Are you going skiing but haven't rented your equipment yet? Do you bite your fingers? You are wrong. This is actually very good news for your wallet. Contrary to what one might think, it is mostly cheaper to rent your skis the day before. "In 67% of cases, the rental price in a station is lower the day before the start of the rental than a month in advance," says Pierre Hébrard, CEO of Pricemoov.
Between mid-2018 and early 2019, this Parisian company which markets a price management solution for companies compared 116 million prices from 1,354 Sport 2000, Skiset, Snowrental, Skimium, Ski Republic, Intersport and Alpinresort stores. "Unlike travel or commerce, what we observe in the ski equipment rental sector is that the strategies are messy," analyzes Pierre Hébrard. A Paris-New York flight booked well in advance will be inexpensive. Its price will gradually increase. Those who book at the last minute will pay the most, but they know it. In skiing, the price is built especially in reaction to that of the competitor. "
The price changed up to seven times
The Pricemoov study thus shows that some stores modify their equipment rental price up to 7 times before the rental date. Half of the 1354 stores change their prices at least 4 times during the season. Over 90% of them offer promotional prices throughout the year and the promotion for the same product is -30% promotion on average.
How to find yourself in this waltz of labels? "In a resort like Isola 2000, Courchevel or Val d'Isère, ski rental will cost 120 euros on average where it will cost less than 70 euros in a small resort," evaluates Pierre Hébrard. The advice we can give the consumer is to compare prices because within the same station, prices can vary from simple to double depending on the store. Worse: within the same rental brand in the same city, the price difference can reach 45%. "
To be sure to get the best deal for clever sliding on snow, the specialist also advises to look at prices on the Internet first. “Personally, says Pierre Hébrard, I always call the store before I go to choose the cheapest. I check that the price is the same in store as on the site or if there is a promotion. I know that once in the resort, I will always find a cheap ski rental. "
