Leveraging Technology
to Optimize the Guest
Experience
Presented By:
Michael McDermott
Sr. VP of Sales, Marketing & Product Management, RTP
September 3, 2008

Journey to Greatness…
Greatness will only be achieved by those most responsive
to change while balancing the opportunities and obstacles
on the journey.
Opportunities Obstacles
Eco-Policy Regulations
Social Relevance Profits
Web 2.0 Labor Shortage
Globalization Costs

Agenda
• Travel Trends
• Business Conditions
• Guest Conditions
• Technology Trends

Travel Trends

Top Travel Trends
Maximizing market forces for
profitable growth
Deloitte : Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure (THL) Industry Trends 2008 Study

Globalization
• High Growth Regions
– China
• Since being converted into a destination resort and convention
center in 2006, Macau – a city on the southern coast of China –
has overtaken the Las Vegas Strip as the largest gaming market
in the world.
– India
• In South India, as many as 133 hotel projects are being planned,
with targeted completion by 2010.
– Russia
• Russia is now the twelfth largest retail market in the world.
Looking ahead, expansion is sure to continue, as the Russian
Black Sea resort of Sochi has been chosen to host the 2014
Winter Olympics.
Deloitte : Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure (THL) Industry Trends 2008 Study

The Changing Customer
• Business & Leisure Boundaries Blurring
– Deloitte Consulting, October 2007 Travel Survey found that
over half of business travelers had extended at least one
business trip for vacation/leisure over the past year, and
almost half had a family member or friend join them for at least
one trip. Additionally, one-third of respondents said they
check/answer work emails and voice mails when they’re on
vacation.
Deloitte : Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure (THL) Industry Trends 2008 Study

The Changing Customer
• Mini-vacations are the New Norm
– In the October 2007 Travel Survey, 47 percent of respondents
said they take more short vacations and fewer longer ones.
Frequent trips provide significant opportunities for collaboration
among restaurants, hotels, car rental companies and other
leisure businesses to promote integrated offerings.
– Shorter trips may signify increase travel to nearby destinations
and cities who may benefit from increased purchases of three-
and four-day offerings.
Deloitte : Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure (THL) Industry Trends 2008 Study

The Changing Customer
• Generational Shifts
– Although Baby Boomer spending is expected to surge, GenX
and GenY travelers reportedly spend more per capita and
more per trip.
– A growing number are traveling more frequently, at earlier
ages, and to destinations farther away than did previous
generations.
– Unlike Baby Boomers, who are less likely to use cost-efficient
technologies, younger generations are quicker to adopt these
online tools and communications.
Deloitte : Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure (THL) Industry Trends 2008 Study

Safety, Security & Privacy
• Finding Balance
– The challenge for executives is protecting customers while
managing escalating costs and enhancing the travel
experience.
Deloitte : Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure (THL) Industry Trends 2008 Study

Safety, Security & Privacy
• Traveler tolerance: Addressing challenges and
solutions
– According to a global survey conducted by Synovate, 17
percent of air travelers across the globe said that the new
security requirements will actually deter them from traveling by
plane for leisure.
– U.S. travelers are also spending more time at airports and on
airplanes due to increased air traffic and weather delays.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
approximately 61,000 flights were delayed on the runway for
two hours or more in 2006.
Deloitte : Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure (THL) Industry Trends 2008 Study

Safety, Security & Privacy
• Technological advances in travel security
– Emerging technologies, including systems that allow for Radio
Frequency Identification, fingerprint recognition, iris-scanning,
and pre-screening data-analysis, are now becoming available.
Deloitte : Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure (THL) Industry Trends 2008 Study

Safety, Security & Privacy
• Securing Personal Data
– CISP Compliance
– Resorts have access to a large amount of consumer data. As
such, many are looking beyond the physical safety of their
guests and employees to security concerns related to identity
fraud and theft.
– As consumer awareness of identity theft grows, the
implementation of privacy protection and incident response
programs can serve as a business enabler, allowing a
company to gain a competitive edge.
Deloitte : Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure (THL) Industry Trends 2008 Study

