Occupancy and revenue figures for the 2014-15 ski and snowboard season continued their upward trajectory at 19 mountain resorts in six western states last month, although the outlook was much rosier for the Rockies than the Far West, according to Denver-based DestiMetrics.

As of Nov. 30, on-the-books occupancy was up a sharp 9.7 percent for the upcoming November through April ski season, compared to the same time last year. Revenue for the same period is up an aggregated 16 percent for the season with gains in all six months. Both figures represent projections based on reservation data DestiMetrics collects from approximately 290 companies than manage approximately 27,500 rooms across 19 mountain resorts in Colorado, Utah, California, Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming.

“When you see a nearly 10 percent increase in occupancy along with revenue gains, that is a very encouraging sign for resorts-especially when the economic news continues to be mostly positive,” said DestiMetrics Director Ralf Garrison.
In the Far West early snow has led to a 2.1 percent increase in projected occupancy at resorts DestiMetrics tracks in California, Nevada and Oregon compared to the same time last year. The increase marked a sharp improvement from last month, when bookings in the region declined 4.1 percent. Though markedly improved over the past 30 days, bookings are still down in the region from a year ago, when a drought greatly delayed the opening of resorts in the Lake Tahoe region.

In Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, aggregated occupancy is up 10.5 percent compared to the same time last year with a 17.7 percent gain in revenues for the season.