Emma, the World's First Digital Mountain Assistant, Announces Her Debut at Nine World-Class Ski Resorts

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Dec 18, 2018, 10:00 ET

- Emma is now available in beta at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Park City, Whistler Blackcomb, Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood

- Emma offers real-time information on everything from snow conditions and parking to rentals and EpicMix stats

- Guests can text Emma at 77477

BROOMFIELD, Colo., Dec. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Emma, the world's first digital mountain assistant, announced today that she is now available to guide guests at nine Vail Resort properties, including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado; Park City in Utah; Whistler Blackcomb in Canada; and Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in Tahoe. Guests can text Emma their questions at 77477.

Emma, the world's first digital mountain assistant, is now available at nine world-class ski resorts.

"I am the collective knowledge of every lift operator, groomer, snowmaker, ski school instructor, ticket counter attendant and ski patroller," said Emma. "I can help you with weather, lift status, terrain, EpicMix stats, parking, traffic, shuttles, rentals, lessons, lift tickets, resort experiences, planning and more – just ask!"

A first generation technology, Emma launched in November at Keystone Ski Resort in Colorado and has spent the early season enjoying record conditions and getting to know how guests ask questions at the resort. Emma will spend the rest of the 2018-19 ski season in beta and will get smarter the more she interacts with guests and expands her knowledge base and insight.

"We are excited to offer guests a one-stop source for the information they need, when they need it, in order to create an experience of a lifetime for our guests," said Kirsten Lynch, chief marketing officer for Vail Resorts. "Emma has the passion and first-hand experience you'd expect from someone who's lived and worked in the mountains her entire life, and her expertise will continue to grow as guests interact with her throughout the season."

In addition to answering questions on everything from available terrain to lift line wait times, Emma can give guests their EpicMix stats when they text her simple questions like "How much did I ski today?" or "What are my stats?" and then provide Emma the 11-digit number located on their season pass or lift ticket.

Emma, your "Epic Mountain Assistant," uses artificial intelligence (AI) through natural language processing (NLP) to answer questions, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during the ski and snowboard season through short message service (SMS) text. If Emma cannot answer a question, she will connect guests to a live agent for further assistance. In an effort to continuously improve Emma's capabilities, guests can text "feedback" to share their open-ended ideas and comments for Emma.

Emma is one of the latest innovations from Vail Resorts designed to help simplify and improve the guest experience. Recently, the Company announced plans for a new handheld, mobile technology to allow skiers and snowboarders who purchase tickets in advance to bypass the ticket window altogether. That technology is expected to be available during the 2019-20 ski and snowboard season at all 17 of the Company's North American resorts.

More information on Emma can be found at www.EmmaIsEpic.com. "See you on the mountain! If you need anything, I'll be here," added Emma.

About Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN)
Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the leading global mountain resort operator. Vail Resorts' subsidiaries operate 15 world-class mountain resorts and three urban ski areas, including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Crested Butte in Colorado; Park City in Utah; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada; Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada; Perisher in Australia; Stowe and Okemo in Vermont; Mt. Sunapee in New Hampshire; Stevens Pass in Washington; Wilmot Mountain in Wisconsin; Afton Alps in Minnesota and Mt. Brighton in Michigan. Vail Resorts owns and/or manages a collection of casually elegant hotels under the RockResorts brand, as well as the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning and development subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). The Vail Resorts company website is www.vailresorts.com and consumer website is www.snow.com.