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New Alpine Property kit

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Skiing Evasion all kitted up. By Sarah Watts

Yesterday was one of those days that captured so many of the reasons why I have chosen the Alps and more specifically St Gervais, as my home. It was a crisp, blue-sky, January day, with no one on the pistes, not a single lift queue and perfect snow.

It would have been rude not to, so I headed out to Cote 2000, part of the Megève-St Gervais area for a ski. Cote 2000 is linked into the Evasion domain and shares a ridge with Les Contamines ski domain, though the latter for now, is not linked into the area. It is however on the same ski pass. Views of the Mont Blanc and Chamonix massif were as dramatic as ever, the mountain restaurants as cosy as you could wish for, and I got to try out my new branded alpine-property jacket.

Skiing in St Gervais

It was a good day!

In fact, this year if you’re heading out for a winter holiday to one of the many resorts we cover, you might just spot an alpine-property agent in their branded jackets. We’ve just had these technical mountain shells, labelled with out name and logo. They’re light-weight and comfortable yet tough enough to withstand harsh conditions and are made by directalpine. Many of the Chamonix high mountain guides choose this manufacture as their preferred kit supplier, therefore we know they’re a top product.

Alpine Property Logos

So, if you see us about on the mountain in our red, black or lime jackets, don’t hesitate to come and say a “hello” and introduce yourself. And, we’ll be easier to spot when we meet buyers for a visit too!

Finally, a friendly word of advice this year on snow conditions. Yesterday was perfect, but living here I get to witness the conditions over a long period of time, a luxury you don’t have if you’re just heading out for a ski holiday. Consequently, I know that the snowpack this season is very unstable, in fact one of the most unstable in decades. This is leading to an uncharacteristically high number of avalanches and with that, sadly more victims too. Of course on the piste, you’re fine but what might look like a innocuous, pristine powder run on your week’s holiday, could prove to be deadly. Know your stuff before heading off piste this winter and if you’re in any way unsure, don’t take the risk.

A couple of articles on this year’s unstable conditions can be found here:

http://pistehors.com/watch-out-say-swiss-mountain-guides-23147387.htm

http://pistehors.com/most-unstable-snowpack-for-a-decade-in-alps-23122007.htm

And the daily avalanche report is found here.

http://www.meteofrance.com/previsions-meteo-montagne/bulletin-avalanches/haute-savoie/avdept74

Alpine Property Logoed Jackets

I want to run a Chalet Business in the Alps

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I used to get asked this question twice a week.

“How do I start a chalet business in the Alps?”

I think 2005/6 was the peak. Everyone wanted to move to the Alps, sometimes it was 1 in 4 of the enquiries we received . There was a lull in interest from 2008 to 2011 but the question is returning now. Not to the same level but maybe once a week.

Pic de la Corne 2014

I have learnt over time that the question should really be phrased a bit better. Perhaps:

“how can I make a life in the Alps?”

would be more appropriate. I think the reason that most people assume a Chalet Business is the way to do it is because most people that have gone skiing have witnessed at first hand a chalet business. The holiday cost them €800 so the embryonic business plan started over the dinner table.

€800 x 10 people staying in the chalet = €8,000

€8,000 x 16 weeks for the season = €128,000

That sounds like a lot of money! There must be a margin there?

Obviously you need a chalet or even better a small hotel, then there are the usual bills, food and linen to pay for too but surely there is a fair living to be made? And that’s not including the summer business. Right, sign me up, where do I start?

Well I’ve been there. Now I earn my living from my full time job with Alpine Property I’ve also worked a couple of winter seasons, I did run a chalet business (mostly summer based) for 10 years and now I live in the Alps with my wife and 3 children. Surely living proof that it’s a good idea? Well “Yes” and “No”. I’m now going to give my advice. Feel free to take it with a pinch of salt!

My first bit of advice is “don’t do it”. Well don’t start the chalet business that is. Living in the Alps is a great idea! Have a look at your skills, can you carry them over to the Alps and keep working? That’ could be a possibility? And it might be better in the long term. There are plenty of people that live in the Alps and make a living here or based from here. These are the trades I know of:

Accountants, #pilots, #lawyers, journalists, IT experts, various consultants and #project managers, guides (walking / biking / climbing), ski instructors, electricians, carpenters, plasterers, plumbers, builders, bankers (in Geneva), doctors, nurses, #engineers, estate agents, interior designers, graphic designers, photographers, artists, writers, teachers, taxi drivers, hotels owners and hospitality workers….

