Maison Sport operates across a range of countries across Europe, each of which has varying qualification requirements and regulations for ski and snowboard instructors. Any instructor you see with a blue ‘verified’ tick icon on their profile has had their qualifications manually vetted by the Maison Sport team, to ensure they’re a qualified instructor.

Any instructor that has a blue ‘verified’ tick icon on their profile has had their qualifications vetted and verified by the Maison Sport team, the level of qualification required to have a verified account on Maison Sport varies slightly by country. As follows:

France – all verified instructors must carry a ‘Carte Professionelle’ licence, the qualification requirements for this licence are very high. The licence is administered by the French Government (to attain a Carte Professionelle most instructors will have studied for an average of 5 years+ to attain the correct level of qualification). Aside from requiring the instructor to have the highest level of qualification, which includes numerous teaching and technical performance diplomas in skiing or snowboarding, European mountain safety courses and the Euro speed test, the instructors are also required to have a criminal record check and a first aid certificate.

Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Finland, Scotland, Spain – all verified instructors must carry a licence which qualifies them to work independently, or be working for a registered ski school. Verified instructors must provide documentation to show they meet the local regulatory requirements and instructors that are working for a ski school must provide details of the school they work for.

If an instructor has a blue tick next to their name, it means their qualifications have been verified by Maison Sport.

If an instructor does not have a blue tick on their profile then they have not been manually vetted by the Maison Sport team. They have however self-certified that they’re a qualified instructor and confirmed they meet local regulations to work as a ski or snowboard instructor. If you’re interested in booking an instructor that hasn’t been verified, we recommend asking them via the Maison Sport messaging service what qualifications they have and only book lessons with them if you’re comfortable they’re a qualified instructor.

Keeping your payments on Maison Sport is essential for your own security – we have carefully selected a payment provider specialist that handles every aspect of the transactions that take place on the Maison Sport platform in a secure manner.

Where does the money go? By entrusting Maison Sport to handle these transactions, both you as a customer and the instructor, as a supplier, are provided with significant security for all transactions that take place. All payments are escrowed and stored securely with our specialist provider and are only released to the instructor once the lessons have taken place.

Be smart there is always the potential that a scammer might try to manipulate you into vulnerable situations where you can be taken advantage of. Any suggestion of a payment outside of the Maison Sport platform should not be taken lightly and should be reported to the Maison Sport support team.

Am I safe to leave my children with an Instructor? – All verified instructors that are on the Maison Sport platform are qualified to work with children, these checks are part of the application process for a valid teaching license.

How do I know if my instructor likes to teach children? We recommend that you read the instructor's biography and reviews from previous customers, these will often give you an indication of their teaching preferences. If in doubt, simply send the instructor a message and ask them for further information.

I’m nervous about leaving my child on their own with the instructor… - As a rule of thumb children respond better to their instructors and teaching when parents aren’t present. Children may seem upset initially at leaving Mummy and Daddy however, it doesn’t take long for them to forget their absence and enjoy learning to ski or snowboard…

Let the professionals teach your children to ski or board! They have years of experience and knowledge and will guide your children through their learning pathways.

Give an accurate account of your children’s ability and previous experience to the instructor, this is important for the instructor’s planning of the lesson.

Pocket money and a snack – lessons can be tiring when you’re a child and instructors will often stop for a drink and some food, it’s important to keep energy levels high in the mountains.

Does your child have medical conditions or allergies ? – always remember to let the instructor know if your children have any medical conditions that might need to be taken into consideration during their lessons.

Swap contact details – it’s important to swap contact details with your instructor before the lesson starts. Should there be a need to communicate with the instructor during the lesson you should make sure you have a way of contacting them at all times.

It’s a great idea at the end of a lesson to discuss progress with the instructor, having a clear idea of the steps being made will help you realise the value of your lessons!

Remember skiing should always be FUN – let your children have some freedom on the slopes outside of lessons and they will often naturally try to show you what they’ve learnt!

Please be respectful and polite when communicating with instructors on the site, we ask you not to spam the instructors with sales pitches and only send requests for lessons if you truly intend to use the instructor for lessons.

Be clear and concise if you have any questions and get to the important stuff right away - Maison Sport has useful functionality to facilitate the key elements surrounding your ski/snowboard lessons i.e Dates, Times and Locations. However, providing thorough information for ability levels, experience and participants will be very advantageous.

We recommend that when making further bookings with your instructor to book through the platform, keeping your entire booking centralised on Maison Sport is very beneficial and if a booking has been extended outside of the platform, Maison Sport can no longer be responsible for the activity and any issues that arise, such as a last minute cancellation.