The owner of a ski school located in the French resort of Courchevel in the Alps said that the majority of high-profile Russian customers canceled their bookings as a result of the war in Ukraine.
Ski5 Star’s Filippo Casaccia, a private ski instructor and concierge service, said his company is popular with Russian oligarchs and extremely wealthy Arabs, including the latter country’s royal family.
Before the war, businesses were stable, Casaccia said. But then his Russian clients were hit with sanctions. She told Insider that the ski school had a 90% cancellation rate from its Russian customers as a result.
Casaccia says his business was saved, however, by his wealthy Arab clients. “We were lucky because we are still working with Arabs, which compensates for the missing Russians,” he added.
Wealthy Russians seem to have been deserting luxury Alpine ski resorts since Russia invaded Ukraine. Their disappearance, especially in the exclusive neighborhood of Courchevel 1850, has worried high quality chalet operators. One told Insider that there was a noticeable lack of requests for next year from Russians, who tended to book more expensive properties, which can cost up to $ 250,000 a week.
The five-star hotels in Courchevel have also felt the impact of fewer Russian visitors. The head of bookings at Six Senses Residences and Spa, Angela Lavandier, told Insider that almost all of the high-spending Russian visitors were promoting their deposits for use in the next ski season after the outbreak of war.
Some Russians even found it difficult to pay their hotel bills, according to Casaccia. He said staff at the Courchevel-based hotel he knew said there was at least $ 1 million in outstanding bills from Russian customers.
Russian oligarchs have reportedly endured hardship in the face of Western sanctions. Imprisoned oligarch Petr Aven told the Financial Times last month that he was having difficulty paying bills and “did not know how to survive” amid the sanctions imposed on him.
In the case of Casaccia, Russian clients gave him very general reasons for the cancellation. He added that there were no Russian reservations about next year and that he and his team “were not positive” about the prospects. “I think it will take more than a year for them to return,” he said. “The situation will not stabilize until next winter.”
In the absence of wealthy Russian customers, Casaccia said his team would work to expand its customer base, with an emphasis on building relationships with a recent influx of Brazilian customers.
“We discovered a lot of Brazilians this winter, as they could not go to America because of the COVID-19 regulations, so they were attracted to the ski resorts in Courchevel,” said Casaccia, adding that he expects even more Brazilians to arrive. next year.
