SAM Magazine—Longmont, Colo., Jan. 18, 2022—December occupancy at Western destinations was up 11.7 percent compared to pre-pandemic 2019, and up 37 percent from December 2020, according to the latest report from DestiMetrics, the business intelligence division of Inntopia.

As of Dec. 31, the average daily rate (ADR) for the month was up 40 percent from year-ago levels, and up 25 percent from 2019. Revenues nearly doubled compared to 2020, and were up 40 percent from 2019.

The remainder of ski season is following the same track. As of Dec. 31, bookings for the six-month winter season, November through April, were up 66.7 percent year-over-year. Compared to pre-Covid December 2019, full-season bookings were up 9.6 percent, while the ADR for the full winter is up 25.8 percent. That projects to a 38 percent increase in revenues across the full winter season.

Abundant snow during the holidays, “coupled with pent-up demand and extended school breaks," helped drive the increases, said Tom Foley, senior vice president for business process and analytics for Inntopia. He cautioned that there was some softening of short-term arrivals due to the "rapid surge of Omicron cases," and some pushback from consumers over staffing shortages, though he added, "visitors appear unaffected by these issues and are continuing to flock to mountain resort communities.”

Among the trends Foley noted:
• Daily rates continue to soar. While broad economic forces such as inflation are playing a role is rising rates, there is also discussion both that localized inflation may be driving the rates also–and that higher rates are contributing to rising inflation.
• Snowfall anxiety has eased considerably as a series of storm systems moved across much of the Pacific Northwest and western mountain regions through the last two weeks of December.
• Omicron continued surging in December and, as happened during the previous two Covid-19 surges, that led to softer booking volume as cases rose and peaked. Expect increased booking volume as cases decline.

“A robust foundation for bookings through the remainder of the season has positioned the industry for an excellent year, but inconsistent snowfall, the impact of promised interest rate hikes on consumer spending, and any new twists from Covid-19 could all play a role in the months ahead,” Foley concluded.

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