Skioo

Skioo, founded in 2008 by serial entrepreneur Gregory Barbezat, operates as a digital platform for the ski industry, streamlining the experience for both skiers and resort operators. Barbezat, who previously founded successful ventures in watchmaking and DVD rental vending machines, identified a need to reduce friction in the ski tourism process.

The company provides a unified solution for purchasing ski passes across multiple, often fragmented, ski destinations. Skioo's primary clients are individual skiers and the ski resorts themselves. For skiers, the platform offers a single digital pass and a mobile application that eliminates the need to queue for tickets. The app includes features for tracking 'snow miles', collecting virtual pins, sharing photos on social networks, and locating friends on the slopes. For ski resorts, Skioo acts as an intermediary, integrating with large online travel agencies like Expedia and Booking.com that are typically unable to offer daily ski passes directly.

Skioo’s business model is commission-based, earning revenue from each transaction processed through its platform, a model that relies on high user volume. In 2016, the company secured a CHF 6 million funding round led by the family investment firm Canica, with participation from Olympic skier Aksel Svindal, to enhance its user experience and expand its partnerships with resorts in Switzerland, Austria, France, and Italy. The company was also developing analytics tools to help resorts implement dynamic pricing based on predicted visitor frequency.

Keywords: ski pass, digital ski pass, ski resort technology, ski tourism, Gregory Barbezat, ski lift access, mobile ski app, snow sports technology, alpine tourism, resort management software, online ski pass sales, ski analytics, travel technology, ski industry platform, Aksel Svindal, Canica, ski booking system, contactless ski pass, mountain access solutions, ski data analytics