Note:This guide is a living document and will continue to grow. If you have any questions or notice that something important is missing, please let us know! Your feedback helps us improve the guide for future Trip Captains.
As a Trip Captain, you play a vital role in the success of the trip. Your main responsibilities include:
- Promoting and selling the trip: You are the main point of contact for participants, so it's important to actively promote the trip.
- Managing trip administration: This includes handling sign-ups and cancellations, ensuring that participant information is up to date.
- Representing the club on-site: During the trip, you are the club’s representative. You will help the participants with any questions or issues that may arise.
- Handling bus trip drinks: You will pay the bus driver for drinks purchased on the bus upon returning to Frankfurt, collect a receipt, and be fully reimbursed by the club.
- Providing welcome drinks for bus trips: Bring a few bottles of sekt, orange juice, and cups for a welcome drink when participants arrive on the bus. You will be reimbursed for these costs.
- Arranging dinner when not included: If dinner is not provided at the accommodation, you will either need to make a dinner reservation for the group or provide participants with recommendations for local restaurants.
- You will receive a compensation of €12 per confirmed tripper and €6 per cancellation. If there are multiple Trip Captains, the compensation will be divided among them.
- If the trip group qualifies for a free ski pass, it is given to the Trip Captain.
For bus trips, there must be at least 20 trippers signed up for the bus by the end of the early sign-up period. If this minimum is not met, the bus may be cancelled, and the trip will be converted to a U-Drive.
Participants can sign up for trips via email or at socials. As Trip Captain, it is highly recommended that you attend socials during both the early and late sign-up periods. This gives you a chance to directly promote the trip to club members and encourage sign-ups.
As a Trip Captain, you’ll use several tools and resources to manage and organize your trip effectively. Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll need:
- Each trip is assigned a proxy email address, such as
tc19.hintertux@fscev.org, where "19" refers to the season number.
- This proxy email forwards emails to your personal email. When you reply, your personal email address will be visible to the recipient.
- The trips team also receives copies of all emails sent to the TC proxy address to stay informed.
- You will need to provide your personal email when you sign up as a Trip Captain.
- There is a significant chance of emails from trippers arriving in your spam folder. Check your spam folder regularly!
- Our club uses NextCloud to store all the important trip files. You will be given an account with access to:
- A Trip Captain Information folder containing general information for all trip captains.
- A folder for your specific trip, which includes key documents like the trip fact sheet and sign-up spreadsheet.
You can access NextCloud in the following ways:
- Via browser on your computer, where you can view and edit files.
- From mobile devices, where you can only view files unless you download the NextCloud mobile app.
- You can also use NextCloud desktop apps for easier file management.
The sign-up sheet is a critical tool for managing participants. Key points:
- Only confirmed sign-ups should be entered in the spreadsheet (no provisional sign-ups).
- Waitlisted participants can be added but should be clearly marked.
- The sheet must be kept up to date, especially after each social, to ensure accurate reporting to hotels and tour operators.
The sign-up Excel file contains several important sheets:
- Trip Data: This is set up by the VP Activities and includes essential details like room assignments.
- Tripper List: Enter the names and details of participants. Use the dropdown list in the Roomie column to assign roommates, which helps generate the Auto Roomlist. Sport preferences and levels are only needed if lessons are part of the trip.
- Auto Roomlist: Automatically generated and used by the VP Activities for reporting to hotels and tour operators.
- Expense Claim Form: Use this sheet to record any expenses. All expenses must be approved by the VP Activities before submitting them to the Treasurer.
- Worksheet for Sign-Up Nights: Print out this sheet to record sign-ups during social events.
- Worksheet for Bus Departure: Print this sheet for bus trips to record participants' details.
- Worksheet for Drinks on the Bus: Use this to track drinks consumed on bus trips. You are responsible for collecting payment for the drinks.
- Trip Report: After the trip, the VP Activities will request a report from you, and this sheet can be used for that purpose.
- Blank Receipt: Print a few blank receipts to use in case of unexpected payments, such as getting a signed receipt from the bus driver for drink payments.
If you need help with NextCloud, the sign-up file, or emails, feel free to contact the Trips Coordinators. They are available to support you throughout the trip planning process.
As a Trip Captain, you will manage participant sign-ups and make sure room assignments, memberships, ski passes, and data security are handled properly. Here's how to approach these responsibilities:
¶ Room Assignments and Single Room Supplements
- Each trip has a limited number of single rooms, which are in high demand and come with an additional supplement.
