Perfect North Breaks Online Sales Records with accesso

Client Overview

Perfect North Slopes is a family-operated ski area in Southeast Indiana with skiing, snowboarding and one of the largest tubing areas in the country.

The Challenge

From lessons to rentals, delicious food options and a cozy lodge, Perfect North offers a variety of ways for visitors to enjoy their perfect day on the slopes, whether they are a first time skier or an experienced passholder. “The number one priority for us is providing a valuable experience, which means exceeding expectations across the board,” said Jonathan Davis, Assistant General Manager. As a long-time client of accesso, Perfect North has relied on the flexibility and scalability of the accesso point of sale ticketing solution since 1994. “The Accesso point of sale ticketing system is incredibly easy to use and navigate. The salespoints are built for high volume and efficiency, and the reporting insights we receive from an enterprise system really help us communicate better across departments,” said Davis. Furthermore, the system’s capacity control features play a major role in helping the ski area manage how many people are on the slopes. “Managing capacity before using the Accesso point of sale ticketing system was near impossible,” added Davis. However, managing their own eCommerce was becoming burdensome for the resort. “We really didn’t have the resources to manage eCommerce in-house,” said Davis. “Handling the hardware maintenance, hosting, licensing, security certificates and development costs was a lot for our team to manage.”

The Solution

After extensive conversations with the accesso team, Perfect North decided to implement the fully-hosted accesso online ticketing system. In less than a year, the ski area has seen dramatic results, including a 45% increase in season pass sales through the winter and a record-breaking increase in pass sales during the spring. “It hasn’t even been a full year with the Accesso online ticketing system, and we have already significantly increased our pass sales by 1500%,” Davis said. “We hit that number in May! People don’t believe me. I have to send over the reports because it sounds too good to be true.” With the accesso online ticketing system, Perfect North can deliver a beautiful and intuitive online shopping experience to guests on any device. “We’re seeing a lot of positive feedback from our guests,” said Davis, “And we’ve even noticed a decrease in call center volume from guests who had questions during the purchasing process.” Perfect North has also used the accesso online ticketing system to expand their partnerships with local affiliates. “With Accesso, we’re leveraging affiliates and selling to groups we’ve never reached before,” said Davis, “We also have a new section of corporate partner affiliates. After walking through a demo of Accesso’s online ticketing system, it was so easy for them, they were signing up left and right.” The ability to collect waivers during the purchase process has also been, in Davis’s words, “game changing” for Perfect North. “Whether it is a passholder, someone visiting the slope for a special event, or even a parent who sent their child on a field trip to visit us, with waivers online we don’t have to make the decision between turning someone away or taking a risk and not getting a signature,” said Davis.

The Ongoing Partnership

As the ski industry continues to evolve, Perfect North remains focused on ways to attract new skiers and deliver the best possible experience to their guests through the power of accesso technology. “We work with a lot of local schools, some of whom even arrange transportation for the kids, so there’s always a fresh batch of 12 to 13-year olds who are getting introduced to Perfect North,” said Davis. “If you get them started doing something healthy with their friends, they’ll come back throughout their high school experience. A lot of people are returning with their children now!” As Perfect North Slopes continues to grow in annual attendance and expand their resort, they remain in close contact with the accesso team to learn about ongoing product enhancements they can utilize.