The lodge is closed until further notice

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update 23/3/2020

In line with today’s State and Federal Government announcements, regarding the closure of many non essential businesses and restrictions on non essential travel, the committee has decided to close the lodge to members and guests from today until further notice.

Andrew Rist and his family expect to remain in residence during the period that the lodge is closed, however long that may be.

As stated in my previous COVID-19 update, full refunds will be given to all members and guests who have paid for accommodation this season.

We will keep you informed of any changes as they occur.

Nigel Cowie
President

Last Updated: 27 October 2020 27 October 2020

Minimum fee waived till the end of MTB season

 

Usually in summer the club needs to apply a minimum fee of $300 to cover the costs of opening and closing the lodge. This can be an obstacle for small groups wanting short stays. For the last few years we have waived the fee at popular times to encourage members and guests to enjoy Falls Creek in "green" season.

Unfortunately some of the minimum fee free opportunities were lost due to the bushfires. To make up for this, no minimum fees will apply for the rest of the green season (to end April 2020). Mountain bike shuttles run every weekend till 26 April, or ride the trails anytime under your own steam. Autumn walking and fishing are great or just explore the High Plains or tour the valleys below with an #EmptyEsky.

The fires did not touch the resort or mountain bike trails. The road across the Bogong High Plains is open all the way to the Omeo Highway and many tracks have reopened. (Some further parts of the Bogong High Plains closed see https://www.ffm.vic.gov.au/media-releases/park-and-forest-closures for details)

 #RollonBack to the high country and have a great stay at AAC Falls Creek

Last Updated: 27 October 2020 27 October 2020

Covid-19 Update 24 May

This week there have been some announcements of interest to frequent visitors to Falls Creek. You will soon need to decide whether to seek refunds on season passes.

The lift company have announced that the final payment for season passes will not be deducted on 1 June as scheduled. Instead they will make further announcements by 15 June. They expect to offer different passes that are more appropriate for the covid-19 affected season. You can choose to purchase a new pass or get a full refund on the Epic Australia Pass. (Reading between the lines suggests that the normal Epic Australia Pass won’t be available.) Details at https://www.epicaustraliapass.com.au/epic-australia-now/86-2020-eap-update

Resort Management had deferred the final payment of resort entry passes until 3 June. They now say they will not process the payments until it is clearer when the season can start. They have announced a refund policy whereby you can apply for a refund or credit to 2021 by 10 June. This will only be actioned if the government has not allowed the season to begin on 6 June. Details at https://www.fallscreek.com.au/resortentry/2020-refund-policy . STOP PRESS: The season will officially start on 22 June but no accommodation with communal facilities can operate then. If the resort management refund policy remains unchanged we will not have the option of a refund. We can only hope that this is reviewed.

Queensland has said that it is unlikely to relax interstate quarantine restrictions till at least September. WA, SA and Tasmania have not announced any relaxation of their border restrictions.

The committee is monitoring information available from government, resort management and industry bodies. Unfortunately it is still very unclear if, when and how the lodge can operate. We are however very focused on finding some way that the lodge can operate safely and legally this year. Nothing can be decided yet but we are sharing some possible scenarios with you to help you make decisions on season passes. This list is not exhaustive, nor have any decisions been made about changed conditions.

• The lodge is very unlikely to open before July, at best. We guess that August is more likely but not assured
• The number of people able to stay at any one time is likely to be reduced significantly
• Some rationing of lodge stays may be necessary
• The lodge may need to be completely closed for 1 or more days a week for thorough cleaning. This could restrict the types of bookings available
• Entry to kitchen and dining room may have to be rostered (with time limits on meal preparations). Other common areas may also need to have restrictions. You may need to spend significant time in your room
• Table sitting may have to be pre-allocated for the duration of stays and continually sanitised by members
• The spa and sauna may not operate. Neither may the games and TV rooms nor the spare toilet and shower
• You may be required to sign legal documents before, during and/or after your stay
• If there is a suspected infection at the lodge, you could have to depart immediately.
• Strict enforcement of mandated covid-19 rules and related club procedures, with termination of stays for non compliance
• Even with diligent compliance, the risk of infection at a ski resort or ski lodge cannot be eliminated
• It is possible that lift operations and other services may also be limited

We very much hope that drastic measures are not required. Before deciding whether to seek season pass refunds, you should, however, consider whether you would make enough use of the passes if some of these scenarios played out.
The committee very much regrets that we cannot give you more definite guidance. We will continue to monitor the relevant announcements and refine plans to match the unfolding situation and communicate these with you.

