The smart ski resort of the future

This spring the Axess company has a strong digital focus with its RESORT SOLUTIONS 4.0. In view of today’s galloping pace of technological progress, the innovative access management specialist is offering customers a smart solution package for the modern ski resort: a single ticket system offering access to all resort facilities including parking, rentals, lockers and cable car tickets. Axess CONNECT.APP and Axess CONNECT.CRM bring resorts and their visitors closer together. A hassle-free start into the day on the mountain lays the base for an unforgettable experience. The fast track from the hotel, car or coach to the ski slopes is a VIP service for every visitor. The Austrian Axess company is now showing how such processes work in the smart ski resort of the future with its RESORT SOLUTIONS 4.0, a new product series with which Axess is implementing a farsighted strategy in the light of growing digitalization. Buzzwords like “Industry 4.0” and “big data” are on everyone’s lips as humans, machines, products and services fuse and the “Internet of Things” becomes the key link within this process.
Technology overtaking product development
In the light of these developments, Axess’ long-standing product development virtues such as modularity and flexibility are more relevant today than ever before. As Oliver Suter, CSO and member of the Board at Axess AG puts it: “Anyone beginning to develop a technical product today will be overtaken by technological progress even before the development phase is over. Only those who think ahead and embrace flexibility will be able to continue to offer their B2B customers products that deliver sustainable competitiveness.”
All-in solution
The new Axess RESORT product family has been developed to simplify the visitor experience within the resort with networked functionality. Axess’ RESORT.RENTAL, for example, enables visitors to organize equipment rental together with their on-line ticket purchases, and they can use the company’s RESORT.SKISCHOOL to book ski tuition at the same time. Similarly, RESORT.LOCKER makes it possible to book a locker in advance – and the ticket also acts as the personal locker key!
 
Ski resort digitalization not only makes things easier for visitors; it also enables operators to gain a better understanding of their needs. For this purpose, the Axess development team has created Axess CONNECT Products like the Axess CONNECT.APP and Axess CONNECT.CRM bring the resorts and their visitors closer together. With CONNECT.APP, visitors can use their mobiles to access all the resort’s amenities and services. Functionality includes mobile ticketing, weather reports, lift and trail status reports, social media integration, access to the leisure and resort offers in the region, GPS tracking and a sat nav all in a single resort app, while Axess CONNECT.CRM employs the data collected to enhance and individualize the customer relationship.
New hardware for
faster processes 
New products ike the Axess PICK UP BOX 600 complete the digital portfolio for ski resorts on the hardware side. With this new self-service station, winter sports visitors who have ordered tickets via Axess’ web shop or CONNECT.APP immediately receive their tickets at the resort – without having to make a detour to the ticket office. Visitors simply present the barcode on the voucher or the print@home ticket to the scanner of the Axess PICK UP BOX 600, which then issues the type and number of tickets ordered. As usual for Axess, the PICK UP BOX 600 is a modular design for easy integration of future innovations.