Destination Visits Finished Strong, Summer Looks Bright

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19 May 2014

Push to The Latest: No

SAM Magazine—Denver, May 19, 2014—Resorts East and West saw destination visits increase in the 2013-14 season, and revenues for summer lodging are poised for double-digit growth, according to the latest data from DestiMetrics.

DestiMetrics draws its data from a sample of approximately 300 property management companies in 31 mountain destination communities across six Western and seven Eastern states/provinces (Colorado, Utah, California, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming, New York, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Massachusetts and Quebec).

Among the 11 Eastern resorts that participate in its program, DestiMetrics found season-long occupancy was up 2.9 percent compared to last year, while revenues were up 3.7.

Results in Western resorts varied considerably, with declines in the snow-starved Far West and Pacific Northwest and increases at Rocky Mountain resorts. Overall, the aggregated results were up 4.7 percent overall in occupancy, with revenue up an impressive 10.8 percent compared to last season.

Summer bookings among participating Western mountain destinations foretell even greater increases. As of April 30, reservations for the month of May were up 12.7 percent compared to last May, with revenue up 19.5 percent. Figures for the entire summer/fall seaso, May through October, show occupancy up 8.2 compared to the same time last year, with a boost in visitor nights for every month except September. The increased occupancy combined with modest increases in the average daily rate is pointing to a 13.3 percent increase in lodging revenue for the six-month period.

“Western destinations are now moving into the increasingly crucial summer season, with its significant growth opportunity and the potential number of summer visitors far exceeding winter guests,” said DestiMetrics director Ralph Garrison. “There is some anticipation that the new land use rules the U.S. Forest Service is expected to release sometime in the next few months will allow resorts to enhance their summer activities and operations and attract more visitors to their resorts during what has long been considered the 'off' season.”