Last Updated: 13 June 2021 13 June 2021

• covid

Club Communications - can you help?

q Do you love AAC Falls Creek and Falls Creek?

q Do you like writing and sharing interesting and important information & photos?

q Are you familiar with Facebook and Instagram or willing to learn?

q Are you happy to learn (easy) new web-based applications for creating and sharing content (like this article and newsletter)?

q Would you like to contribute to the overall running of the club through membership of the committee?

Then we would love to hear from you.

We are looking for someone to take on the committee role of Communications Officer. IT background would be great but not essential. It's more important to be enthusiastic about communicating with members and reasonably comfortable with using technology. There is support for anything complicated.

Find out more from our Secretary, Jenny or President, Nigel

 

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 To be clear: this is a volunteer position

Last Updated: 20 March 2020 20 March 2020

AGM Postponed

The Annual General Meeting was due to be held on 21 May. The government offered incorporated associations like AAC Falls Creek the option to defer their AGMs for up to 3 months (till end of August in our case). The committee considered whether to hold the AGM as scheduled by teleconference or to defer the AGM. At that time, not even the committee would have been allowed to assemble in one room, let alone other members. Consequently, an extension was applied for and granted.

At this stage we intend holding the AGM in late August, probably Tuesday 25th, at a venue to be determined. We would prefer to have it as a normal face to face meeting if possible but this will depend on the government restrictions in force closer to that time. Having remote members participate fully in discussions and votes, as required by our rules, would bring in some complexities.

The committee intends to send out the financial statements and committee reports to members in the next few weeks. Other AGM papers will be provided closer to the date of the meeting. In particular, the proposal for annual subscriptions for 2021 will wait until we have a better understanding of how the season is unfolding.

The committee welcomes your input as to whether a teleconference, eg using Zoom, for some or all participants would be beneficial despite the complexities.

The date and venue for the AGM will be confirmed closer to the time of the meeting.

Last Updated: 12 May 2020 12 May 2020

COVID-19 - from the President

Your committee has recently met to discuss this issue and how this virus may affect the operation of the lodge, currently and over the upcoming snow season.

At present, the lodge is open to guests with manager Andrew Rist and family in residence.

The current Health Department guidelines dictate the following:

• Anyone who has travelled overseas or come in close contact with someone who has travelled overseas must self- isolate for a minimum of 14 days before visiting the lodge.
• Anyone showing symptoms of COVID-19 must not visit the lodge.
• All guests of the lodge must apply good hygiene practices such as washing hands frequently and maximising personal space

There are no clear guidelines from the Department of Health on how many guests are allowed to stay in the lodge at one time, however maximising personal space may require the committee to restrict the number of guests staying at the lodge and the sharing of rooms. We will have further to say on this once further official guidance is received.

The last thing the committee wants is for members and guests to come to the lodge if they shouldn’t be there or if they feel uncomfortable being there. As such the committee has decided to offer a full refund for all accommodation which is cancelled for COVID-19 related reasons. This does not imply that members can make bookings without a real intent to stay and then cancel at the last minute. This would be a costly for the club in a year where our finances will be stretched already.

As you know Department of Health guidelines are evolving and we will need to change our practices in line with them. We will update you with changes as they occur.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed that we have a good season and as many of us as possible get to enjoy it.

Nigel Cowie

President

Last Updated: 13 June 2021 13 June 2021

• covid

Accommodation Refunds

To minimise admimistrative work and give members choice, the following procedure will apply for refunds

• If your confirmed accommodation is cancelled for covid19 related reasons, a full credit will be registered to your account
• You can contact the booking officer to arrange an immediate refund
• If you have unused credits, you will be contacted before the end of the year to arrange a refund
• The existance or not of a credit will have no effect on booking priority

As the situation with lodge opening becomes clearer, Alan Long will be touch with people with confirmed bookings to discuss cancellations

Last Updated: 27 May 2020 27 May 2020

COVID-19 Update (11 May)

On Monday the Victorian State Government released details on some relaxation to the Covid 19 restrictions. Unfortunately there was no information related to the up coming ski season except to say that staying at our lodge is still not permitted. We understand that the new restrictions announced today will stay in place for another three weeks.

