Poster: A snowHead
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Hi, does anyone have a link to cheap ish ski hire st anton?
Prices seem soooooo high!
Twice the price of hire than in France!
Cheers
😀😀😀
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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If you follow the auto clicky above it will give you a discount code, but they have also emailed me news101 which may (or may not) give a better discount.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Do a Google search on st Anton and price fixing.
From what I gather the fines are peanuts in comparison
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@heidi1, Don't book online. Find a non-chain shop in resort, make it clear you're paying cash and make them an offer
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Just booked a week in St Anton for 1st April and was a bit shocked at the ski hire prices.
Got a pretty good last minute deal on a catered chalet and was pleased to see that the lift pass prices look similar or slightly cheaper than the big resorts in France which we normally go to. I have to admit I didn't bother checking ski-hire prices before I booked as I assumed they'd be similar to elsewhere but when I later did they seemed quite extortionate.
I normally use an online booking company like Alpinresorts or Snowbrainer which generally give you up to 50% discount and allow you to hire a set of gold/black skis for around £50/£60 in French resorts. In St Anton though they only seem to give about a 10/15% discount and the prices are more than double. £120+ to hire a pair of skis for the week.
I know some people will say that I should have done my research before booking, but to be honest, when booking a ski holiday most people will mainly look at the basic holiday price, and maybe also the lift pass. Obviously a big resort like 3 valleys in France has more lifts so it makes sense that lift pass prices will be higher than a smaller resort. A pair of skis is a pair of skis though so I don't really get why one resort would be so much more than another.
Anyone know why this is? I read somewhere that there had been some sort of cartel in the past but thought that this had been stamped down on now. Is this typical of everywhere in Austria or just St Anton? I suppose another way of looking at it is to ask if St Anton hire shops can get away with charging so much why don't shops in other resorts do the same? Surely the same basic economic rules of supply and demand apply wherever you go?
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I didn't notice this - we booked the sport 2000 place near the nasserien lift.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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£120 for top skis doesn't sound OTT. Top end of the range I'd say.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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It's the most well known fact about St Anton just about. A one minute search on here will find you countless threads moaning about it. It is still a cartel - the fines amounted to a bit of trivial cash flow inconvenience. I think part of it is a fleece the package tourists ethos. Germans or Swiss will hire en route from cheaper valley shops if they don't have their own. Perhaps there is an element of it being a resort for "serious" skiers so the proportion with their own kit is larger and therefore the size of the rental business is limited.
FWIW the service in the hire shops is better than average and I thank everyone for paying the high prices because the tech in Jennewein had no problem slinging me a free pair of loaner poles for a day when I snapped one last year
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heidi1 wrote: |
Hi, does anyone have a link to cheap ish ski hire st anton?
Prices seem soooooo high!
Twice the price of hire than in France!
Cheers
😀😀😀 |
Just do what I did a few year ago for Mrs BB:
1) Wince in advance at price of hire
2) Go to resort thinking that I could negotiate a decent rate
3) Find out it's a big cartel and no cheaper
4) Drink 8 pints watching England v Italy
5) With my heightened sense of reasoning, me and the boys "work out" that it's surely better value to just buy a set of skis/poles...
6) Walk in a few shops and buy them for about £30 more than the hire
Worked out OK in the end as:
a) I had a bag in which I could bring her new skis back in
b) Have used them a few time since for no cost
If I only went to places like St Anton it definitely makes sense to buy (imo of course).
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You know it makes sense.
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martinm wrote: |
£120 for top skis doesn't sound OTT. Top end of the range I'd say. |
They weren't top end of the range though. They look to be the same black/gold level skis that you can hire for about £60 in other resorts.
Regarding fleecing tourists and locals/nationals hiring en route, surely the same logic would apply at every resort, so I'm confused why this seems to be something peculiar to St Anton?
At the end of the day we got a good deal on the holiday, and lift pass prices seem reasonable particularly for juniors, so I'll just bite the bullet and pay the extra ski hire costs (what choice do I have). But it is one of those little things that sticks in the craw, and it might make me think twice about booking future trips to St Anton if other similar options are available elsewhere.
I notice a few people have mentioned Hervis as a more reasonably priced shop. Its a bit further from where we are but might be worth the extra walk at the start and end of the week if its going to save us £100+ across the family. Is their gear of a reasonable standard does anyone know?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@SlipnSlide, private lessons are also v expensive and until recently only two schools. iirc owned by the same guy. New Generation have just opened there, so will be interested to see what that does.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@SlipnSlide, Hervis have an offer on for the week you're there giving you free child skis for under 10's for each adult - so might save you some money as a family. Good luck!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Badbobby and @fixx, thanks for the tips. We won't be doing lessons and kids are over 10, but Hervis still looks cheaper regardless so might book there.
