With the amount of travel I’ve been doing lately, I’ve decided to add a few random twists to my trips back-and-forth across the country to keep things interesting.

For example, I’m on a quest to stay in different hotel every time I visit Inntopia headquarters in Stowe. Today I’ll be checking into the Grey Fox Inn (and #10 on my list). I snagged an Arcade belt (plastic buckle) in a quest to make TSA as smoothly as possible. And I’ve tried to see just how light I could pack.

That last one has been tricky. It’s meant making do or doing without. One of the things I do without? Books.

Time Well Spent
Not all books, but I realized that if I was going to fit everything into just my backpack, the usual stack of hardbound books (most of which were duds) weren’t gonna fly. So, instead I do two things.

First, I may choose one book that I’ve probably already started (so I know it’s good).

Second, I listen to a lot of podcasts.

I love podcasts. I actually ran one for a few years during college, but the latest resurgence in this medium and the quality of the content that has come along with it has been awesome to watch. The tools that are available now make it easier and more effective than ever to publish audio.

But despite my fandom, it wasn’t until a conversation at NSAA with Armelle Solelhac where podcasts and flying and resort marketing finally connected.

What If
Think about podcasts for a second:

• Podcasts are frequently consumed when no screens are available – jogging, driving, flying, etc. – so your audience’s attention is surprisingly focused.
• Very little equipment is required. A $70 USB condenser mic and a blanker over your head produces amazingly good audio.
• They’re also great for telling stories and consuming interviews because the value of those things is primarily in the spoken word.

So imagine a guest coming to your resort. They’re eager to arrive and experience all the stuff you have on offer, but maybe it’s their first time. Maybe they still only have a superficial understanding of who you are.

Well, more than likely, they’re going to spend at least 3-6 hours in a car or plane en-route. So what if you gave them a podcast they could subscribe to now, so all the episodes could be downloaded and ready then. During that long drive or 4-hour flight? Maybe the sequence could be something like this:

1. Record a three-part podcast about the history of your resort (episode 1), the top 5 things they should be sure they do before heading home (episode 2), and a series of tips for having a great week (episode 3)
2. Upload to your favorite podcast hosting company, give it an easy-to-find name, and copy the feed URL
3. Paste that URL into a pre-arrival email that goes out, say, 7 days before they arrive and tell them to either use that URL or search for “Sundance Resort Arrival Podcast” in their favorite feedreader to subscribe
4. Then, for the people who click on that URL, trigger an automated follow up early on the morning they arrive that reminds them to download (and listen to) the episodes en-route

Maybe there would only be a few people who actually listen, but podcast fans are a loyal bunch and something tells me you could give these folks some really solid information (in a medium they love) that will set them up for an amazingly good vacation.

Given the time and cost required to test this out, might be worth a shot.

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.