INSC
20263



Information
Systems
in
eEnterprise


Hākinakina Ski Resort

Project
Proposal

submitted to

Dr. Beata Jones

By
Maggie Brust
RD Khoury
John Matthews
Scott Miller
1. Industry overview, based on research (include sources):
The ski resort industry has been increasing annually for years now and the trend is going to continue.
New Zealand is one of the most popular regions for the industry and growth has been exploding recently.
According to the New Zealand Snowsports Council, in 2008, the amount of skiers and snowboarders who
visited mountains in New Zealand set a new record with 1,402,000. With its multitude of beautiful
mountain ranges and resorts, the number of winter vacationers to New Zealand has been trending upward
for the last thirty years and will continue to do so. The recent explosion of winter tourism in New Zealand
is largely due to the increase in international visitors. Of the record number of skiers in 2008, 38% were
international tourists. When you compare that number to the year 1991, in which only 15% were
international tourists, you can see the growing trend for people from around the world to visit New
Zealand to ski. New Zealand’s advantage in the ski industry comes from its natural beauty. New Zealand
has large areas of beautiful landscape that have remained untouched by humans and retained their natural
beauty. In order to maintain this competitive advantage, New Zealand is staying committed to keeping
their natural beauty intact. “Concomitant with the development of the ski industry comes an increasing
use of resources. This includes the consumption of materials, water, energy, and natural areas, which in
turn result in the production of waste, wastewater, emissions, and degradation of the environment.”
(Reiser, A., 2) New Zealand has become a frontrunner in keeping their country “green” and protecting
one of its biggest industries.

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2. Perform a detailed Porter's Five Forces analysis for your industry. Be sure to discuss entry
barriers and switching costs.
Power HIGH LOW Justify
X New Zealand is a widely recognized international ski holiday
Buyer Power destination. With numerous ski resorts, buyers have the power to
pick and choose according to their ideal preferences. It is up to
the resorts to differentiate themselves from the rest of the market
in order to attract customers. Many resorts offer membership
programs to encourage customer loyalty and counteract high
buyer power.
X As a mountain resort, you are providing a service to your
Supplier Power customers. The suppliers of that service include all mountain
resort employees such as; lift technicians, medical personnel, ski
instructors, ski patrol, retail workers, and snow vehicle operators.
As a seasonal industry it is difficult to maintain and attract long
standing, quality employees. Resorts can offer their employees
certain benefits such as; free lift tickets and free rental equipment.
Even so, with these benefits it is still difficult to decrease
employee turnover.
X Skiing is among a long list of many outdoor activities such as;
Threat of Substitute hiking, biking, and white water rafting. If a resort has a
Products or Services competitive advantage by building an outstanding facility in a
great location the switching costs will be high for customers due
to their reluctance to switch resorts. Another switching cost of
giving up snow sports would be the time and money spent
learning a new activity.
X The threat of new entrants is extremely low because there is a
Threat of New high initial investment barrier required to create a high quality
Entrants resort. The real estate necessary needed to build a resort is
limited due to minimal mountain space available for the activities
desired for a resort. There is also a significant time investment
required to start up a resort that would limit new entrants. Due to
loyal customers who return yearly to resorts, new entrants are not
seen as an equal to established resorts.
X All of the resorts are competing against one another for similar
Rivalry Among customers. Each resort offers similar products and mainly relies
Existing on brand name and price to attain customers. While the resorts
Competitors offer similar products they do differ when it comes to luxury and
variety of snow sports available. Due to the current economic
situation, resorts are competing more fervently to retain old
customers and obtain new customers.

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3. Description of the competitive environment that is relevant to the use of the Web by the industry.
Competitive Force … and their Web Usage within the Industry

Customers utilize the internet in many ways. Customers use the internet
primarily for trip research, planning, and purchasing. The internet
Customers allows the customers to view a wide range of resorts from around the
world and decide which one best fits what they are looking for. In
addition, the internet allows them to put the pieces of their trip together,
including transportation, lodging, food, activities, and any rentals they
will need. Lastly, the internet provides customers with the ability to
purchase all of these things from anywhere in the world. Customers
don’t even need to get out of bed to order plane tickets, book a hotel
room, and get a lift ticket.

Suppliers take advantage of the internet to search for employment in the

ski industry. In this industry, the suppliers are the resort employees, such
Suppliers as the ski lift technicians, ski instructors, ski patrol, and equipment rental
and retail staff. These suppliers use the web to apply for employment on
resort websites or search for available positions on websites such as
www.skiindustryjobs.com.

