Industry News
- My Epic Assistant provides resort information to guests in real-time, at their fingertips
- Launching for the 2024/25 winter season at four Colorado resorts: Vail Mountain, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone
- Epic Passes now on sale for the 2024/25 winter season
There is nothing better than going to the mountains with someone who knows the place inside and out. Yesterday, Vail Resorts announced My Epic Assistant, a new technology within the My Epic app that provides mountain information at guests’ fingertips – anytime, anywhere. Powered by advanced AI and resort experts, My Epic Assistant will be available for the 2024/25 season to answer questions about Vail Mountain, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, and Keystone. Vail Resorts plans to expand the technology to additional resorts in future seasons.
“For over a decade, we have been committed to improving the guest experience through innovative technology. With recent advancements in AI, we see an opportunity to provide real-time guest service so skiers and riders can navigate their day at our mountain resorts confidently, efficiently, and easily.”
– Chris Smith, chief information officer at Vail Resorts
Whether looking for the latest snow conditions or on-mountain support with rentals and lessons, guests can simply open the My Epic app and use My Epic Assistant to point them in the right direction. There is no need to stand in line to get questions answered or call for help. When a question comes to mind, guests can ask My Epic Assistant so they can quickly return to enjoying their day on the slopes.
Why It Matters?
Vail Resorts is launching My Epic Assistant as part of its ongoing investments to help all new and returning guests feel welcome at its resorts. My Epic Assistant will offer skiers and riders an easy-to-use place to ask questions, feel confident in the responses they receive, and make the most of their skiing and riding experiences.
This latest My Epic app enhancement follows Vail Resorts’ introduction of Mobile Pass and Mobile Lift Tickets this season. This new technology innovation allows guests to skip the ticket window and buy their Pass (or lift ticket) online, activate and store it in the My Epic app on their phone, and scan at the lifts hands-free using Bluetooth technology designed for low energy use. Mobile Pass and Mobile Lift Tickets eliminate the need to visit the ticket window and, over time, will reduce the waste of plastic cards and RFID chips. The My Epic app also features lift line wait times, interactive trail maps, real-time mountain conditions, personalized stats, and more, making it a one-stop resource for skiers and riders.
In future years, Vail Resorts plans to significantly expand the My Epic Assistant technology to provide proactive, personalized recommendations and reminders based on an individual’s unique itinerary and preferences and offer always-on booking and itinerary support.
How Will It Work?
Using the My Epic app, guests can ask My Epic Assistant their resort and mountain questions for immediate assistance, 24/7.
My Epic Assistant will support inquiries on a wide variety of topics like mountain conditions, general resort information, resort and on-mountain activities, ski and ride school and rental support, dining options, parking, and much more. Here are a few examples:
“What runs are groomed today?”
“What are the conditions on-mountain?”
“What time is Ski and Ride School drop off?”
“What are the lunch options on the mountain?”
“Where can I get rentals?”
“What is the closest parking lot to get to the mountain?”
Any guest using My Epic Assistant may also connect with a live resort expert by chat or phone. More details regarding My Epic Assistant’s year-one functionality will be released before the 2024/25 winter season starts.
When and Where Will It Launch?
My Epic Assistant will be available to guests logged into the My Epic app in time for the 2024/25 winter season for questions about four Colorado resorts: Vail Mountain, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, and Keystone. The company has plans to expand the technology to additional resorts in future seasons. 2024/25 Epic Passes are available to purchase on epicpass.com.
Vail Resorts was brilliant when it introduced skier vertical tracking with the MyEpic app. Seemingly silly initial, skiers quickly adopted the practice of tracking vertical skied and routinely compare and compete. The latest program to move pass holders from plastic passes to a smartphone app seemed like a great idea, but even after a season of limited tested, they introduced a poorly conceived and even more poorly tested app that just does not work well. Scanning at lifts has been poorly explained and unreliable causing delays and frustration for employees and guests alike. Worse yet, they broke the vertical tracking by requiring skiers to remember to enable tracking at the start of each ski day and by creating less reliable tracking. Now if you’ve tracked your vertical for 10 seasons or so, you will be very unhappy. The concept is great and I am confident it can be made to work properly, but Vail’s approach to innovation seems to be launching half baked and ill conceived technology. It’s too bad they cannot find a world class software developer. The current app looks like it was designed in house by a non-skier and certainly not by an app developer who understands testing methodology. Epic failure!