We are an online marketplace that makes it easy for customers to find and book ski instructors. Our aim is to seamlessly connect people looking for lessons with their ideal instructor, whilst making it easy for instructors to market themselves, so they can continue to do what they love.

Where is Maison Sport available?

Currently our focus is in France, however our long term goal is for Maison Sport to be accessible to skiers worldwide, connecting customers and instructors across the ‘globe’.

What made you think the ski teaching industry was ready for such a big change?

We knew the ski teaching industry was ripe for innovation, nowadays consumers are used to having information and choice at the click of a button. Booking a ski instructor hasn’t changed with the times, whilst some ski schools offer online booking, you generally can’t choose your instructor and it is a very laborious, impersonal process. Remember you’re not just booking a taxi, or a seat on a plane, having the ideal instructor can make or break a ski holiday! The most common way to book ski lessons is to phone or email a ski school or scour the internet for independent instructors, until you find what you want in terms of pricing and availability. We just don’t think this is ideal, ski lessons are expensive, it should be possible for consumers to choose their ideal instructor and then easily book them.

What about ski instructors, they seem happy enough!?

That’s true, instructors working for ski schools generally are, however many great ski instructors work independently from ski schools. These instructors are entrepreneurial, passionate skiers, who have built up their own list of returning customers. In recent times some of these instructors have started to struggle to get enough work to sustain themselves.

Why is that?

Consumers are used to finding everything they need through Google search, so having a first rate website and ranking highly in search and ads is key. This requires a considerable budget, year on year, which an independent instructor just doesn’t have. So now a lot of these independent instructors are working with their own clients for around two thirds of the winter and struggling to get enough work for the remaining third. Which means they are either earning less money than in previous years, or they are having to go back to working for ski schools for some weeks.

Instructors can sign up to Maison Sport for free, they are only charged a fee of 3% for accepted bookings.

So why Maison Sport?

When we first came up with the concept for Maison Sport, this is what we had in mind:

Make it easy and more profitable for instructors to work for themselves, whilst keeping it simple for customers to find and book their ideal ski instructors.

To achieve this, we have developed a platform which is really simple and intuitive to use. Instructors have a profile where they can include information about themselves, such as their main skills and experience. It is easy for instructors to tailor their availability and pricing, ensuring that customers can see live availability and then simply request to book.

Customers can also leave reviews, but only if they have had a lesson through the platform, we think this is a great asset to instructors and will also help customers choose their ideal instructor. At the moment it’s tough for independent instructors to build up a base of reliable reviews that are easy for customers to access. For customers booking independent instructors, it means they are in the dark regarding real reviews, even if they book via a ski school, many reviews are done via trip advisor or the ski school’s website, which may or may not be real, so again, not giving them a truly informed choice.

I’ve heard that customers will be reviewed also?!

Not exactly: instructors will leave feedback for the customer on the lessons they have had, this could be regarding technical improvements or exercises they have been working on. We hope this will be useful for the customer to look back on when they next go skiing.

The next instructor, that the customer books a lesson with will also have access to the feedback! This will help the instructor to create a plan for their lesson and make sure the customer has the best lesson possible!

What about payments?

Another area that is a big pain point for instructors and customers alike is payment — instructors need to be paid up front to protect themselves against last minute cancellations, whilst customers would ideally prefer to pay on the day of the lesson, as that is more secure. Maison Sport allows for the best of both worlds, we take payment up front for each of the lessons, the money is held in escrow and is only paid to the instructor 24 hours after the lesson has taken place, resulting in great security for everyone.

Many customers struggle to find instructors during peak weeks, how will you help them?

We think the Maison Sport platform will encourage former full time instructors, who don’t currently do any part time weeks, to start coming out again — which will grow the number of instructors available during peak weeks! For current part time instructors, removing their ski school from the equation will enable them to increase their earning potential by up to 50% and give them the flexibility to choose their own customers.

If you like what you have read check out Maison Sport at www.maisonsport.com