AI to Digital Rangers: The Next Era of Outdoor Recreation

Tyler Podcast Episode 96, Transcript

Our Tyler Technologies podcast explores a wide range of complex, timely, and important issues facing communities and the public sector. Expect approachable tech talk mixed with insights from subject matter experts and a bit of fun. Each episode highlights the people, places, and technology making a difference. Give the podcast a listen today and subscribe.

Show Notes

On this episode of The Tyler Tech Podcast, we are joined by Sascha Ohler, senior vice president of Outdoor Recreation at Tyler Technologies. In celebration of Great Outdoors Month, Sascha shares insights on the transformative technology that is revolutionizing the experience for both park visitors and staff.

Discover how trip planners powered by artificial intelligence are personalizing adventures, and learn about innovative workforce solutions, including digital rangers, that are enhancing outdoor services. Sascha dives into the latest and greatest tech that is simplifying and enriching our outdoor adventures.

We also detail in our latest white paper the five main risks of legacy systems. You can download that here: Is Your Legacy Digital Infrastructure Putting You at Risk?

Learn more about the topics discussed in this episode with these resources:

• Blog: 4 Ways State Parks Use Technology for Inclusive Experience
• Tyler in the News: Wyoming State Parks Shakes Up Reservation Experience with Innovative Technology
• Blog: Maine's Reservation Solution Gets Mainers Outdoors
• Tyler in the News: Nevada State Parks Brings New Technology to Reservations
• Case Study: California State Parks Enhances Equity with Library Program

And you can listen to other episodes of the podcast at this link: www.tylertech.com/resources/podcast

Let us know what you think about the Tyler Tech Podcast in this survey!

Transcript

Sascha Ohler: Because as you know, in tech, at the end of the day, it's all about adoption. But adoption is always about, do you have the right frame of mind to actually even understand what that tech can do for you.

And I think we're at that critical juncture. I think that we're starting to see that change, and that gets me super excited.

Josh Henderson: From Tyler Technologies, it's The Tyler Tech Podcast, your source for insightful conversations with thought leaders addressing the pressing issues in our communities. I'm Josh Henderson, and I'm on the corporate marketing team here at Tyler. Thanks for joining us. In each episode, we dive into the essential topics shaping our society and shed light on the individuals, places, and technologies empowering the public sector.

If you like what you hear, please consider giving us a five-star rating and review, subscribing on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and recommending the show to others.

On today's episode and to celebrate June being Great Outdoors Month, we're joined by Tyler's Senior Vice President of Outdoor Recreation, Sascha Ohler.

Sascha explores how cutting-edge technology is transforming the way we experience nature and how it helps to make it more accessible, equitable, and enjoyable for everyone. From AI-powered trip planners to innovative workforce solutions and the seamless integration of reservation systems, Sascha uncovers some of the exciting developments redefining outdoor recreation. Hopefully, this conversation inspires you to explore the great outdoors.

There's so much to cover. So, without further ado, here's my conversation with Sascha Ohler. Happy Great Outdoors Month. We hope you enjoy the episode.

Sascha, thanks so much for joining me today on The Tyler Tech Podcast.

Sascha Ohler: Thanks for having me.

Josh Henderson: Of course.

So, like most conversations on the podcast, I wanted to start off with a bit of your background. Walk us through your career journey up to and including what you're doing now in your role as senior vice president of Outdoor Recreation at Tyler.

Sascha Ohler: Sure. Yeah. I've been very fortunate. I've been in the tech space for about 20 years now, a little over 20 years.

I started my career off on the financial services side and banking and a little bit of insurance tech, and then sort of made my way slowly over into the GovTech space. I’ve been in that space for the last ten years, always in roles either on the sales marketing side or on the product side, last 15 years or so on the product side of the house.

Here at Tyler, I have the privilege of leading our outdoor recreation team, which covers both the state parks market and then also the hunt and fish, so fish and wildlife market, as well as some of the really large cities and counties around the country as far as their parks and rec departments are concerned.

Josh Henderson: That's great. As somebody who resides in Maine and enjoys the outdoors as much as I do, it's a thrill to have you on the podcast to learn more about what's going on in terms of technology in the outdoors. Let's jump right into the conversation. I know we have a lot to cover today.

I'm hoping you can outline how you've seen the integration of digital reservation services evolve over time and the impact it's had on the visitor experience in state parks?

Sascha Ohler: Yeah. I would say a few years ago still, folks really thought of their reservation system as sort of a standalone system. The way I describe it is the place where you searched for the state park you wanted to go to.

