Vail Resorts' have announced plans to spend $175m on upgrades to their 18 resorts ahead of the 2019/20 ski season.
The company now owns many of the leading resorts in North America including four of the five largest by skiable area Whistler Blackcomb, Park City, Heavenly and Vail itself as well as famous resorts like Stowe, Beckenridge and Crested Butte and Australia's largest resort Perisher.
Along with infrastructure improvements including replacement lifts and new snowmaking there's a major thrust to get skiers on the slopes faster by employing people to provide lift passes to buyers who have pre-paid at the base of the lifts, rather than skiers having to queue at a lift ticket office counter.
"Reducing guest wait times is a top priority across Vail Resorts," said Katz. "Direct-to-lift technology enhancements for advance purchase lift tickets is one of the more significant transformational investments we can make to improve the guest experience."
Vail Resorts intend that this approach should increase "express lift ticket fulfilment capacity" by 40 percent through the use of new handheld, mobile technology at its 17 North American resorts.
Skiers will obtain their RF-enabled lift ticket from roving ticket agents at base area lifts and will then be able to move directly into the primary lift line to begin their day on the mountain.