Your Phone Is Your Ticket to the Slopes: Vail Resorts Plans Hands-Free, Digital Access to its North American Resorts
New Guest Experience Innovation Expected by the 2023/24 North American Season
Sept. 28, 2022, Broomfield, Colo.—Vail Resorts today announced its plan to introduce a new technology that will allow guests to store their pass or lift ticket directly on their phone – eliminating the need to carry a plastic card, visit the ticket window, or wait to receive a pass or lift ticket in the mail. With the new innovation, guests will be able to buy their pass or lift ticket online, activate it on their phone, put their phone in their pocket, and get scanned, hands free, using Bluetooth® Low Energy technology.
“As a company focused on investing in the future of skiing and riding, we believe that digital innovation, more than ever, will be key for delivering a great guest experience on-mountain,” said Tim April, chief information officer of Vail Resorts. “We are excited for the more seamless arrival experience this technology will provide for our guests and look forward to unveiling it across our resorts.”
The new feature will be tested during the 2022/23 North American winter season, with roll-out to guests expected for the 2023/24 season.
Once launched, guests will no longer need to wait in a line at the ticket window if they need to purchase, pick up, or reprint their pass or lift ticket. In addition to the significant enhancement in the guest experience, this technology will also reduce waste from printing plastic cards and RFID chips – supporting Vail Resorts’ Commitment to Zero sustainability promise.
Even after the feature is launched, Vail Resorts will continue to make plastic cards available to any guests who cannot or do not want to use their phone as their pass or lift ticket.
As a leader in the ski industry, Vail Resorts has a long track record of investing in technological innovations to improve the guest experience, including its EpicMix app, Express Lift Ticket pick-up, and transparent lift line wait time reporting.
More details about the new technology will be shared closer to the guest-facing launch ahead of the 2023/24 season.
About Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN)
Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the leading global mountain resort operator. Vail Resorts' subsidiaries currently operate 40 destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas, including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Crested Butte in Colorado; Park City in Utah; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada; Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada; Perisher, Falls Creek and Hotham in Australia; Stowe, Mount Snow, Okemo in Vermont; Hunter Mountain in New York; Mount Sunapee, Attitash, Wildcat and Crotched in New Hampshire; Stevens Pass in Washington; Seven Springs, Hidden Valley, Laurel Mountain, Liberty, Roundtop, Whitetail, Jack Frost and Big Boulder in Pennsylvania; Alpine Valley, Boston Mills, Brandywine and Mad River in Ohio; Hidden Valley and Snow Creek in Missouri; Wilmot in Wisconsin; Afton Alps in Minnesota; Mt. Brighton in Michigan; and Paoli Peaks in Indiana. Vail Resorts owns and/or manages a collection of casually elegant hotels under the Rock Resorts brand, as well as the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning and development subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). The Vail Resorts company website is www.vailresorts.com and consumer website is www.snow.com.
Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the leading global mountain resort operator. Vail Resorts' subsidiaries currently operate 40 destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas, including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Crested Butte in Colorado; Park City in Utah; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada; Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada; Perisher, Falls Creek and Hotham in Australia; Stowe, Mount Snow, Okemo in Vermont; Hunter Mountain in New York; Mount Sunapee, Attitash, Wildcat and Crotched in New Hampshire; Stevens Pass in Washington; Seven Springs, Hidden Valley, Laurel Mountain, Liberty, Roundtop, Whitetail, Jack Frost and Big Boulder in Pennsylvania; Alpine Valley, Boston Mills, Brandywine and Mad River in Ohio; Hidden Valley and Snow Creek in Missouri; Wilmot in Wisconsin; Afton Alps in Minnesota; Mt. Brighton in Michigan; and Paoli Peaks in Indiana. Vail Resorts owns and/or manages a collection of casually elegant hotels under the Rock Resorts brand, as well as the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning and development subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). The Vail Resorts company website is www.vailresorts.com and consumer website is www.snow.com.