Swiss Consumer Protection Criticises Opaque Prices, No Refunds: Lottery For Lift Tickets

The result of a recent study by consumer protection found that the prices of many ski resorts are not transparent, and refunds in the event of accidents, illness and operational restrictions are very inconsistent. It examined twelve destinations with dynamic prices in terms of price transparency and refund conditions. Zermatt, Engadin St. Moritz and Chäserrugg were particularly negative: they neither state the maximum price nor provide for a refund or exchange.

Many Swiss ski resorts sell their subscriptions and tickets at dynamic prices. These change depending on the high or low season, day of the week or time of booking. Even the weather forecast can have an influence. With the sports weeks just around the corner, many skiers, and especially families, are wondering when the best time is to buy subscriptions and tickets. The ski resorts simply advise getting the tickets as early as possible.

What is cheap and what is expensive?

Consumer protection criticizes the fact that comparisons - even between ski resorts - are extremely difficult due to the changing prices. It has therefore examined the prices and return and exchange conditions of twelve destinations with dynamic prices. The survey shows that six areas do not even disclose what their minimum and, above all, maximum prices are. Without this information, it remains unclear whether a price is relatively cheap or expensive. Often there is also no visible price history that helps consumers to classify the costs.

"There is a suspicion that the ski resorts are not only using this pricing system to control the flow of visitors, but also to generate as much profit as possible," criticizes consumer protection director Sara Stalder. According to Stalder, this has consequences for guests: "On peak days, prices can be completely inflated. This particularly affects families who cannot get on the slopes during the week or in the off-season. Skiing is very expensive for them anyway."

refund against additional premium

However, anyone who follows the advice of the ski resorts and buys their tickets well in advance must also pay attention to the refund conditions: Six ski resorts - Aletsch Arena, Chäserrug, Crans-Montana, Engadin, Gstaad, St. Moritz and Zermatt - do not offer refunds on day tickets. Anyone who does not want to take the risk of spending a lot of money on the snow due to illness, accident or operational restrictions can sometimes take out insurance - for an additional surcharge. "We demand that these ski resorts make prices transparent and comparable and not burden consumers with additional costs when making refunds," demands Sara Stalder.

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