10 Years on from conceiving its Epic Pass multi-resort, season-long, electronic lift pass and membership scheme, Vail Resorts have announced that the 2019-19 incarnation of the product will incorporate, “Emma, Your Epic Mountain Assistant” which the group is billing as, “the world’s first digital mountain assistant to offer information on everything from grooming, lift line wait times and parking to recommendations on rentals, lessons and dining options.”
“Imagine Siri was a really good skier and had incredible knowledge about all of Vail Resorts and voila…you have Emma,” said a Vail Resorts spokesperson.
Emma uses artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) to answer a wide range of guests’ questions about their ski holiday. The intention is that guests using Emma will instantly receive expert, local information tailored to each resort and to their needs.
The system will debut at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Park City, Heavenly, Northstar, Kirkwood and Whistler Blackcomb in the 2018-2019 winter season.
“Through short message service (SMS) text, Emma answers guest questions in real time. On-demand information can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, resulting in instant service and a seamless experience for guests from exploring a resort’s village to learning if a favourite slope is groomed to recommendations for the best après-ski location,” a Vail Resorts press statement explains, continuing,
“Topics such as snow conditions and lift line wait times, parking and in-resort wayfinding, ski school, lift tickets and equipment rental options, on- and off-mountain dining and activity recommendations and more can be accessed through Emma.”
Future generations of Emma may include integration with Facebook Messenger, voice assistants like Alexa, wearable technology notifications and Vail Resorts’ EpicMix mobile application, the company says.
“Emma is the first application of AI and NLP in the mountain resort industry and will offer our guests access to information that is authentic to each resort,” commented Robert Urwiler, chief information officer for Vail Resorts.
