Oct. 2, 2025
Event planners of all levels of experience will encounter challenges. One of the most complicated corporate event formats to arrange, company ski trips offer multiple trade-offs. With all the competing options, there are several factors that require careful consideration. Here are 5 things to keep in mind.
Corporate ski events invariably involve mixed-ability groups. They often include everyone from first-timers to seasoned pros. Those new to the sport need gentle terrain, and those experienced need a challenge. It is often the big ski areas that cater to the diverse needs of a corporate ski group. The world’s biggest linked ski area, Les 3 Vallées is also amongst the best. There are the flat valleys of Courchevel and Méribel, along with the couloirs above these resorts. The Austrian Arlberg offers some of the best steep and off-piste skiing in the Alps above St Anton, but also the forgiving intermediate slopes of Lech am Arlberg.
No social gathering can match the unscripted madness of an après ski terrace. Après ski is the perfect way to round off a day on the snow. This is where company folklore is written and regularly tops the feedback highlights of any corporate ski trip. Après ski is where CEOs breakdance with graduates, where Keith from accounts becomes an overnight legend, and where team-building means supporting struggling colleagues on the return to the boot room. Resorts such as St Anton, Sölden, Ischgl, Méribel and Morzine deliver whopping après ski. Mornings can be tough, but teams are forever indebted for the memories.
Airport transfers are the least popular moment of any corporate ski trip. But aside from skiing in an urban snowdome, there is no escaping the transit from flat runway to mountainside village. Not all resorts are equal, however. Innsbruck offers great connections throughout the winter and has its nearest ski lift just a few miles from baggage collection. A little further, St Anton is an hour away, Mayrhofen a little under and Kitzbühel slightly over. La Clusaz and Morzine are both fantastic transfers from Geneva airport, as is Chamonix. In addition to resort transfers, there is the matter of getting to and from the slopes each day. Slopeside resorts are common in France, with resorts such as Avoriaz, Val Thorens, and Méribel Mottaret being fully ski-in, ski-out. Zürs and Oberlech are both fully ski-in, ski-out and part of the sensational Arlberg ski area, whilst Sölden has several resort sectors that are ski-in, ski-out. Obergurgl and Hochgurgl, located just south of Sölden, also offer many ski-in, ski-out hotels.
Food in the Alps is unique and exquisite, from a risotto in the Dolomites, to a fondue in the Swiss Alps. The menus of these regions reflect the rugged and unforgiving nature of the location and are synonymous with the destination. The venues elevate these culinary delights even further. Vistas over Mont Blanc and the Aiguille du Midi are remarkable, while the atmosphere of a sagging farmhouse in the Austrian Alps is unbeatable. Dinners can involve nighttime walks or toboggans, or can be taken in cloud-busting restaurants that cling to the frozen rock.
The Alps have an abundance of stunning backdrops, and most clients departing their northern European cities are awestruck by the vistas. Event planners seeking venues to launch products may find that not all locations in the Alps are equal, and some are more breathtaking than others. The Dolomites are the otherworldly peaks, with unique colours and formations – they feel almost animated. Resorts such as Cortina d'Ampezzo or Val Gardena offer vistas like few other locations. Entering the Chamonix Valley is an experience like few others – the sheer scale and severity of the rock and ice is mind-blowing. Even with all the distractions in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, it is impossible not to allow gazes to drift upwards to the Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc. And with possibly the world’s most recognisable peak, Zermatt is a true icon of the Alps, whilst the backside of it, as viewed from Cervinia, is also astounding.
Planning a corporate ski trip for colleagues can be daunting, yet the key ski resorts offer all the ingredients for an incredible experience. Design the programme to take in all the attributes of the destination, and memories will follow. Once you've finished with this list, add activities for non-skiers, hotels, snow reliability....