Technology’s New Role
• A Transparent Marketplace
– With lower entry barriers and a flurry of new competitors, THL
providers should consider how to leverage advanced technology and
analysis tools to enhance business models and strengthen customer
relationships.
• Social networking, social media, social computing: these
analogous labels represent the evolution of the Internet as a
transparent, conversational marketplace that is commanding
attention across the industry.
• The user-generated tools – including blogs, wikis, special-interest
online groups; audio and video podcasts; mobile phones, PDAs
and iPods; Web sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and
YouTube.
• These are real-time, rich in content, and giving rise to an
empowered consumer. Information that was previously difficult or
time-consuming to access is now available almost effortlessly by
customers and businesses.
Deloitte : Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure (THL) Industry Trends 2008 Study

Technology’s New Role
• Today’s Internet

Environmental & Social Responsibility
• Not A Fad
– Heightened media attention and instant access to information are
helping consumers become more attuned to the potential
consequences of climate change, poor nutrition, and other social
issues.
Source: Natural Marketing Institute

Environmental & Social Responsibility
• Evolving Business Models
– Leaders are beginning to understand the compelling financial,
regulatory, risk mitigation, and broader marketplace
opportunities of sustainability. The future value of ‘green’ is
likely to increase.
Deloitte : Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure (THL) Industry Trends 2008 Study

Business Conditions

Optimizing the Resort
Costs
Economic
Technology
Conditions
Industry
Guests
Standards
Resort
Safety Profits
Globalization Eco Policy
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Business Conditions
• Increasing Costs
– Labor
– Equipment
• Inability to obtain and retain staff
– Visa exemption problem of 2007 to 20??
– Automation requiring significantly less human interaction
• Ski pass fraud
– Giving friends your pass
– Teenagers signing up for child passes
– Visual Inspections
• Lack of marketing and demographic data
– Most day ticket sales are anonymous
• Increasing Competition
– More choices on things to do
– Less money to spend
– Time pressure
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Guest Trends

Considerations for the Ski Industry
• Increasing Guests Expectations
• Passion
• Less patience for lines and hard to use Web sites
• More amenities and conveniences
• Rewards for loyalty
• Want more personalization
• Increasing Comfort with Technology
• Purchasing Ski Passes Online
• Registering for Activities Online
• Online Presence
• Share experiences with online communities
• Share personal data
22
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Current Challenges of Managing the Guest
Experience
• No integrated guest solution from Web to On Location
interactions available from one vendor
• Brand attributes don’t drive interactions
• Interaction quality isn’t monitored closely
• Guests and their interactions are not widely understood
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Where to Begin?
Three Principles of Experience-Based Differentiation
Forrester Research, Jan . 2008

Obsess About Guests Needs
• Resorts have a clearly Defined set of target customer
segments
• Analysis is used to fully understand the needs and
behaviors of target customers
• Decision-Making processes systematically incorporate
the needs of target customers
• Employees across the company share a consistent
and vivid image of target customers how to improve
experience
Forrester Research, Jan 2008

Reinforce Their Brand With Every Interaction
• The attributes of a company’s brand is well defined
• Brand attributes are translated into specific promises
made to the guest
• The company’s brand drives the guest experiences
On-line and On Property
• Employees understand the key attributes of the guest
experience
Forrester Research, Jan 2008

Treat Customer Experience As A Competence
• Senior Executives consistently communicate the
importance of serving the guest
• Employees are recognized and rewarded for improving
the guest experience
• The quality of the guest experience is closely
monitored
Forrester Research, Jan 2008

Optimizing the Guest Experience
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Optimizing the Ski Guest Experience
• Website Design & Development
• Post Email Campaigns • Online Travel Agent Integration
• Social Media Marketing • Group RFP Responses
• Loyalty Programs • Search Engine Marketing
• Real Estate Floor Plans
• Business Intelligence
•Wholesaler Sales
•Snowsports School
• Retail
• Kiosk
• PMS/CRS Integration
•Grooming Reports
• Ecommerce
• Rentals & Inventory
•Ticket & Pass Sales
• Weather Feeds
•Rental Reservations
• Activities
• Golf Tee Sheet
• Automated Access Control
• Retail Ticket Distribution
•Hotel Concierge Ticket Sales
• Snowsport School Reservations
• Food & Beverage POS
•Third-party System Integration
• Ticketing & Pass Sales
• Pre Arrival eMarketing
• Social Media Marketing
• Events Calendar
• Online Snow Reports
•SMS Alerts
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Technology Trends

Macro Technology Advancements
• Kiosks,
“Super” • Smartphones
Devices • Intelligent Cars
• Warehouses Highway tolls
RFID • Parking Offices
Adoption • Homes Credit Cards
• Web 2.0
Internet • Socialization
Maturity
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Technology Opportunities
eCommerce
RFID Mobile
Guest
Internet Social Media
Contains proprietary & confidential information of RTP LLC. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

