Vacationers who expected to find their vacation spot under a thick white coat may be disappointed.
At low and medium altitude, most ski resorts lack snow while the winter season is in full swing during this school holiday period.
The mild temperatures and lack of precipitation in recent weeks spare no mountain range, from the Alps to the Pyrenees or from the Jura to the Vosges.
If tourists adapt and try other activities, others cannot imagine a stay in the mountains without hitting the slopes.
To discover
Tailor-made trips: discover the offers from our partners
In this case, can you obtain a refund of your ski pass, or even cancellation of your stay free of charge?
It all depends on the insurance taken out.
Additional insurance, often called "snow guarantee", can allow you to be compensated "
if there is no snow during your stay
", indicates the website of the Ministry of the Economy.
“
You can find out about the different insurance and guarantees when purchasing your package from travel agencies, holiday booking and online sales sites, or even from ski resort offices.
»
Lack of snow rarely covered by bank cards
Most insurers and travel agencies offer this guarantee as an option.
Travelski, for example, offers lack of snow insurance for €20 per reservation.
Once on site, “
if the lack or excess of snow is proven, the additional services not consumed will be reimbursed to you (Skipass, ski equipment, [courses at the] French ski school) on a pro rata basis
”, details on its website the specialist for ski holidays in the French Alps.
The insurance also allows you to cancel your entire stay free of charge if more than two thirds of the slopes in the resort's ski area are closed 48 hours from the arrival date.
For its part, Club Med's snow guarantee allows cancellation free of charge up to five days before departure.
During the stay, if more than half of the ski lifts are unusable two days in a row, customers benefit from a voucher of €500 per person to be used towards a future Club Med stay.
LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST
Extended validity or refund: each resort applies its rules
Lack of snow is rarely among the risks covered by even high-end bank cards.
Their “Snow and Mountain” insurance generally only covers the costs of care or repatriation following an accident.
Even without specific insurance, reimbursement of the ski pass remains possible, but everything depends on the policy applied by the ski area.
“
There are no regulations regarding ski lifts in winter sports resorts as such.
Ski resorts are therefore free to define their reimbursement terms
,” adds the Ministry of the Economy, which recommends referring to the general conditions of sale (CGV).
Generally, when ski lifts are interrupted due to lack of snow, compensation can take one of the following forms: "
an extension of the immediate validity of your pass, a credit allowing you to purchase a new pass at the ticket offices or online [or] deferred reimbursement based on supporting documents
.”
IN VIDEO
– A ski resort near Nice removes “les neiges” from its name because of climate change