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Mobile Ski Pass - Digital Opportunities
Mobile Ski Pass - Digital Opportunities
18 January 2022Gisela Bechmann3 Minute Read
Letting you go straight to the lift with your ski pass on your smartphone – that’s how SKIDATA’s Mobile Flow Solution takes guest convenience to the next level while opening new business opportunities for lift operators.
On the train, at the concert, in the stadium: Guests today are used to wielding their smartphone to present their ticket. That’s why many guests have been wondering why this shouldn’t also be possible when it comes to skiing. With SKIDATA’s Mobile Flow Solution, that problem is now solved. As a digital alternative to the ‘classic’ card-based ski pass, it offers guests the level of access convenience they are used to. At the same time, the Mobile Flow Solution gives mountain transport operators a powerful tool to enhance their business model – and a chance to reposition their ski resort in the leisure market. “In the 1970s SKIDATA revolutionized access control at ski resorts. Since then it’s been our claim as a global market leader to keep reinventing the best experience and level of convenience for skiing guests,” says David Luken, SKIDATA’s CEO.
No need to line up at the ticket window
For guests, the procedure behind the Mobile Flow Solution is a tried-and-tested experience: all they have to do is download the Mobile Flow app (available for Android and iOS), then purchase their ski pass in the resort’s web shop and activate it in the app. The need to line up at the ticket window is a thing of the past – as is the need to convert the online ticket purchase into a physical keycard. The lift operators save on costs for their infrastructures and handling of keycards. And there’s yet another beneficiary: the environment. After all, no physical tickets means less waste.
With their smartphone ski pass in their pocket, skiing guests can walk right through the lift gate. No need to take their smartphone out, as ticket checking uses contactless Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology. Optimized for low energy consumption, the app is very easy on the phone’s battery. At the Kitzbüheler Horn facilities, SKIDATA’s Mobile Flow Solution has been in operation since the 2020/21 winter season. Sierra Nevada is a ski resort near Granada in the Spanish region of Andalusia that runs 21 lifts at elevations from 2,100 m to 3,300 m above sea level and has around a million skier days. Here the solution had its premiere in the 2021/22 season. Another resort started to flow towards a digital future in the 2021/22 winter season: Schischaukel Mönichkirchen-Mariensee in Lower Austria.
Lift operators learn to know their guests
With the integration of a Mobile Flow Solution in an existing destination or lift pool app, guests benefit from additional information and services right on their smartphone screen. This allows lift operators to take communication with their skiing guests to a whole new level. Best of all, they receive valuable customer data along the way. As they get to know their guests better, they can serve them with targeted offers, from special tickets to extra services and restaurant discounts. This way, the Mobile Flow Solution by SKIDATA creates new possibilities for marketing and revenue management. The Mobile Flow Solution lets operators digitalize their resort in a future-focused way.
Upgrade to a mobile future
From Version 5, the modular architecture of Summit.Logic – SKIDATA’s management software – supports full, seamless integration of the Mobile Flow Solution. The software’s reporting functions for lift operators also cover the mobile ski passes. This way, operators can easily extend their existing SKIDATA access systems to integrate digital ski passes and use them in parallel with RFID-based cards.
Covid certificate verification for winter season 2021/22
Vaccinated or recovered? Covid requirements differ between Austria, Germany and Switzerland. One thing is clear, however: Lift operators will have to be prepared to perform Green Pass checks. For example, a “2G rule” (only vaccinated or recovered persons admitted) has been in force in Austria since November 15. As before, guests can book their ticket on-line or purchase one at a ticket vending machine or point of sale, where they can also recharge their Keycards. A lift access clearance (via “digital 2G bracelet”) is issued by linking the ski pass to the user’s 2G certificate. This clearance can be set up by staff at a point of (pre-)sale, at the hotel reception or via smartphone app. Guests can also get their clearance via self-service at a vending machine, a separate check-in terminal, or on the safe2ski web site. Those who have no electronic vaccination certificate can present proof of their 2G status when purchasing their ticket at an attended point of sale.
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