SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Dec. 14, 2021—Despite a slow start to the 2021-22 winter, as of Nov. 30, aggregated reservations, rates, and revenue for the coming winter at Western destinations were comparing favorably to the last two seasons, according to the latest Monthly Briefing from DestiMetrics, the business intelligence division of Inntopia.

The DestiMetrics data, compiled from 290 western lodging properties in 18 resort communities across seven Western states, suggests that skiers and riders are currently shrugging off concerns about the latest Covid variant.

Stats for the month of November were, as expected, well ahead of last November, when lodging properties were working to lure visitors prior to the vaccine rollout. Actual occupancy was up 10.5 percent in a year-over-year comparison while the average daily rate (ADR) was up 9.3 percent. The combination delivered a healthy 20.8 percent increase in revenue compared to November 2020. 

Contrasted to two years ago, occupancy for the month was down 4.2 percent, but ADR was up a robust 35.7 percent, resulting in a 30 percent increase in November revenues.

While November occupancy paced down compared to two years ago, the full winter is currently exhibiting robust strength versus all comparative years. Year-ago totals for the full winter were depressed due to the extreme Covid uncertainties about openings and restrictions; reservations for this year are up 78 percent in comparison. When compared to pre-pandemic metrics of two years ago, on-the-books reservations as of Nov. 30 were up 11 percent, while the ADR for the winter was up 28.6 percent. Again, the continued strength in both categories points to a 42.8 percent increase in revenues—barring a major Covid outbreak or snowfall shortage.

“An extremely strong base of early bookings, coupled with Christmas Day and New Year’s Day falling on a Saturday, really helped boost the holiday outlook for this year,” observed Tom Foley, senior vice president for business process and analytics for Inntopia. In addition, “The months of January through April are all currently overperforming the records set in previous seasons,” he noted.

Foley said that booking lead times for the holiday season have been longer than in the past. For mid-season visits, booking lead times are shorter, but remain longer than they were pre-pandemic, he added.

He cautioned that the late-November discovery of the Omicron variant "is definitely showing up in the booking pace data. However, the foundation laid by significant winter bookings as early as last June has ensured that the next four weeks—and possibly beyond—are a lock under most circumstances. But the issue of snow literally hangs in the air and is fueling some angst.”