SAM Magazine–Denver, March 16, 2018­–The snowfall throughout the month of February boosted lodging numbers for resorts throughout the West. However, it was not enough to deliver a year-over-year increase in occupancy compared to the 2016-2017 season according to Inntopia’s monthly DestiMetrics Market Briefing.

As of February 28, bookings made in February for February arrivals jumped up 15.6 percent over the previous year at the same time, though aggregated occupancy was down by 2.9 percent. This is an improvement over the report released on January 31, where aggregated occupancy was down 4.4 percent. Participating resorts also saw a 5.2 percent increase in the Average Daily Rate (ADR) which yielded a 2.1 percent uptick in revenues for the month.

“The booking pace during February was a complete 180-degree turnaround from the beginning of the month,” explained Tom Foley, vice president of Business Intelligence for Inntopia. “Although the significant snowfall clearly drove considerably more bookings and occupancy during the month, a few weeks of strong snowfall does not make a season. And, while the fresh snow was great for February, it isn’t having much impact on the remainder of the season.”

The briefing highlighted that while aggregated occupancy is down 2.6 percent compared to the 2016-2017 season, the decrease in occupancy is being offset by a 3.3 increase in ADR. This increase is enough to deliver a .7 increase in revenues over the previous year. Additionally, the briefing gave credit to strong and steady economic indicators for lending stability to lodging revenues in a low snow year. The Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) rose 5.2 percent to 130.8 points, which is its highest level since November 2000.

DestiMetrics is also looking forward to the summer months. Bookings made in February for arrivals in February through July are up 8.5 percent while July is up 8.7 percent. That being said, April bookings have dwindled from a 6.9 percent gain at the end of January to a 1.4 percent gain at the end of February.

“Different segments of the mountain destination market will have varying degrees of success in these conditions and although low snowfall is the hardest on slope operations such as lift tickets, rentals, and lessons, other businesses may be less negatively impacted from the low snow,” clarified Foley. “Retailers, bars, restaurants, and non-ski activities may remain flat or in some cases, post some gains,” Foley concluded.

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