Western Mountain Lodging Up Slightly in December

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15 January 2016

Push to The Latest: No

SAM Magazine—Denver, Jan. 15, 2016—According to the most recent data released by Denver-based DestiMetrics, as of Dec. 31, actual occupancy and future reservations at Western destination resorts are up 2.5 percent for the season, with revenue up 3.7 percent compared to last winter. DestiMetrics credits strong snowfall in the Rocky Mountain and Far West regions for an uptick in bookings during December.

DestiMetrics' data are drawn from 290 properties in 19 destination communities across the Western U.S. and Canada.

A 12.6 percent increase in December's booking pace helped strengthen actual occupancy in December, and delivered slight increases in reservations numbers for January through April. Aggregated actual occupancy among participating properties for the month of December was up 6.5 percent, accompanied by a 10 percent gain in revenue compared to December 2014.

“The strong booking trend we observed during December helped fill in some weak spots during the holiday period, but it didn't really have a significant impact on bookings for the second half of the season,” said Ralf Garrison, director of DestiMetrics. “While the numbers ended up ahead of last year, the results are modest compared to the double digit increases we've been reporting in recent years, and some of the participating destinations are reporting booking patterns that are neither consistent with their peers or recent history.”

One economic indicator that was cited as a possible explanation for the modest increases this season is the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI). After two months of declines, the CCI popped up 3.9 points for the month to mark the fifth increase in the CCI during 2015, and a 3.9 percent improvement for the year.

DestiMetrics also saw a considerable disparity between the performance reported between and among participating destinations, even those in the same region.

“We did see that snowfall in all the western regions, particularly in the Far West, combined with low fuel prices and some buoyancy in the market brought a reversal to some of the declining trends we've reported the past few months,” said Garrison. “However, there is still some instability, with a considerable amount of the winter season yet to go.”