For any new company trying to enter the ski industry, the internet would
provide them with new ideas and information on how to get started and
New Entrants how to run to their business. New entrants could gain valuable insight by
researching how existing companies’ websites are set up and what their
websites provide their customers. Taking the lessons they learned from
existing companies would give them a great start on their own website
and possibly even give them an advantage. In addition to ideas on how
to set up their website, they would be able to find out how much their
competitors charge, what kind of activities and amenities they provide,
and what customers expect out of resorts overall.

Similar to new entrants, competitors could utilize the web to “spy” on

their competitors. They could find out the price offerings for lift tickets,
Competitors rental, and lodging and try to match or beat those prices. In addition,
most resorts post news and events on their websites, which would allow
competitors the ability to stay up-to-date on all the activities of the other
companies in their industry.

Substitute Products
The main substitute products are other outdoor activities such as hiking,
mountain biking, snow shoeing, rock climbing, fishing, and others.
These substitute products would utilize the web to try and draw
customers away from the ski industry to gain their business. Their
strategy could include pointing out the comparatively high costs of going
to a ski resort, showing people how busy ski resorts can get compared to
the peaceful and tranquility of their industry, or how much more beauty
the customer will see with them. In addition, substitute products could
use the web to find a highly successful ski resort and set up operations
near the resort, giving them exposure to a large client base automatically.

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4. Using what you have learned about good/bad web design in class and using class notes, please
identify: four web sites in your industry that you believe are ‘good’ and four that you consider
‘poorly designed.’ (Each individual researches two companies.)

Mt. Ruapehu Stratford Mountain Club

Company Name Whakapapa and Turoa

http://www.mtruapehu.com/ http://www.skitaranaki.co.nz/
Web Site’s URL

Site’s Travelers or Anyone looking to Ski or Skiers of every level of training

Target Snow board. Most likely middle class and difficulty, from beginner to
Audience adults planning a ski vacation. advanced.

Gives insight into what Mt. Ruapehu has to To welcome people to the
offer from lift tickets to facilities to lessons Manganue Ski Area and lead
Site’s Purpose offered to mountain weather. them to lift tickets,
accommodations, etc

Good? (Yes/No) Yes No

Positive Negative
1. Main elements are within 1 and half 1. Too busy and very hard to
pages of view navigate

2. Design of website is easy to navigate 2 Weird color palate with random

sections highlighted.
3. Minimal passive white space
Design elements from 3. Text is hard to read, because
the lecture notes/lecture 4. Easy to scan and get the concept from there are no sections that stand
that contributed to a out.
Positive/Negative 5. Easy to navigate and find what you are
impression looking for 4. Hard for audience to find what
- provide at least 3 for they are looking for within the
each site & explain; 6. Not distracting website

7. Convenient weather and mountain snow

Attach website reports
screenshots with
discussed features
highlighted with
diigo.com or
awesomehighlighter.com

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The content is precise and to the point.
The search tools are on the top making it easy for
customers to navigate the website.
Convenient weather and mountain snow reports.
Easy to read and viable information for customers.
Another search option besides the top bar
navigation is this customer friendly search
and scan navigation tool. The website also
contains social media connections for its’
customers.
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The content is cluttered and the search tools
are located on the left, which is more
difficult to navigate.
Cluttered text and randomly highlighted
sections make it difficult for customers to
comprehend the important parts of the site.
The left side navigation is small, confusing,
and very congested. Nothing catches the
buyers eye and therefore is unappealing to
potential customers.
 Coronet Peak Fox Peak
Company Name

http://www.nzski.com/mountain.jsp?site=cor http://www.ciau.com.au/snow/foxpeak/ind
Web Site’s URL onetpeak ex.htm

Potential skiers and snowboarders looking Skiers and snowboarders looking for a
Site’s for a resort. resort vacation.
Target
Audience

To keep members up to date on weather Gives members a broad overview of the

conditions, which slopes are open, prices, up types of winter sports available at Fox
Site’s Purpose coming competitions Peak.

