Let’s say you’re planning a family reunion and let’s say that you’re working out the logistics for a big family ski day. There’s grandma and grandpa, your two siblings and their spouses, and each of those couples’ two kids for a grand total of 14 skiers.

Looking for a deal, you start browsing resort websites. Before long you’d realize that for all the strings you’ll have to pull to get your entire family on the mountain, you won’t get a discount because groups, in the ski industry, start at 15 for some and 20 for most. Any less and there’s nothing designed for your crew.

Until now.

Groupify
Now the reasons for these and other restrictions (like one payment method, advanced reservations, etc.) are completely understandable and even smart for the current model.

But what Groupify does is simply take that model, add a layer of technology, and automate all those tricky pieces to create options for groups of 5, 8, 13, 14, and every other size between 1 and 20 that you can imagine.

And it does iso in a way that adds some really intriguing possibilities.

Here’s a quick overview of how it works:

1. Group leader creates an account.
2. Group leader shares with others chance to join group.
3. Group members join and supply credit card information.
4. Group members choose to be charged now or later.
5. Two days before trip everything is finalized.
6. The day of the trip skiers check in by showing their receipt at the window.
7. Each skier gets a follow up offer for a return trip.

This process does three really important things.

#1) Bridges the Gap
The first, and most obvious, is that this bridges the gap between the current group model’s restrictions and the single-ticket buyer.

#2) Encourage Sharing
But it also makes that range dynamic and motivates groups of 5 or 10 or 15 to become 8 or 13 or 18 by getting more people to sign up so everyone can save together.

#3) Works Within Existing Systems
Perhaps most importantly, it works within existing systems which means that the gap is bridged without piling extra work on the group sales coordinator.

And all of this is built into a simple, clean interface.

Not Hipster Disruptors
I think a really important point to make here is that Groupify is not the brainchild of some 20-something recent grads trying to “disrupt “the ski industry.

Instead, it’s an effort by Epop Studios who have been in the ski industry for a long time, understand the business, have worked with dozens of resorts on their websites and ecommerce systems, and have always produced good, quality work in both the design and development worlds.

More groups at your resort, more skiers getting friends/family to come skiing, all built by a team that is committed to and understands the industry.

Good stuff all around.

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.