CommuniSki, an innovative new Canadian app born from a passion for skiing and snowboarding aims to simplify the customer journey at ski areas, and increase profits for resorts and affiliated businesses.
Launched in November 2022 after three years of development and testing, and available for free in the Google Play and Apple App Stores, CommuniSki provides ski areas with a powerful guest experience tool that’s sure to keep skiers and snowboarders returning to their slopes and shops, season after season.
“Our research indicated that people wanted an app that did everything for them. They didn’t like having an app for every resort they went to, a different app for weather and one for meeting up with friends,” says CommuniSki founder and CEO Charlie Walker, who describes himself as a tech-savvy ski bum.
While other similar platforms exist, CommuniSki incorporates the best bits from each, focuses on winter sports, and finds a middle ground between end-user needs, resort needs and business needs to address everyone’s problems and challenges, says Walker, whose due diligence included a 2019 road trip to 23 ski resorts in Canada and the U.S. where skiers/boarders and staff at resorts and local businesses told him the industry was lagging in its use of technology.
“Even where technology is being used, it’s often poorly implemented and is not delivering an improved guest experience or driving increased skier volumes and revenues. Smaller resorts in particular do not have the resources to invest in and manage tech solutions,” said Walker, who lives in Golden, BC. “Not only do we provide all this completely free, for both resorts and your guests, but we have extensive functionality to drive more visitors to your resort, promote your products and services and grow revenue.”
CommuniSki enables customers to purchase lift tickets, enroll in lessons, order food and learn about various activities in the region they’re visiting, all in one app. Before they hit the hills, users can access trail maps, track the weather up to 16 days in advance, contact their ski and snowboard buddies, arrange carpools, connect with local ski groups and access real-time data for lift and run status, snow conditions and road closures.
There is no cost to ski areas unless they choose to sell their products and services via the app, at which point they will pay a commission. Thanks to a fully branded resort portal, when skiers and boarders are browsing a resort’s offerings, it will appear that they are on a site created by that resort. There will also be a jobs board to help find and hire staff, and various marketing channels to reach the ski and snowboard community. If app users enable push notifications, ski areas can alert them to issues that will affect their day on the slopes, such as high winds, road closures, etc.
Local businesses can also have their own branded section within CommuniSki, giving them access to the same retail platforms as resorts, allowing them to sell food, snowshoe tours, snowmobiling, mountain top dinners, cooking classes, wine tastings, spa days and event tickets.
CommuniSki works at every ski area in North America, whether the app has established a relationship with the area or not. There is no obligation ski areas or nearby businesses to use any particular feature – they are free to choose what works best for them.
For the 2022/23 season, CommuniSki is targeting users across North America. Walker plans to expand to Europe and beyond for the 2023/24 season and add additional features. For more information, visit www.CommuniSki.com or download the app for free in your mobile device’s app store.
