News

So as you'll have seen from the last post, the ASL has quite a bit to do in running the village,  So who does it - and how do they chose what to do?

Well, we have permanent employees, who work on behalf of the owners and are employed (salaried, bonused, pensioned, and all that good French social contract stuff),  plus season-specific contact staff who come and do the specialised bits as required.

We also make use of  'stagieres' - apprentices if you will, who are on 11 month contracts, either on gap-years or between university and the real world. Paid minimum wage, but seem to do ok.

(And yes, I am aware that it is only 9 years until my daughter will be eligble...  )

This activity is all directed by the Board: voting members are made up of the owners ( 2 retail owners and 4 apartment owners) and the hotel operator, and we take advice from external 3rd parties.  The site general manager is also an attendee and informs a lot of what we talk about, but does not vote.

So let's meet and greet:

First up  - Eric Chevalier. Le Directeur.  Aka General Manager.  He used to be in charge of the technical bits and pieces under Jean Marc, but has been promoted, first of all as an interim, then into a permanent position following Jean-Marc's departure.  He has built a good network in and around Bourg, and with his family also working down in the valley, gets to  hear a lot of good gossip.

Eric is ably supported by Janine Rocca - the Administrative Assistant - the sort of 'do-everything', 'know-everything' person without whom all business would fail.   A bundle of energy, and we are all very grateful to have her on board.

All other staff in the ASL are currently seasonal, contracted out  or apprentices. We are looking to employ a new  head of Marketing and Communications (next stage taking place in June:  Jenny  - Mrs W -  and Joanna Y-B: CEO of Erna Low and owner,   are off to the village to help  in the process (pro bono):  100 applicants been whittled down to a final 4 for interview),    and possibly a full time 'animateur' - but that remains to be seen in the current climate: no moves have been made yet.

Then there is:

The Board:

All volunteers, and those with an interest in making sure that the village is a successful investment for everyone.  Naturally, there is some self interest - you would hardly expect otherwise - but generally we all get along fine.

Vincent Ramiere- head of the ski school and about 6 other business in the village, obviously has invested heavily, and constantly tells me he believes passionately in what we are trying to do.  Sits as a retailer rep on the Board.

Jose Almeida - runs La Bolee (the creperie) , and is head of the Retailers' Association - equivalent to our OA. Also representing the retailers.

Andrew Beale - Owners rep, financial wizard, and the man that keeps Olivier (our accountant)  on his toes.

Roy Harbour - Owners rep: dragged into it this year  but fulfils the fantastic role of asking the questions the rest of us ignore,  because he is new - and that means we have to be sure the reasons for the answers are still valid.

Bernard Bely - Owners rep - French representative, to make sure we don't get all overly Anglo-centric. Mind you, speaks far better English than I do French.

Bruno Cordonnier PnV rep - generally quiet, but when he does speak, makes a lot of sense. Has experience of ASLs around the country, indeed around Europe, so very insightful.  Often travelling, so is usually represented by  Lydie Astorg, the on-site PnV resort manager.

And then there's me, Jim Wilks, Owners rep.  Elected by the board as  Monsieur le President, who seems to sign all the cheques, the contracts, set and measure the bonus targets and generally herd the cats.  Fabrice really pulled the wool over my eyes when he said it was nothing major...

It is worth noting , that it is the companies that own the shops / hotels that have seats on the board, as they are owners of various walls in the village, and not the individuals

And therefore all the minutes now  say "XYZ co. , represented by Vincent Ramiere" for example.

This was  one of the things that the courts didn't like about the old setup - the individuals were named, rather than identified as being one of the 5 representatives of ITW  (which would have given the whole undemocratic nature of the game away...).

So 4 apartment owners and  3 companies,  each with one vote, deciding what, who and how.

Of course we couldn't do it without

External paid-for  support and expertise is vital to keep things on an even keel. Some of the, ahem, cronies, of the old days have been moved on, shall we say.

Patrick Roulier -  our  "administrator" from CIS Immoblier  Advises on legal aspects of what we can and can't do, as well as being responsible for  collection of the fees. Now that CIS no longer have a co-prop role, seems a lot happier and with far less divided loyalties.

Olivier Saleh our new accountant (well, new last year)   spent a lot of time working with Andrew to try to make sense of the budget and display the numbers in a useful format.

We also have recourse to a new law firm with specialists in ASL matters, Me.s Horteur and Bartoli who have drawn up a lot of the new papers / statutes for us, and come and comment on specific areas where we have asked for advice.  And they will represent us in court if and when it comes to that. We have far more confidence in their ability to do so effectively than the previous lot.