The professions marked as # generally work away from home and use the Alps as a base. There are bound to be more, these are just the ones I know personally.

Alpine Property Team Meal 2011

Even with the various jobs I have mentioned there are some fairly thorny issues that you need to take into account. Living in another country is the main one. Of course there is the language but that isn’t half of it. The French have a different attitude to life and this should not be forgotten. In fact it’s crucial. Before I came out I read “60m Frenchman can’t be wrong”.  I read it but I didn’t really understand it. I’m still coming to terms with that 14 years later. I’ve three observations to make on this subject.

1. France loves rules. The French pretend they don’t. The state loves rules and regulations though and as far as a profession or job goes you would be well advised to find out about the rules and work within them. In contrast the UK seems to have no rules. Commerce seems to be something that anyone can try their hand at. Not so in France.

2. France is a socialist country. When labour governed in the UK (in my lifetime) they were only pretending to socialist. When Sarko was in charge in France he was only pretending to be right-wing. The fact is it costs a fortune to run a socialist country and this will need paying for. The cost of living in France seems high compared to the UK, everything costs more (almost everything) and everything in a ski resort costs more than that! It seems that in general the French are taxed considerably more that in the UK, this means that everyone needs to charge more to break even.

3. The French value their time off. Be that eating times or weekends. Never get between the French and lunch. An Anglo Saxon might find this funny but if you are French it’s deadly serious. It becomes before business. No question.

So if you don’t feel that you can carry over your current skills and you still think running a chalet is the way forward then hang on! I’ll go on to explain some of the issues and pitfalls in the next post.

PT 2, updated in Dec 2016.

Nordic Skiing at Le Grand-Bornand

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le grand bornand ski fond_village
Last weekend (14/15 December 2013) the Grand-Bornand hosted the 3rd round (out of 9) of the Biathlon World Cup. It’s the first time for 22 years France has hosted World Cup Biathlon and so this event was a really big deal for Le Grand-Bornand and the local area. In fact as is typical with these events it was named “Annecy-Le Grand-Bornand” for marketing purposes and probably because Annecy and the local region would have helped out with the 4m€ the event cost to host.

le grand bornand ski fond_ice 2

Nordic skiing is well known in France but it’s not the money spinner that it is in places like Norway, Sweden, Russia, Germany and Italy. The French star is Martin Fourcade, he’s been world champion 4 times and is a very consistent performer at World Cup level. He’s a household name in some of the countries I’ve already mentioned and well known in the XC-Ski community in France.

le grand bornand ski fond_preparation

Le Grand-Bornand set up a course and stadium just a few moments walk from the town centre, the kept it nice and compact so it was easy for spectators to get a view, wander around and visit the town too. Apparently this isn’t the norm in cross-country skiing as often these events are held in the middle of nowhere with few facilities. The weather played it’s part too. It had been very cold in the bottom of the valleys in the preceding few weeks so they had perfect conditions to make snow ready for the event, all 4 days were clear and sunny so it could not have been better. The locals formed an army of over 500 volunteers to help the 24,000 paying spectators that turned up over the 4 days. I went along for the final day which was a sell-out with 7,500 spectators in the stadium and viewing areas and plenty of others around the course. We had been warned of traffic chaos and we were prepare to take one of the many navettes laid on for the day. In the end we arrived so early that we were able to park adjacent to the course and walk the few yards into town for a coffee.

le grand bornand ski fond_church

My family has a little experience already when it comes to watching these events. One of the hardest things to deal with is the inevitable cold. It takes some quite specialist cold weather clothing to deal with being static for hours in sub zero temperatures. The next thing is some idea of the format of the events. Like with many sports if you have no knowledge of what is going on the spectacle can be rather meaningless. We went to watch the “pursuit” races. Full details can be found on Wikipedia . Basically the competitors  start times are separated by their time differences from the sprint race the day before. Thankfully the skier crossing the finish line first is the winner. They skied 12.5 kilometres over five laps; there are four shooting bouts (two prone, two standing), and each miss means a penalty loop of 150 m. This penalty loop takes about 20 seconds.  In theory the race could be a procession but in practice it’s not. It’s very difficult to achieve a clean sweep on the shooting so in reality the positions are changing constantly throughout the race. If you are in the stadium all this is visible, it’s very intense and never boring!

I did keep an eye out for some of the properties we have for sale around the village. I spotted Chalet Fleur de Neige overlooking the town and right in the centre the Apartment de la Place. You can see them all on our property map.

