In 2021-2022, I worked the Whistler winter ski season in Canada and, it was the best time of my life! Endless powdery snow, stunning views, cozy village vibes, and awesome nights out with friends! What is there not to love about Whistler?
I decided to go through an agency called The Working Holiday Club, to assist me in setting up my life in Canada. I realised there was a lot to do and I felt overwhelmed by it all. I thought it would be a lot less stressful to pay someone to do it for me, or so I thought
In my The Working Holiday Club review, I will honestly share, from my experience, if this company is worth paying for.
So let’s get into it!
Table of Contents
Cost And Package Inclusion
The Working Holiday Club will charge you $1499 AUD (yep, you read that right) to help set up your life working in a ski resort in Canada.
This package is meant to include:
- Prearranged job offer
- Staff housing/assistance
- Step-by-step help with the working holiday visa
- Lift pass
- Access to Facebook groups
- End-of-season tax
- SIN, SIM card and bank account assistance
- Canadian arrival guide
- Staff discounts on retail
- Orientation on arrival
- Wellness package hotels
- Money back guarantee
You’re probably thinking (as I did) that all that stuff seems like a bargain for $1499!
The truth is, you are more than capable of doing all this by yourself, it isn’t hard. I sadly realized when I got to Canada, that the majority of people had just done it themselves and not wasted their money.
In my The Working Holiday Club Review, i’ll break down the pros and cons.
Pros
Facebook Group
I honestly think the biggest help The Working Holiday Club offered was the Facebook group. It’s how I met a few friends before even getting to Whistler! People ask the questions that are on everyone’s minds and it’s great to see that you’re all in the same boat. It felt nice to already have a community in Whistler before even getting to Canada.
But is a free Facebook group worth spending $1499 AUD on? Absolutely not. There are tons of Facebook pages dedicated to helping people get set up in Whistler and these people have been helping others out for years!
Cons
Visa
The working holiday visa isn’t hard to apply for. Because there are so many steps, it can look intimidating but it’s very simple. If you want a brief rundown of the process, check out this article.
I don’t think the step-by-step booklet The Working Holiday Club gives you is necessary and it’s definitely not worth all the money you spend.
However, I will say it is very thorough. It doesn’t miss out on any information. But there’s so much stuff in there that is common sense and you could work it out on your own.
If you have any questions about the process you can join Facebook groups dedicated to advising on the application process. IEC Working Holiday Discussion and Support and Working Holiday Canada are the best ones and they are free!
Accommodation
In Whistler, The Working Holiday Club doesn’t have its own accommodation. Instead, they are partnered with companies that provide their staff with housing. So does The Working Holiday Club set up accommodation for you? Not really, the job just comes with housing.
It’s not like they own apartments in Whistler and that’s the accommodation you get given, they just set you up (I’m using ‘set you up’ very loosely and I’ll explain why later) with jobs that already come with housing.
The only time I could see this being super beneficial is if you apply late and maybe The Working Holiday Club can organize with their partners to make sure you get a job plus housing.
But if you want to save $1499, apply for work early and for jobs that come with accommodation. Simple.
Want to learn more about securing accommodation in Whistler? Read this article!
Job
I don’t like that The Working Holiday Club says you get a ‘prearranged’ job offer as I don’t think that is entirely true. You are set up with an interview, but there’s no guarantee you will get the job, it still depends on if the interviewer likes you.
I had to give The Working Holiday Club my resume and references so they could pass it on and I felt as if I could have done that myself by applying directly to job advertisements.
Whistler is always looking for staff. There are thousands of jobs that need to be filled.
So why not skip paying a company to give your resume out and apply directly to companies looking for workers? I worked with so many people who had gotten jobs this way.
Whistler-Blackcomb has a hiring page online and there are also Facebook groups advertising work.
Find out how to easily apply for jobs in Whistler!
Ski Pass
If you end up working for Whistler-Blackcomb (the company that owns the ski resort) you will automatically get a season’s ski pass. This isn’t something The Working Holiday Club magically gets you because you went through their agency.
This is something I felt they didn’t explain well enough and I know a few people that got stung.
If you work for an independent company (not owned by Whistler-Blackcomb) you will not get a free ski pass. If you are lucky, your employer will buy you one but in most cases, you have to purchase your own.
So not only have you paid $1499 AUD for a service that boasts they can help you get a free ski pass, but you now have to spend a further $1000 CAD on a season pass.
But, you have to pay the agency the same amount of money as someone that got a free ski pass with their job? Doesn’t really seem fair.
Staff Discounts
The Working Holiday Club claiming they get you staff discounts confuses me. In Whistler, the only staff discounts you were entitled to come with your job.
I was hired by Whistler-Blackcomb and therefore was entitled to their discount policies. But, someone who was hired by another company did not get the same discounts as me.
Again, this isn’t something The Working Holiday Club gets you, it comes with whatever job you land.
I think it is very misleading for them to even suggest they get you staff discounts.
Arrival In Canada
The Working Holiday Club gives you an ‘arrival bible’ for when you first land in Canada. It outlines setting up a bank account, SIM card, and SIN number. Whilst this is handy to have, there is so much FREE information online about how to do this. I don’t think it’s necessary to pay for it.
The Working Holiday Club doesn’t set these things up for you, you still have to go and do it yourself. You essentially just paying for another step-by-step booklet.
A quick Google search found these two great articles about setting up your SIN number and bank account. It’s so easy to find free and quality information online.
You just don’t need to pay for an ‘arrival bible’.
Customer service
I didn’t think the customer service was great. They didn’t seem willing to help me when things went wrong.
I got to Vancouver and was meant to receive a discounted rate at a hostel endorsed by The Working Holiday Club. For some reason, the discount wouldn’t work and I just paid the standard price. I later, emailed The Working Holiday Club expecting that they would reimburse me (hostels in Vancouver are so expensive!) but they replied saying that since the payment was already made, there was nothing they could do.
It just felt like this was something they could have easily helped me out with! I was owed the discounted rate by The Working Holiday Club but this massive company couldn’t bear to spare $50 CAD!
Other online reviews also mention that The Working Holiday Club customer service is poor and not helpful.
Summary
To summarise my The Working Holiday Club Review:
- The visa application is simple and manageable on your own. Utilize the free and quality information online and in Facebook groups.
- Work can easily be secured by applying early and directly to employers.
- Staff accommodation comes with the right job. The Working Holiday Club doesn’t have their own accommodation, they just partner with employers that have staff housing. Apply for work early and for jobs that come with accommodation. There are plenty of them!
- Season passes are given for free if you’re hired by Whistler-Blackcomb. If you work for another company, you’ll have to buy your own. A ski pass is not something that is magically given to you by The Working Holiday Club.
- Information about setting up a SIM card, bank account, or social security number can easily be found for free online. It is not necessary to pay for this information.
- The customer service is not helpful.
If you want to pay a company to do very basic things for you for a lot of money, then go ahead. But I felt like I was ripped off.
So many people I met and worked with in Whistler had just done the whole process by themselves.
I liked the idea of having someone else sort everything out for me but I still had to do everything myself.
I did the visa application, and the job interview, booked flights, and set up my bank account, SIM card, and SIN number. My staff housing came with the job and I could have easily got an interview through the Whistler-Blackcomb hiring page. So they didn’t really sort out accommodation for me.
The only thing I liked about The Working Holiday Club was the Facebook page. It felt like I was already a part of a community before arriving in Whistler.
So what did paying $1499 save me? Nothing.
Working in Whistler could be the best travel experience of your life! If you’re going to do it, please don’t give these companies your hard earned money, you are more than capable of doing it yourself.