As a future shaper of the tourism industry, the destination LAAX relies on innovation and the continuous expansion of its digital offering to create real added value for its guests. In order to offer a comprehensive but secure experience during COVID-19, the Weisse Arena Group has chosen Pricenow's Business Intelligence Tool.
For the Weisse Arena Group, it was already clear in the summer months of 2020 that there may be self-imposed or cantonally prescribed capacity restrictions in the coming winter season. For this, the right precautions had to be taken in advance. One of these was to switch ticket sales for day and half-day tickets to online only. This is to prevent winter sports enthusiasts from arriving in the event of a quota only to be disappointed to find out at the bottom station that they can no longer get a ticket.
Thanks to this digital solution, winter sports enthusiasts also get to the mountain faster and more safely, because contact points are reduced to a minimum.As early as the start of the season in fall 2020, LAAX decided to introduce a quota system for half-day and day tickets. This was done in order to be able to adequately meet the challenges posed by COVID-19 and the associated restrictions, while still offering guests an optimal mountain experience. However, in order to be able to make an appropriate allocation, a tool is needed that allows precise statements to be made about sales and their distribution.
«For the data to be meaningful, all points of sale must be taken into account: The interface to the access system is guaranteed and thus purchased tickets from all sales channels, whether booked in the web store or in a hotel, are mapped.» Jonas Meuli, Co-Founder, Pricenow
With the business intelligence tool, the Weisse Arena Group can keep track of capacities and intervene in case of doubt. The application displays in real time the numbers of guests who have a lift ticket for the winter sports area on that day. This is a particularly complex undertaking in the winter sports sector, as a large number of different tickets are involved and an unknown and variable size of seasonal lift owners must always be included.
The new Usage module of the Pricenow BI tool shows in real time all tickets purchased and thus the expected capacity utilization. Visitors with multi-day tickets are also included on a daily basis to reflect the actual number of visitors. This allows the Weisse Arena Group to track in real time how many people have a valid lift ticket for a given day.
In the event of high utilization, LAAX management can intervene and control capacity in the online store. In the business intelligence tool, the purchased lift tickets for the area are updated in real time so that the quota in the online store can be adjusted again in the event of any changes. It thus provides a data-based decision-making basis that enables capacity management in the winter sports area. The capacities can be regulated easily and quickly by the management to ensure the safety of guests and employees and also to meet the requirements of the canton.
Markus Wolf, CEO, Weisse Arena Gruppe: «With Pricenow, we have found a partner who not only has in-depth expertise in pricing and data analytics, but also a comprehensive understanding of the industry. This facilitates the cooperation, which we will strengthen in the future.»
Pricenow's Business Intelligence Tool also offers considerable added value after COVID-19: With the Usage Module, the Weisse Arena Group always has an overview of what it can expect for a rush of visitors. It also provides information on how guests' booking behavior is changing in light of current external conditions. On busy days, or as is currently the case during the sports holiday season, this data basis thus facilitates decisions on limitations and also enables resources to be optimized.
Reto Trachsel, CEO of Pricenow, also appreciates the work with the Weissen Arena Group: «For us, this project is another milestone and shows how the analysis of digital data can provide information for management and employees. In this way, we create a transparent and reliable basis for decision-making for the company. With an innovative partner like LAAX, it is easy to move into such new areas.»
Systematic data analysis gives the Weissen Arena Group the opportunity to further develop cost and customer management. Structured reports create an optimal basis for decision-making in order to optimize operational processes and identify sales potential.
Media release Weisse Arena Gruppe