Ski investment at the Espace Roc d’Enfer

Investment for this year includes groundworks on many of the pistes making them better for skiers at a cost of 130.000€. Snow canons have been added at La Cheverie side from the top of the Graydon chairlift all the way down to La Cheverie itself at a cost of 460.000€. A new drag lift called ‘teleski du lac’ is being built to bring skiers up from the Roc d’Enfer circuit allowing them to easily ski back down to the bubble lift. This is 350m long and is costing 330.000€. There are also plans for a new blue piste in the forest from the top of the bubble lift all the way down to the bottom.
I’ve taken some pictures of the work and plotted the line of the new lift.

and some photos here taken 22nd of December 2013

The latest piste map with the area in question circled.
espace roc d'enfer piste map

St Gervais is centre stage

Acclaimed French director, Claude Lelouch is starring the little town of St Gervais in his latest film.

Lelouch is well known in France , winning Palmes D’Ors at Cannes and Oscars for some of his 50 films.

His current creation Salaud on t’aime, loosely translated as We love you, you bastard (excuse my French, as they say!) has made use of a couple of our lovely Mont Blanc locations. Last winter, scenes were filmed at the cemetery in Combloux along with locations in Praz-sur-Arly.

A few days ago, the last 4 of the 40-day-long film schedule, has been centred around a number of places in St Gervais; The Tramway du Mont Blanc station, France’s highest rack and pinion tram; the Col de Voza to which the tramway passes through before reaching the Nid D’aigle -the Eagle’s nest, and which forms part of the ridge that separates St Gervais/Les Contamines from the Chamonix valley; and finally, the centre of St Gervais and the church.

The film itself is a story is about a war reporter/photographer, Jacques Kaminsky, played by none other than the French star – Johnny Hallyday.

Kaminsky has retired to the mountains following a lifelong career to which he had dedicated himself to, and this, to the detriment of his relationship with his four daughters, amusingly named Printemps, Eté, Automne, Hiver. The focus on his work is something he now regrets and the story concentrates on his friendship with a Doctor from Médecins sans frontiers, played by Eddy Mitchell. Other than this, details about the story are few and a closely guarded secret, but all we know for sure is that some of the final scenes will be filmed around the St Gervais church.

On the last day, I was in St Gervais and took a look at what was happening. Billboards with Jonny Hallyday’s image were plastered around the church (don’t worry guys about drilling into the 17th century building to fix them mind!) and large TV trucks of kits were parked outside. Initially, when I got there, they were filming inside the church, but once completed, people spilled out to make the most of the aperitifs that were laid on in the square along with a live band. A ‘thank you’ dinner was also prepared for the extra’s who were recruited from St Gervais to star as walkers, alpinists or tourist at the various locations.

We’ll have to wait for 2014 for the release of the film itself, but in the meantime, if Johnny has taken a shine to St Gervais, we will be expecting house prices to sore imminently!

Here are a few pictures from the event.

TF1’s news coverage can be seen here. http://videos.tf1.fr/jt-20h/2013/dernier-jour-de-tournage-avec-claude-lelouch-8240637.html

Like the look of St Gervais? Check out our latest gem; a stunning property which has been completely renovated on a quiet road, in the heart of the village.

A short stroll brings you to the square and church featured in this article. We think this one is a great find!

More photos of the town and area, Click here. http://www.alpine-property.com/index.php?page=page466&lang=en

Alpine Property market report

“I’m assuming that because of the current economic situation it’s a buyers market in the Alps.” It’s a common sentiment at the moment. Some of our prospective buyers from the UK are expecting discounted prices which isn’t the case and they are leaving disappointed. I guess it’s a combination of a difficult market in the UK and the UK press giving the impression that Europe is “on its knees”. Although the situation in Spain and Greece might seem closer to home many of the mainland Europeans feel pretty secure about their situation at the moment, The Alpine market is very stable and has been for the last couple of years, currently the majority of the buyers are coming from France and Switzerland. This is a big change from the pre-2008 situation where the Alpine Property market was being driven by the British. Many of the current buyers are looking for something to do with their savings and don’t see much milage in the stock market or with the banks. This is leaving the sellers feeling bullish and they are getting close to asking price.  This week I asked some of our agents for comments on the subject. These quotes are from three of them, Chatel, Les Gets and St Gervais.

