SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., March 13, 2025—Snowfall, rates, and fluctuations in economic policies all contributed to declines in both booking pace and winter season occupancy at Western mountain destinations during February, according to the most recent monthly Market Briefing from Inntopia’s DestiMetrics division. While the second half of the six-month season from February through April is looking somewhat better than the first half of the season and is currently comparable to last season, bookings and occupancy softened as aggregated daily rates inched up.

DestiMetrics’ data come from approximately 28,000 lodging units in 17 mountain destination communities across Colorado, Utah, California, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, and represent 55 percent of all available rental units in those regions. 

After a dip in occupancy in January, occupancy for February was up 3.4 percent compared to a year ago. The average daily rate (ADR) gained 1.6 percent for an average rate of $727 per night aggregated across all property types. The growth in both occupancy and rate delivered a 5 percent gain in revenue for the month compared to February 2024. 

However, the pace of bookings made in February for arrivals in February through July dipped for the third consecutive month—albeit by a slight 1.2 percent. Daily rates edged down slightly in absolute terms during February, slipping from $645 a night in January to $640 a night in February.

Occupancy for the full winter season from November through April is currently eking out a 0.3 percent seasonal gain over last year, with the back half of the season accounting for the modest growth. Room rates are up a slight 1.8 percent. The combination of higher rates and occupancy is delivering a 2 percent increase in seasonal revenues.

Tom Foley, senior vice president of business intelligence for Inntopia, noted economic news and policies “are putting consumers a bit off balance as markets—and consumer confidence—downshifted.” 

The impact of tariffs and a trade war with Canada are becoming apparent as Canadians changed their travel plans to protest President Trump’s tariffs and threats of annexation, as well as the resulting economics of a significant drop in the Canadian dollar vs. the American dollar.  

Inntopia’s internal data revealed a drop in bookings and increase in cancellations when tariff deadlines were initially announced. That drop carried through much of February, and the findings correlate closely to Statistics Canada’s data on Canadian travel by car across the U.S. border: down 17.4 percent in January and 23 percent in February.

“This is a new data set that we don’t fully understand yet and our analysis isn’t conclusive,” cautioned Foley. “We will have to monitor the situation over time before we can be more definitive about the impact of trade wars specifically on mountain travel.”

Still, Foley noted, “despite the challenges, the month was solid and overall season revenue remained remarkably stable, while a late April Easter holiday offers the potential for a strong finish for the season. Our task is now watching future bookings very closely for opportunities to attract visitors, assuming that some economic and consumer uncertainty is going to persist.”