SAM Magazine—Denver, April 14, 2015—Despite mercurial temperatures and sporadic snowfall throughout the Rocky Mountain and Far West mountain resorts in February and March, resort lodging posted double-digit increases in revenue for the third straight winter, with summer reservations following a similar track, according to Denver-based DestiMetrics.

As of March 31, data collected by DestiMetrics for 19 mountain destinations in six western states showed actual occupancy for the winter season up 5.9 percent and revenues up 11.7 percent compared to the prior year. SAM Magazine—Denver, April 14, 2015—Despite mercurial temperatures and sporadic snowfall throughout the Rocky Mountain and Far West mountain resorts in February and March, resort lodging posted double-digit increases in revenue for the third straight winter, with summer reservations following a similar track, according to Denver-based DestiMetrics.

As of March 31, data collected by DestiMetrics for 19 mountain destinations in six western states showed actual occupancy for the winter season up 5.9 percent and revenues up 11.7 percent compared to the prior year.

“Early season bookings driven by snow equity from last season and reinforced by consistent early snowfall and strong economic growth was sufficient to carry the season, despite a drop in momentum as the season waned,” said Ralf Garrison, director of DestiMetrics.

“Even though the booking pace slowed in the past six weeks, we're still seeing that both winter and summer destination resort business is up more than 10 percent and showing remarkable consistency over the last several years since the post-recession economic recovery began,” he added.

Resorts in both the Far West (California, Nevada and Oregon) and Rocky Mountain (Colorado, Utah and Wyoming) regions posted stronger results. Occupancy in Rocky Mountain resorts was up 5.8 percent through March while revenues rose 12.3 percent. Occupancy in the Far West was up 6.1 percent, with revenues up 5.3 percent. “But it is important to note that the DestiMetrics data does not include lift ticket activity, which is much more snowfall dependent than lodging and can be quite variable as a result,” Garrison noted.

As for summer, data collected through March 31 showed that reservations are up 7.2 percent and revenues up 11.1 percent for the May through October period. Strong consumer confidence and low fuel prices are expected to keep consumers in a traveling mood.

“Consumers like to take mountain vacations and a strong economy is providing the discretionary funding to do just that,” Garrison concluded.

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