  • “Those from the UK want a “good deal in a buyers market”, but they are talking about 20% off the asking price and it just won’t happen.”
  • “There is still flexibility in prices, but I can’t think of any seller that I have that would take a silly price. Offers have to be within 10% of asking price to be taken seriously.”
  • “I have sold 2 big and expensive chalets in Chatel this year before they even got onto the website.”
  • “2 and 3 bedroom apartments in 4 Elements (Chatel) have sold incredibly fast, and now the developers are bringing forward the start date.”
  • “The MGM apartments sold so well they put the prices up midway through the project.”
  • “Some difficult properties (that have been with all the agencies for years through the recession) have now been sold.”
  • “My last 3 sales in St Gervais have been asking, price or very close. One is signing in 2 weeks at asking price, the others are going thru at very close to asking price. 

Obviously these comments are a reaction to my question so they are particularly bullish, and they are only anecdotal in a broad market. There are weaker areas, which generally sit between the very expensive and the more moderately priced. As an example, none of the properties referred to above are valued between 600,000 and 800,000€. One of the latest (and most picturesque) properties we have for sale is Les Balcons de la Tournette. Pictured below. Situated in striking distance of both Lake Annecy and the skiing at La Clusaz and Le Grand-Bornand.

Chalet for sale near lake Annecy

Renting Property in the Alps, advice and tips

Virtually all the properties we sell are sold freehold and there will not be any restrictions on renting, in fact gaining a rental return is an essential part of many peoples requirements.

As far as renting via an agency is concerned there are many to choose from. It really depends on which town you are considering. Much of what I have written below is Portes du Soleil biased, this is where I work!

There are a number rental options, each with advantages and disadvantages. They are not all available to all properties! I will list them as I see them. The first offers lowest risk for least return, the balance moves from return to risk as you descend the list!

Renting Options

OPTION 1a. You can choose to rent your apartment on a yearly basis, for a fixed fee to a company that specialises in self-catering holidays. You can negotiate some weeks for yourself or you can negotiate a discount for weeks you want to rent.

Example: Alptitude, a specialist in Morzine
http://www.alptitude.com

Advantages:

  • Most secure form of rental return
  • If you choose the tenant carefully they will look after the property well, dealing with maintenance issues, taxes, Internet etc.
  • Minimum input from the owner

Disadvantages

  • Offers the lowest returns
  • Property will need to be in a good location, this type of company will see that as a priority.

OPTION 1b. Similar to the option above but with a little more risk. There are some companies that specialise in finding long term lets aimed at “saisonniers”, so people who rent for the whole season. You will need to check the tenants in at the start of the season and out at the end but beyond that it should be hassle free.

Example: Live The Season, http://livetheseason.com/owner.html

Advantages:

  • Full Seasons income paid before the season starts.
  • Higher return than 1a (annual lets)
  • Minimum input from the owner
  • Location of the property is less critical than the option 1a.

Disadvantages

  • Higher returns are available with the options below.
  • No time in the winter for the owner to use the property.
  • Unless there is a provision to periodically check on the state of the rental there is a risk the tenants might not look after the property.
    apartment for sale in Les Gets

OPTION 2. You can use one of the independent chalet operators in the area, these companies often have one chalet that they run catered holidays from and then up to a dozen they arrange as self-catering. This type of company will often try to negotiate a percentage fee (up to 30%), for this they will arrange the booking, key holding and the cleaning etc.

Example:

The Great Escape
http://www.thegreatescapemorzine.co.uk/
Example: Mountain Highs
http://www.mountainhighs.co.uk/
Example: Ski Fusion (based in Les Carroz)
http://www.skifusion.co.uk

Advantages

  • There may be the occasional unbooked week that could be used by the owner for a cheap holiday at the last-minute.
  • More flexibility for booking in friends etc.
  • If there are good bookings this can offer better returns than choice 1

Disadvantages

  • Riskier for the owner as they don’t offer any rental guarantees, this risk can be reduced by choosing an established company.

OPTION 3. You can use an Internet based agent who will handle all the booking and cleaning, in theory for a lower percentage fee (20%-35%)

Example: White Peak a specialist in Chatel.
http://www.white-peak.com/
Example: Alps Accommodation a specialist in Samoens. http://www.alpsaccommodation.com/
Example: Holiday in the Alps a specialist in renting properties in St Gervais http://www.holidayinalps.com/

Advantages

  • There may be the occasional unbooked week that could be used by the owner for a cheap holiday at the last-minute.
  • More flexibility for booking in friends etc.
  • If there are good bookings this can offer better returns than choice 2
  • Internet based administration can be convenient

Disadvantages

  • Riskier for the owner as they don’t offer any rental guarantees, this risk can be reduced by choosing an established company.
  • If the agency does not care about your property the wear and tear can be quite high. This can depend on their clientèle too.
  • Choose your Internet based agent carefully, they can be excellent but there is more room here for cowboys.

