What happens when I grow my independent profile into a school?

What happens when I grow my independent profile into a school?

Plenty of independent instructors start solo and grow over time. The moment your listing isn't really a one-person operation anymore, Find a Ski School updates your category for you — no admin support ticket, no manual edit.

When does the auto-update happen?

The instant you add a second instructor to an account that signed up as an independent instructor:

1. You add the new instructor from Instructor Management in your dashboard.
2. The instructor lands on your team (same as for any school).
3. We change your listing category from Independent instructor to Ski school.
4. A confirmation popup appears explaining what just happened.

The change applies when an independent listing gains more than one active instructor. Adding a secretary or assistant as office staff does not add a teaching-roster entry or make the school a multi-instructor business.

What changes publicly

• Directory category. Your listing now shows under Ski schools in directory filters and search instead of Independent instructor.
• Plan eligibility may change. The Independent Instructor plan is for solo instructors. If you're on it, you'll need to switch to the School plan to keep all features. We'll prompt you in your billing dashboard.

What stays the same

• Your URL. findaskischool.com/schools/your-slug is unchanged. Existing links, bookmarks, and Google search results all keep working.
• Your reviews and ratings. Reviews and ratings stay attached to the listing. Verification scopes remain separate: an instructor application status does not automatically become a school verification status, so check the upgraded dashboard.
• Your bookings and history. Past lessons, payments, certificates, and all other historical data stay exactly where they are.
• Your branding. Your school name, logo, photos, hero image, colours, and dashboard branding are untouched.
• Your team, including the instructor you just added — they appear under the new ski-school listing as expected.

Refining the category

The default new category is Ski school because it covers the widest range of activities. If you actually run a snowboard-only school, or both, you can refine the category any time:

1. Go to School Profile in your dashboard.
2. Open the Listing details section.
3. Change School type to one of: Ski school, Snowboard school, Ski & snowboard school, or Independent instructor.
4. Save.

You can choose Independent instructor again only when the active teaching roster is genuinely a solo operation. The server refuses a change back while more than one sellable instructor remains; changing a label does not remove team members.

What if I added a second instructor by mistake?

No problem — remove them from Instructor Management, and your team is back to one. If you'd like to revert the listing category back to Independent instructor, edit it from the School Profile page (see "Refining the category" above). Your URL and history don't change either way.

Why does this happen automatically?

Two reasons:

• Honest categorisation for parents. A parent searching for an "independent instructor" expects to book a single named teacher, not a small team. Auto-updating the category as soon as you add a second instructor means the directory tells the truth about who's behind the listing.
• Right tools for the right size. A multi-instructor school needs different tools (team scheduling, payroll, instructor matching) than a solo instructor. Listing category, staff permissions, verification, and paid-plan entitlements are separate. Check the dashboard and subscription limits when you expand.

Related help

• How do I manage my instructors and team?
• How do I register as an independent ski instructor?
• How do I get my school verified?
• What is the school dashboard?