Inside Labs: The Perfect Day Of Skiing Begins The Day Before

Those who book their ski ticket for the Engadin via the destination's online shop will receive a personalized e-mail in advance of the upcoming day's skiing. Unlike in most ski areas, the content of this e-mail is tailored to the personal preferences of the guest and the selected ski area (Corviglia, Corvatsch Diavolezza Lagalp or the entire ski area). A guest who has bought a day ticket for Corviglia, for example, receives recommendations for suitable restaurants and the slopes that are currently open. The Engadin St. Moritz Tourismus AG can thus interact with the guest in a guest-centric, personalized and automated manner before arrival.

The power of Commerce, Engagement & Content combined in one solution

The Pre Ski Day mailing is made possible by a combination of three systems:

• Holiday shop or cariboo, the e-commerce solution from SPOT advertising
• Omni Engage, the engagement module of Inside Labs Omni Suite
• the Headless Content Hub co-configured by SPOT Advertising and Inside Labs

The web shop for the destination is based on the holiday shop. As a one-stop shop, the Experience Shop not only offers cable car tickets, but also offers for activities, accommodation, snow sports schools and much more from a single source.

If a guest buys a ski ticket, the data is forwarded from the shop via API directly to Omni Engage, the engagement module of the Omni Suite. Here, an API trigger ensures that all guests who have booked a ticket for the following day automatically receive their pre-ski day mailing with dynamic content.

The Headless Content Hub is responsible for displaying the content in the email. This allows content to be displayed independently of the user interface (web, app, e-mail, etc.). New customer interfaces can be connected to the content hub quickly and easily. Content no longer has to be entered for individual interfaces, but is managed centrally at the destination level. As a DMO, Engadin St. Moritz Tourismus AG is thus creating a new service for its own channels and those of the service providers. An example of this that is already active is the new website stmoritz.com, which features content from the Headless Content Hub.

Some possible examples of dynamic content:

• Live information on facilities and pistes: depending on the ski area booked, guests receive the appropriate information on the facilities and pistes
• How to get there Information about the booked ski area: the right information, depending on whether the guest is arriving by car or public transport
• Secure a place in the mountain restaurant: In the Pre Ski Day, guests receive e-mail recommendations for suitable restaurants that can be booked online in advance.

As the last example shows, the dynamic headless content hub not only provides guests with better information in advance, but also offers potential as a reservation and sales driver. Offers tailored to the guest increase the relevance and thus the willingness to pay. With the introduction of the Pre Ski Day e-mail and the information about bookable restaurants on the mountain, a first trend can already be seen: almost 75 percent of all online reservations in the current winter season were for restaurants on the mountain.

Milestone on the journey to digital excellence

The realization of the new headless content hub and the pre-ski day mailing as the first use case are important steps in the digitization of the destination Engadin and St. Moritz. However, Michael Kircher, Head of Digital at Engadin St. Moritz Tourismus, is convinced: "It is not the individual project implementations that are decisive for success, but the holistic view with a clear strategic target image."

What does the perfect digital experience in the destination look like? What does a holistic approach mean, taking into account guest, service provider and destination? In line with these questions, the Destination Engadin and St. Moritz, together with its partners SPOT Advertising and Inside Labs, are pursuing a long-term approach with various coordinated digitization projects. The focus is on topics such as: digital guest relations, content management, optimization of guest interfaces, bookability of offers at the push of a button or guest loyalty. We look forward to walking this path together with Engadin St. Moritz Tourismus AG and accompanying the destination on its way into the digital future.