Executive Summary Presentation

For those of you who ski or snowboard, I want you to sit back and ask yourself one question. On any given day during the season, how much time do you actually waste waiting in line at the chairlift? You’ve paid a great deal of money for your lift ticket ($100 if you’re skiing at Stowe), and are expecting a full day of excitement, but do you always get it?

In my own experience, if I were to plan on skiing for about six hours, taking time out for lunch and the occasional warm up by the fireplace in the lodge, I’d lose about ninety minutes to two hours of that plan thanks to wait lines at the lift. It may not seem like much to some, but I’ve paid for a full day’s lift ticket and I want to make the most out of it. Wouldn’t it be easier if we had the ability to know what the wait time would be in advance?

It’s a feeling and want we all have, and not just with skiing. Be it at the airport, train station, border crossing, or even an amusement park, we have a universal feeling of wanting to avoid the lines at all cost. Thankfully, we live in the age of technology, where such a need can already be fulfilled in some areas.

The ability to check on wait times is already in effect at border crossings on the Canadian Border. There are many websites that can produce the information. For instance, if you were to make a crossing into Canada by way of Niagara Falls, you can get up to date information on what the wait would be at LQ, Rainbow, and Peace bridges by going to www.peacebridge.com

At airports, especially international terminals, the same technology exists on computer monitors all over the concourse. One monitor might say the wait time at a certain security checkpoint is 75 minutes, while the other might read a 30 minute wait, which comes in quite handy for those making a connection and are worried they might miss it.

So, given that the technology exists, why can’t we apply it to ski resorts as well? Sure, some people are just fine waiting around in a crowd of people, barely able to hear their own thoughts, putting up with those around them smoking when they really shouldn’t be. Others aren’t however. They came to the mountain to ski and snowboard; to feel that rush of adrenaline as they shoot down the slope. For me, it’s a need, a desire to be on the edge and push my limits. That can’t be accomplished waiting on line for an extended period of time.  Again, ask yourself. Would you rather be doing this? (image of lift lines). Or this? (video of POV skiing).

Now, the personal benefits of having a way to check wait times at a chairlift, be it in the form of an app or extension the mountain’s already existing website are clear. What are the benefits for the resort though? For starters, it would help with their yearly income. Imagine it this way. A family is on vacation, they want to ski, but instead they are met with long lift lines. This doesn’t leave the best first impression, especially if it’s their first time at the mountain. What do you think the chances are that they’ll return again the following year? If there are no lift lines, those chances will probably increase, which means more money for the mountain. This not only funds the technology needed to supply the lift line updates, but other maintenance requirements on the mountain as well.

A few years down the line, new lifts and trails may be installed. Slower lifts may be upgraded to high speed ones. The possibilities are almost limitless. As a resort, the object is to give your patrons what they want and retain their business. What better way to do that than make them as happy as possible, starting with a true promise of little to no wait time at the lifts? The system is far from perfect as it stands now. True, it’s one thing to report on a border crossing wait time as compared to a lift line wait time, but the general idea is still there. Within a year or two of initial installment, I don’t see why the average wait time shouldn’t be shortened tenfold.  To make it work, all you need is the right software, funding, and, as with everything in the world of business, an insurmountable amount of dedication to your customers.