And we mustn't forget  Charlotte Crawcour. Many of you will know Charlotte from her days selling the apartments - she then moved to Erna Low and continues to sell in the village, but this time 'second hand' apartments.  Acts as our translator - which is extremely useful when things get technical.

So that's it - 7 board members, 2 permanent staff,  3 external specialists and a translator. We meet on a conference call every month (usually lasts about 4 hours...the phone bills are going up and up),  and I speak with Eric for an hour or so every week, usually on  a Friday lunchtime.  Otherwise, its all down to e-mails, and by 'eck, there a fair few of them.

So ... what on earth do we talk about?

Next post please!

The domain is offering First tracks on 7 Thursdays through February and March: see here for details:

http://webzine.paradiski.com/2011/01/first-track-a-chacun-ces-privileges

10 Eur:  get to the top of Bois de L'Ours / Arpette by 8am,  wee dram (oh OK , breakfast then...), and first snow is yours.

Booking is required see article for phone number, although I'm sure the reception guys will be able to help.

Enjoy!

Jim

Hosted by Chris Davies (I know... a name considered like Marmite on here) and you do need to be a facebook member to post on it, but for everyone else (me included!) it has the latest news, views, reviews attractions, events and snow conditions.

You can link through to it     here

After the success of last year,  the village is once again the place to be for the 2nd Les Arcs European Film Festival. See

http://www.voyagerluxe.com/Festival-du-Film-Europeen-des-Arcs6858.html  for an interesting write up and pictures in the upmarket Voyagerluxe magazine. 

Also, there is a 1 hour TV special being broadcast about the festival on TF3 at the begining of December,   and a live radio show with national coverage broadcasting from the village on the Friday lunchtime of the festival week.

And of course, we're looking forward to hearing reports from all the owners who make it out there for the early season.

For more information on the festival,  the role of Arc 1950, and the films in competition,  see the official site:

http://www.lesarcs-filmfest.com/2010/home/?p=home

and also notice our name emblazoned across the logo!

Implying that now is at a low and things will change positively, the article can been seen online here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/property/article-1310747/Chic-price-From-apartments-seafront-glamorous-chateaux-bargains-France.html

Deciding how much is Estate Agent optimism is of course at your discretion!  But considering how many towns and villages there are through France,  I think Joanna has done well for us.

A pity PnV were more enthusiastic about their other sites:- then again  I guess they are not in the business of selling our village properties, just the occupancy.  

...and then suddenly you get that snowy feeling:  first sight of the lift prices. 

YES -  Winter is on its way!  

OK so there's no owner discounts or season prices shown yet, but for those of you with an urge:   clicky here

or here for the OA document library

https://sites.google.com/a/arc1950owners.com/docs/docs

and look for TP1011sans fin de saison.pdf  (that's Tarifs Publics)

With all the contacts and details of the new Owners' experience setup, P&V offers for discounts, and a host of other information,  this newsletter is updates you with everything you wanted to know about the Pierre et Vacances offerings to leasback owners.

(and if it doesn't, it does at least give you contact names to try!)

Click Here to link to the PDF file in our store

Or if that doesn't work... (or you want to download it)

https://sites.google.com/a/arc1950owners.com/docs/docs

The French version is also here

According to sources: here   Les Arcs is planning, indeed has already started construction on a 3km tobbogan run from the top of Transarc to the base of Arcabulle.

It is anticipated to be open for the 2010/2011 season, but they are not making any promises.

Any summer visitors, please report on construction progress and how you see the route.

I guess I am just going to have to give it the Health and Saftey once over, before allowing mini-Wilks to try... :)

Some of you may know Amadine, who has been working on a placement with the ASL since the summer.  She has been trawling the European Press and Internet  for articles mentioning  Les Arcs, and Arc1950 in particular - often quite large spreads, and almost exclusively positive. Some have been seeded by the village, some by P&V, some just 'happen'.

Now we can share with you what she has found  (or at least, those in a format we can store here on the OA website)  - You can get to them for reading  at:

http://docstore.arc1950owners.com/docs

There are some heartwarming testimonials here, and will make you quite proud of our village.

I have quite a backlog of historical stuff stored from the last quarter of 2009, perhaps as many as 50 documents,  but it all takes time, so patience please! Nevertheless, as new stuff comes in, we will continue to update the listing, and please:  if you find anything you'd like to share, be it something ski related or otherwise, please mail it to

 ricahrd.barlow@arc1950owners.com or

jim.wilks@arc1950owners.com 

and we'll post it up.

I suggest  you keep an eye on this news item  until  Richard manages to get a permanent link established at the top of the home page.

Jim

March 2010

See here for  the news report.

