Vail Resorts was named one of the fifty most innovative companies of 2016 by Fast Company, the self-proclaimed “leading progressive business media brand with a focus on innovation in technology, ethical economics, leadership, and design.”
Vail Resorts has a strong presence in Breckenridge. Not only does it own the ski resort and the gondola, but also shops, bars, restaurants and a hotel in town. Internationally Vail Resorts operates nine mountains, three urban ski areas, 23 hotels, and several real estate developments in North America and Australia.
Founded in 1997, Vail Resorts is the only Colorado-based company to have been named on this prestigious list of business innovators. Its mission (to provide each guest with the experience of a lifetime) is driven by six core values: Serve Others. Do Right. Drive Value. Do Good. Be Safe. Have Fun.
Fast Company recognizes Vail Resorts distinction from other travel companies in several ways:
- Epic Season Pass: an affordable way to gain access to all of its mountains.
- The RFID (hands-free) ticket scanning method that keeps hands warms and smiles aplenty. Each guest is greeted by name without having to do anything more than keep a pass tucked safely in their pocket.
- EpicMix: The sixth generation smart phone app that pairs with the RFID technology so that skiers can track and share daily and season statistics of vertical feet conquered, photos, maps, and conditions.
- Lift Line Wait Times: In December, 2015, EpicMix received an update in Breckenridge, Keystone, Vail, and Beaver Creek with the hybrid version of a new feature that estimates wait times. Similar to the way Google Maps pulls analytics, the app can now pull anonymous location information from smart phones to estimate how many people are waiting for a specific lift. When this feature is finalized and released for all its mountain resorts, it will also include GPS-enabled trail maps to show a skier’s location in proximity to lifts with its wait times. Ultimately, the goal is to spread traffic across the mountain and give each guest a great day of skiing.
- Personalized Marketing: EpicMix is not just a great tool for improving a guest’s experience, but also a way to collect individualized data on its visitors so that it can more effectively streamline information to interested parties.
- Sustainability is at the heart of Vail Resorts, with its ”EpicPromise:” a commitment to care for and to preserve the natural environments, with a particular focus on its resort areas, energy reduction, and recycling. The company has reduced its energy consumption by 10%, aiming for another 10% reduction by 2020. Vail Resorts has become second largest corporate purchaser of wind power in the United States. Additionally, the company aims to capture and re-use 80% of the water used in snowmaking to protect local rivers from run-off.
Vail Resorts is a foundational player in our community and we congratulate it on being the recipients of such a prestigious award!
See what Vail CEO Rob Katz had to say about this recognition.
