Technology for Tourism & Outdoor Recreation
Western Montana has some of the best outdoor attractions in the world. Glacier National Park is 30 minutes away. Flathead Lake draws visitors year-round. Whitefish Mountain Resort brings skiers from across the country. Dozens of fishing guides, rafting outfitters, and adventure tour companies operate here.
And every single one of them is managing technology chaos.
The Core Problem
You're running a seasonal business in one of the most beautiful parts of the country. Your customers are excited to be here. They want to book an experience. They don't care that your booking system doesn't talk to your website, that your pricing is different in three places, or that your guide has to juggle calendars by hand.
But they notice when:
- The website shows availability that's already booked
- The price they see online is different from the price quoted
- Equipment rental options are listed differently in different places
- Safety information is vague or inconsistent
- Weather or seasonal changes make your pricing system break
These problems cost you bookings. They cost you repeat customers. They cost you credibility.
Flathead Valley Seasonal Realities
Summer (June-August): Peak season. Glacier National Park. Lake recreation. Hiking. You're fully booked or close to it.
Winter (December-February): Whitefish Mountain Resort brings skiers. Winter lodging fills up. But your summer-focused systems might not handle winter pricing changes well.
Shoulder Seasons (May, September-October): Local traffic, some tourists, unpredictable weather. Pricing needs to be flexible.
Off-Season (November, March-April): Limited traffic. Maintenance windows. Budget-conscious customers. Your systems need to handle dramatic volume swings.
The technology problem: Your booking system is built for one season, but you need it to work for four completely different operating models.
The Real Problems
1. Booking Platform Inconsistency
You manage bookings through:
- Your own website
- Airbnb (for lodging)
- Viator or GetYourGuide (for tours)
- Stripe or PayPal (for payments)
- Maybe a Google Calendar your team checks manually
A customer books on Airbnb. Your guide doesn't see it in the calendar. Someone else books the same day on your website because the system doesn't know it's booked. You have a double-booking disaster.
What you need: All booking platforms connected. Same availability everywhere. Real-time updates. When someone books, your internal systems know immediately.
What this costs you: Losing booking revenue. Angry customers. Staff hours fixing conflicts.
2. Seasonal Pricing Chaos
Summer rates. Winter rates. Shoulder season rates. Holiday premiums. Weather-adjusted pricing.
You update rates in one place and forget to update Airbnb. A customer books based on old pricing and expects the original price. You offer a tour in July but your website still says "closed for winter."
Seasonal pricing isn't just about different numbers. It's about completely different inventory availability:
- In summer, you can run multiple tours per day
- In winter, you might run tours on specific days only
- Weather changes affect what tours are available on a given day
What you need: Pricing and availability that updates across all platforms simultaneously. Seasonal transitions that are automatic, not manual.
What this costs you: Pricing disputes with customers. Hours of manual updates. Pricing mistakes that cost you margin.
3. Equipment Rental and Inventory Chaos
You have cabins, equipment, boats, vehicles. Each one has:
- Current condition (maintenance needed? broken?)
- Availability (booked? reserved? available?)
- Rental cost (varies by season, customer type, bundle)
- Maintenance schedule
If you're managing this with spreadsheets, email, and people's memories, inventory mistakes are inevitable.
A customer wants to rent a kayak. Your system says it's available, but it's actually being serviced. A guide takes a vehicle and forgets to mark it unavailable. A cabin shows up as bookable when it's closed for maintenance.
What you need: Inventory that's accurate and synced. When something needs maintenance, it automatically becomes unavailable. When availability changes, your website reflects it immediately.
What this costs you: Inventory conflicts. Angry customers. Staff hours manually checking what's actually available.
4. Safety Protocol Documentation
Weather changes. Conditions change. Safety protocols need to be current and visible to:
- Your guides and staff (they need to know what's required)
- Your customers (they need to understand what they're getting into)
- Your insurance provider (they need to know you have documented procedures)
Safety information is scattered across:
- Printed liability waivers (old version)
- Your website (outdated FAQ)
- Something mentioned during intake
- Email from years ago with old procedures
What you need: Centralized, current safety documentation. When weather changes, procedures update. Customers see consistent information. Your team has one authoritative source.
What this costs you: Liability issues. Customer concerns. Miscommunication about what customers should prepare for.
5. Multi-Guide Coordination
You have multiple guides operating different experiences. Each one needs to know:
- What's booked for what dates
- Weather and conditions
- Customer preferences and special needs
- Equipment status and location
- Safety briefing requirements
If this information exists only in one person's head or scattered across email, you can't scale. You can't handle seasons well. You can't adapt quickly when guide availability changes.
What you need: A system where all guides see the same real-time information. Bookings, weather, equipment, customer details—all in one place.
What this costs you: Missed communication. Guides duplicating work. Inability to grow because you can't coordinate more than one or two guides.
Specific Montana Tourism Scenarios
Glacier National Park Guides & Tours
You run guided hikes or tours from the Kalispell area toward Glacier. Your customers have limited time, often just visiting for a few days.