You found the state park you wanted to go to, you booked your reservation, you paid for your reservation, and then you didn't really do anything till you showed up at the park.

That was sort of the way it worked. And over the last several years, what we have seen is that state parks agencies specifically are really starting to look at, how do we create a much more holistic experience for a visitor? So, these could be things like, as part of the booking process, I start to make recommendations as to, hey, I see that you're really interested in hiking, for example. There's some really cool trails that you haven't hiked from what we know. You might want to try those out. Or maybe I want to include my firewood that I want to use when I do my s'mores with my kids when I show up at the campsite.

I want to include that in my checkout process so that it's already ready when I show up at my campsite. It's not that we're creating new interactions, it's just we're taking the interactions that have happened, and we're starting to really connect the dots between them.

So, whether it's the call center that you're utilizing or the website, or you're talking to a ranger at the park, or you're using a mobile device, it's a similar or same experience. And it feels like it's a similar experience as if you're interacting with any other large brand.

Josh Henderson: That's great. Make it easier for folks to get outside. I think that is a huge deal. Now another big initiative in parks and outdoor programs in general is to make the outdoors more inclusive and more accessible.

From your side of things, how is technology being used to help make outdoor recreation more accessible and equitable for all visitors?

Sascha Ohler: That's a huge question. We could go down a lot of different rabbit holes on that one. But I would say the reality is that most of these reservation systems were built for people very much like you and I. Meaning, we're salaried, know exactly when we can take vacation. We have the ability to plan with some degree of certainty.

We have disposable income to spend on things. And by default, it disadvantages certain demographics out there from participating in outdoor recreation.

And at the same time, by definition, these are state parks, meaning they are owned by all of the residents of the state and should therefore be accessible to all of them. And so, I think what we're really seeing is that, you know, technology is not ultimately the tool to solve these problems, but it's one of the tools in the tool bag to help solve these problems and address them. So, whether that is giving people who are unbanked or underbanked the ability to use a prepaid California State Parks card that they can top off at a digital ranger by feeding the digital ranger cash and getting that loaded onto their gift card or their parks card.

It is things like bringing augmented reality and virtual reality through partners like Agents of Discovery, for example, who bring conservation education into my living room, and start to create the connection. If you didn't grow up going into the outdoors and interacting with the outdoors, the likelihood that all of a sudden you just wake up one morning and you decide you're going to go camping is fairly slim.

And so, it's how do we use technology to help people bridge the gap between their background and where they've grown up and actually then taking that first step. And at the same time, it’s helping the park staff to look at data to really see the demographics coming through the doors of the park.

And what does that mean for what type of experiences I need to be able to provide? So, for example, most Hispanic folks, and this is an overgeneralization, but it holds for the most part. When they show up to camp, they don't show up just with themselves and their kids. They show up with their uncles, nieces, nephews, grandma and grandpa, and it's more of the traditional family camping experience. Well, a lot of our state parks agencies back in the 80’s and 90’s when group camping declined in in popularity, did away with their group camping sites. And so now they're starting to bring that back as people of different ethnic backgrounds are pushing back into the parks.

So, it's things like that. But data can help inform that and can help them to spend their money in the right place.

Josh Henderson: And you used the term digital ranger, and I want to dive a little bit deeper into that. If you could define the concept of the digital ranger and how it enhances the visitor experience in parks, and then furthermore, if you can share any implementation examples in how the digital ranger has replaced old systems and sort of enhanced the outdoor experience for visitors.

Sascha Ohler: Absolutely. Most state parks today have what's called an iron ranger.

And an iron ranger is generally just a metal pole set in concrete somewhere next to the entrance to the state park because the reality is, almost all of our clients, they will have a minority of their parks that are very, very busy, high visitation numbers, high occupancy rates, and then they have a majority of their parks that are not really all that busy all year long, and they have limited staff. So those places that are lower visitation, they often just place these Iron Rangers and it’s on the honor system. So, it's a 15-dollar a night camping fee, and you grab a little envelope. You put the 15-dollars in, and you stick it in the iron ranger. And then once a week, somebody comes by and empties that thing. And so, the digital ranger, to some extent, is a little bit of a play on that to say, well, there's a better way of doing that. And a better way in many ways that both benefit the staff and the visitor.

For example, taking a kiosk device that can either be run in online or offline mode that you can pay for your day use fees, that you can pay for your camping, that you can maybe pay for that bundle of firewood that's just sitting there right next to the ranger station. And no longer having that honor system in place, that allows the state parks agencies to capture additional revenue they're not capturing. And, you know, whether a park is frequented a lot or not, at the same time, they still have to do upkeep on it.