Good? (Yes/No) Yes No

1. The use of a live web cam image is a very
nice feature. It allows a real-time shot of the
mountain and how crowded it is.
2. Facebook, twitter, youtube, and RSS feeds
are available on the homepage, making it
very easy to follow what is happening on the
mountain and what events are coming up.
Design elements
from the lecture 3. A live weather report is available on the
notes/lecture that right hand side of the page. This is vital to
contributed to a this industry due to the fact that without the
Positive/Negative correct weather skiing is not possible. There
impression is also an option to have text alerts
- provide at least 3 concerning the weather
for each site &
explain
1. There are very few graphics, it is a very
text heavy web site making it very boring
to read. The text and background look
very out dated and are the same color
making it very unattractive
2. There links at the top of the page to
different parts of the web site are not
practical and it appears that not much time
was spent on designing the layout of the
website.
3. The website is never updated with new
information such as the weather, or new
contact information. Also, there are no
social media links to facebook and/or
twitter making it difficult to keep up to
date on the resorts up and coming events.

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 The social media links make it The toolbar towards the top of the
very easy to stay up-to-date with page is confusing and is difficult to
the resort and the current decipher what the icons mean.
conditions of the mountain.

The websites layout in general looks

The live web cam is a great addition very outdated and the pictures do not
to the website, it makes the website add any value. The text especially
looks very outdated.
much more interactive and enjoyable

The one bad aspect of this website is

that there are two toolbars that have a
slew of options make it difficult to
decide where to navigate.

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 NZ Ski Lake Wanaka Winter Resort
Company Name

http://www.nzski.com/ http://www.skilakewanaka.com/
Web Site’s URL

People looking to ski or snowboard or

Site’s enjoy other outdoor winter activities in
Target New Zealand. Middle to upper class
Audience families looking for a desirable way to
spend a vacation in a winter retreat
Provide potential customers with
information about the amenities and
Site’s Purpose services provided at Coronet Peak, Mt.
Hutt, and The Remarkables Resorts.
Website provides information on what
types of slopes and activities are
supported by the different resorts, as
well as pricing for lodging, lift tickets,
and rentals
Customers looking to enjoy the full winter
resort experience in one of New Zealand’s
premier vacation spots
Allow customers and potential customers to
view housing accommodations, ski and
snowboarding information, restaurant and
shopping venues, and pricing for rentals,
housing, and lift tickets

Good? (Yes/No) YES NO

• Simple website navigation with top 1. Too simple and bland

navigation drop down menus as well
as a side menu that is devoted only to 2. Very little color
Design elements from purchases.
3. Looks unprofessional
the lecture notes/lecture
2. Easy to find what you’re looking
that contributed to a for, especially with the search bar. 4. Too much information displayed on the
Positive/Negative homepage, discourages users to read on to
impression 3. Colorful and entertaining while anything useful on the site
- provide at least 3 for maintaining a very professional look
each site & explain;
4. Integrated very easily with
Attach website Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube and
screenshots with these links are prominently listed on
discussed features the page.
highlighted with
diigo.com or
awesomehighlighter.co






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 Cadrona Alpine Resort
Company Name
http://www.cardrona.com/
Web Site’s URL
Potential Skiers in NZ or abroad
Site’s This mountain specializes in attracting
Target young skiers and snowboarders,
Audience especially to the terrain parks
To offer information on the resort,
weather and snow conditions as well as
Site’s Purpose provide online purchasing of ski tickets
and member services.
Good? (Yes/No) Yes
1. Navigation at the top of the site, with
drop down, as well as additional buttons
on the side and bottom. All main site
buttons are located at top. Also, the layout
remains constant through the whole site.
2. No blinking or difficult fonts or colors
Design elements from 3. White space separates different areas to
the lecture notes/lecture aid in navigation, but does not cover too
that contributed to a much area
Positive/Negative
impression 4. Much less than 2 full scrolls
- provide at least 3 for
each site & explain; 5. Social media links displayed
6. Current weather conditions and a
Attach website webcam showing a view down the
screenshots with mountain
discussed features
highlighted with 7. Contact information is displayed
diigo.com or
awesomehighlighter.com
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Fox Peak Ski Club
http://www.foxpeak.co.nz/
Potential Skiers in NZ or abroad
Provide information on the ski resort as
well as the contact info necessary to
purchase lift tickets.
No
1. Navigation is at the side of the sight,
with no additional navigational buttons
at the bottom
2. Looks outdated, framed
3. No online booking
4. Scrolling text at the top of the screen
5. Difficult to return the home screen,
back button is often the only way
6. The whole background of the home
page is a link to pictures, one errant
click takes you away from the page
7. Logo is unreadable
8. Font uses 4 different colors, 6
different sizes just on the home page
Good color use, changing background Famed, outdated, background is one big
pictures, effective use of white space, link, side navigation; some font color is
and top navigation difficult with background, 4 different font
colors and 6 sizes

Social media links, as well as daily

updates on mountain changes Side navigation

Scrolling text at top with contact

phone

Weather updates and Drop down

menus

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5. Industry ‘key competitors’ (Select four of the well designed websites from the previous section and
have each individual research their company in more depth. Include your perceptions/opinions in
this section.)

