March occupancy data for western winter resorts continued to show sharp differences between two subsets of the data — the Colorado and Utah (CO/UT) sub-region and the “Rest of the West” (RoW) sub-region, which includes California, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. The CO/UT sub-region has been a drag the entire season, as snow was hard to come by amid a warm, very dry season. The RoW sub-region, while still affected by weather and international travel issues, fared much better thanks to several strong snowfall events during the season. Still, it was nothing consistent.
The data, released by DestiMetrics in its monthly Market Briefing issued by Inntopia, revealed that the RoW sub-region was not immune, as warming temperatures arrived in March, and the booking pace in the sub-region declined for the first time since December. Still, the report authors saw some bright spots developing for the summer season as the booking pace appears to be rising.
Also evaluated in the Briefing was relevant economic news. A positive update on job creation was the sole bright spot in economic news as Wall Street took a big dive, inflation rose significantly and consumers were cautious.
“Along with abysmal snowfall and record-breaking warm temperatures during March, economic news conspired to continue dragging down the 2025/26 winter season,” DestiMetrics wrote in its March Market Briefing. “And despite a weak booking pace, western mountain lodging properties in 17 resort destinations are looking at strong early numbers for the upcoming summer as of March 31. Winter rates mostly held steady during the month, while summer rates rose appreciably.”
Tom Foley, director of Business Intelligence for Inntopia, noted, “Even though we still have one more month of winter to include in the seasonal data, the widespread early resort closures triggered by such challenging conditions mean that we’ve essentially reached the end of the season, and there is no hope for improved numbers as we run out the clock . To be fair, some destinations have done better than others, and the northern Rockies, the Sierras, and parts of the Cascades all had stretches of having a significant amount of terrain open. But as resorts wrap up this season on a mostly disappointing note, the focus has turned to building on the early summer momentum, which is pretty strong at this point.”
Actual March Results
Actual occupancy in March for the entire western region reportedly dropped by a significant 12 percent year over year. The Average Daily Rate (ADR) slipped down 2.2 percent, and the combination led to a 13.9 percent decline in aggregated monthly revenue.
Winter Season Occupancy Drops
Combining actuals and on-the-books data, occupancy for the full winter season from November through April across the West is down 6.7 percent with declines in all six months.
“Despite the snow and temperature challenges that persisted through the month, rate resilience continued with ADR managing to eke out a 1.3 percent year-over-year increase with growth in all six months except March, which finished down 2.2 percent,” the report noted. “However, those slightly higher daily rates were unable to offset the substantially lower occupancy, so aggregated seasonal revenues are down 5.6 percent with decreases in all six months.”
Foley said that rate strength was a bit of a double-edged sword for the season.
“While some consumers found it hard to justify the rates considering the conditions, those that did travel paid a little more this year than last for their lodging, which helped keep the revenue numbers better,” he commented. “It is not necessarily great news for travelers, but it was important for mountain economies that depend on supplier revenue to drive their businesses.”
Booking Pace Tumbles
Occupancy booking pace declined in both the CO/UT and RoW regions during March. Bookings made in March for arrivals from March through August reportedly declined sharply by 17.9 percent compared to the same period last year, marking the second steepest drop in the last 12 months and the sixth consecutive decline.
“Much of it comes from a decline in the RoW, which so far has been the more reliable region for booking pace this year,” Foley continued. “But when warm temperatures and deteriorating conditions emerged in March, their booking pace flipped into negative territory for the first time since December, compounding the weak pace recorded in CO/UT.”
Summer Continues to Improve
Occupancy on the books for May through October is apparently continuing to improve, posting growth of 4 percent compared to this time last year, with increases in all six months. ADR for the summer was reported up 6.5 percent with increases in all months. Growth in occupancy and rates is currently driving an early revenue gain of 10.8 percent year-over-year.
The Rest of the Data
The dollars and cents for winter once again declined, as 62,951 nights were booked in March for arrivals from March 1 to April 30, a dramatic 31,174 fewer nights than were booked last March for the same period. This was the third consecutive month that winter ADR for March bookings was down 23.5 percent. Reservations for arrivals in that period were worth $20.1 million this year compared to last year’s 39.3 million.
“These two steep drops delivered a shockingly large hit to revenue for the final two months of the season,” acknowledged Foley.
The dollars and cents for summer are moving up as of March 31. Room nights for arrivals from May 1 to Sept 30 are up a solid 6.5 percent over the same time last year, with ADR up 3.3 percent. The stronger occupancy and rates are currently showing an on-the-books increase of $7.7 million, or 9.9 percent, in summer revenue booked in March.
International winter demand improved slightly in March, driven by a modest increase in Canadian bookings. Overall bookings from international markets are down 27 percent year-over-year compared to last month, when they were down 29.5 percent. Although most of the improvement was due to Canadians, visits remain down a profound 30.1 percent for the season. International visits for summer are also down slightly but relatively stable. But when compared to the pre-tariff period, Canadian visits are down 43.3 percent, and Western European visitation is down 15.8 percent.
All pricing terciles lost ground in both occupancy and rate in March but were mostly balanced across the three categories — Economy, Moderate and Luxury. Economy properties, up to $400/night, have been the most stable and are down 6.4 percent in occupancy and 6.6 percent in revenue, but have lost the least ground since November. Occupancy at Moderate properties, priced between $401 and $749/night, and at the Luxury category, priced at $750/night and up, both sank in occupancy and revenue below that of the Economy properties.
“This winter has definitely become a slog to the finish line with very few, if any, changes expected in the final month,” said Foley. “At this point, everyone is turning their attention to the summer months and hoping the strong early foundation we are tracking continues, as some pent-up demand seems to be playing a role in the strong occupancy and rates we are seeing thus far. That said, the rising price of gas as the summer season is getting ready to launch, the anxiety about the Middle East conflict, some lingering long-term price sensitivity, and an underpinning of worry about forest fires following such a dry winter could all have an impact on how this summer unfolds.”
Image courtesy Beaver Creek Resort
