Occupancy and bookings data indicates the nation's major ski resorts were on pace as of Jan. 31 to grow overall occupancy and revenue for the 2013-14 season by 4.7 and 10 percent respectively over last year's levels, according to DestiMetrics. Historically, resorts have completed or booked 85 percent of their room nights for the November through April period by the end of January.


For January, actual occupancy at western mountain destinations* was up an aggregated 2.7 percent compared to January 2013 while eastern resorts** posted a 6.5 percent gain in occupancy for the month. The monthly Mountain Market Briefing produced by Denver-based DestiMetrics also announced that both regions posted solid increases in revenue for the month with western destinations finishing up 7.9 percent and eastern resorts up an impressive 11.5 percent compared to one year ago.

 


While both regions were up year-over-year in January, the outlook for February was mixed. As of Jan. 31, western properties were looking at an aggregated 1.8 decrease in on-the-books occupancy for the month, while eastern resorts were looking at a 6.2 percent increase. The booking pace during January for arrivals for the next six months declined for both regions compared to the same time last year. Western areas had a 6.2 decline in bookings while the pace was off 3.4 percent for eastern resorts.

 

“For western resorts, that decline is primarily due to lack of snow in the Sierras and Pacific Northwest,” explained Ralf Garrison, director of DestiMetrics. “Eastern resorts had a very different problem as they had to combat negative public perception that the bitter cold weather hitting major eastern cities was stretching to their slopes where temperatures and conditions were near normal.” 

 
A lack of snow and drought in the Far West regions contributed strongly to the 11.2 percent decline in overall bookings made in January for February arrivals in western resorts, said Tom Foley, operations director for DestiMetrics. While eastern resorts saw average snowfall and nearly average temperatures, they had to overcome ongoing media coverage of extreme weather conditions in the Northeast, according to Tom Foley, operations director for DestiMetrics.

 

“While late January and early February snowfall across the country including the Far West has helped, comments we are hearing from participating properties are ranging from ‘not as good as we hoped’ to ‘better than we feared,’” noted Garrison. “Right now, DestiMetrics projections are showing that some destinations may approach or exceed previous records established during the 2007-08 pre-recession season, but we’re not there yet.”

 


*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.

**Data for eastern resorts in derived from a sample of approximately 10 destination aggregate data sets in 10 destinations representing 4,500 rooms in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, West Virginia and Maine.