DestiMetrics, part of the Business Intelligence platform for Stowe, VT-based Inntopia, reports that western mountain lodging produced a “tepid but solid finish” to the 2024/25 Winter season.
The company, which tracks lodging performance in resort destinations, is also “cautiously optimistic” about the Summer 2025 season.
“It may have been a bit of a slog across the finish line for some lodging properties at western mountain destinations — although there was considerable variability between regions and properties— but aggregated results among the 17 participating destinations spread across seven states were described as a ‘win’ at the end of a sometimes-challenging season,” was the conclusion released by Inntopia in its DestiMetrics monthly Market Briefing. Destimetrics measures mountain destination communities across Colorado, Utah, California, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.
Although the company’s briefing said seasonal occupancy dipped a slight 0.3 percent, the Average Daily Rate (ADR) edged up 1.9 percent, offsetting the lower visitation and delivering a modest 1.6 percent revenue gain.
The company noted that a similar pattern has emerged for the coming 2025 Summer season, as the booking pace dropped for the fifth consecutive month. Occupancy for the Summer season from May through October is “essentially flat” compared to this time last year, but ADR is up 3.1 percent for the season.
“In contrast to the past few years marked by stronger growth, we went into this season with declines in occupancy and only slight rate increases. And then some good snowfall in November, coupled with strong consumer optimism following the election, and we saw bookings pick up,” recalled Tom Foley, senior vice president of Business Intelligence for Inntopia.
Foley said that when December rolled around, unusual holiday timing and some pushback from visitors on rates slowed things down.
“Through the next few months, uneven snow conditions, decaying consumer confidence and tariff anxiety slowed things down even more,” Foley continued. “And, in the end, we had a variety of outcomes — from great results at destinations that had strong and consistent snow, to mediocre at others. So, for the industry, as a whole, to eke out even a small gain in revenues was an impressive accomplishment in this rather challenging season.”
Summer Occupancy
As of April 30, occupancy for the full Summer season (May through October) has squeaked out a 0.1 percent increase, essentially identical to this time last year, as the booking pace during April for arrivals for the upcoming months dipped for the fifth consecutive month, down 3.2 percent. Daily rates for the summer months are reported to be up 3.1 percent, with increases in all six months. Of the three pricing tiers, Economy is up to $250/night, Moderate at $251 to $400/night and Luxury at $401+/night — both the Moderate and Luxury categories are performing well, while the Economy-priced sector has faltered.
“It isn’t clear yet whether the weakness in the more affordably priced lodging is because those customers are shifting into a higher-end property or if those customers are staying on the sidelines right now as financial uncertainty persists and confidence continues to shrink,” observed Foley. “But for people who want to take a summer vacation, mountain destinations offer much more attractive pricing during the summer months compared to the winter season, except for the peak holiday weekends like Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day.”
Economic Impacts
The company said financial turbulence sparked by concerns about tariffs and geopolitical dynamics continued during April, noting that after one of its most volatile months on record, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped significantly for the third consecutive month and closed down another 3.2 percent by losing 1,332.4 points on top of the 1,839-point plunge in March.
Implementing stiff tariffs against 75 countries in addition to the blanket 10 percent tariffs on all imported goods earlier in March was cited as the primary reason for the dramatic decline. Counter-tariffs from foreign trading partners, particularly Canada and China, also had an impact, according to the company.
“These steep losses in both the DJIA and the S&P, where many consumers have their 401k and IRA accounts, is having a profound impact on consumers as these indices are down more than nine percent since the highs in early December,” Foley explained. “The result has brought sentiment to near-record lows and consumers’ expectations for the future to their lowest point since the height of the pandemic. In these conditions, booking hesitancy and rate resistance become apparent,” he added.
Once again, the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) released by the Conference Board and the Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) from the University of Michigan declined significantly in April to reach some notable lows. The CCI dropped for the fifth consecutive month, losing 7.9 percent to reach its lowest point since May 2020 with 86 points, just a few weeks after the onset of the pandemic. And for the fourth consecutive month, the CSI plunged eight percent to close at 52.8 and its lowest point since July 2022. Respondents in both surveys across all ages, income, geographical, and political segments listed inflation and trade wars as the primary cause for growing pessimism.
Reports regarding the U.S. unemployment rate and jobs were positive in April as 177,000 new jobs were added to payrolls, while unemployment remained steady at 4.2 percent. Wages also continued to outpace inflation and were up 3.8 percent in a year-over-year comparison to April 2024. “These figures reinforce the position of many analysts that the core fundamentals of the US economy are strong, but the activities of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have had a negative impact with an additional 9,000 federal positions being cut in April for a total of 26,000 federal jobs lost since January,” commented Foley.
International Travelers
Bookings from Canada and Western Europe continued dropping sharply for the summer season, but Mexico looks strong. According to Inntopia’s booking data, the declines are deepening every week and, as of May 6, summer arrivals from Canada are down 45.5 percent compared to this time last year, as Canadians have had a strong negative response to U.S. trade policy and political commentary. Travelers from Western Europe are also pulling back, with summer bookings down 30.3 percent.
“European visitors typically go to larger, pure destination markets, so declines from this group are more widespread but perhaps less locally concerning than the negative impact of the Canadian downturn,” observed Foley.
In sharp contrast, travel from Mexico is up a dramatic 33.3 percent for the summer due to a combination of easing trade policy for that country and a weakening of the U.S. dollar, making travel to the U.S. more affordable.
Length-of-Stay for upcoming stay by summer visitors is 16 percent longer than the average winter booking this past season, with the average summer stay 3.12 nights, appreciably higher than the 2.69 nights for the typical winter stay.
Daily rates that are as much as 55 percent less than winter rates, greater flexibility for families with school-age children, and longer lead-times for bookings, which correlate with more extended stays, are all said to be factors for the longer stays.
Advance bookings tend to be longer, and Foley noted that this gain in length-of-stay could decline somewhat when last-minute bookings are factored into the analysis.
“Despite a wide variety of conditions ranging from epic to difficult across the industry, along with some pretty significant headwinds this winter, including financial turmoil and quirky holiday schedules, mountain lodging properties still managed a narrow increase in seasonal revenues, even with a slight dip in occupancy,” summarized Foley.
“But the economic drama that launched in January and looks to continue for the foreseeable future is definitely impacting summer travel plans. As Canadians and Europeans step back in a big way, there is an opportunity to capture more domestic visitors who have indicated they are scaling back international travel plans—but until financial stability returns and consumer confidence rises, it is likely to be an interesting, and potentially challenging summer for mountain destinations,” he concluded.
Image courtesy Vail Resorts
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See below for more SGB Media coverage of the shift in travel to the U.S.
EXEC: Are Canadians Boycotting Western U.S. Ski Destinations?
