BTN Interviews: Ski In Luxury – From Bournemouth to the Alps: 20 Years of Growth | Focus

Now entering a new chapter, Ski In Luxury has strengthened its local roots through a partnership with AFC Bournemouth, a relationship the founders see as reflecting the shared growth stories of two Bournemouth-based organisations that have risen significantly within their respective industries. At the same time, the business continues to expand through the wider Blue Skies Lifestyle group, encompassing Villas In Luxury, Ultimate Luxury Chalets and Alps In Luxury, while looking ahead to opportunities presented by international growth, evolving traveller expectations and the rapid development of AI-powered search.

In this interview with Breaking Travel News, Andy and Fran Castle reflect on 20 years of building Ski In Luxury, the changing meaning of luxury travel, their new AFC Bournemouth partnership, the importance of maintaining a human touch in an increasingly digital marketplace, and where they see the biggest opportunities for the business over the next decade.

BTN: You founded Ski In Luxury together back in 2005. What did the business look like in those very early days, and what was the original ambition?

Back then we had no idea what it would or could become. From 2005 to 2007 it was just Andy on his own, with Fran joining forces to start up the villas website. During the first years it was just a case of establishing Ski In Luxury as a website presence on the search engines, ensuring we had a great portfolio of properties, and providing a focused, personalised service to any prospective clients that made enquiries. The ambition at the time was simply to make bookings and generate a good living. It then quickly became so much more….

BTN: Twenty years later, Ski In Luxury has become one of the leading specialists in luxury ski chalets. Was there a particular moment when you realised the business had become something much bigger than you originally imagined?

It was probably after the 5th year or so that we really started to realise the potential of the business. Enquiry volumes shot up and, in turn, sales volumes increased exponentially. We handled this workload between us for a few years and then when Fran became pregnant, it was evident that we needed more hands on deck and this is when our recruitment started, in 2015. Once we started taking people on, this then enabled us to drive even further forwards. We have grown the team gradually over the past 10 years and there are now 20 of us in total in various roles including sales, marketing, product, SEO and IT.

If I was to pin point the moment when we realised our potential, I would say that the business absolutely exploded when we came out of Covid. Since then, sales have been phenomenal.

BTN: Building a company as a husband-and-wife team must come with a unique dynamic. How do your respective strengths complement each other, and how have your roles evolved over the years?

We are two very different people but we complement each other incredibly well. Fran is the level head, the all-seeing eye, very numbers and accounts focused. She identifies when things aren’t working as efficiently as they can and works a plan to get these issues resolved. A very logical and analytical mind that helps create and maintain the backbone and structure in the company.

Andy is the website, SEO and sales brain. The spontaneous one who likes to generate ideas for development. Originally very sales focused and involved, now Andy focuses on other parts of the business but still maintains contact with a few favourite clients to keep the sales buzz going.

BTN: What do you think has been the single biggest factor behind Ski In Luxury’s longevity and growth?

Determination to succeed.

BTN: Luxury travel has changed enormously since 2005. How has the definition of a “luxury ski holiday” changed during that time?

Luxury used to be a property that was fully ensuite, maybe even have a hot tub. Nowadays these are the standard levels of expectation. We have seen rental properties rise to a crazy level of luxury and amenities. Now it’s not uncommon to see climbing walls, bowling alleys, indoor/outdoor swimming pools, oxygen chambers, padel courts and more!

The AFC Bournemouth partnership

BTN: You’re a Bournemouth-founded and Bournemouth-based business. What does becoming a Premier Regional Partner of AFC Bournemouth mean to you personally?

Bournemouth is where it all started for us. Both of us came to university in Bournemouth, Andy in 1998 and Fran in 2000. It’s where we decided to stay after graduation and where we have made home and are now raising our family. We have grown as a business over the past 20 years and this resonates with AFC Bournemouth.

AFC Bournemouth’s story is incredible…..In 2008 they hit severe financial trouble, entering administration with a 10 point deduction and suffering relegation to League Two. In the 2008-2009 season they started the League Two campaign with an additional 17 point deduction but somehow miraculously avoided non-league relegation. The following season they got promoted from League Two and in 2015 they were crowned Championship title winners, reaching the Premier League for the first time in club history where they remained for 5 years before relegation back to the Championship for one season where they fought their way back to the Premier League.

Now, as we enter this exciting new partnership, Bournemouth are ready to challenge in European football for the first time in their history. They have an incredible squad, an exciting new manager in Marco Rose, and we have high hopes for a really entertaining and successful season.

We have witnessed Bournemouth’s meteoric rise through the leagues and now into Europe and this is something that we are so proud to now be able to financially support as a business as well as personally support as a family.

BTN: Fran, you’ve spoken about being proud to support your local Premier League club. How important has Bournemouth remained to the identity of the business as Ski In Luxury has grown internationally?

We are so proud to be known as THE luxury ski agency in Bournemouth. So many competitors are in London or in the countryside…..we are in a beautiful part of the country, a place where we chose to call home and to build our business from. We are proud of our connection with Bournemouth University and we offer opportunities to placement students and graduates to join the company and develop their skills and careers.

BTN: AFC Bournemouth talks about businesses with strong local roots and a shared passion for excellence. Where do you see the similarities between the club’s journey and your own?

AFC Bournemouth have risen from the bottom to the top in a short space of time and firmly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with. We too have made a substantial rise in our industry over the last 10 years, establishing ourselves as the leading luxury ski chalet agency worldwide.