OPTION 4. You could use an Internet based “Bulletin Board”, these businesses charge a fee for you to advertise, you handle the booking and arrange cleaning and key holding via a local person or agency. My Mum uses Owners Direct for a property on the outskirts of Morzine, it costs about £200/an to advertise, she does very well and uses a local girl for the cleaning etc. This method is a lot of work for the my Mum and offers no guaranteed income but it can offer the best returns. In addition the renter can’t book with a credit card and they are not booking with a recognised “agent” or “bonded holiday company” so they don’t have much backup if the holiday goes wrong in some way (for instance in the case of a double-booking).

Examples:
http://www.chaletfinder.co.uk/
http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/

Advantages

  • There may be the occasional unbooked week that could be used by the owner for a cheap holiday at the last minute.
  • More flexibility for booking in friends etc.
  • If there are good bookings this can offer better returns than choice 3
  • More “hands on” can be more fun and it may give the owner the chance to “vet” the occupiers.

Disadvantages

  • Riskier for the owner as there are no rental guarantees.
  • The owner will have to find local people to deal with the changeovers / cleaning and any problems.
  • If there are problems or damage the owner might be called upon to arbitrate, this can be difficult on the phone!

OPTION 5. The traditional method, use one of the local French estate agents or the local Tourist Information Bureau , they will take a fee (about 25%) and handle the bookings and cleaning for you. This should probably be put between 2 and 3 in the income VS risk list.

Advantages

  • An established system, will probably be entirely legal.
  • Local agents normally have very good contacts with local tradesmen.
  • You may find that a particular agent will have an affiliation with a particular apartment block, this can help.

Disadvantages

  • No guarantees though, the owner will take all the risk. You will do better in the best locations. You might get nothing in a bad location!
  • Just because the agent has good contacts with local tradesmen it does not mean any maintenance work will come cheap.
  • Choose wisely, not all agents are fully Internet or email aware yet, this can come as a shock.

Confused about renting? You shouldn’t be. I am just illustrating how this is a very mature market and that there are a lot of options open to you.

Police patrols above Chamonix

Europe’s highest peak Mont Blanc, towering over the valleys of Chamonix, St Gervais and Les Contamines in France and that of Aosta on the Italian side, stands at 4,810m2 high. Though visually very much part of the Chamonix mountain range, the administration of the mountain is shared with the town of Saint Gervais and Courmayeur in Italy, with St Gervais having the largest share of the area. It is therefore the Maire of St Gervais, currently Jean-Marc Peillex who decides on matters of safety and access of the mountain (and, not Chamonix as many people think).

Since it was first climbed by 1786 by Paccard and Balmat, whose names you will see gracing the streets in both Chamonix and St Gervais (Place Balmat, Avenue Paccard), it has seen the likes of US president Roosevelt in 1886 and countless others, make attempts to the summit. Today, 20,000 people ascend on average each year during the summer months.

Many consider it a reasonably easy mountain to climb, with some routes being long , but not technically difficult for fit, acclimatised people. Despite this, the rescue service flies an average of 12 times during peak weekends in summer to assist people who are often ill equipped or ill prepared and there are many fatalities.

For 10 years, St Gervais’ Maire has campaigned for better monitoring of the situation. Finally, the Prefet of Haute Savoie- the region in which Mont Blanc is located, has just announced that the 2 mains routes up to the summit via the Gouter and Three Monts will be manned by the Gendarmes (PGHM) during this June through to September.

Whilst putting police on high mountains could be considered extreme, much of their intent is to inform and educate climbers on best practice, mountain safety, ecology and to prevent problems. This will be achieved by reviewing people’s kit, fitness and advising on the weather for summit ascents. They will also play a part in protecting the site from an environmental perspective by keeping an eye out for illegal bivouacking which is only authorised at Tete Rousse.

In addition to this, St Gervais is providing 4 “ambassadors” who will offer tourists information. They will be stationed at the Tramway du Mont Blanc that passes through St Gervais town on the way up to Nid D’aigle and at the Tete Rousse hut. These measures are hoped to reduce accidents and manage an increasingly busy area.

