Each ski season, hundreds of mainly young people flock to the Alps, Dolomites and Pyrenees to work as chefs, cleaners, drivers, nannies and concierges to snow-seeking tourists paying heavily for the privilege.
If you’re one of the growing number of Americans heading to Europe for a cheaper ski holiday, you will likely have been confronted by them, both on the slopes and in the apres-ski bars long after the skiing is done.
They’re often derided as posh girls on a luxury gap year with a reputation of skiing all day and partying all night, but the reality for most is less glamorous.
Chalet girls are an institution in Europe’s most luxurious ski resorts. A small cohort of the millions employed in Europe’s winter sports industry, but one synonymous with the luxury chalets of Chamonix, St Anton and Courchevel, to name a few.
Emerging from a combination of the increasing affordability of foreign vacations in the 1960’s and 70’s, and the decline of the British aristocracy’s ability to maintain large properties across Europe, this hype became big business.
A ski season working as a chalet host became an avenue of adventure for girls recently released from the shackles of the British boarding school system.
Wages were low, the hours were long and the drinks in the local bars were cheap. The term chalet girl began to enter the British popular consciousness, carrying with it a hedonistic reputation for dominating the bars and nightclubs of the French Alps.
The job continues to provide an opportunity to spend months skiing in the world’s most exclusive resorts and be paid for the pleasure.
The 2011 film Chalet Girl stands as a monument to how many perceive the profession. Tamsin Egerton portrays Georgie as the archetypal chalet girl: posh, air-headed, flirtatious with guests and mainly interested in drinking into the wee hours.
That film bears absolutely no relationship whatsoever to the industry today. VIP Ski’s Andy Sturt told CNN as for a start, the role is no longer the preserve of privately educated girls from the south of England.
Past and present chalet hosts CNN spoke to for this piece said that, while the role is still predominantly female, a growing number of chalet hosts are also becoming men.
A female host currently working in a luxury chalet at a French resort, who spoke to CNN anonymously because she was not authorized by her employer to talk to the media, said her team was majoritarilly girls, but not by a landslide anymore.
The industry, according to those who work in it, has become increasingly professional since it developed its firmly held reputation and gaining a place as a chalet host has now become fiercely competitive.
While it’s still possible to hire British nationals, the need for work permits and visas means we now primarily recruit those with EU passports or a French Carte de Séjour (residence permit).
Travel and work restrictions introduced in recent years — particularly as a result of the UK’s exit from the European Union — have meant that many companies are looking to hire those with dual-nationality passports and a number of companies folded altogether.
The increasing professionalism and competition for roles have meant that the hard-core partying reputation of chalet staff is less deserved than in seasons gone by.
However, chalet staff interviewed for this piece stressed that whilst the hedonistic sides of the job had decreased, they had not gone away altogether.
Skiing is an expensive sport, and factors like climate change making lower altitude resorts nonviable are only adding to the price tag. With pay limited, a major appeal of the job is its access to the slopes, so it naturally attracts experienced skiers.
A lot of people are from very privileged backgrounds, especially if you’re a Brit doing it, the chalet worker in France said of the background of her coworkers, adding that British guests probably are expecting someone quite posh to be working as chalet staff.
Skiing is becoming extremely expensive, Sturt told CNN, adding You’re not going to come into a ski season without some understanding or involvement in the ski sector, and necessarily that means that your family has an element of wealth.
There is no disputing the opulence of the chalets in which these people work. Saunas, wine cellars, priceless artworks and even raclette rooms dedicated to serving up melted cheese are not uncommon.
Our clients expect to enjoy luxurious accommodation combined with exceptional service!
While their guests are living in the lap of luxury, the same can’t be said for the chalet hosts. You are in the luxury sector, but you are not the guest. The morning commute is often a 20-30 minute early morning hike up a mountain in the snow.
Guests paying upwards of $3,000 per person expect their every conceivable need to be taken care of. You can’t say no, it’s that sort of high-level service, a girl said of her time working as a host in a luxury chalet.
Those who attempt to make use of the chalet’s facilities while their guests are on the slopes are liable to find themselves without a job or accommodation. When it comes to hiring chalet staff, it’s all about personality, Sturt told CNN.
They need to have personality and depth of character and experience to be able to host the dinner party every night. That’s the fundamental essence of it. So they need to be able to do all the details, all the domestic chores, but really it’s all about personality.
Pay is generally not particularly high, with some reporting their monthly pay to be around £1,000 ($1,325) — potentially less than British minimum wage considering the super long working hours.
This is generally topped up by tips which can be more than a monthly salary.
Accommodation and ski gear and passes are also usually included in the package. The long hours and demanding guests can put a strain on chalet staff, many of whom will be away from home for the first time in their lives.
I definitely had highs and very low lows, I remember walking into a bedroom, and it was an absolute (mess). And I was like, I can’t do this. But I’ve got to remind myself I’m in the mountains, and I think it’s that high and low that really gets me through it.
CNN /ABC Flash Point News 2025.
A job paying lower than minimum wage to wait on the ultra wealthy around the clock doesn’t seem worth it, especially if the business is charging the guest a premium price.
It sounds like “boat girls” but in the mountains. A bit different, boat girls tend to be guests on super yachts on the Riviera, particularly the French Riviera. Mountain girls work hard apparently but there are more than likely other activities taking place with some guests.