They still have to do trail maintenance and make sure that the campsites are in good repair and the washrooms are clean and all that kind of stuff. So, I think it helps eliminate the need for staff to be present while still being able to conduct business there. And then it also eliminates issues from a financial oversight perspective.

Today, somebody has to go to the park, they have to empty that iron ranger, they have to drive that cash to the nearest bank, which in some cases could be several hours away.

And from an oversight perspective, you can't just send one person, you have to send two people. So, there's a lot of overhead that the current system creates that the digital ranger can really eliminate.

That's really great. It's definitely a helpful idea for parks. Now, we've talked a little bit about the experience of the staff, but more so about the experience of the visitors to parks. But, you know, how has the implementation of tech improved operational efficiency for park staff and management? And can you provide some examples of how you've seen transformations in sort of those day-to-day park operations?

Sascha Ohler: There are a number of ways, to be honest, on how that has changed how the staff interacts.

It’s little things like pushing self-service through tech to the visitor for things like campground check-in.

Today, what happens to campground hosts walking the loop and checking people in as they show up and starting to set up their camp or pulling in their campers, it’s giving them the ability to do that automatically on a mobile app and to say, hey, location services are turned on, I'm here at my campsite, I'm checking it.

That means now you're freeing those folks up to tend to other more urgent needs in the park.

It could be things like providing offline trail maps when you are out hiking in the park. And doing that on a mobile app that also gives you the ability to then notify if you're running into, for example, a tree that fell over and is blocking the path. Or maybe there's a fire or some other emergency situation. Today, the only way to know that, and the only way to notify people of that, is to actually force staff to go out and walk the trails. So that's where tech can really help take some of that burden off.

I'm sure Maine is not any different than any other state out there. Summer months, busy weekend, right? You have lines of cars lining up at the entrance to the park. It used to be that the way that you managed that was you had to pull up to the ranger station, you paid your fee, and then they would open the gate and let you through.

Now we have things like Bluetooth connected printers, mobile printers that are connected to a tablet, and somebody can walk the line similar to what a lot of the fast-food restaurants do. And they can speed up that process. Or we can utilize license plate reader cameras with automated lift gates where somebody has an annual pass to the parks. They don't have to go in line, they just bypass, go through the express lane, it reads the license plate and lets them in.

So that's where tech can really help take the people who didn't choose the profession of going into working for state parks in order to check cars in at the station. They wanted to do interpretive programming. They wanted to work with the outdoors, be conservationists, you know, be educators. It allows them to go back to what they're really passionate about.

Josh Henderson: I'm curious if you have any case studies that you could share from parks that have successfully implemented some of the technology we've discussed? I'm sure you're working with clients all the time, going to be a case-by-case basis in terms of what they're able to implement and when and what they can afford and things like that, but curious to get some examples from you.

Sascha Ohler: Florida State Parks has been very aggressive in implementing the walk the lines or the mobile printers that are hooked up to their tablets.

They do that at the vast majority of their state beaches, and in the heavier trafficked parks. That has been a significant improvement from a visitor experience and staff experience perspective.

Missouri State Parks is probably one of our most advanced users of analytics. They're using analytics to look at the radius from which people are coming to individual parks.

And then what are the utilization rates by type of sites that are being booked so they can then make long term decisions from a funding perspective to say, well, we need more of these types of sites, and we really need less of these types of sites, just from an occupancy perspective. California is using mobile very, very heavily. They've just implemented a passport program, which allows you to collect badges at each of the individual parks. And then once you collect a certain number of badges, then you get free merchandise, basically, from California State Parks.

So, it's a rewards program that also gets people to visit some of the less frequented parks, which is a really cool byproduct of that. Those are those are some that I would that I would throw out there.

Josh Henderson: Those are really great and unique, the state's use cases, with each kind of doing their own thing in terms of their approach.

Josh Henderson: Stay tuned. We'll be right back with more of The Tyler Tech Podcast.

I hope you're enjoying listening to this episode of The Tyler Tech Podcast.

I'm here with my colleague Jade Champion to talk about the importance of tech modernization.

Are you struggling to maintain your legacy systems? It might be time for a change.

Jade Champion: That's right, Josh. We just released a white paper that outlines the five main risks of legacy systems and the benefits of modernizing your digital infrastructure.

