After several months of slowdown, mountain resorts across the Western U.S. are seeing a spike in summertime booking activity, according to new data from Inntopia's DestiMetrics division.
According to DestiMetrics, bookings made in June for arrivals between June through November were up 6.9% from a year earlier. DestiMetrics tracks mountain lodging across Colorado, Utah, California, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.
The biggest gains were made among bookings with short lead times -- June bookings rose 16.5% and July bookings increased 26.9%. July occupancy had been down 8.6% at the end of May and was only down 3.9% as of June 30, which DestiMetrics characterized as "a significant recovery." Average daily rate (ADR) for June was up 6.9%, helping to buoy revenue for the month. Revenue was up 6.2% from last June.
DestiMetrics credited a sunnier economic outlook for improved performance, citing a sharp rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average in June as well as recent improvements across the Consumer Confidence Index and the Consumer Sentiment Index.
Despite June's positive booking trends, occupancy for the full summer from May through October remains down 3.6%, with August and September "still struggling," according to DestiMetrics.
When compared to summer 2019, this year's summer occupancy is down 7.8%. ADR, however, is up 41.2% from 2019, driving a 30.7% increase in summer revenue from 2019.
"Daily rates are very much the story again this month as year-over-year rates have actually ticked up very slightly since May 31 despite all the inflationary pressure," said Tom Foley, senior vice president of Business Intelligence for Inntopia.