SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Feb. 14, 2023—The booking pace for guests arriving in January through June rose 13.3 percent compared to the same time last year at Western mountain destinations, boosting the aggregated occupancy for those six months 7.1 percent, according to the monthly Market Briefing from DestiMetrics, part of the business intelligence division of Inntopia. Although this was the second consecutive month of increased bookings, total occupancy for the season remained lower than a year ago.

The DestiMetrics data come from more than 28,000 lodging units in 17 mountain communities across seven Western states. 

The strong January results reflect both big snowfall and the shift of school holidays into early January this year, and the fact that increasing cases of Covid were depressing travel in January 2022.

Compared to last January, occupancy was up 10.1 percent, while the average daily rate (ADR) rose 11.3 percent. This led to a 22.1 percent increase in lodging revenues compared to January 2022. Compared to the pre-pandemic month of January 2020, occupancy was up 4.9 percent while ADR is up 34.9 percent. As a result, revenues were 41.5 percent higher than January 2020.

For the winter as a whole, occupancy is gradually clawing back some of the declines experienced during the fall and early winter.  As of Jan. 31, on-the-books occupancy for November through April was down just 1.4 percent compared to last year. Strong daily rates are helping to offset the lower occupancy; the winter ADR is up 8 percent, and seasonal revenue is up 6.4 percent as a result.

However, the report noted that those higher room rates are nudging some overnight visitors into fewer or shorter stays. Length-of-stay is just .22 nights longer than three years ago, and is a steep decline from the 1.3-night gain recorded a year ago.

On a more positive note, the Market Briefing noted that widespread snowfall not only boosted January bookings, but will allow for stronger mid-season and late season visits, which will likely exceed the past few years. That heavy snowfall in the West also helped increase lead times for bookings, as consumers anticipate good snow conditions will stretch the season. 

Overall, the outlook for the full season is rosy. “Given where we were in October with a weak booking pace, very high inflation, interest rate hikes, weak consumer confidence, a volatile economy, and predictions for a wet and warm winter, things are turning around very impressively,” said Tom Foley, senior vice president of business intelligence for Inntopia. "This is shaping up to be one of the strongest winter seasons ever for mountain lodging properties.”