Reply To: Advice needed on buying a property in Fernie setting up chal

[alba]

Hi

First, good luck if this is really what you want to do, but be warned it is bloody hard work and there are no garantees.

You should be aware that there are already 5 catered chalets in Fernie. Canadian Powder Tours in West Fernie (been here about 10 years, includes ski guiding in rates, owners are chef & ski instructor) Ghostrider Lodge on the Ski Hill (been here 4 years, sleeps 20, ski-in ski-out) Beavertail Lodge on the ski hill (been here 3 years, run by a top chef, all rooms en-suite) Elk View Lodge on Cokato road (been here 2 years, huge luxury lodge sleeps 22) Bear Trail Lodge at Alpine Trails (been here 1 year, owners are keen bikers so already have a good handle on the summer market) plus Alpine Lodge (ski hill) which is run along similar lines (B&B with full restaurant on premises) and Beaver Chalet B&B (in town) which offers a meal plan. Mountainside Inn on the ski hill was also purchased a year ago and the owners plan to run a catered chalet after their baby is born. Another chalet on the ski hill has also just been sold, and was previously run by Nielson as a catered chalet.

So first up there is no shortage of catered chalets in Fernie. Can you offer something better than one of those? That would be what you would need to compete. None of these businesses are overflowing with guests, and if I had a choice I would say Fernie has enough catered chalets for now, it could do with a few more in about 4 years.

Most are run by Brits (I think the only one that is not is Canadian Powder tours) When we opened ours (one of the above, I’ll keep you guessing) we visited all the other owners and recieved every possible response, from very welcoming to downright hostile. We’ve had exactly the same from the locals, some love the ski hill and realise that Canada is a nation of foreigners, others think hospitality is killing their little private town and driving house prices to levels locals can’t afford.

You’ll find that the water and sewer rates on the ski hill are crippling, and property tax (like council tax) is pretty painful.

Fernie has a great market in the UK, and about 75% of Brits who come here look at purchasing proprty – seriously.

The lifestyle is definately the thing to come for, but basically you need to be able to pay for it. After the first two or three years you might be achieving 50% average occupancy over the four month season. By the time you pay your food costs, fuel and hot-tub supplies, firewood, utilities & services plus advertising & marketing, you will be struggling to pay 12 months of mortgage on a property big enough to sleep 10 – 20 people plus staff (you). Summer rentals are next to none existant for catered chalets. You could try and do the B&B route, but there’s already several B&B’s in town. The rental agencies won’t give valuable summer business away to properties that are only available in the in the summer when they have lots of year-round clients that need their properties filled. The fishing guides all have their accommodation sorted. Mountain bikers want budget accommodation, not nice chalets.

You probably heard about the rain last season. In mid-January it rained heavily and non-stop for 48 hours, washing away most of the snow. We then had two weeks of nothing, and the ski-hill was all but closed. Then, hallelujah, it snowed, and snowed, and snowed, and all was well with the world again. Or was it? The reports of the rain had been pretty comprehensive, and overseas people were to scared to make the trip after that. We were lucky, we had a lot of advance bookings, but I know that one chalet only had 29 occupied nights for the entire season. They didn’t get a single enquiry after the rain, despite all the snow that fell in February.

And remember, catered chalets only appeal to Brits. Trying to attract the North American market is an uphill battle. They love it once they are there, but don’t count on getting any bookings in advance.

I’m not saying don’t do it, but think very very carefully before you make the commitment. Good luck if you do go ahead with it, and I’d be happy to meet with you and show you what we have done when you are over in January.