Proposal: A app or online website extension for all phones with an Internet connection that can inform a skier or snowboarder on wait times at chairlifts.
It is no surprise that despite the financial standing of the country in past years, people still find ways to go on vacation and enjoy themselves. Such enjoyment included packing the family up for a few days and taking them to a ski resort if they are the type of people that enjoy the cold weather. This trend seems to be increasing as the years pass. As a result, mountains which once advertised no wait times at their chairlifts are now having to go back on their word, as they are simply ill prepared for the increasing mass of people that make use of their facilities every season.
I propose an app be made for iphones and smartphones that will allow people to check on the status of a lift from anywhere on the mountain, allowing them to plan out their day more accordingly, and not waste half of their time and money standing on line.
Research:
To achieve this, the proper information must be obtained first. To do this, certain mountains and resorts will need to be scouted throughout the country. Smugglers Notch and Stowe in Vermont, Deer Valley in Utah, Aspen in Colorado, and Mammoth Mountain in California all see high attendance numbers during the season, making them prime research candidates. Buying a weekend pass at these mountains during peak time (New Years, school breaks, holiday weekends) should show what kinds of population numbers these resorts are dealing with, and as such show standard wait times as well at the lifts.
Once an average wait time throughout the day is calculated and compared to the average time one spends on the slopes actually skiing and snowboarding, the next phase is execution. How does one record such a wait time and continuously update it for the patrons? Luckily, the technology is already there. Airport security checkpoints have it. Border crossings have it. All that is needed is to duplicate the information and create the application or extension of the mountains main website to allow visitors access to the up to date information.
Financing:
As with all apps, it may not cost much for an individual person to buy it, but it costs the developer a great deal of money to make it work. Logistically, a lone app may not be the best course of action. Which is why a secondary approach can be considered as well. All ski resorts already have websites that list snow and trail conditions. Why not extend this to include the wait time as well? Being that the technological platform is there, the presentation aspect shouldn't take much time to develop. In the end, between the data collection, processing of such data, and presentation to the patron, the developers are simply building on existing technology, cutting down on the financial needs exponentially.
Application and Benefits:
People choose to go to a mountain resort to ski or snowboard, not wait in line. They end up thinking they've wasted their money, and as a result may choose not to return the following year. The development of this app and/or web extension will negate the wait times. Furthermore, it will instill in people the feeling that they've lived the trip to it's fullest and haven't missed out on anything, prompting them to return, and give more money to the mountain, increasing it's income throughout the years.
Cool idea. It reminded me of the wait-time calculators at theme parks, where you are buzzed when it's your turn to queue up for the ride. Question, if an app were advanced, could it also be set up as a customer-reporting app as with Gas Buddy?
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, I was curious if resort-goers could purchase premium passes that allow them to bypass the lines for lift or get some kind of short-line like you see at airlines.
I think one overall critique of your summary is that the tone is more passive than we usually hear from you. In a re-write, you might consider how to present your ideas with an active voice. This would probably also tighten up your phrasing as well, at least that is what I find in a similar exercise for myself.
More specifically, the passage about financing was less pulled together than other sections of your summary. To my reading it came across as thoughts "off the top of your head" rather than a pulled-together summary you might present to a prospective investor.