The new disruptive ski holiday brand Heidi – owned by two Bristol based entrepreneur bothers, Marcus and Alexander Blunt – have launched their first step in offering end to end train travel for their ski packages from the UK.

Heidi is now offering train transfers from the airport to a number of its top resorts in Switzerland. As well as being more environmentally friendly, easy, modern, clean and comfortable, travelling by train is often a cheaper way to get to your final destination. https://www.heidi.com/ski/ski-holidays-by-train Zermatt as a package for example is now £1000 less for a couple because the transfers are so much cheaper.

As an independent start up, harnessing its technology and on the ground connections, Heidi is able to nimbly shift to what consumers are asking for, as well as work towards its own long term sustainability plans.

Alexander Blunt co-founder of Heidi.com explains: “We originally explored this option as we wanted to offer a more environmentally friendly way for our customers to get to their resorts, with less carbon emissions. Ultimately, we hope to offer end to end train travel from the UK to the resort and home again.

“However, through our own experience we've found that trains offer a really magical journey to resort and provide people with a more relaxed way to travel, which all becomes part of the holiday experience. It means you can avoid traffic getting into resort and winding roads which can lead to car sickness.

“To start our own journey off with train travel for our customers, we picked resorts that are the easiest to get to from a Swiss airport. They've got a maximum of one change which are all well sign posted and as they've only got one train company, everything works together and is meticulously planned. They've really nailed the trains in Switzerland so it's a super reliable and enjoyable way to travel.

“We also took into account a number of other considerations including the train staff who are all helpful and speak multiple languages. Plus, in terms of the actual carriages themselves, Swiss trains have lots of space, some with entire wagons dedicated to play areas, which are great for entertaining children. They have superb restaurant cars, and some carriages even have two levels, so the views are amazing!”

As Heidi's packages are not restricted to the normal Saturday to Saturday package holidays (as they allow you to book any day of the week), the new train option will allow users to relax into their holiday without the burden of needing to book it themselves. This can be time consuming, expensive and leave people stranded without the right connection or holiday protection. Everything booked through Heidi is covered by their ATOL insurance, meaning travellers can sit back and just enjoy the ride, with a 24/7 helpline if you need support at any time.

Thanks to its smart technology, Heidi is the only company which offers such flexible package holidays to as many ski resorts in the world and is hoping by taking this first step it will allow for more sustainable options for people to get to the mountains.

-Ends - 

Heidi was launched in 2018, formally known as Ski Zoom. Founded by the Blunt brothers, Marcus 39 and Alexander, 37, the company was born out of the lack of flexibility in the winter ski market and the desire the duo had to discover new destinations. 

The company has seen exponential growth from year one sales of £500k to year four sales of £11m, all with Covid sandwiched in between! This year Heidi is currently 160% up, year on year. The founders, who are half Norwegian, admit they were lucky to have snow as part of their DNA growing up in a country where enjoying the terrain of a white winter was part and parcel of everyday life. They then got to appreciate all the summer adventures the mountains offered, prompting their desire to provide package opportunities year-round and change their name from Ski Zoom to Heidi. 

The millennials have successfully amalgamated their experience of working in the travel industry, in different guises with a savvy technical prowess to develop a completely new way of searching and booking ski trips, which brings a totally modern and flexible approach to today's market. Users of Heidi have thousands of options to choose from to find their perfect break, whether they're a family looking for a budget friendly option for beginners, or a group of friends after a quick, convenient mid-week getaway, close to the slopes, with tons of après ski. Customers can now build their perfect break in minutes and everything is planned and covered by Heidi, which is protected under ATOL. Ski passes and equipment can also be booked online through the business.  

Heidi is designed to break down the inflexible restrictions in the winter ski and board market and enable more people to easily enjoy the mountains year-round.