Competitor’s name How (what features?) What are their What are their most
and URL of the web are they using on the most effective or ineffective ways of using the
site web? unique ways of web?
using the web?
Mt. Ruapehu
Mt. Ruapehu is utilizing The most effective In my opinion, they were
Whakapapa and Turoa social media aspects ways of using the visually creative with the
offered from the web web begin with home page, but the color
http://www.mtruapehu.
such as twitter and utilizing its various scheme is quite boring and
com/
facebook. They also are tools to create an unattractive. While the classy
using the web to provide appealing and look does not overwhelm
customers everywhere classy home page to potential customers, it also
with mountain intrigue customers. does not immediately attract
information and pictures Then the ease of customers to the site.
of the resort. navigation entices Without a few bold colors or
the customer to use eye catching aspects, the sight
the various search can be seen as visually dull to
options to find a customer. Another
further information. ineffective use of the web
The social media would include not having the
links allow the option of online purchasing
customers to get directly from the site. E-
further information mailing your purchase options
on the mountain in a is feasible, but not giving the
new and engaging customers the option to
manner. The purchase everything directly
weather tool bar from the site is unproductive
allows the customer and inefficient.
to view the
mountain conditions
without having to
do a search on
another site.

Coronet Peak Facebook, twitter, RSS The website is Their homepage is too long
feeds, and youtube unique in that it is and there is too much
http://nzski.com/mou links. There is also a very up-to-date and information. Scrolling down
ntain.jsp?site=sorone weather center and a allows the user to to find information is
tpeak live camera. see what exactly is inconvenient.
going on at the
mountain.

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NZ Ski NZ Ski is utilizing the The overall ease of Although they have a very
web to provide detailed navigation provides professional looking website,
http://www.nzski.co information, pictures, visitors with a very colors are largely the same on
m and videos about their user-friendly every page. The themes for
resorts to potential interface to work each resort are different, but
customers around the with. You can find all revolve around one basic
world. anything that you color. This can leave the
are looking for in a visitor wanting more. Since it
short amount of is currently not ski season and
time. There is even there is no snow on the
a search bar ground, the images provided
provided to further by the live webcams are not
increase the overall as pleasing to the eye as they
simplicity. Each would be during the winter
resort website time. Viewers will see a large
provides a live mountain, minus the snow
webcam of the and skiers that they would
conditions on the normally see. During the
mountain, including offseason, it would be smarter
up-to-date weather to show videos or pictures of
reports. There is an what the resort looks like
option to customize during the peak time of year.
the website your Customers don’t care to see a
own way, allowing snowless mountain. They
frequent visitors to want to know what it will be
set up everything like when they are there.
the way they want.
In addition,
nzski.com is fully
integrated with
Facebook, Twitter,
Youtube, and RSS,
allowing them
access to their
customers and
potential customers
in many different
ways.

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Cardrona Alpine Resort Site Search feature to The use of The home page offers almost
help with navigation. multimedia is no information except for
http://www.cardrona.co
Links to Twitter and ubiquitous across links to other portions of the
m/
company Blog, as well the entire website, site. The terrain park offered
as videos and pictures. but does not take takes the user to an entirely
These help. They use away from the different site, with a totally
Widgets including: information content. different color scheme, giving
weather, snow The resort uses the feel that it may not be
conditions and Google different media to connected to the resort. Much
maps. Online payment showcase various of the navigation may not be
via inTouch to attract aspects of the simple enough for every user
users who want to be mountain of the site. They do not make
able to purchase from experience they use of a facebook page or the
the home. offer. This includes capabilities it would offer.
a set of live
webcams, videos
and photos of the
runs, shops and
rental facilities. The
interactive flash
trail map is very
good, easy to use,
and original.

