SAM Magazine—Winter Park, Colo., Aug. 16, 2024—Rates and occupancy are leveling out in the West, according to the latest Monthly Briefing from DestiMetrics, the business intelligence division of Inntopia. The latest report highlights just how rate sensitive summer guests have become, as a slight uptick in rates last month led to a modest dip in bookings. Still, overall, occupancy for the month rose 4.9 percent, even as rates inched up 0.8 percent, and lodging properties are enjoying their greatest stability since the onset of the pandemic. Revenues were up 5.7 percent.

Data for the Briefing come from participating lodging properties in 17 mountain resorts across Colorado, Utah, California, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, representing approximately 28,000 lodging units. 

“We haven’t seen two consecutive months with this level of stability since the end of the 2021-2022 ski season, let alone for the full six months we’re seeing now,” said Tom Foley, senior vice president for business intelligence at Inntopia.

Stitching together the actual occupancy results from May through July with on-the-books reservations for August through October, the season is currently posting a 3.8 percent increase for this summer compared to last year at this time. Daily rates are up a slight 2.6 percent—a slight increase from June—and the combination is delivering a 6.5 percent increase in revenues compared to last summer. However, that modest uptick in rate lowered the booking pace 8.1 percent in July compared to last year.

Foley noted that the “fairly recent stabilization and equilibrium in the mountain lodging industry is allowing for greater flexibility for lodging properties. Fully aware of the rate sensitivity, property managers needing to boost occupancy can tweak rates to offer more attractive pricing.” 

That may well apply to winter business as well. As of July 31, data was available for the first three months of the winter season, November through January. Occupancy is down 13.6 percent for those first three months with declines in all three compared to last year at this time. Daily rates are up 6.9 percent with increases in all months. In short: the currently strong daily rates are driving notable declines in occupancy. As a result, lodging properties are reporting an aggregated 7.6 percent decline in revenue for the early ski season.

Similarly, the booking pace during July for arrivals from July through January were down 8.2 percent in a year-over-year comparison. This marks the first year-over-year decline since last March, and the steepest drop since last January.

In sum, Foley said, this summer has been a solid one. “Occupancy and rates are up in all six months, although not dramatically, providing lodging properties with healthy revenues for the season. Still, rate sensitivity very much remains an issue for consumers, as we saw in the pullback in bookings during July.”