If you’ve been following along on SlopeFillers for a while you’ve probably heard me reference my lack of savvy when it comes to travel.

I do alright, but there’s always at least one point – usually 5 or 6 – where I feel a little out of my element regarding something that, in most cases, is well withing the control of the destination I’m traveling to.

The most common such moment is finding my way from the highway to the hotel.

The Video
When friend and industry colleague tweeted a screenshot of his Jay confirmation, I got excited.

Screw the bird. We need a break. pic.twitter.com/fPCFBZpUiZ

— Alex Kaufman (@Kaufmanwithak) October 28, 2015

When I watched the video embedded on Jay’s “First Timer” page, I couldn’t contain myself. In the context of the pain point I started with, see if you can pick out the frame I latched onto:

Did you see it?

Rewatch the stretch starting at about 0:35.

Found it? Here it is.

Yes, dotted lines showing you exactly how to get to your hotel. Even in world of GPS, you’d be surprised how big of a difference something like that can make.

The Whole Enchilada
But if you watched the entire video, you’ve realized by now that the frame I was drawn to is one of hundreds such frames that help a first timer make the most of their trip. This includes a list of:

• Retail options and differences between shops.
• Dining options and differences between restaurants.
• Activities for families and where they’re located.

All accented by a unique resort personality, humor, and wit that Jay is so good at tying into their brand and marketing.

A QUICK NOTE: I want to make sure that we all understand that this video, despite the narrow view sometimes taken with the topic, is content marketing. Take a second to think about how the attributes – evergreen, confirmation, guest experience, embeded, a few views a day at most – compare to your current view of content strategy and I think you’ll see a lot of new opportunities for the skills we’ve all been refining in this channel.

Something Every Resort Needs
I know similar pieces of content exist, but I’ve never seen one that was as informative as it was fun to watch.

Sometimes it’s hard to see through the eyes of someone that hasn’t made the drive to your resort 1,000 times. But as I discover nearly every time I travel, it’s imperative that you try.

Well done, Jay.

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.