Less Challenge in the Alps

From time to time I get a chance to share personal stories of challenge dividend dynamics, rather than simply commenting on a article or news item.  This week I will actually share two personal stories.

I spent last week at a company conference in Chamonix, France, a small ski town/resort in the Alps about an hour drive outside of Geneva.  My expectations for the resort were fairly high going in.  "The French Alps" sounds romantic to start with, and a few friends told me that this was well-known as a ski paradise - "The Aspen of the Alps."  I had not skied since junior high school in the mountains of North Carolina, so I opted out of skiing, but I was looking forward to the sights and sounds that a premium resort should hold.

Interestingly, I was fairly unimpressed by my visit.  Of course the scenery was beautiful and the French village cute, however our 3-star resort hotel was, frankly, a dump.  It featured tiny beds, poor food, threadbare towels, and decor that looked unchanged in a decade or more.  I am far from a travel snob, but after spending hundreds of nights in hotels around the world I was surprised at how crappy this was - especially as a premium tourist destination.

I compared this trip to another conference at Sun Valley, Idaho, about two years ago and a trip to Copper Mountain, Colorado when I was a kid.  Both were much nicer.  They lacked the French history and architecture, but had many more amenities.  They were updated and at least on-par with $200/night hotels that one finds in large U.S. cities.

So, why is Chamonix seemingly lacking?  My guess is (you guessed it) that the French Alps simply lack the competition that occurs in North American ski resorts.  Skiing in Europe is limited to a few towns and resorts in the crowded Alps, while in North America, there is a vast swath of ski options throughout the chain of the much longer Rocky Mountains.  In North America, there is more open land and open competition.  New resorts spring up often, forcing the existing ones to keep pace.  In the Alps, however, it just seemed as if there was little change and few new players.  As a result, the market slows down, competitors stabilize, and the quality begins to decay.  Lack of challenge means a lack of improvement.

Of course I cannot speak to the actual ski conditions.  Some tell me that maybe favorable tax laws encourage more improvement in the U.S..  And maybe my hotel was the exception.  I would love to get others' perspectives.  Let me know your experience...