saison.
What is a seasonaire?
A seasonaire is someone hired for a season, most often the winter, in a mountain resort. In French the word is saisonnier. Hotels, bars, restaurants, chalets and ski schools use it for the staff who arrive for the season and leave when it ends.
What the word means
Seasonaire is the resort word for a seasonal worker. It is not a job title on its own. The same person might be hired as a bartender, a chef, a chalet host, a housekeeper, a receptionist or a ski instructor.
Saison uses the word for the people looking for that work. This page explains it. It is not a job listing, and it does not promise a visa, a bed or a wage.
Typical roles
The work sits around the guests: bar and restaurant service, the kitchen, hotel reception, housekeeping, chalet hosting, and ski-school instruction.
A role on Saison keeps the title the venue used. When a listing Saison found elsewhere left out pay, dates or housing, the card says that detail was not stated.
Season dates
In the Alps, winter hiring usually runs from late November or early December through mid-to-late April. Some resorts open earlier and some stay open later.
Each role has its own dates. On Saison those dates are on the card, or the card says they were not stated. There is no single calendar that every venue follows.
Housing
A staff bed is common in the high resorts, because private winter rentals are scarce. It is not universal. Valley towns and some jobs expect you to arrange your own room.
Read the card: housing included, partial help, or not stated. The country guides describe what is usual in that country. They do not override what a specific role says.
Contracts, pay and the right to work
The contract and the right to work depend on the country. Saison does not give legal advice and does not apply for a visa or a permit.
The country guides are where those rules are written down, including the pay floor in force there. Start with the country you want to work in.
How Saison helps a seasonaire
You can browse open roles without an account. Pay, dates and housing are on the card.
A free profile is the application: skills, languages, the seasons you have already worked, and the dates you are free. A venue that posts a role on Saison sees applicants ranked by that fit, rather than by who wrote first.
Saison was built by someone who worked two winters behind a bar in Alpe d’Huez. The about page tells that story.
Common questions
What is a seasonaire?
A seasonaire is a seasonal worker in a mountain resort, usually for the winter. The French word is saisonnier. The job itself might be bar, kitchen, chalet, housekeeping, reception or ski school.
Do I need a visa to work a season?
It depends on your passport and the country. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens are not in the same position as everyone else, and Andorra is outside the EU. Read the country guide for the place you want to work. Saison cannot arrange the permit.
Is housing included in a seasonaire job?
Sometimes. The role card says whether housing is included, only partly covered, or not stated. A resort in the mountains is not itself a promise of a bed.
When do winter seasons run?
Most Alpine winter jobs start in late November or early December and finish in April. The dates printed on the role are the ones that count.