Josh Henderson: From security weaknesses to inefficiencies and high maintenance costs, legacy systems can really hold back government agencies. So, what are some of the benefits of future proofing with an updated tech stack?

Jade Champion: Modern cloud-based solutions help to streamline processes, protect against cyber threats, improve the resident experience, meet compliance requirements, and provide more scalability.

Josh Henderson: Are you ready to leave your legacy systems behind and improve your digital services?

Check out our show notes for resources to help you get started and reach out to us at podcast@tylertech.com to connect with a Tyler expert today. Now let's get back to The Tyler Tech Podcast.

This is a tech podcast, and you know we can't have a tech podcast without delving into how artificial intelligence factors into all of this. So, how is AI being integrated into park management and visitor services, and what are some of the most exciting applications of AI you're seeing being developed in this space?

Sascha Ohler: AI is the mandatory topic these days in in all conversations we're having with our state parks clients. I would say that AI will definitely impact a lot around the visitor experience. That's where we're really seeing the biggest application. Specifically, when it comes to giving visitors the ability to self-serve.

Today, for better or worse, most of the state parks agencies still operate a call center, or we operate a call center on their behalf, that people can call into. Oftentimes, it's for things that I'm sure they would much rather just click three buttons and be done with, and not be in line to talk to an agent. So, I think that's where we're seeing a lot of opportunity to really improve that experience, whether it's chatbots which is something we're prototyping right now a little bit. And then what we're also working with California State Parks on is a fully baked sort of AI powered trip planner.

So, the ability to say, I am starting in Sacramento, I have five nights that I want to be on the road for, here's a little bit about myself. I'm bringing gear, I'm not bringing gear. I'm traveling alone, I'm traveling with family, with kids, with pets, with whatever. This is the type of experience I'm looking for. And then for AI to really help us craft that itinerary, which then allows the visitors to say, okay. I'm going to swipe my credit card once.

It books all of that stuff for me, whether that's camp night reservations or whether that's tours at the Hearst Castle or whether that's kayak rentals at one of the reservoirs, and it's all in one. So, much more of the Airbnb type experience than what you traditionally have seen in state parks. I would put a big disclaimer on it, though, and that is, again, you know, going back to my introduction, I've been in this space for a long time. I've seen a lot of big buzzwords come and go over that time as well.

And I think AI, if we're not really thoughtful and we're not really building purposeful applications of AI, I think it has the potential to make for a worse experience for the visitors than a better experience for the visitors. So that's something we're taking very seriously.

Also, things like, you know, if you ask a chatbot, where can I camp this weekend near Sacramento? One version would be if you just want to be first to market, you just give them a chatbot that tells them all the places. It doesn't really help me if there's no availability to camp at any of those locations.

So, I need to go a couple of clicks deeper and actually serve up relevant information as part of that experience so that I can make a good experience for the visitor. And to us, what we talk about a lot, we don't want to be the first to market, we want to be the best to market. That's a big part that we're really looking for, and I think AI is very much in its infancy still. I think we need to be careful to not just dive both feet first into the pool here, but sort of take a measured approach.

Josh Henderson: Yep, I’m definitely hearing that a lot. I feel like thinking about AI as sort of the helper and less so of the all being, all seeing sort of approach, I think, is really, really good way to look at it.

We've talked a little bit about workforce efficiencies created through tech, in the outdoor space. And we often try to sort of demystify this idea of AI, which you kind of did in your last answer there. But, how does AI complement the work of park staff rather than replace it? And what benefits does this bring to both park visitors and employees?

Sascha Ohler: I think AI is such a broad term, and so much is lumped underneath that AI terminology these days.

I think when it comes to the visitor experience, a lot of it is really about how do we utilize data more effectively to drive a better experience. So, it's easy things. Like, for example, for me, keeping a history of all the interactions that you've had with state parks over your life.

That allows me to craft a much different experience for you that's personalized to you versus the next person that shows up. Now is that AI? I'm not sure.

Machine learning, certainly. But it falls into that same realm. I would say the same thing is true when you look at whether it's license plate readers or in in general, the use of image recognition through cameras for the use of speeding up entry to locations, oftentimes that's AI powered as well or has an AI element to it. So, I think that's another place where we're definitely seeing significant uptick of that, because it speeds up the process of letting people in, and it reduces staff time that have to commit to that. I think mobile and the whole mobile experience, and when I when I say mobile, I'm not necessarily talking about, you know, you having your trail map on your mobile device and being able to go hiking. But it's really about how can I utilize some of the digital assistance that are available through mobile devices these days to, again, tie into the underlying reservation system and sort of all the information we have about the inventory, the programming, the rentals, all the different things that a visitor could do at a park.

