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General Operations –Hospitality/Guest Experience – You’ve got the grooming and rental thing covered, but what do your guests really think of your ski area? Learn from the experts on how to improve the guest experience
SLIDE 2 Overview
- Who am I?
- Adirondack Welcome & Context
- What is the VIC? Paul Smith’s College? Their Connection?
- How do we aim to achieve quality Hospitality and Guest Experiences?
- What should we avoid? What should we engage?
- Know thy neighbor, thy visitor, thy self.
- Collaboration, distinction, unilateral themes in the industry.
- How do you know your achieving it? – Feedback/ Evaluations
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The Adirondacks – Unique or Repeat?
SLIDE 5 16 Adirondack Cross-Country Ski Areas
Lapland Lake Kunjamuk Loop Lake George Recreation Park Hackensack Mountain Park Dynamite Hill Recreation Area Gore Mountain Nordic Center Garnet Hill Lodge McCauley Mountain Ski Area Fern Park Recreation Area Tupper Lake Cross-Country Center Paul Smith’s College VIC Dewey Mountain Recreation Center Mount Van Hovenberg Cascade Cross-Country Ski Center New Land Trust Adirondack Interpretive Center
SLIDE 6 The VIC By the numbers By any other name
- 3,000 acre property
- 25 miles of trails
- 20,000 visitors annually
- 30 years old
- 25,000 square foot building
- 1,500 day passes annually
- 100 paying season pass holders
- 100 free College student passes
- 1/16th of the Nordic Venues
- Town of Brighton Pop. 500
Franklin County 51,000
- Biologically diverse landscape
- 40 km of groomed winter trails
- Year round venue
- Snow belt winter recreation
- Adirondack Great Camp
- Nice tourists and locals
- Year round local supporters
- Future affinity base
- Ample competition -keep our visitors
happy
- Super rural, stand alone destination facility
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Hospitality & Guest Experiences
SLIDE 9 Visitor Experiences
- Pre- Trip and planning
- During
- Post
SLIDE 10
Who are your guests?
Local/ Tourist? Families- younger/ older kids School Groups Tour Groups Are you adapting/ adaptable to visitor trends? Are you dog friendly, kid friendly, what about my fat bike?
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SLIDE 14 What is everyone looking for?
- Comfortable experience
- Safe environment
- Friendly knowledgeable staff
- Quality services
- Clean facility
- Organized
- Fun & relaxing
SLIDE 15 How do you achieve it?
- Accountability
- Equity
- Skin in the game
SLIDE 16 On-Site
- Parking
- Walkways
- Restrooms
- Front Desk/ Visitor Services
- Retail – affinity builder for venue
- Unifying theme - consistency
SLIDE 17 Identify and Maintain your Assets
- How versatile is a space?
- How much effort does it take to make useable daily, to transition?
- What are beneficial upgrades?
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Inviting?
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Inclusion in Regional Efforts
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Print Media
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Online and On-Trail Accessibility
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Informative Roadside Signage
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Where do I go from here?
SLIDE 24 On-Trail Experiences
- Junction and trail signage
- Difficulty ratings
- Caution & other indicators
- Trailhead kiosks
- Numbered Junctions
- Benches
- Vistas
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SLIDE 31 Accessible Information
- Is your information accessible to people in many ways?
- Online pre-trip planning
- Over the phone / e-mail/ in-person contact
SLIDE 32 Value Added Experiences
- More than just skiing
- Food & beverage
- Educational opportunities
- Fire side time
- On-site activities & lodging
- Other extensions
SLIDE 33 What can you do after 4PM?
- What can you do mornings?
- Mid- Day
- Afternoon
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SLIDE 37 Post Trip
- Positive ways for people to engage, share, feedback, & promote
- Active social media, trip advisor, etc. pages
- Encourage people to take home materials, and promote year-round
activities
SLIDE 38 Group Discussion
- Find at least 2 people you don’t know in this presentation
- Spend a few minutes together
- Share 3 positive experiences about your organization/ institution
worth sharing
- Share 2 flops you’ve seen. If the flops could’ve been changed to a
positive experience, what needed to be changed?
- I’ll ask your groups to share a + and a – with the group.
SLIDE 39 Hanging up our boots (The storage wax portion)
- Better feel for what your current and prospective visitors are looking
for
- Things you can work towards
- How you might get there
- Contact – Andy Testo
Paul Smith’s College VIC (Visitor Interpretive Center) atesto@paulsmiths.edu (518) 774-9806
