A new beginning

I can confirm with some relief that I was successful in a bid to buy VIP SKI out of administration and that we plan to operate again for the 2021/22 winter ski season.

I am acutely aware that our insolvency caused much pain and inconvenience to a great many people and I remain sincerely sorry that I was not able to find a way through the pandemic. Everything that we previously achieved was due to the unstinting support and loyalty of our guests who we clearly let down. It is true that everyone will get their money back for holidays not enjoyed, the vast majority have already done so, but this is a prolonged and laborious process and I remain ashamed that we were not able to honour our commitments in the first place.

Despite the nuisance caused to so many, I have been completely humbled by the groundswell of support since our demise from guests, colleagues and industry partners and it was this support that fuelled my determination to continue.

Having secured the future of VIP SKI, I don’t yet know how or what I feel. Certainly not victorious or even happy. I am minded to remember the late summer evening in 1989, with my family on their knees in front of the TV, stuffing my first brochure into envelopes. When I ponder everything that has happened since, I am panicked at the thought of having to do it all again. But then I realise that maybe I’ve got the chance to cut and paste the half I got right onto a blank sheet of paper. That must be a unique and compelling opportunity.

So the journey back begins now, and I can’t deny a frisson of excitement at the prospect of putting only the best bits all back together again. I guess it’s a bit like putting a bomb under 30 years’ work, I’ve just got to dust myself down, pull myself together and go back out and pick up all the pieces.

I never considered VIP SKI as my business, but rather a community of people and skiers; hundreds of thousands of guests, tens of thousands of colleagues, landlords, partners and suppliers, many of whom have become close friends, drawn together around a common love of skiing. My colleagues and I are simply relieved to have the opportunity of putting this back together again.

It will take a few months to be ready to open our doors to bookings once more, please bear with us whilst we put the team back together and sort out some admin, but this will be in good time for the new ski season, which my colleagues and I can now look forward to with both relish and new purpose.

We very much hope you will join us again in the mountains next season. Here's hoping 2021 is a brighter year for everyone.