DestiMetrics reports that data through July 31 shows summer lodging occupancy at mountain resorts it monitors in the western United States is up an aggregated eight percent for the months of May through October, while revenue is up 14 percent compared to the summer of 2014.
Data is collected from lodging properties at 19 western mountain destination resorts in six states.* For the single month of July, actual occupancy was up 7.9 percent and revenue was up 13.8 percent compared to last July.
“With much of the summer season behind us and kids headed back to school, resorts have already either hosted or booked 89 percent of last summer’s total business, so we are confident that this will be the fourth consecutive record-breaking summer for western mountain destinations,” said Ralf Garrison, director of DestiMetrics. “The robust numbers this month not only illustrate strength in both occupancy and rates but successful and sustained growth in summer business for mountain communities,” he continued.
The monthly DestiMetrics Briefing also noted that overall economic news remains generally positive although signs of volatility are emerging in both global politics and the economy. The dynamics are prompting close monitoring by the DestiMetrics staff now that advanced bookings for the coming winter season are starting to pick up. An 8.9-point drop in the Consumer Confidence Index during July took it down to 90.9 points and its lowest level since July 2014. It was an essentially flat month for the Dow Jones Industrial Average which gained 70.3 points during July. The national Unemployment Rate remained unchanged from the previous month at 5.3 percent even though employers added 215,000 new jobs last month.
“Despite concerns about earnings, we saw no evidence that mountain travel was negatively impacted by the downturn in consumer confidence during July,” offered Tom Foley, operations director for DestiMetrics. “And while the Dow is only 135 points shy of its December value, U.S. markets are watching China and Greece closely for indications of stability while also anticipating a likely hike in interest rates here at home,” he added.
The Briefing segregates results for the Rocky Mountain region (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming) and the Far West (California, Nevada, Oregon) and this month’s report revealed that both regions are enjoying increases although in slightly different ways. The Rocky Mountain resorts posted a seven percent increase in occupancy and 5.2 percent increase in revenues for the summer months while the Far West region is reporting a 10.3 percent gain in occupancy but only a modest 0.3 percent gain in revenue.
The Briefing also noted that advanced bookings for the 2015-16 winter season are up compared to last year at this time in both occupancy and revenue but acknowledges that it is still too early for long-range predictions.
“It’s pretty clear that mountain travel, as a whole, is strong and resilient despite weather challenges including everything from drought to excessive rainy patterns that been experienced in different regions this summer,” explained Garrison. “However as summer bookings start winding down and winter reservations start ramping up, we’ll be paying particular attention to econometrics as global and national financial markets have shown increased volatility in recent weeks,” he cautioned.
*DestiMetrics tracks resort performance in mountain destinations, compiling forward-looking reservation data on a monthly basis and aggregating and reporting the results to subscribers at participating resorts. Data for western resorts is derived from a sample of approximately 290 property management companies in 19 mountain destination communities, representing approximately 27,500 rooms across Colorado, Utah, California, Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming and may not reflect the entire mountain destination travel industry. Results may vary significantly among/between resorts and participating properties.
