventure tourism literature (e.g. Ewert, Gilbertson, Luo and Voight. 2013) may provide
additional insights as skiing can be a form of soft adventure tourism (Euromonitor, 2011).
Figure 1: Motivations for participating in a ski chalet holiday
Five key themes presented in Figure 2 relating to the ski chalet experience were identified
from the interview transcripts and quotations. In brief, the experience of being outside and
engaged in activity was fundamental. It was this commonality which led to the camaraderie
and social experience within the chalet at dinner time. Other factors such as chalet location,
picturesqueness, ambience and weather also influenced the experience. Hedonist feelings
emerged in the dialogue reflecting the early experience literature (Abbott, 1955, Holbrooke
and Hirschman, 1982; Hirschman, 1984; Pine and Gilmore, 1998; Holbrook, 2001; Holbrook,
2006, Palmer 2010). The chalet experience as a home was prevalent, leading to feelings of
relaxation and comfort. These coupled with the hospitality on offer, the English breakfast,
cakes for tea and an overall high standard of food and wine and the provision of hot tubs all
contributed to the guest experience. These product experiences are what chalet tour operators
endeavour to build and provide whilst managing their guest experience as reflected in the
experience literature.
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Figure 2 The ski chalet party experience
Conclusions and implications
In this paper we build upon previous research on the skier experience and contribute to extant
literature by exploring the tourist motivations and ski chalet holiday experience
simultaneously. Research on motivational theories is in abundance but currently no research
has been undertaken on the motivations for taking a ski chalet holiday. Intrinsically related to
this is an exploration of the guest chalet experience; the researchers therefore make key
contributions to practice, knowledge and theory. The results have implications for tourist
operators and ski chalet managers seeking to better understand the factors that motivate a
consumer to book a ski holiday and their holistic ski chalet holiday experience. Tour
operators should continue to promote the factors that motivate consumers to book ski chalet
holidays such as customisation and flexibility, location, value and active hedonism. Word of
mouth (WOM) and electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) are important and are based on the
experience that previous consumers had on a ski chalet holiday. The social aspects of the
ski chalet party were an important motivator as well as a key and unique component of the
consumer experience.
Limitations include the research was undertaken in one region in France. Further research
which examines the links between skier motivations and the ski experience in other regions
and in other contexts such as the general ski package holiday would also be valuable.
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