Perisher snow resort implements tablet PCs for paperless ticketing system

Perisher snow resort has implemented a paperless ticketing system, by deploying tablet PCs and radio-frequency identification (RFID) gates.

As the Southern Hemisphere’s largest snow resort, with 3075 skiable acres and 72 lift gates at 30 locations, Perisher has the highest terrain, the greatest number of lifts and the most reliable snow in Australia.

Perisher’s management team wanted to implement a paperless ticketing system and mobile computing solution to provide the more than 700,000 yearly skiers with more efficient service and enhance the overall resort experience.

To this end, the resort deployed Motion Computing F5v Tablet PCs to its staff.

The lift crews rely on the F5v Tablet PCs as a portable interface to the RFID-enabled gates, showing real-time information on guest identity and ticket usage. This helps Perisher protect against revenue loss from prohibited ticket transfers or guests who purchase lift access outside their age demographic, such as an adult skiing on a child’s ticket.

The snow-sports department also uses the tablet PCs to manage instructor schedules while out on the slopes and to process credit card payments at lesson meeting places. The IT department uses one of the tablet PCs to fix any faults with the RFID gates and reports that troubleshooting time has been cut back from 30 minutes to just 15 minutes.

“We’ve significantly upgraded our service at lift gates and the snow-sport areas. If there are any pass or gate issues, skiers and boarders don’t have to go back to the ticket window; the lift crews promptly deal with it right there, improving efficiency and customer service,” said Michael Fanning, IT manager, Perisher.

“The lift crews and the IT department now ski from location to location with the [tablet PCs] in their carry cases, so it’s truly a mobile solution for us. The IT staff won’t let theirs go, and we’re finding the tablet PCs extremely easy to work with.”

The resort adopted the tablets based on advice from supplier POSMarket. According to Fanning, the tablets outshone competing solutions.

“We looked at a couple of other devices, but they didn’t have what we required. We needed a rugged solution, it had to be wireless and it had to have stylus input because of the intricacies of the application that we are using.”

“The environment that we work in is very harsh, and days can rapidly go from bright and sunny to blizzard conditions with snow, sleet and wind,” added Fanning. “We proved that the tablet PCs could withstand the environment early on when we were out fixing an electrical problem with one of the RFID gates. Wiping snow and ice off the screen, the [tablet] continued working without any hitches.”

Perisher also benefitted from the tablet PC’s hot-swap battery feature, which means that staff members out on the mountain do not lose their sessions when swapping out the battery.

The tablet PCs are also providing more personalised contact with guests. If guests have entered personal data when buying their lift passes, staff can now greet them by name when scanning their passes with the tablet PCs.