I guess the reason that I'm surprised by the hire costs is that it just seems so much more than other places we've been to including other world famous resorts like Val d'isere , 3 valleys etc. Whereas the basic holiday price was very reasonable (and lift pass not too bad) so it didn't come across as a particularly exclusive resort where you would expect to pay over the odds for everything.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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SlipnSlide wrote: |
Regarding fleecing tourists and locals/nationals hiring en route, surely the same logic would apply at every resort, so I'm confused why this seems to be something peculiar to St Anton?
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Because most land, commercial property and ski shops are in the hands of a few families. So they can keep competition out by ensuring a El Cheapo Ski Hire shop doesn't get to rent premises. Frankly I'm surprise Hervis being a national chain got premises - perhaps because they play by the market "norms" BTW - Hervis headline prices seem to be pretty much in line with or chaeper than Kitzbuhel or Hinterglemm (must be all in the promo discount)
There probably is a market opportunity for a ski concierge rental business operating out of vans (and maybe premises in Landeck or somesuch) to cover off lots of TOs but they's probably find themselves with lots of slashed tyres and parking fines I suspect.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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SlipnSlide wrote: |
martinm wrote: |
£120 for top skis doesn't sound OTT. Top end of the range I'd say. |
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Sorry, I meant that for Gold ski's, £120 was within the expected price range, but at the top end!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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If your coming via Innsbruck & Train.
Just walk into the city (about 5mins) there are a few ski shops where you can hire much cheaper than here in St Anton.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I looked at exactly this over the last few weeks as we are heading there this weekend.
Conclusion: all the shops charge the same and it's not cheap
E.g. even those offering an on-line discount just made it exactly the same price, to the euro cent, as the shop up the road and every other shop we could find.
We took the view that it is what it is and so paid it. I've not been to St Anton before but it does seem most things there are quite expensive.
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Rusco wrote: |
all the shops charge the same and it's not cheap |
Correct, but the quality of equipment and service differs wildly. Jennewein a little more expensive but far superior to Intersport in every other criteria.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Back in the 80s / early 90s my rule of thumb for St Anton was to imagine taking a suitcase full of cash, and emptying it during the week. Looks as though things haven't changed much. Quite a while since I have been there. Interesting place. Didn't think that much to the on-piste skiing, but the off-piste was fantastic - though that near the lifts was heavily skied very quickly after a dump. Great Après. And of course the rest of the Arlberg area is worth visiting. Had some great times - at a price.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@achilles, I've been a Number of times and found it very reasonable, apart from the hire and lessons. Pensions are the same price as elsewhere plus it's dead easy to get to from Zurich - that means you get free ski transit on Swiss. So that pays off the lessons tax!!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Try mietski.com I have just paid 70 euros for two sets for a week inc ins Have used them for years, bit of a trek as not in St Anton but the savings are worth it
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dannygreen70 wrote: |
Try mietski.com I have just paid 70 euros for two sets for a week inc ins Have used them for years, bit of a trek as not in St Anton but the savings are worth it |
They'd in the middle of Pettneu, opposite the church. Some would argue the savings aren't worth it. One example I came across this season was a group that arrived too late to collect their skis on the day of arrival, so had to schlep out to Pettneu the following morning via bus (think they paid on the post bus, free ski busses TO Pettneu in the morning aren't easy if you don't know where you're going/which bus). By time they had skis and boots sorted, they ended up forking out for a taxi back to St Anton as they were pushed for time before pre-booked ski school (they did turn up late).
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You know it makes sense.
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If anyone is thinking of going to St Anton on the cheap...forget it .
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Quote: |
If anyone is thinking of going to St Anton on the cheap...forget it . |
Hm, we did a family of four skiing St Anton at February half term this year for around £2300 all* in. The year before it was about £2400 as the kids were in ski school.
It can be done.
*flights, transfer, ski carriage; lift passes, food, beer, souvenirs (sp), accommodation, night at the Munich Hilton, and whatever we spent during the week
Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Thu 29-06-17 9:54; edited 1 time in total
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Poster: A snowHead
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Sitter wrote: |
dannygreen70 wrote: |
Try mietski.com I have just paid 70 euros for two sets for a week inc ins Have used them for years, bit of a trek as not in St Anton but the savings are worth it |
They'd in the middle of Pettneu, opposite the church. Some would argue the savings aren't worth it. One example I came across this season was a group that arrived too late to collect their skis on the day of arrival, so had to schlep out to Pettneu the following morning via bus (think they paid on the post bus, free ski busses TO Pettneu in the morning aren't easy if you don't know where you're going/which bus). By time they had skis and boots sorted, they ended up forking out for a taxi back to St Anton as they were pushed for time before pre-booked ski school (they did turn up late). |
+1! One thing we're learned early was that that the cheapest upfront cost did not necessarily result in the lowest all-up cost. You can can define cost as you like - it could be money, time, stress. For the group above, I guess all 3 apply.
When we booked the 2018 St Anton flights, we could have saved ~$200 per ticket, but that would have meant an 18 hour layover in Doha. Decided that was not worth it. Sitting around for 18 hours in a departure lounge had zero appeal, while paying for an airport hotel would have killed the saving.
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