Snow business

SELLING up, moving abroad and starting a new business in November 2008 would have seemed like a pretty risky thing to do. The world was in the throes of an economic meltdown, house prices were falling and there was a real sense of economic panic.

But that did not stop former Elizabeth College student Duncan Salmon and his wife, Toorna, from leaving their successful marketing careers behind to start new lives in the French Alps.

Knowing little of the lingo and having no experience in the hospitality industry, they set up Alpine365, a ski and snowboarding chalet holiday company. Just over 12 months on, the couple are running two chalets in the Paradiski area, bookings are on the up and now their London life seems like a very long way away.

'Last year I did go back there to do some temp work and getting back to the nine to five, there was a little bit of me that quite enjoyed it – 5.30pm on a Friday and that's it, you're done,' said Duncan.

'Now, I'm sort of on call round the clock, but I know the only reason I enjoyed getting back into the office was because I was on a six-week contract. I knew there was a finish date. What we do now is a lot of work, but we're in control. I love meeting and chatting to guests and we live in a beautiful part of the world.'

Alpine365 comprises one chalet in the picturesque Peisey-Nancroix in Les Arcs, which they opened in November 2008, and another, in Les Coches, La Plagne, which opened in 2009. It's possible to ski between the two, as the resorts are linked by the Vanoise Express, the world's largest cable car, which allows access to more than 425kms of piste.

'The one chalet earned us enough to live on but left us little else and I think we always looked to expand, although we'd still like to stay small and independent, so that's when we took on the second place,' said Duncan, who left his job at Sky TV for this venture.

'We got into this for two reasons – I've always loved to ski and we've both wanted to own our own business. My wife wanted to do something new and something on our own. Coming over here and setting up a chalet was not just a lifestyle thing but a business, too.'

'It's the thing I like to do most, although I probably do less skiing now than I did before the business, funnily enough. I don't have a lot of spare time.'

Duncan skied in the Paradiski area a number of times before choosing it as the location for the business. One of the reasons he and Toorna chose it was because it is busy all year round. They didn't want to be stuck somewhere that closes for parts of the year because they wanted to have something to offer guests off-season.

Whereas Duncan was experienced on the slopes, Toorna had never skied before. The first time she did was in February 2008. The couple had been planning the new venture for two years, even though Toorna had no way of knowing whether alpine living was for her.

'She'd always fancied running a B&B but wasn't sure if she'd like the cold. She was up for the chalet idea but worried about what would happen if she got there and absolutely hated it, so I took her skiing and she loved it. I actually proposed to her on a chair lift, so we got married and moved all in the same year. It was a bit hectic.'

In terms of the economic downturn, their choice of timing couldn't have been worse. They initially intended to buy property in the region but the dive in the housing market meant they lost between 35% and 40% equity on their existing property in the UK, so they looked towards renting. The financial aspect would have been enough to scare most people off the idea, but they were determined to get started on their dream as soon as possible.

'A lot of holiday chalets are actually rented. There are a lot of French farmers who have lived in these chalets for generations, who realise there's a fair bit of money to be had in renting them, rather than selling them,' Duncan said.

The property at La Plagne, Chalet Epicea, is a six-bedroom building made of stone and wood that has a roaring fire and can accommodate up to 13 people. It's located right on the edge of the Vanoise National Park and has views of Mont Blanc. It sounds nothing short of idyllic, as does the property in Les Arcs, Chalet Le Passeu, which can accommodate 16 guests.

Both are fully catered and the Salmons attended gourmet-cooking courses to learn how to create high-standard breakfast, afternoon tea and four-course dinner menus, although they now employ staff to help with cooking and cleaning.

But Toorna and Duncan still remain on hand to offer advice, do maintenance, take bookings and run guests into town, in one of their two seven-seat 4x4s.

It's an incredible amount of work to take on for two people new to the industry, but the couple say that their marketing backgrounds frequently come into play.

'My day starts before 7am, when the guests come in for breakfast. I give them lifts to the slopes, then I do various bits and pieces before helping to prepare afternoon tea. Then it's a case of getting dinner under way, and after that I hang around and chat to guests. Then, before you know it it's midnight and you think, where has the day gone? But it's fantastic, especially if you have a great set of guests,' Duncan said.

'I worked in client service and I had to make sure my clients always had exactly what they wanted, so it's the same kind of skills. But it is a lot more work than I anticipated and that first season was a shock to the system. I never had to clear up baby sick in my old job.'

The French way of life has also taken a little getting used to, particularly its unique sense of urgency, or lack of, shall we say.

'Getting things done when you want them done is a bit of a problem. We've waited weeks for a plumber. But it doesn't help that neither of us speaks the language particularly well. We're getting by, though; we're learning all the time and it's exciting. I can't imagine going back to London now.'

• For more information about Alpine365, visit www.alpine365.co.uk.