SAM Magazine-Denver, Colo., March 18, 2009-Western destination lodging reservations were down 16.3 percent through February, according to the latest data from the Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP). In addition, average daily room rates were down 7.6 percent. MTRiP data cover 216 properties in 15 destination resorts in Colorado, Utah, California, and British Columbia.

Cumulative occupancy for February 2009 among participating MTRiP resorts was 54.5 percent, compared to 63.9 percent last year-a decline of 14.9 percent. The average daily rate for the same time period fell 8.6 percent.

As of Feb. 28, lodging reservations for March were running significantly behind last year, down 25 percent, and daily room rates were lower by 12 percent. The decline stems, in part, from the timing of Easter-in March last year, in April this year. Some business is shifting into April; for that month, reservations are flat and room rates are up 7 percent.

Reservations taken in February for the upcoming six months improved slightly, up 3 percent over last year's pace, showing strength for short-term February arrivals. However, this uptick is not a sign of future strength, cautioned Ralf Garrison, MTRiP research director. In most years, bookings for the late season are largely completed by this time. "We're not anticipating any significant changes for March or April business despite a recent shift to last minute bookings," Garrison said.

"Overall demand is down, damaged by the long-term negative market forces," he added. Record-breaking low levels of consumer confidence, increasing unemployment figures, and continued declines on Wall Street have depressed the mountain travel industry, he noted.

The Consumer Confidence Index in February slid to 25.0, the lowest level since it was introduced in 1967. Unemployment figures rose for the third consecutive month with more than 650,000 jobs lost in February for a total of 12.2 million unemployed nationally. Not surprisingly, the Travel Price Index was down for the fifth consecutive month, with a slight drop of 1.6 percent.

Garrison noted that, in contrast to lodging, "lift ticket sales are showing surprising resilience, especially at eastern resorts where skiers are staying closer to home, and those resorts are pacing close to previous years based on anecdotal reports.

"The potential for last minute bookings from 'short-haul' overnight guests still offers some positive prospects for resorts and lodging properties, but this trend, first observed in December, does not appear to have the same momentum as the season winds down," Garrison added. "The good news is that for skiers and snowboarders who love spring skiing, the next four weeks will provide some of the best deals on mountain lodging in more than a decade."

The bad news: the combination of lower occupancy and reduced room rates is resulting in less overall revenue to resort communities. "This reduction in revenue for community coffers is likely to pose a challenge for local government entities in resort communities, as tax revenues will be less than budget expectations, and there are probably going to be a variety of consequences for local programs and services in the coming months when the shortfalls become apparent," observed Garrison. \