6. Industry Key Competitors - Web Site Ratings – 1-10

Company Website Ease of Site Online Social Mountain Overall
Name Content Navigation Appearance purchasing Media
option options Information
Mt.
9 10 9 8 10 10 56/60
Ruapehu
Coronet 7 6 7 10 10 10 54/60
Peak

NZ Ski 9 10 8 10 10 8 55/60

Cardrona 7 7 6 7 7 8 42/60

Legend: 1-10 1 being the lowest score, 10 being the highest possible score

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Company#1 ___ Mt. Ruapehu Whakapapa and Turoa __
_______________________
Rating Explanation of Rating

Website Content 9- The main menu page of the website contains a summary of the mountains
features and weather forecast for the mountain. The potential buyer also has the
option to use the navigate tool to further their information search. The only
negative concerning the content would be that the short summary of the
mountain is almost too short and gives very little information as to what the
mountain resort has to offer. One aspect that is the website includes that is a
positive current trend is the social media links. Having the twitter and facebook
social media links allow customers to reach the site and learn more about the
option in a new manner.

Ease of Navigation 10-The site search features allow customers to either navigate using the tool bar
navigation located at the top of the page or be specific with their search on the
text-based side bar navigation. The subjects of the title names on the navigation
toolbar are clear to the customer. The only tab that could be confusing to a
potential buyer is the “Your Mountain” tab. Its subject and purpose could be a
multitude of things and therefore is unclear to the customers. Overall, the
options to navigate the site are relatively easy for the potential buyer to search
through and they allow the customer to find what they are looking for without
complications.

Site Appearance 9- The site fits the one and half page limit of an effective website. Each of the
pages elements has a clear purpose and allow for minimal passive white space.
The website is visually appealing, but it doesn’t stand out as much as it could. A
more attractive or vibrant color palette might attract more attention. Even so, the
site has a very classy feel and its content and easy site search allows it to still
appeal to many potential buyers.

Online Purchasing 8- While the customers are unable to directly order from the website, they prices
Options and steps for ordering are precisely stated in the various price lists. All the
customer has to do is view the site and pick what pass they would like. Then they
simply email the company with their request and they will process your order and
email you back a receipt. While it takes a little more time than simply ordering
from drop boxes, the customer is able to make sure they are ordering exactly
what they want.

Social Media 10- The site offers potential buyers the options of utilizing social media aspects
Options to further their search of information on the mountain and what they have to
offer. The twitter and facebook social media section is strategically placed on
the main menu page of the site allowing for customer to easily access it.

Mountain 10- Potential Buyers can find just about anything they need to about Mt.
Information Ruapehu from simply using this site. From prices of rentals and lift tickets, to
upcoming events, to finding accommodations all the information a potential
buyer might need to plan a trip is accessible within this site. Besides the obvious

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 price information, the safety information, the weather information, and the
information about the various services offered all contain viable information that
would interest a potential customer.

Company #2 Coronet Peak

Rating Explanation of Rating

Website Content There is a lot of information available on the website, however some of the
information is not organized the correct way.

Ease of Navigation There are too many toolbars to select from. There is a tool bar at the top as well
as on the left side of the page, and both have sub menus with in them.

Site Appearance The site’s appearance is appealing primarily due to the live web cam in the center
of the home page and the links to the different social media sites

Online Purchasing Buyers have the option to purchase not only lift passes, but passes that can be
Option used throughout the city such as hotels, restaurants, hotels, rental cars, etc.

Social Media There is a vast selection of social media sites that the user can select from
Options (facebook, twitter, youtube, and RSS feeds). This makes is very easy to stay up
to date.

Mountain Events There is a specific tab dedicated to mountain events including: interactive trail
maps, mountain statistics, restaurants, group tours, and transportation options

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Company #3 NZ Ski_____________________

Rating Explanation of Rating

Website Content 9 - The website is very professional looking and simple to use. Customers can
find anything they need with relative ease from the homepage or by utilizing the
search bar. Information about the mountain, weather conditions, lodging, and
prices for various activities and services are all readily available.

Ease of Navigation 10 - This site could not be any easier to navigate. On the top of every page is a
permanent bar with links to home, visitor info, mountain products,
events/venues, image gallery, NZSuperpass, trade/media, employment, and
contact us. Each one of those bars provides an excellent drop down menu with
more links to choose from. In addition, there is an easy to find and use search bar
in the top right corner of each page. Customers could easily locate any important
information within a very short period of time.

