Vail Resorts has announced it will transform guest experiences with the Epic Experience, marking a new chapter after years building the Epic Pass model.
The publicly traded company outlined five “experience pillars” defining the new company image: gear rentals, lessons, guest engagement, food and “investments in top talent.”
The changes will eventually roll out to all resorts, including Park City Mountain, but the exact timeline and just how this plan will be implemented are unclear.
Vail Resorts said it recently invested $175 million in improving its frontline team. The fund contributes to staying fully staffed, selective hiring, seasonal employee retention, increasing employee hours and reducing hiring and housing pressure.
Park City Mountain Communications Manager Bailey Quinn said the initiative rests on these staffing improvements.
“Frontline staff are very much a part of the transformation and growth of the Epic Experience,” Quinn said.
Plans for AI integration, concierge services and slopeside valet are all mentioned as part of the Epic Experience, along with investment in frontline employees.
Vail Resorts didn’t detail how it will allocate these funds across its 42 resorts and how each of these goals will be measured.
While many aspects of the Epic Experience timeline remain vague, some changes will be readily observed at Park City Mountain this winter.
Quinn said the most immediate changes at Park City Mountain will be to the existing My Epic app and the resort’s dining options.
The My Epic app will connect to the ski and ride school, allowing parents to receive live updates and photos from their children’s lessons and track their progress. The app will also offer digital check-in for ski and ride school lessons.
Other significant updates will include options to purchase and share lift tickets in the app and use mobile pay across the resort, though the resort will still be accessible through traditional physical lift tickets for those who prefer to ride analog.
In addition to the My Epic updates, the changes to dining at Park City Mountain this winter will be easy to spot.
Vail Resorts is planning to improve its food across all resorts with “higher quality ingredients and refined presentations,” according to Quinn, starting with the most popular menu items like burgers, pizza, fries and hot dogs.
Another key element of the Epic Experience described in the press release is a change in the gear rental system.
Park City Mountain Senior Communications Manager John Kanaly said those changes are based on the program piloted here, so not much will be different in Park City.