BTN: The partnership will introduce Ski In Luxury to a wider audience of supporters and partners. What would you like AFC Bournemouth fans who haven’t encountered the brand before to understand about you?

Just to know who we are and what we do. Simply put, we are a local luxury ski chalet and villa holiday agency on the doorstep of the club.

BTN: With AFC Bournemouth preparing for European football, does the club’s growing international profile make the partnership particularly exciting for a travel business with a global customer base?

Without doubt. There will be many opposition supporters travelling to Bournemouth for the European games and this gives way to the possibility of being able to reach other foreign markets. In addition, our sponsorship package includes pitch side banner and big screen advertising where our branding and message will be displayed. European games will be shown on TV’s at home and given the European games will be played on Thursdays, this means that the Premier League games following will be played on a Sunday which pretty much guarantees TV exposure here too. In combination, it’s a great opportunity to be able to generate reach to new audiences.

Building a luxury brand

BTN: You now offer more than 1,000 luxury chalets. With that amount of choice, what is your process for deciding which properties are good enough to represent the Ski In Luxury brand?

Admittedly this does create a bit of a headache sometimes! Ski In Luxury was launched with the vision to develop a portfolio of the best rental properties to rent in multiple ski resort destinations, but providing luxury for a range of budgets. Our experience and knowledge of the properties and operators is usually sufficient to be able to gauge suitability for our portfolio but we also personally inspect the properties when we can, and we ensure that we always ask our clients for their honest feedback on their stay. If a property or service is lacking in expected quality, we ensure that we investigate fully in order to determine whether that property will remain in our portfolio.

BTN: In luxury travel, customers can increasingly find accommodation themselves online. What does an expert travel specialist provide that technology or a booking platform can’t?

Expert advice, guidance, experience and support. We provide the human touch, the real element. A holiday is an emotional purchase, something that should have the correct amount of care and attention.

BTN: What are today’s luxury ski travellers asking for that they weren’t asking for five or ten years ago?

I wouldn’t say they are asking for different things as such. Luxury evolves and, with that, so do the requests. The facilities in a chalet that were uncommon 10 years ago are now commonplace and being specified as a requirement rather than a wish.

BTN: Is there a particular chalet, resort or guest experience over the past 20 years that captures what Ski In Luxury is all about?

I would have to say the Chalet La Fenice in Cervinia. A number of years ago we received a phone call from a couple who said that they had acquired some land in Cervinia and wanted to build the best chalet they could. They wanted our advice on what to include, what was required and sought after. Low and behold, a couple of years after this conversation they came back to us and said “we’ve done it” – they had built a chalet that encompassed everything that we had suggested. Now it is arguably the best chalet in Italy and amongst the best rentals chalets worldwide.

BTN: The press release highlights personalised service and attention to detail. How do you maintain that personal approach as the company grows?

By taking on the right staff, people that genuinely care and want to help our clients search for their perfect chalet. Couple this with sales team training on properties, operators and their services, and resorts to ensure that our team are well versed in all that we offer and advice that we give. The sales team are led by an experienced Head of Sales that is focused on delivering excellent customer service.

Blue Skies Lifestyle and the future

BTN: Ski In Luxury has grown into the wider Blue Skies Lifestyle group alongside Villas In Luxury, Ultimate Luxury Chalets and Alps In Luxury. Was creating a family of specialist brands always part of the plan, or did that evolve naturally?

The Villas In Luxury brand was launched back in 2007 (then known as Resorts In Luxury) when Fran joined forces with Andy so this was a clear plan from the outset. Ultimate Luxury Chalets was introduced when the Ski In Luxury portfolio became quite large and we identified a need to create a platform where the very best properties could be showcased independently. Creating a website that has just 100 hand picked chalets provides an exclusive selection to our most affluent clients.

Alps In Luxury came about when summer in the mountains really started taking off. We used to have a singular page on the Ski In Luxury website that was just “Summer Chalets” and this is what many of our competitors also have. We spotted an opportunity to develop a dedicated website to cover all that you are able to do in the mountains in the summer, from golf to fishing, and white water rafting to parapenting. No other companies were giving this level of content on what can be enjoyed on a summer holiday in the Alps. Nobody giving it a significant push. We love summer in the mountains and wanted to encourage our clients to give it a try, and to love it as much as we do.

BTN: How do the four brands complement one another, and what opportunities does having that wider portfolio create for your clients?

The chalets featured on our ski websites and Alps In Luxury are the same properties, just with winter vs summer listings, services and pricing. Our Villas In Luxury portfolio offers our clients the opportunity to continue using our services year round on their summer and winter holidays. They know and trust in our service and properties and can be assured that the villas on VIL have been cherry picked to provide an excellent range of summer villa holiday options.

BTN: You’ve spent two decades building the company. What still excites you most about the business today?

Still working together. Not knowing what is around the next corner. Seeing how luxury develops next!

BTN: When you look at the next five or ten years, where is the biggest opportunity for Ski In Luxury?

The biggest opportunity has to be the potential for further market share. Our websites are our foundation of success and we continue to invest in these and in their SEO performance. With the developments in AI search, there is a big opportunity there to capture some competing market share from those that don’t deal with these technological changes effectively.

BTN: And finally, if we interviewed you again at the company’s 25th anniversary, what would you hope to be able to tell us had happened between now and then?

We continue to grow and continue to smile!

Visit www.blueskieslifestyle.com for more information

Interviewed by Sid Thaker