Founded in 1956, Crystal Mountain is a four-season resort located 28 miles southwest of Traverse City. There are 58 ski slopes and a 36-hole golf course. Eight lifts carry up to 400,000 visitors per year over a distance of 91 kilometers of slopes.

In 1990, a gradual renovation began, which in the following years brought the resort great profits. The construction of the Peak Fitness Center in the middle of the resort was the beginning of the major project, and shortly afterwards the Crystal Spa was added. From the Crystal Center to the Park at Water's Edge, from the Michigan Legacy Art Park to the Crystal Coaster Alpine Slide, from the MountainTop to the most recent expansion, the Inn at the Mountain, a village was created that is easy to explore, especially on foot. Today the resort attracts as many guests in summer and fall as when the lifts are in operation and the hills are covered with snow.

In August 2020, Crystal Mountain chose Axess to plan a new access system. 24 AX500 Smart Gates NG were installed, to provide touchless options for visitors and employees. The reliable gates from Axess work smoothly under all weather conditions and even after millions of openings and closings. The modern access points are integrated into a smart system and communicate with each other, for example to prevent the double usage of a card. 13 Axess SMART PRINTER 600 will support cashiers in the future. This is because the ticket printer imprints, deletes, encodes and reads tickets in just one step.

In addition, 5 ticket machines Axess PICK UP BOX 600, will be dispensing tickets within seconds. It can be set up anywhere in a ski resort and allows guests to print out a ticket previously purchased in the online store, regardless of opening hours. This process is completely contactless: guests simply hold the code to the scanner and get their ticket.
Afterwards, visitors put the ticket into their jacket and go directly to the lift, where the RFID chip at the gate is automatically scanned and the gate grants access to the lift.
RFID tickets also offer the option of recharging day or season tickets after use via a smartphone or computer. This is a major contribution to avoid unnecessary waste.

“This is just one of the new improvements that will enhance the guest experience and guest safety at the resort this winter,” John Melcher, chief operating officer for the resort, said. " Safety is our priority. This new technology helps create touchless opportunities for staff and guests, as well as maintaining safer distancing by reducing queuing at ticket windows. And that’s important today."