Site Appearance 8 - The overall appearance of the site is professional. Customers will know that
they are working with a top-of-the-line company just be visiting the website. The
websites are laid out with themes that are appropriate, professional, and not over-
the-top with too many colors or media. It is the perfect balance between
professionalism and creativity.

Online Purchasing 10 - Customers won’t even have to get out of their pajamas or leave their house
Option to purchase anything they will need on their vacation from this website. Under
the Mountain Products drop down menu, customers have the option to view
prices and buy season passes, lift tickets, night lift tickets, ski and snowboarding
lessons, rental equipment, and transportation around the mountain. In addition,
there is the ability to purchase tickets for events, such as festivals and
competitions. Customers are also provided the option of purchasing their
accommodations online through the website.

Social Media Option 10 - NZ Ski has developed an excellent social media program through their
website. They are utilizing social media to further their company and get their
name out to the public. On the homepage, there are options to follow NZ Ski on
Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and RSS. These features allow customers from all
generations and walks of life to stay up to date on the resorts and allow NZ Ski to
stay in constant contact with their customers.

Mountain 8 - Customers can find information about weather conditions and skiing
Information conditions on the homepage, as well as view a live webcam of the different ski
lifts. Under the Visitor Info drop-down menu, customers can view information
about the history of the area and the mountain, how best to get there, safety tips
and information, information about the individual resorts, and suggested
itineraries for their vacations.

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Company #4 ___Cardrona_________________________

Rating Explanation of Rating

Website Content 7 - The homepage has a well-defined purpose although it has very little
information. Text is informative without being overbearing, multimedia supports
the information conveyed throughout the website. Pages are clearly organized
and titled and content is updated frequently. It is good but doesn’t do anything to
place it highly above the competition.

Ease of Navigation 7 – Has some framing although it is mainly through the use of a 4-color scheme
with the border having a different color. It is consistent, presented clearly without
making navigation a mystery. Choice of title names is okay, but some could be
more effective. Side navigation is very good although the terrain park link
navigates you to a different site although it is a part of the resort. The site logo is
featured prominently at the top left corner of each page and is a link to the
homepage. Text-based navigation at the bottom of the site is present and provides
the standard links expected.

Site Appearance 6 – The color choices are not conflicting but there are several colors that remain
constant on almost all of he pages. The picture backgrounds of the home page
and several other pages include captions and do not distract from the overall
purpose of the site. The main weakness here is the side navigation tools being red
buttons over a red background and the use of at least 4 colors on each page.

Online Purchasing 7 – The online purchasing option is for lift tickets but does not include ski
Options equipment rental. It does its purpose by fulfilling customer need to place orders
and offers nothing extravagant or exceptional. The site does offer a holiday
planner to assist in making sure the user receives all the information necessary to
purchase or rent.

Social Media 7 – The blog offers updates on the mountain as well as both in season and off-
Options season pictures and live web cam feeds. It is updated almost every week with
new information about construction or just general resort news. The twitter
account is update on a similar time schedule to the blog, offers similar
information but also some promotional slope information. The company’s lack of
a facebook page is disappointing because they have the media to put on the page
as well as the blog and twitter staff to manage it.

Mountain 8 - The interactive flash run map is very helpful as it allows you to see only the
Information items you are interested in, eg. Runs and retail or slow zones and restaurants. The
live updating weather and snow base information is easy to read, find and
understand. They go in depth into the mountain’s condition including percentage
of greens, blues and blacks open, condition of terrain parks, and lower, mid and
upper snow coverage.

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7. The industry’s strengths and weaknesses in regard to the effective use of the web?(at least 3 each)
Strengths Weaknesses

1. Allows the user to get the current conditions of
a specific slope
2.Streamlines the process of purchasing a ticket,
allowing the customer to skip the hassles of lines
and take advantage of their time on the slopes
3. Provides up-to-date operational status of the
slope. Saving customers a trip if the slope happens
to be closed
4.Suggests other activities customers might enjoy
in the area
1. Can be overwhelming with the many different
purchasing options
2. Limits human contact
3. Potential for online errors, which can be
perceived as the resort’s fault
4. The industry has yet to effectively use social
media

8. Proposed website enhancements for the industry(at least 3 each):

i. What type of information would you recommend they add to their websites?

