Digitalisation for cable cars & ski resorts
“What are the snow conditions?”, “Are all lifts open?” – the same questions every winter morning. Plus school groups standing at the ticket desk unannounced, and a summer programme too few people know about. We digitalise cable cars for all three seasons – connected to your ticketing.
De Vries family, +31 6 …
… we komen zaterdag met vier personen, twee kinderen – zijn alle liften open en wanneer is het het minst druk? …
AI actions during the call
Sources: WKÖ cable car association, project data from cable car operators.
In short
InnovationLAB GmbH from Wörgl in Tyrol digitalises cable cars and ski resorts in Austria and South Tyrol: an AI phone assistant for snow conditions, lift status and prices in 50+ languages, online group booking for schools, companies and clubs, WhatsApp guest communication including live alerts on wind closures, review management for Google, TripAdvisor and skiresort.info, plus summer activation and season reporting. Integrated with Skidata, Axess, Feratel or your own ticketing – lift control remains untouched.
What really happens
Cable car operators invest in snowmaking, lifts and grooming – and lose guests and revenue through missing communication: before arrival, when a lift stops, in summer and during the off-season.
As soon as it snows or the sun shines, the phone rings non-stop. According to the WKÖ cable car association, more than 60 % are standard enquiries – ideal for AI, lost time for your ticket desk team.
No group price, no ski school coordination, no time slot. A group enquiry by phone takes 45 minutes on average – and holds up the ticket desk for everyone else.
Those on their way only find out at the barrier tape. Proactive messages about lift stops, weather warnings or changed hours are still manual work at most operators.
Many cable cars run at 20–30 % of their winter visitor numbers in summer. Winter guests only associate the lift with skiing – no contact in the off-season, no summer offer for regulars.
Calculator
Four figures from your last powder morning – and you see how many callers stay stuck in the queue. And what changes with the AI hotline.
Simplified estimate: capacity = people × length of rush ÷ avg. call length. “With AI hotline” assumes 65 % fewer calls for your team – the AI answers snow conditions, lift status and prices itself.
Solutions at a glance
Every module runs on its own. Start with the biggest lever – for most operators that's relieving the phone.
01 / 24/7 – on peak days and quiet Tuesdays alike
Usable on its own – connected to your ticketing system
02 / 25 people. 45 minutes before. Now 2.
Usable on its own – connected to your ticketing system
03 / So nobody stands at the barrier tape
Usable on its own – connected to your ticketing system
04 / Your gondola runs in summer too – too few people know
Usable on its own – connected to your ticketing system
05 / Google · TripAdvisor · skiresort.info – systematically
Usable on its own – connected to your ticketing system
06 / Figures instead of gut feeling
Usable on its own – connected to your ticketing system
Products
Each product knows your lift operations, your price structure and your seasons – and they can be combined later without effort.
Agent-ready · standard in every web project
Guests ask their AI assistant where conditions are best tomorrow, what it costs and whether the lifts are running. If it can read your website, it recommends your resort. If it can't, it names the next valley.
Simplified example · request to an AI assistant“Skiing in Tyrol tomorrow with two kids, not too busy, lifts definitely open. Where and what does it cost? Book the tickets.”
For every type of business
From village lift to linked ski area: Tyrol, Salzburg, Vorarlberg and South Tyrol – with their regional specifics.
Our approach
Integrates with:
Instead of piste info from one vendor, reviews from another and WhatsApp on the ticket clerk's private phone: everything from one source, one partner responsible.
We build on Skidata, Axess, Feratel or your own system. No POS switch, no go-live in the winter season without your OK.
Winter: phone and groups. Summer: hiking, bike, mountain restaurant. Off-season: early-bird passes and regulars. The system knows your calendar.
Call volume, group conversion, reviews, ratio of summer to winter guests – we measure what has changed.
Mapped to our four phases. How we work
How many calls per winter day? What's the online ticket share, how long does a group enquiry take, how many summer guests do you have?
Lifts, pistes, ticket categories, group prices, season dates and summer programme – configured for your operation, not a template.
Connection to Skidata, Axess, Feratel, piste report feeds or your ticketing – snow conditions and lift status flow live into the answers.
Ideally in the off-season: AI phone and guest communication run before the first season weekend.
Ticket desk, lift staff, ski school and office: who sees group enquiries, how does the mountain restaurant confirm a WhatsApp booking?
GDPR for guest data and personalised ski passes, no-show fees under consumer protection law, accessibility of the booking journey.
After every season: call volume, group conversion, review trend, online share – and what we do better next season.
Compliance
Data protection, industry regulation and accessibility are part of the build from day one – whichever modules you use.
Guest profiles and booking histories GDPR-compliant on EU servers, consent documented at booking, deletable on request.
We integrate camera feeds in a privacy-compliant way – even when images flow into guest communication.
We connect only to guest communication. Lift control, emergency communication and shutdown remain 100 % in your certified systems.
Since June 2025 the accessibility requirements apply to online booking journeys – we implement them from the start.
FAQ
No. We connect to Skidata, Axess, Feratel, piste report feeds or your own system. Snow conditions, lift status and prices flow live into the answers – no POS switch.
No. We work exclusively on guest communication. Lift control, emergency communication and shutdown stay in your certified systems.
School classes, companies and clubs book online with a group price calculator and ski lessons – under two minutes instead of 45 on the phone. The ski school is informed automatically.
All of today's guests who opted in receive a WhatsApp immediately – with alternatives on other lifts. Callers hear it right away on the phone.
By reaching your winter guests in spring and summer: hiking routes, bike, mountain restaurant and events – via WhatsApp to everyone who opted in.
The off-season. The AI phone assistant runs within 4–6 weeks – in time for the first season weekend, not in the middle of peak season.
That depends on where you start – every module runs on its own. In the free initial consultation we work out your potential; afterwards you receive a concrete quote.
Get started
In 30 minutes we show you how many calls the AI could take, what a fresh-snow alert would sound like for your area and how to bring winter guests back in summer. Your ticketing stays where it is.