Problems:
- Trail conditions change daily. Closures happen suddenly
- Your website lists trails that aren't accessible anymore
- Customers book tours that get cancelled due to weather, creating refund chaos
- Different guides have different knowledge about what trails are currently good
What I'd build:
- A system that pulls current trail status from official sources
- Your tour availability automatically adjusts based on real conditions
- Customers see current conditions when booking
- Guides access a knowledge base about current trail conditions
- Cancellation policies and refund processes are clear and automated
Flathead Lake Lodging & Water Recreation
You manage waterfront cabins and offer boat rentals, fishing charters, paddling tours. Summer is insane. Winter is quieter. Spring and fall are unpredictable.
Problems:
- Cabins booked on Airbnb aren't showing as unavailable on your website
- Fishing guide availability doesn't sync with boat availability
- Pricing changes for season transitions don't happen automatically
- Water conditions (temperature, clarity, fishing quality) are discussed inconsistently
What I'd build:
- Unified availability across Airbnb, your website, and internal systems
- Guides, boats, and lodging all managed from one system
- Seasonal rate changes that happen automatically
- A knowledge base about current water conditions updated by your most experienced guides
Whitefish Mountain Lodging & Activities
You offer accommodation or activities in the Whitefish area. Winter brings skiers. Summer brings mountain bikers and hikers. You need to adjust operations completely.
Problems:
- Your website still says "summer only" during winter
- Activity availability is vague ("call for details")
- Equipment availability (skis, bikes, gear) isn't synced across systems
- Seasonal pricing is manual and error-prone
What I'd build:
- Automatic seasonal transitions (what's offered, pricing, availability)
- Clear, specific activity listings for current season
- Equipment inventory that tracks what's available
- Real-time updates as conditions change (snow, trail status, weather)
Multi-Day Adventure Tours
You run backpacking trips, paddling expeditions, or multi-day adventures. These are complex:
- Multiple days of availability
- Equipment for each participant
- Food and logistics coordination
- Weather-dependent routing
- Group size limits
- Skill level requirements
Problems:
- Availability is managed manually
- Equipment packing lists are in someone's head
- Pricing is inconsistent based on group size
- Weather decisions aren't documented systematically
- Skill level requirements are vague
What I'd build:
- Booking system that manages multi-day trips as a unit
- Equipment packing lists that are current and tied to inventory
- Pricing that adjusts for group size and season automatically
- Decision-making documentation (how you decide if weather is safe)
- Customer communication (they know what skill level is required)
Montana-Specific Advantages
I understand the Western Montana tourism market because I'm here. I know:
The Seasonal Swing Most tourism software is built for year-round businesses or single-season operations. You need something that pivots.
The Guide Economy You often rely on guides and contractors, not employees. Systems need to work with flexible staffing and decentralized knowledge.
Weather Dependency Half your decisions are weather-based. Your systems need to incorporate weather information, not ignore it.
The Mix of Local and Tourist Customers Your summer customers are from California. Your winter customers are skiers from everywhere. Your shoulder season customers are locals. Different communication, different needs.
Limited IT Infrastructure You probably don't have an IT department. You need something simple that doesn't require technical expertise to run.
What We'd Build Together
For a typical tourism or outdoor recreation business, here's what a complete solution looks like:
Phase 1: Unify Your Bookings
- Connect all your booking platforms (website, Airbnb, tour platforms)
- One source of truth for availability
- Real-time synchronization across all platforms
- Automatic conflict detection
Phase 2: Master Your Inventory
- Track guides, equipment, vehicles, lodging
- Maintenance scheduling that removes availability automatically
- Seasonal configuration changes that happen on schedule
- Real-time inventory visibility
Phase 3: Manage Your Data
- Customer contact and preference information in one system
- Safety and medical information accessible to relevant guides
- Group booking information consistent everywhere
- Historical data for planning next year
Phase 4: Empower Your Team
- Guides see what's booked, conditions, customer details
- Staff can update information from anywhere (phone, laptop, iPad)
- Decision-making documentation (weather procedures, safety protocols)
- Training materials that stay current
Phase 5: Improve Customer Experience
- Customers see accurate, current information
- Booking process is clear and straightforward
- They know what to expect
- You can offer dynamic pricing and seasonal specials
Pricing for Tourism Operations
Tourism and outdoor recreation businesses are typically strong candidates for the Custom Systems tier ($200+/month, $2,500+ setup), sometimes higher depending on complexity.
Why: You have complex inventory, seasonal variations, and integration needs that standard solutions don't handle well.
What you get:
- Custom integration with your booking platforms
- Inventory management system
- Team coordination tools
- Documentation and knowledge base
- Priority support during busy seasons
Review Custom Systems Pricing →
Let's Talk About Your Specific Operation
I understand the challenges. I understand Montana. I understand the seasonal realities of running an outdoor business here.
What I need to know:
- What platforms are you currently using?
- What's the biggest pain point right now?
- How many guides, how much inventory?
- What's your seasonal pattern?
Next step: Schedule a conversation where we talk about what you're actually trying to solve.
Email: mark@beargrasstransitions.com
Industries I Work With
- Hiking and climbing guide services
- Fishing guide services
- Whitewater rafting and kayaking
- Backcountry lodging
- Lake recreation and boat rentals
- Mountain resort activities
- Adventure tour operators
- Outdoor equipment rental
- Fly-in fishing and backcountry access
- Multi-day expedition planning
If you're in tourism or outdoor recreation in Western Montana, let's talk.