This week I’m talking about summer activities. Winter runs like a well-oiled machine, but we’re likely still in the crawl stage of the classic crawl->walk->run progression.

One area in which I think this is especially true is the little things.

An Example
While I’m not old enough to know first hard, as far as I can tell the advent of pole-mounted tissue boxes in the lift line is a fairly modern revelation.

It likely come from some combination of personal experience, noticing behavior of others, and hearing common complaints from skiers through chair rides or surveys or something along those lines.

Today, it’d be hard to find a skier who hasn’t appreciated a Kleenex during an especially snotty day on the slopes.

Two Things to Ask About
As I’ve waded into the world of summer activities, there are two things that I think resorts should start asking their guests, watching out for, and listening for during conversations:

1. Shade
2. Water

In winter, shade and staying hydrated are after thoughts. In summer, however, they become big deals. Too much sun or too little water one day can ruin the rest of a vacation. And in the quest for NPS growth, those can be nails in the coffin of your return rate.

But lets dig into each a bit in terms of what you could be asking.

#1) Water
If I were you, I’d ask questions like:

• Did you carry a water bottle with you today?
• Did you have trouble finding a place to fill it?
• Did you know what to do with your bottle during rides like the mountain coaster?
• Did you feel it was easy to stay hydrated while participating in our activities?
• What is one thing we could have done to help you keep more hydrated?

This sorta stuff is, again, not on our radars during winter. But these are the conversations I’ve overheard (and experienced) this summer.

#2) Shade
In this case, my questions might be along these lines:

• How important to you is having a shading place to rest during a day at our resort?
• Did you feel there was enough shade and places to rest?
• Which activities would you prefer having more shade on while you wait or watch?
• What is one thing we could have done to help you have a better day in the sun?

One activity our kids loved wasn’t a great fit for slightly older humans. The result? A constant bunch of 5-10 parents trying to share the only sliver of shade near the attraction with the rest sweating out their lack of luck.

Think About It
These questions might seem small, but when we haven’t quite dialed in our summer product they’re questions worth asking now to have a better understanding of those fundamental pieces required to help folks have a great day.

Maybe they’ll be non-issues at your resort or maybe they’ll be big deals. Either way, it’s knowledge that will serve you well as you develop your summer product and, more importantly, experience.

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.