TECHNOLOGY TEMP CHECK
What ski areas are saying about software, systems, and strategy.
Results from the 2025-26 SAM Technology Survey show ski areas are spending more on tech and treating it as a strategic asset, with a focus on integration, guest-facing tools and data-driven investment—even as cost pressures, staffing limits, and vendor constraints persist.
theme emerges: Investments are most valuable when they improve through- put, safety, or operational control in visible ways. Methodology. SAM collected 76 responses from ski area profession- als representing a broad mix of ski area sizes (by annual skier visits) and regions across the U.S. and Canada, plus a small number of international respon- dents. Results were aggregated and reported anonymously. Question-level bases vary because, as with any survey, some questions have a small number of non-responses. This report explores what ski areas said about where they are investing, what’s holding them back, what’s deliv- ering measurable wins, and how they see AI evolving. Throughout, we break results out by ski area size (Small, less than 100k visits; Medium, 100k-249k visits; Large, 250k-499k visits; and Extra Large, more than 500k visits). Subgroup bases can be modest in size, so subgroup findings should be read as directional only.
BY KATIE BRINTON, SENIOR EDITOR, SAM
At the same time, many ski areas are trying to modernize with small teams in complex, multi-vendor ecosystems with a resulting integration burden. In some cases, this means ski areas can be slower to update and maintain their tech and devote less energy to formal, long-term planning. Even so, ski areas are explor- ing new, future uses for technology as the possibilities continue to grow. AI is one obvious avenue, but there are sever- al others as well. Throughout the survey, another
The Covid-driven wave of digital adop- tion hasn’t slowed for North Ameri- can ski areas. In fact, according to the 2025-26 SAM Technology Survey , ski areas are now spending more on tech- nology as they see pandemic-era tech investments paying off. More than 8 in 10 respondents to the survey said their technology budgets have in- creased over the last three years, and nearly two-thirds rate technology as strategically important (a 4 or 5 on a five-point scale).
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