Long lines at the ski lifts? The uncertainty around how long the process will take weighs heavily on the mind, particularly when confronted with what appears to be a lot of skiers in front of you.

To help put lift lines in perspective and eliminate guesswork about how long to wait, 9 major North American ski resorts, including the 4 largest, has turned to Veovo technology to measure, calculate and present lift wait times.

The live wait times are presented on the ski resorts´ mobile app. It allows skiers to make informed decisions, such as choosing lifts with shorter wait times or taking alternate routes if available, thus improving use of the available capacity around the resort. The wait times are continuously updated, in line with the actual behaviour of skiers, so, by considering their route, they themselves are helping to alleviate congestion.

The distribution of skiers ultimately helps reduce bottlenecks and wait times, increasing the opportunity for a positive experience, resulting in happier guests who are more likely to return. The crowd-sourced data also enables the resorts to notify staffing if areas are becoming congested, so they can identify and rectify bottlenecks before they escalate.

“We are happy to be part of the resorts´ goal to provide the best possible guest experience. It is very exciting to work with ski resorts, and to use data to both improve existing facilities and to measure the effect of new projects. Taking the guesswork and anecdotes out of guest satisfaction, and replacing it with measurable effects”, says Peter Knudsen, General Manager Veovo.

Historic data help guests plan ahead.

Besides providing real-time lift wait times, the historic data for each day of previous winter seasons, including holidays and daily snowfall totals, is now being used to give guests full visibility on actual lift line data, so they can make the most of their day on the mountain during their next trip.

The goal is to help guests migrate to shorter, less congested lift lines. Using previous seasons data, it allows the resorts to be predictive in understanding how lines will form across thousands of acres of terrain, which is helpful in reminding guests that there is always some place to ski without crowds. The data has also helped the resorts identify where to invest in additional lift upgrades.

The solution works 24/7 in any kind of weather, including fog, heavy snow, rain and more. The crowd-sourced information is measured both in simple T-lifts to large base areas, with queues extending into public streets.