-Ellicottville NY-
One of the big changes you will see throughout the resort this winter is the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tickets, which will take the place of the lift tickets and season passes that Holiday Valley has utilized in the past. Many ski resorts throughout the country currently utilize this technology and Holiday Valley is excited to get the system up and running this season; as it has proven to be incredibly beneficial for providing better services to guests.
Lift tickets and season passes will now be on a reusable card (that can be utilized for more than one season). The card will have an RFID chip embedded in it and that chip will contain data about what kind of pass you have. You will take that card and stash it in a secure jacket pocket that is accessible to be scanned (more on that soon) and then you are good to hit the slopes. Gone are the days of taking your pass out to show to the ticket checker; making this system much easier to ensure that passes are not lost throughout the course of the season.
There are two types of RFID access systems. The first are gates that are set up before you enter the chairlift corral. As you approach the gate, a scanning system in the gate recognizes the chip in your pass and opens the gate so that you can enter the corral. The other type is a scan gun that is used by resort employees. This is the system that will be used at Holiday Valley. When you enter the lift line, one of our staff members will scan the area of your jacket where your RFID card is located. Assuming you have a valid ticket or pass, you then move on into the lift line to load the lift.
One of the substantial benefits of the RFID system that both ticket holders and season passholders will see is that once you log into your Holiday Valley account online and make your purchase, your pass will be automatically updated with your purchase. For ticket holders that means when you arrive at the resort, you can go to one of our Pick-Up Box (PUB) machines to scan your purchase code, thus bypassing the ticket window line entirely, and the PUB will dispense your RFID ticket so you can go directly to the lift.
This winter, Season passholders will have a different experience than they are accustomed to. Rather than coming into Customer Service to pick up their pass, as many passholders were accustomed to doing, passholders will have two options:
- Email info@holidayvalley.com with the subject 22-23 Season Pass and request that we mail you your pass(es). Please make sure to include your mailing address and the names of each person in your family who is getting a pass.
- Pick your pass up in person starting November 5th. The Customer Service building will be open from 10AM – 2PM on weekends, and 8AM-4:30PM weekdays, until the start of the 22-23 season.
Regardless of how you want to get your pass, please make sure to log into your Holiday Valley account and make sure that your information is up to date and that you’ve uploaded a recent photo of yourself to your account, which is a necessary step for the RFID scanning process.
If you are an Ultimate passholder, your pass will still be mailed to you. The goal is to start mailing those passes after November 5th. Ultimate passholders should also log into their Holiday Valley account to ensure that information is correct and to upload a current photo for the system.
It is important to keep in mind that regardless of if you are a season passholder, an Ultimate passholder or a single day guest, the RFID cards are reusable. So please do not throw them out! This new system will allow Holiday Valley to significantly cut down on its ticket printing; eliminating a substantial amount of waste on an annual basis.