The announcement of police on the mountain has been met with mixed reactions; Some are concerned about preserving what should be a pure sport and wonder whether the future holds a ‘copper behind every rock’ as one internet commentary read; Others, consider that the sheer number of people visiting the area demands some management for the good of all.

Some of our properties with the best view of Mont Blanc include: Chalet Tagues, Chalet Grepon, Chalet Champoutant, Chalet Mont Blanc, Chalet Bossons, Chalet Joux and Chalet Chouette, and check out our “Views to cry for” here http://pinterest.com/alpineproperty/views-to-cry-for/ on pinterest from past and present places.

French Mortgage rates

We’ve just had an update for the French mortgages rates with the bank we work with. The last update we received was 6 months ago in January, the rates have been coming down steadily over the last couple of years and these figures are no exception.

The new French mortgage rates we have are:

Standard variable 2.65% to 2.85%
Standard variable rates from 2.65% to 3.00% with a +1% cap
Fixed rates from 3.10% to 3.90%.

Compared to the old rates of:

Standard variable rates in capital repayment from 2,90% to 3,10%
Capped rates in capital repayment from 2,80% to 3,45%
Fixed rates from 3,80% to 4,45%

If you are interested in more information just contact us at Alpine Property and we’ll arrange for a quote.

This might be a good time to mention a couple of the new properties we have for sale. From the “high end”

Chalet Lanos near St GervaisChalet Lanos, 1.390.000€, 5 bedrooms and situated between St Gervais and Les Contaimes, click on the image above for more info.

To the more modestly priced:

diamantblanca1_2

Apartment Diamant Blanc near the skiing at St Jean d’Aulps, 2 bedrooms and 203.000€

This is the time of year where we experience peak property availability. This is combined with the cheapest time to fly into Geneva too. So if you wondered when the best time to look was- this could be it!

400 Properties for Sale

400 Properties for Sale

Alpine Property is approaching its 14th anniversary, every year at around this time I do a review of the number of properties for sale we have displayed on our website. I also update the history of the company and who does what.

It’s possible 400 doesn’t sound like a lot of properties for a web based agent. The fact is we operate like a traditional agent. We know each individual property and for each one we visit, take the photos and arrange a contract with the owner. We do not just “re-advertise” the properties for other agents. You might consider our “areas” as different branches of a regional chain. If you think of it like that then it would be like having 8 branches of the same company.

Alexa (Amazon) provide a tool that archives a website throughout it’s life. This means you can see Alpine Property evolve throughout time!

http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.alpine-property.com

This is also an interesting place to browse if you want to see what a property might have been worth 10 years ago!

So here is the data for number of properties visible on the website.  I’ve also added initials by the year each team member joined.

Spring 2000 – www.alpine-property.com goes online with 15 properties SN/CB which overed St Jean d’Aulps, Morzine, Les Gets and the Chatel Valley – AKA The Portes du Soleil

Spring 2001 – 24 properties GJ/JN

Spring 2002 – 28 properties – website mk 2

Spring 2003 – 32 properties

Spring 2004 – 37 properties  JD helping GJ

Spring 2005 – 109 properties – website mk 3 DB/JC, adding Samoens, Chamonix, Megeve

Spring 2006 – 96 properties VM, helping DB (the counting changed this year to exclude “under offer properties”

Spring 2007 – 95 properties LM, helping CB,

Spring 2008 – 152 properties – website mk 3.5 RO, adding Les Carroz

Spring 2009 – 195 properties – SW helping JC

Spring 2010 – 234 properties VA adding the Espace Diamant and EO starts out with Claudia developing Chatel and AB with Claudia

Spring 2011 – 330 properties JG developing Le Petit Bornand

Spring 2012 – 385 properties

Spring 2013 – 404 properties – AA adding the Vallée Verte, DM helping EO, and CH starting out in Annecy

The initials stand for

  1. SN = Steve Norris
  2. CB = Claudia Buttet
  3. GJ = Gareth Jefferies
  4. JN = James Norris
  5. JD = Jo Davison
  6. DB = Denis Barbier
  7. JC = JC Skiera
  8. VL = Valérie Maes
  9. LM = Lee Massey
  10. RO = Richard Owens
  11. SW = Sarah Watts
  12. VA = Val Ainaud
  13. LO = Liz Owens
  14. EO = Ed Ockleton
  15. AB = Ailsa Bishop
  16. JG = Jackie Gay
  17. PK = Pernille Kjaer
  18. SE = Steve Elsdon
  19. AA = Anna Allen
  20. DM = Debs Mairie
  21. CH = Carol Harrison