The use of live web cameras is a tremendous asset that ski resorts should utilize
more broadly due to the significant advantage it gives customers. Live web cams
provide customers with the current conditions of a specific slope, giving them more
information to make an informed decision. The live web cam allows a more
interactive experience for the user, ultimately making their time on your sight more
enjoyable. The integration of social media such as facebook and twitter accounts
provides customers with present activities on the slope, and up-coming events. The
use of social media sites has tremendously increased and the large scope of users
allows the ski resorts to communicate to a large group of people. Lastly,
integrating a current weather application is extremely beneficial to both the
customer and the resort. Integrated live weather applications save customers time
and patience by providing the current weather on their homepage as opposed to the
customer having to hunt the internet for the information. All of these
enhancements are focused on making the site experience more enjoyable and easier
for the customer, hopefully creating customer loyalty.

ii. What modifications would you recommend to their web design?

The major modification ski resort websites should focus on is creating a cleaner
looking homepage. The primary way to eliminate some of this clutter would be by
utilizing only one toolbar, either on the side of the page or at the top of the page.
Multiple toolbars make it difficult to find the desired information. Integrating a

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 slide show of updated pictures is also a beneficial way to promote a ski resort.
Most websites are outdated looking, including the images, therefore by including
updated pictures, customers will see the current state of the slopes. As well as only
integrating one toolbar on the homepage, the toolbar should have drop down menus
when you scroll on top of them. This reduces the amount of links on the
homepage, therefore shortening the length of the homepage.

9. Name of the company that you propose to create and its geographic location:

Our team would like to create a mountain ski resort, located at Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand, called
Hākinakina Ski Resort.

10. Detailed description of the proposed new business, including mission/goals, services and products
it will offer, size, etc.

11. We are creating a state of the art winter wonderland resort called Hākinakina Ski Resort (translation;
to enjoy yourself). Mount Ruapehu is an isolated mountain within the national park of Tongariro. It
lies in one of the most beautiful regions of one of the most beautiful countries in the world. In
addition to the natural beauty our facilities and ski lifts will be environmentally friendly and
architecturally advanced. Our unique resort on the southeast side of the mountain will include all of
the ski amenities that our potential buyers could ask for. These amenities include; skiing and
snowboarding for every age group and skill level, personal and group ski and snowboarding lessons,
and equipment rentals and retail, just to name a few. Simply having these options does not set us
apart from our competitors, therefore we have made all of these options accessible to our customers
via our website, where they can access tickets and passes prior to coming to the resort. The resorts
highly trained employees will offer customers a personal experience while at the resort. In addition to
snow sports offered at the resort we will offer numerous events and festivals to increase the overall
satisfaction of our customers stay. Our goals are to provide our customers with an enjoyable
mountain experience, with all of the ski necessities available to them. We hope to cater to our
surrounding community as well as attract international tourism. For our high end customers we will
offer exclusive membership, which will give them access to various activities and mountain space
unavailable to the general public. In addition to membership fees for the high end customers, our
main source of revenue will come from rentals, lift tickets, food, retail, and ski lessons.

12. Determine which of Porter's Three Generic Strategies you will use as you build your company for
the 21st century. Explain your answer.

Our resort will utilize a focused strategy aimed towards differentiation from our competition. We will
offer a unique experience primarily due to our superb location and environmentally friendly amenities.
Our primary focus is providing the best landscape for snow sport enthusiasts. Our target market includes
the avid or beginner skier and snowboarder.

13. Discuss the many eBusiness strategies that your company could use to increase revenue and
decrease cost.

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A. Company web site’s target audience – who will use the website (internally and externally), for
what purpose and where are they located geographically?

Our website’s internal target audience includes our employees and technicians that deal directly
with the website and sales. Our sales staff will utilize the website to process orders and payments
from our customers to make sure the company runs as efficiently as possible. In addition, our
mountain staff will be able to check weather and snow conditions up on the mountain so they will
be mentally ready to handle another day.

Our website’s external audience includes all potential customers, as well as potential employees.
Customers will use our website to research our resort, look at prices and services, and make their
final purchases. Customers will be able to view our resort amenities, pictures and video of our
location, access customer service, view weather and snow conditions, and apply for our exclusive
membership program. Potential employees will be able to view job openings and fill out job
applications.

B. Company’s website purpose:

The main purpose of our website will be to inform customers, sell lift tickets, rentals, and ski
lessons, and allow customers to join our membership program. The website will also publicize
upcoming events and festivals.

