Destination Occupancy Rose Across U.S. in December

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16 January 2014

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SAM Magazine—Denver, Jan. 16, 2014—Favorable snowfall in December in most mountain regions in the U.S. helped boost lodging occupancy and revenues for the month, according to DestiMetrics (formerly the Mountain Travel Research Program, aka MTRiP). The upward trend in both occupancy and revenue is carrying into the remainder of the season, DestiMetrics added.

DestiMetrics data come from 290 property management companies in 19 western mountain destination communities across Colorado, Utah, California, Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming; and from 10 eastern destinations representing 4,500 rooms in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, West Virginia and Maine.

Nationally, mountain resorts in the DestriMetrics data saw an aggregated 6.2 percent increase in occupancy and a 12.3 percent increase in revenues for December. Western resorts posted a 6.5 percent increase in occupancy compared to last year with revenues up 13.3 percent. Properties at eastern resorts experienced a 2.1 percent increase in occupancy and a 3.6 percent increase in revenues.

On-the-book reservations for the remainder of the season are positive also, with the booking pace during December for western destinations up 6.1 percent, and for eastern resorts up 8.3 percent. “Prospects for a strong season of destination travel are continuing to look positive in most regions,” said Ralf Garrison, director of DestiMetrics.

“Now that nearly a quarter of the entire ski season's business is already ‘in the bank,' and another 50 percent is ‘on the books,' the remainder of the season is looking increasingly positive and could result in one of the industry's best years ever, if both the weather and economy continue to cooperate,” Garrison concluded.