Top Technology Trend 2008
• Personalization
• Social networking will become so ubiquitous and mainstream
that people will be participating in it without even thinking of it as
social networking. Life-streaming -- bloglike, real-time lists that
keep you updated with the activities of friends, family members
and colleagues -- will first become useful, then necessary.
– Customizatoin and Personalization. Cellphones.
MySpace.com. Facebook. Blogs.
– Shop and watch TV programs when you want (Amazon.com,
TiVo).
– Download the song you want and listen to it when you want
(iPod and MP3s).
– Capture every moment and play it for a worldwide audience
(Youtube.com, camera phones, reality TV).
“The year of social everything –Computerworld
“Technology creates cult of 'me‘” –USA TODAY

Technology Trends Rankings
• Application Integration ranks as top IT priority
– Lodging
– Activities
– Web
• Web 2.0 ranks as number 2 IT priority
– Blogs
– Wikis
– RSS
• Search Engine Marketing is no longer optional
– First 10 results are visited 78% more than the next 20.
– 90% abandon their search within first 3 pages of results.
– 62% of online shoppers use general search engines.
– 4 out of 5 new Web site visitors arrive through engines.
• Mobile Extension
• RFID Extends to Streamline Guest Experience On Location
SOURCES: 2008 Forrester & February, 2008, comScore Networks (New York)
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Business & Technology Trends Converge
Labor
Constraints
Media RFID
Advancements Advancements
Revenue
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Business & Technology Trends Converge
Labor
Constraints
Media RFID
Advancements Advancements
Revenue
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Perception…
• Barrier & Restrictive
• Frustrate the Guest
• Bar-coded tickets
needed to be inserted
into a slot to be read
• Three arm turnstiles
used to catch on your
ski boots
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Available Access Control Solutions
• Bar Code
• Low Cost
• Limited Integration Capabilities
• Higher Susceptibility to Fraud
• Custom RFID Solution incorporating RFID Tags
• RFID as a smart bar code
• Limited Capabilities
• Higher Costs
• Point to Point Interfaced Solution
• Higher level of complexity
• Greater risk of failure
• Integrated Solution
• Zero Managed Technologies
• Single Vendor Relationship
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A New Era of Guest Access
Freemotion Gate
• Extended Antennas
• Color Display to
mean the ticket is
allow you to
read early on
advertise or display
messages
• Dual sides antennas
• Motion sensors for
mean the guest can
safe and reliable
place their ticket in
ticket control
any pocket
• Optional bar code • Single bar barrier,
reader for one use opens before the
tickets such as guest reaches it
summer operations
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A New Era of Guest Access
Freemotion Gate
• Camera takes the
photo of the guest
using the system
• Height Detectors
can validate • Staff can monitor the
products to pre- photo on file and
configured height so compare with the
adults can not use photo just taken
child passes
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A New Era of Guest Access
Freemotion Gate
• overhead GANTRY MOUNT
• FLOOR MOUNT for
for ski in to allow grooming
gondola stations
machines to move in on a night
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The Evolution of Ticket Media
• Barcoded Control,
personalized
• Barcoded Control,
anonymous
• Visual
Control,
anonymous
• Branding and Image
gets more important
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RFID is much more than a ticket
• discrete identifier that can be read by
more than access control
• marketing and demographic data
• convenience & Mult-usage (Credit Card,
watch,…)
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Other RFID Uses
• Door Locks
• Parking Access Control
• Lockers
• Inventory Tracking
• Guest Tracking
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RFID Benefits
• Reduces direct labor expenditures
• Reduces fraud
• Widens revenue stream
• Enhances customer convenience and satisfaction with a hassle
free experience
• Provides key consumer usage data for actionable intelligence in
operations and marketing
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What does this mean for you?
Guest Lifecycle
– Numerous opportunities for differentiation
– New cross/up-sell opportunities
– ‘Connect with the Passion’ of your guest
– Deliver and reinforce consistent message
– Leverage key new technologies and trends
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Thank You
Michael McDermott
Sr. Vice President of Sales, Marketing & Product Management
RTP | Resort Technology Partners
t | 303.256.6610
f | 303.256.6612
m | 303.921.6931
e | michaelm@rtp.com
4600 S. Syracuse St.
Suite 900
Denver, CO 80237