- Many participants sign up to share a room but do not have a specific roommate. The club will try to find someone of the same gender to share the room.
- If no roommate can be found, this results in a "hanging single", and the participant will need to pay the single room supplement. The club covers this cost on bus trips but not on U-drives.
- When assigning shared rooms, the goal is to arrange twin-bedded rooms (two single beds) except for couples. However, twin rooms are not always available, and some participants may need to share a bed. Males are given priority for twin rooms, as they are generally more concerned about sharing beds than females.
- More information in this article: Managing Room Allocations and Sign-Ups
- When entering participant information, try to assign a roommate as early as possible by selecting from the dropdown list in the "Roomie" column. This helps generate the Auto Room List used by hotels.
- Make sure to enter a sign-up date for each participant. Room assignments can be changed later, but it’s important to have initial pairings for the hotel.
Before confirming a participant's sign-up, make sure they are a current member. You can check the membership list in the NextCloud folder.
If a participant is not on the list, use the following suggested message for communication:
For expired memberships:
I can't find you on the latest membership list. If you have not already renewed your membership for this season, please send an email to memberships@fscev.org to renew, and inform them of any updates to your information (e.g., bank account, email, postal address, phone number). Please let me know your membership number.
For new members:
If you are a new member, please fill in the attached form and email it to memberships@fscev.org. Do not cc me, as the form contains sensitive data. You will not be charged a membership fee until you sign up for your second trip or the next season. Please let me know your membership number.
A membership form will be available in your folder for new members.
- As a Trip Captain, you are responsible for organizing ski passes for the participants.
- If your trip has less than 20 participants, please ask the trippers to purchase their own passes individually and provide them the information (links, kiosk location, etc) they need to purchase their own passes.
- If the group qualifies for a free ski pass, it goes to the Trip Captain. If there is no free pass but a discount, you can use the discount toward your own pass.
- If there are multiple free passes or discounts exceeding the value of one pass, the extra benefit must be shared with the group.
- Pay attention to senior and junior discounts when managing ski passes, and consult the trips team to confirm details for group discounts.
- The club will assist with pre-ordering and payment for ski passes, and you may need to collect them at the hotel or a ski lift desk.
- You will be handling personal data such as email addresses and phone numbers, so it's important to comply with GDPR.
- After the trip is fully reconciled, make sure to delete personal data from your devices. Check with VP Activities to ensure everything is in order before removing data.
- Although you should not receive them, you may receive membership applications that contain sensitive information, such as bank account details. Make sure to forward these applications to the memberships team and delete them immediately.
As Trip Captain, effective communication with participants is essential for a smooth trip. Here’s how to manage group emails and WhatsApp communications:
- 1-2 weeks before the trip, send an email to all participants with key information, such as meeting times, ski pass options, and any other necessary trip details.
- Use your Trip Captain (TC) email address to send the message, and make sure to put participants’ email addresses in BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) instead of CC, to protect their privacy.
- You can easily copy and paste the email addresses from the trip sign-up spreadsheet.
- An example Group Email is available in your Trip Captain information folder for guidance.
- Create a WhatsApp group for the trip, and invite participants to join. While phone numbers will be visible to everyone in the group, joining is optional.
- The WhatsApp group serves as a quick and easy way to keep participants informed, and it allows them to share information with each other.
- For more formal or important updates, you might want to create a second WhatsApp group where only you can post, ensuring that announcements don’t get lost in general chatter.
This system helps keep communication organized and ensures that participants have all the information they need before and during the trip.
When managing a bus trip, there are a few specific tasks and timelines you need to keep in mind:
¶ Sandwich Order
- About one week before the trip, you need to gather sandwich orders from the participants. Make sure to determine:
- The total number of sandwiches needed.
- How many vegetarian options are required.
¶ Sekt and Munchies
- Purchase Sekt, juice, snacks, and possibly small shots for the welcome drinks on the bus.
- You have a maximum allowance of €5 per participant for these purchases, but it’s recommended to aim for about €3 per person.
- You will be reimbursed for these expenses after the trip.
- Arrive at the departure location at least 45 minutes before departure to ensure everything is ready for the trip.
- You will receive the bus driver's name and phone number ahead of the trip for any necessary coordination.
- Bus drivers have strict time regulations. They must take breaks at specified intervals, and they need a minimum of 9 hours of rest after arriving at the hotel before they can start the next morning.
- On the last day of the trip, the driver may not be able to drive to the slopes in the morning due to limits on the total working hours in a day.
For more detailed guidance, refer to the TC Bus Checklist, which is available in your NextCloud folder.