The Victorian Chief Health Officer later commented on radio that the return of the ski season is being worked through. Unfortunately he went on to say that when ski resorts reopened, any sort of group accommodation would be out of the question. It is not clear if that applied to initial opening or the whole season.

We therefore wait for further news from the State Government and Falls Creek Resort Management as to if and when the season will commence and whether lodges can operate.

Your committee is currently considering various options on how the lodge may operate should we be allowed to open. This includes limits on how many people can stay at the lodge at one time, cleaning procedures, protection of our managers and visitors, and overall compliance with regulations etc. Although we have not been able to have a working bee this year the lodge has plenty of fire wood and we hope to be able to open in some form as soon as we get the green light.

Until then we will have to wait and be patient.

 

Nigel Cowie
President

Last Updated: 13 June 2021 13 June 2021

• covid

Booking System - What's New

We've made a few changes to how bookings work this year, reflecting changes in booking demand and also to improve how the system works

Victorian June/July School Holidays

• There are no longer special conditions for Victioran June/July school holidays. Book for this period as you would for any other winter period

Waitlisting

• The waitlist facility has been very popular with members wishing to make weekend bookings. We want to make this even more effective by eliminating wasted opportunities for short bookings.
• Waitlisting requests for bookings weekends and other non-standard bookings can be submitted after 18 March.
• Occasionally people made waitlist requests but did not require them when the time came to approve the booking. By the time it was clear that the booking was not required, it was sometimes too late for someone else to take up the opportunity.
• Now, if you make a waitlist request, you will be sent an email approx 1 week before the opening date for the booking. You will be asked to confirm within 2 days that you still want it. If you do not respond promptly, the waitlist request will lapse. 
• Once approved, immediate payment for the booking is required or it will lapse. 
• See the full waitlist policy

Payment must be made promptly

• Some members have been quite slow to pay for bookings. In some cases bookings were cancelled very late, having never been paid for. 
• The booking officer will now cancel bookings not paid for in the appropriate time. This is within 7 days for normal bookings and 1 day for approved waitlist requests.

Late season discount

• Stay at the lodge from Fri 25 September to end of season (Victorian September/OctoberSchool Holidays) for a special low rate, approx 17% lower than winter off-peak rates.

Booking into other AAC lodges

• You can now logon on to Anton and Dinner Plain booking systems using your AAC Falls Creek logon credentials. Hopefully Perisher will join in soon.

Tighter enforcement of booking priority

• The long-standing booking rules state that only bookings for members open on 1 February. Bookings for family of members must wait till 8 March and other guests till 15 March. Bookings for members of other AAC lodges open on 1 March. 
• To improve the enforcement of this rule, on any night a member can only be booked into one bed in their own name.
• You can use the comment section of a booking to tell the booking officer if you intend booking for others as well.

Room 7

• At the time of writing, we are hoping to convert Room 7 to a twin, like room 12. The bushfires affected building schedules and it is not yet clear if the conversion can be done this summer. In the meantime, Room 7 is shown as a twin in the booking system to avoid the risk of overbooking.

Documents 

• The booking information sheet has been replaced by web-based information. You can read this online or download it as a PDF, or just download selected sections. The Falls Creek specific information is also provided at aacfallscreek.com/book.html .
• The booking system user guide is being updated to reflect these changes. This may not be complete by opening of bookings

Last Updated: 11 March 2020 11 March 2020

Annual Reports for 2019

As previously advised, the Annual General Meeting has been postponed. The likely date is 25 August, but it is not possible to book a venue while current restrictions are in force.

The club's financial accounts for the year 2019 have been finalised, audited and approved by the committee.

The annual reports from the committee have also been completed.

If you would like to discuss any matters ahead of the AGM, please contact the relevant committee member/s. Other AGM documents will be provided prior to the meeting.

Last Updated: 27 May 2020 27 May 2020