C. Company’s primary usage of the web

a. Is the primary use going to be informational or transactional or both? Justify.

The primary use of the website will be both informational and transactional. The
mountain options, amenities, and current weather status will give customers the best
information with which to make a decision about whether or not to purchase. In addition
to being able to research our resort, customers will be able to make multiple types of
purchases and reservations prior to coming to our resort. These purchases include lift
tickets, rentals, membership fees, and ski lessons.

b. What pages will be found on the website? Please list major sections of the site.

Our website will consist of a homepage that will have a weather application, photos, a
resort summary, and a navigation toolbar with a search function. The navigation toolbar
pages will include Visitor Info, Resort Products and Prices, Programs and Events,
KinaPass (the exclusive membership program), Media Gallery, and Contact Us.

c. Is the website primarily for B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to consumer) or
both? Justify.

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 The website’s purpose is primarily for B2C interaction as the resort will be using the
website to facilitate and encourage customers to come to the resort. Virtually every part
of the website will be directed towards consumers and how they need to use the web to
interact with the company.

D. How can an eBusiness strategy help your company attract customers and increase sales?

eBusiness will increase customer traffic exponentially due to the isolated location of our resort.
Utilizing social media including Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and others, will allow us to raise
customer awareness of our resort. For our loyal and frequent customers, there will be an option to
customize the website to their personal needs and will remember their purchasing and login
information, allowing for one-click purchases similar to Amazon.com. Customers will be able to
access contact information that will lead them to 24 hour customer service.

E. How could eBusiness strategy help customer service?

Ease of navigation and accessible company information and prices will allow customers to enjoy
our website features while using our straightforward purchasing options. These features will
increase customer satisfaction and loyalty through its hands on customer interaction and access to
information all from the comfort of their homes. If any problems were to occur our efficient
customer service applications will allow for quick reaction times to our customer complaints and
issues. Customers will be able to access contact information that will lead them to 24 hour
customer service.

F. How could you use an eBusiness strategy to partner with suppliers?

During the online rental process, we will have links next to each our items which will take the
user to the manufacturers website allowing them to purchase the product directly. We feel that
this will be heavily utilized by clients who enjoyed their rental product and wish to own the same
product. This will increase our web traffic as well as substantially increasing the suppliers web
traffic. More importantly this will help strengthen our customer loyalty due to the ease of the
transaction.

G. How could a portal help your employees?

With a helpful portal for our employees, our resort will become much more efficient and effective
at our achieving our goals. Our employees will be able to view the work schedule and work with
each other to adjust the scheduling to meet their individual needs. In addition, we will have a
discussion forum set up so that employees can post questions for more experienced employees to
answer, which will speed up the training time for our workforce. Employees will also be able to
post new ideas and methods for performing tasks throughout the company. This will be
monitored by management and new, valuable ideas that are integrated into the resort will lead to
rewards for the employees. Lastly, we will have a blog that is updated daily with employee
schedules, upcoming events, employees’ birthdays, weather conditions, safety announcements,
and meetings with management.

H. How could a kiosk help your business?

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 By installing a kiosk at the base of the mountain, the resort could enable customers to add days to
their lift tickets without going through the lines or through resort personnel. This way they will be
able to satisfy their own needs in a way that is easy for customers and that helps the resort avoid
adding additional personnel. We will also provide a kiosk containing ski slope information that
will assist buyers in viewing slope openings and conditions.

I. What types of metrics would you want to track on your eBusiness Web site? Be sure to justify
your answers.

Our website would be configured to track unique visitors, so that we can track how many new
individuals view our pages per day. By using that metric, we eliminate the over counting of one
visitor with multiple views. Also, by measuring click stream data from the site, we can see how
users navigate through our site, what pages are popular with users and how our pages lead to each
other. This will allow us to design our website in a way that gives the user the information they
need fastest and most efficiently, creating a better web experience.

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Appendix: Storyboard for your new company’s website – show the template for your site.

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 Works Cited

Reiser, Axel. Resource efficiency of the ski industry in New Zealand. Thesis. Lincoln University,
2002. Dspace. Web. 21 Feb. 2010.
<http://researcharchive.lincoln.ac.nz/dspace/handle/10182/1266>.

"New Zealand Snowsports Council." Snow.co.nz. Ed. Snowco. Web. 21 Feb. 2010.
<http://snow.co.nz/media/snowsports/>.

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