As proof of just how limited my visibility can be at times from my quaint office perch in Colorado, Tremblant did something that I should have been totally psyched about…but I had to go to a conference just to learn about it.

The idea is what’s called “My Getaway Guide“, a tool that guides you through a questionaire and then uses your responses to built a totally custom booklet for your needs, your timing, and your goals as a vacationer.

Let me walk you through it quickly, step-by-step.

The Questions
Let’s start with the questions. The tool asks me a few, simple questions about…

“My traveling companion(s)”

“My vacation goal”

“My ideal timing”

“My ski level”

Note that at each of these steps the image changes as I change the position of the slider.

Build the Database
Next, the tool asks me for a few bits of personal information (age plays a role in customizing the guide as well).

Before finishing with an opt-in.

Whether I enter my email or just click the “(X)”, I am presented after 10 seconds or so with a confirmation page and way to either view the guide online or download a PDF version.

Having entered my email address, I also received a download link via email.

The Guide
The guide seems to be composed of a combination of static blocks of imagery or text mingled with dynamic areas that are filled based on your responses.

For example, depending on the type of visitor you are, you might be served two different headers.

Or different lodging deals, deadlines, and copy in the next section.

Or different trail recommendations.

If you’d like to view my full PDF versions (yes, I made two), click here and here.

Usage
It’s always hard to gauge the success of these tools, but because the guides are numbered we can get a little bit of a glimpse.

My first guide was 8343, my second was 8351. Those happened about 10 minutes apart. Did seven other guides get created during that stretch? I’m guessing not, but one did, my wife’s, that was 8347. It looks like Tremblant may be employing a little trick I’ve used myself of incrementing user ids by a multiplier if they’ll be listed publicly.

But even with 2,100 (8,400 / 4 <- the multiplier), that's a solid group of people that have not only received custom content but have also told Tremblant a ton about themselves and, potentially, opted in as well. I Love It
I love this idea. I love the use of key selling points (especially the “why” in “My vacation goal”). I love the customization. I love the opt-in. I love the design.

While I think it’s easy to see the potential of applying this concept to an entire website, I think in the baby-step “prove it out first” approach, I’d love to see the same concept applied to a single responsive page that can be accessed before and even during a vacation from any device.

Either way, very innovative, very clever, and a great combination of data, automation, and extremely relevant content.

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.