And that's despite the sale of ITW Arc1950  to P&V this Autumn :-)  

Click here

http://www.arc1950owners.com/committee

This page  contains:

1)  The questions asked

(As an OA member, you will have the email containing the responses given by P&V.)

2)  The Powerpoint Presentation

3)  The Service ITW expected P&V to supply

If you are familliar with ordering your passes on line, and are keen walker or VTT rider but you want  to go uphill the easy way this summer, have a look at:

http://emreact.com/go.asp?/bALP001/mM59IN8/u7H30XT3/xHO09N8/cutf-8

I think you'll have to have registered, as I know many of us have,  and you'll need to consider if the single lift price of €6 is going to suffice for your needs, but I am always in favour of a 50% discount!

Jim

Here's a link to a newspaper report on the conference.

(otherwise...

http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20090517/NEWS/905169987/1078&ParentProfile=1055  )

My questions to him would be " If not real-estate, just what IS the ITW  core business ?

For all Owners out there this week, this sounds like some fun...  The Robert Blanc Derby, normally run , so I believe from the top of the Grand Col to Pre St Esprit has changed to:  the Aigulle Rouge to 1950 ...

DERBY ROBERT BLANC :
Grande fête de la glisse, ouverte à tous (adultes et enfants, 14 catégories)
Compétition pro ou amateurs.
Départ du bas de l’Aiguille Rouge
Arrivée à Arc 1950.
Apéritif et buffet et remise des prix à Arc 1950
Très beaux lots tirés au sort.
Inscriptions 10E dans les Offices de Tourisme avant 18h la veille (17/02), ou 15E sur place avant 16h30.

Look forward to hearing who entered, what kind of times,  and what sort of fête and animations were put on...

PS "bas d'Aigulle Rouge"  - bottom of AR - I'm guessing that is down either Arondlieres for families, or the blacks under the Varet  for the keen...

See here for information about changes in 1800 zone next year:

http://www.peisey-info.com/Domaine/dtravaux.htm

My rough and ready translation is a new 6 seater  to replace Arpette, close the Col de Frettes, and change Clair Blanc to something else to feed the snowpark more comfortably. 

Albeit I have some confusion about the 'starting' point of the new lift, which might be interpreted as being replacement for the Frettes instead!

I'll put a discssion thread up too so people can comment.

Snowheads is a constant source of good information, and here is a link to a thread regarding car-hire at Geneva airport.

From personal experience I will say that the new system whereby you get a minibus to the car-park from the rental area is fine for your first time, BUT in fact it is only about 200 yards.

So if there is a queue, and your bags have got wheels,  it really is only 5 minutes walk.  Ask at any of the desks and they'll point you in the right direction.

A website:    Arc1950

from ResaPlace allows pre-booking of the car-parking, and allows unlimited access / exit during their stay, just as if you had the owner's pass.

It doesn't look any cheaper (€79  for the week) but would appear to be more convenient.

In case the  link doesn't  work:

https://www.resaplace.com/?p_lang=en&p_poche=0000000249&gclid=COLip6bYg5gCFQsh3godjQW4DA#;

New this season in Les Arcs is an online audio guide, designed to be downloaded and played on your MP3 player as you ski around the resort. Apparently at specific places there is an indicator board saying which track to play for a guide to that locality (I've been told for example there's one at the Vanoise, and one at the top of the Derby).

I've had a listen to track one on the PC, which is about the Aguille Rouge - and therefore I'm guessing there's another indicator there...

It's (almost!) like being there.

Podcasts in French and English.  Load 'em up before you go.

http://www.mountainpod.fr/

With thanks to Rob Rees, an owner and friend over in 1800.

 
There is a change to Au Tour Des Vins this year that I thought would be as good news to the owners as it is for me, and you therefore might want to publicise on the owners site...
 
I have been singing in the resort throughout the summer, and have a weekly gig already arranged in the Belles Pintes for this winter, as well as being the night's entertainment in East for 24 & 25th Dec...
 
In addition to these commitments, under my real name of George McInnes, I have become a shareholder in ATDV (along with Richard Towers-Clark), and intend to promote part of that establishment as "George Brown's Wine Bar" (tying it into my singing persona and hopefully making it a cooler and more popular hang out for the apres ski crowd).
 
I will be the sole presence there, and intend to give it the consistancy and individual personality it has required, in order to become the friendly, relaxed Anglophile place it has aspired to be in the past...
 
Perhaps you could give me your thoughts, and any advice or suggestions you may have in order to make the place it's most attractive to visitors?
 
All the best for now and I'll see you there at some stage.
 
Best regards
George McInnes (Brown)

If anyone has any ideas for George, please feel free to discuss on a new thread on the website, or contact him directly at   brownmusic@gmail.com

Jim