And we can serve that up by somebody just talking to their device versus them having to go to a website or having to talk to a ranger or stopping by a station. So, I think that's where we're seeing purposeful use of AI that's really helpful and that makes for a better experience.

And then what we're also seeing is, it's not necessarily AI specifically, but it's it touches on tech overall. It's really the use of beacon technology. So, whether that's RFID or Bluetooth or NFC type beacons or combo beacons thereof. But for the purpose of when you have large tour groups that you're trying to get through a location, making sure you have accounted for everybody, and having the ability to have that integrate with your mobile application so that there's an emergency situation, you can very easily push notifications down to individual devices and ensure people are safe. In most locations in state parks today, that's a very, very manual effort. It's literally all hands on deck, rangers fanning out, trying to figure out who all is in my campsite today and who do I need to inform.

And so those are the things where we can make a better experience, a safer experience, and we can really help the park staff reduce the amount of time that they're spending on very mundane tasks that don't really add value.

Josh Henderson: I think that's a great answer. And, you know, just wrapping up here, I just wanted to say I really appreciate you taking the time to chat with me here today, Sascha. I think this has been a really great conversation. I think there's lots of insights and felt very enlightening to me at least. So, I hope our listeners take away a lot from this conversation as well. Lastly, I just wanted to look ahead a little bit. So, we might touch on some stuff that you've already touched on, things like the digital ranger and whatnot. But looking ahead, what are some of the most exciting trends and innovations you see on the horizon for outdoor recreation technology?

Sascha Ohler: Yeah. I would say, and this is related to tech, I promise I'll get to that in a second here. But what I think is very interesting to see is I think our industry, partially because of what happened during COVID, and how many people really pushed into the outdoors for the first time in their lives because they couldn't go anywhere else. I think it changed the way that our clients think about themselves. And what I mean by that is before they really thought of themselves as, hey, I manage a state park. And I think now they're thinking about themselves as, hey. I have this brand that I am responsible for. I'm part of the hospitality business. It changed the perception.

And I think with that change in perception, they also started to understand that they can't do things the way that I've always done them. Because the people that are showing up are not the same people that have camped here every fourth of July weekend for the last 20 years, and they know the ins and outs of everything. These are people that have never pitched a tent in their life, never pulled a camper into a campsite. They've never participated in a ranger led hike or anything like that. And so, how do I cater to them?

And what we've really seen over the last couple of years, for the first time, they started to look at their tech purchases no longer as sort of individual piecemeal approaches, but they said, no, how does my mobile application interact with my reservation system, interact with my digital ranger kiosk device that I have sitting at the entrance station. Like, how are these things all connected?

And then how do I utilize the data that flows through all of these different devices to really give my rangers and my staff better ability to forecast how many people will show up this weekend, which means how much staff do I have to have this weekend? How many campsites do I need to make sure I put into my next year's budget so that I can build out more full hookup sites versus primitive campsites with no electricity, no water, no anything. So, I think that's really where we're seeing that's what gets me excited, that there's sort of that that mind shift that's happened.

Because in tech, it's all about adoption, but adoption is always about, do you have the right frame of mind to actually even understand what that tech can do for you?

And I think that's sort of that's we're at that critical juncture. I think that we're starting to see that change, and that gets me super excited.

Josh Henderson: That's great. I think that's the perfect place to wrap things up, Sascha. Thank you so much. You know, lots of exciting things ahead. Thanks for joining me today and hope to have you back on again soon.

Sascha Ohler: Absolutely. Thanks, Josh. I appreciate the opportunity. We'll talk soon.

Josh Henderson: I hope you enjoyed this conversation with Sascha Ohler. If you'd like to learn more about technology in the outdoor space and other topics discussed throughout the episode, check out our show notes for more resources.

A modern digital infrastructure allows the public sector to adapt in the digital age. From operational agility to data management and analytics, as well as cost savings, security, compliance, and scalability, governments are poised to take advantage of innovative technology to create more efficiencies in their systems and better support and connect their communities. Tyler creates solutions made exclusively for the public sector and has experts with government experience ready to support you on this journey.

I hope you're excited about what the future holds and will reach out to us at podcast@tylertech.com to connect with the subject matter expert if you'd like to learn more.

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For Tyler Technologies, I'm Josh Henderson. Thanks for joining The Tyler Tech Podcast.