accesso sponsored content

There’s a lot of preparation involved when planning an upcoming snow adventure, from browsing different options and purchasing tickets to choosing whether to overpack or under pack (who knows, maybe you will end up needing five extra pairs of socks). 

For an excited guest, minor inconveniences—like long lines to purchase lift tickets, or waiting with everybody else even though they pre-purchased rentals—can throw the whole outing off. And a major inconvenience, like arriving at the resort and learning that lessons are sold out for the day, could spell disaster.

The role of a ski area operator is simple: to make the guest experience as pleasant and enjoyable as possible. Who knows when a seemingly “minor” inconvenience could be the last straw for a stressed customer? As guest expectations evolve, it can become challenging to deliver those exceptional experiences that keep skiers returning.

Read on to discover three things you should be doing to ensure an exceptional guest experience at your resort. 

Step 1: Make the Most of Your eCommerce 

Online shopping was up 38% globally in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, but nearly half of consumers will leave a website without purchasing due to a bad experience. Is your website giving customers a positive purchasing experience? The modern skier expects an immersive, one-stop shopping experience that allows them to anticipate their visit and plan out their day. 

Sell Everything Online

By expanding your storefront, you can showcase everything your resort has to offer: passes, rentals, lessons, meal deals, and more. If a first-time guest does not see something available online, they may not realize you offer it. Your guests want the ability to lock in these items ahead of their visit—and your team will love locking in this revenue! 

Make Helpful Suggestions

When you sell everything online, it has the potential to get a little overwhelming—but not with an engaging purchase flow to guide the way. As a guest navigates your eCommerce store, you can use up-sells and cross-sells to navigate them to options that may enhance their visit or maximize their value. These could be up-sells to a season pass, packages that include meal deals, or other ancillary items that could improve their visit. 

Make It Mobile

Mobile eCommerce is growing tremendously and has increased to nearly 73% of the global market share, yetmobile eCommerce stores have one of the largest cart abandonment rates at nearly 86%.

With a full-featured platform like the accesso Passport® online ticketing system, you can deliver an engaging eCommerce experience on any device. This award-winning platform is known for driving revenue through beautiful and intuitive storefronts as well as features like up-sells, cross-sells and dynamic pricing. Many of accesso’s ski area clients have made the switch, and some have gained as much as a 48% increase in online advance ticket purchasesand a 45% increase in YTD season pass sales.

Step 2: Unify the Guest Experience

The next opportunity for operators to deliver a memorable experience while onsite is to remove points of friction for your guests. The right technology can help you accomplish this and so much more. 

Keep Guests Informed & Connected with Mobile Apps

It’s no longer enough to just have a mobile-responsive store. Guests expect feature-rich technology that puts the power of information in the palm of their hand. By producing a mobile app for your resort, you can provide guests with easy access to everything they need to enjoy their day. With your app, you could allow guests to explore interactive trail maps, reserve rental pick up times, preorder their food and so much more. Plus, guests can access stored wallet features and establish guest profiles that make it possible to receive personalized recommendations (more on that later).

Streamline F&B Ordering

After your skier works up an appetite enjoying a full morning of deep powder, wouldn’t it be great to have that juicy burger and fries they’re craving waiting for them the moment they reach bottom? By offering your guests the chance to order food via mobile, they can get faster access to what they want, when they want it, without standing in line. Beyond increasing guest satisfaction, mobile F&B can help guests more easily customize their order and can also increase order sizes by as much as 20%. With technology like The Experience Engine^TM (TE2) Mobile Food Ordering platform, the ability to integrate up-sells and cross-sells through customization can raise profit exponentially.

Communicate with Guests in Real Time

Wouldn’t it be great if you could treat every guest as if they were your only guest—with VIP access, personalized recommendations and step-by-step guidance as they make their way through your resort? With the right technology, this is more achievable than ever before. With the power of TE2, you can segment your audience and push the right message to the right people at the perfect time. For example, imagine sending a broadcast message to a group of skiers that another part of the resort is less crowded, or that their favorite drink is on sale at the bar. 

Some of these items were viewed as “nice to have” pre-pandemic, but we don’t feel that way anymore—and neither do your skiers.  

Step 3: Keep Guests Out of Lines

After Covid-19 struck, expectations for safety upkeep climbed. People expect certain safety precautions—socially distanced lines, sanitized card readers and seating, and distance in general. Virtual queuing presents an opportunity to free guests from standing in line, giving them safer and more enjoyable experiences. We’ve seen this technology translate across industries from 100% queuing models at theme parks to airport security lines.  

Virtual Queuing for Lifts and Gondolas

Virtual queuing can help improve the skier experience while driving revenue for your resort. When guests are freed from the restraints of a line, they can spend their time and money at different location points on-site. Instead of standing in the cold, for example, your guests can reserve a time to board the lift and kick back in the chalet with a relaxing cup of hot cocoa. 

We recently partnered with Steamboat Resort in Colorado to offer a trial of virtual queuing for gondolas, and they shared that the system was easy to use for staff and guests alike. Guests loved seeing the time countdown and felt reassured they knew exactly how long they had still to wait—and how much time they had left to explore. It reduced crowding and improved guest throughput, leading to better experiences for both operators and guests.

Delivering an outstanding guest experience doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. With the right technology partner, you can get ahead of today’s trends and prepare for a successful tomorrow. This is an excellent time to re-evaluate your technology stack and your guest experience, and at accesso, we’re here to help. Contact us today to start building your future.