Media Contact:  Joan Christensen, joanccommunications@gmail.com, 970 509-0710

  THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE CONFUSING--LODGING DATA AT WESTERN MOUNTAIN RESORTS

Winter Park, Colo. July 15, 2025—The booking pace for occupancy at western mountain destinations finally ticked up slightly in June for the first time since last November while revenues also posted a comfortable year-over-year increase. And while that is good news for the properties participating in DestiMetrics* data collection and reporting services, a few caveats in the data create a more mixed evaluation of the results. Most notably, there are currently 47,000 fewer available room nights this summer compared to last year and that significant change to the equation makes it challenging to provide a clear comparison to last year’s data set.

The most recent monthly Market Briefing released by Inntopia, highlighted several data points that indicate a positive upward shift in lodging activity for guests arriving between June 1 and Nov. 30 with properties in the economy-priced categories struggling more than the moderately and luxury-priced category—a reversal from last month when economy properties were having more success capturing bookings. Bookings from international visitors continued to decline in year-over-year comparisons with Canada dropping yet again and is now down 58.3 percent while western Europe is down 39.2 percent, Mexico is flat after being up 6.5 percent in early June, and new to the mix this month, the Oceania region including Australia and New Zealand is down 20.5 percent.

“This month’s report had a lot of contradictions, driven primarily by changes in available inventory this year compared to last, which can alter year-over-year comparisons like occupancy,” explained Tom Foley, senior vice president of Business Intelligence for Inntopia and author of the monthly Market Briefing. “While it was very encouraging to see the end of the six-month decline streak in booking pace, that positive news is really window dressing because when we simply count the number of room nights booked—called pure demand—pace was down. And even though inventory shifts happen regularly in rental unit management, this month’s decline is so steep that contradictions in the data needed to be clarified.”

June Moves Up

Actual occupancy during June moved up 2.6 percent compared to last June while 

the Average Daily Rate (ADR) edged up 0.8 percent and the combination yielded a 3.4 percent gain in aggregated revenue for the month. When factoring in the pure demand aspect of the data, bookings made in June for June arrivals were up 1.2 percent compared to last June.

Summer into Fall

As of June 30, occupancy for the full summer from May through October was down a scant 0.4 percent compared to last year with the months of June, August, and October showing increases. In contrast, May, July, and September are currently posting moderate declines with the most significant being in July—down 4.2 percent. Daily rates also showed greater strength and are now up four percent for the summer with the month of September showing the most growth. However, pure demand was down 1.9 percent for all summer months with declines in all months except October—revealing a different, and less positive scenario.

Foley went on to clarify that “although pure demand pace softened in June and is down for the season, absolute revenue picked up during the month with properties finding the right balance of rate and volume to nudge revenue from a 1.7 percent gain for the summer as of May 31 to a two percent gain as of June 30,” he offered.  “This is another example of somewhat muddled results of properties are performing because even though there were fewer nights booked during June this year, room rates edged up month-over- month and year-over-year, giving the bottom line a much-needed boost,” he added. 

The Economy

Once again, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was up and closed on June 30 with a robust 4.3 percent gain--more than 1824 points—and its highest monthly close since January. Credit for the surge was due to an easing of trade tensions with China and de-escalation of military action in the Iranian/Israeli conflict. Strong corporate earnings also encouraged action from investors. Tempering the good news though was the downgrading of the US credit rating, persistent inflation, and anxiety about tariff threats.

Consumers expressed mixed views during June as the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) released by the Conference Board slid back 5.5 percent after strong growth in May and marks the fifth time in the past six months that the CCI has lost ground. It is now 10 points below its 24-month average. Tariff and inflation were cited as the primary reasons for the retreating optimism although geo-political concerns were also reported. Declines were in almost all age groups, income levels, and political affiliations. In a flip from recent months, the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) moved up 8.5 points in July for the first increase since December 2024. Although more positive than the CCI, concerns about inflation and an economic slowdown were reported by these respondents and the CSI remains seven points below its 24-month average.

“Although both of these indices remain below their two-year averages, both are now appreciably more positive than they were two months ago,” noted Foley. “And this month’s inflation report is likely to be one of the most consequential for consumers in some time.”

The unemployment rate and job creation both remained stable in June for the third consecutive month. Employers added 147,000 new jobs and the Unemployment Rate ticked down from 4.2 to 4.1 percent. Further evidence of employment stability was the upward adjustment of a combined 16,000 new positions for April and May.

Keeping an eye on

Booking Pace was up during June for the first time in six months, bringing an end to the longest streak for declining bookings since the pandemic in 2020. Bookings for arrival in all six months from June through October were up year-over-year. But, the calculation is skewed because of the sharp reduction in room nights available for rent. By calculating the number of nights booked based on 47,000 fewer room nights, the result is a higher percentage of bookings—up 4.8 percent. But when compared to last year looking strictly at the number of actual bookings based on the Demand Pace, it is down 1.7 percent compared to last year.

“Demand Pace is a term we use to better assess our booking pace because there is always some fluctuation in available inventory,” explained Foley. “When we have such a big drop in the number of available nights as we have this summer—whether for personal owner use, dropping out of a rental program, or selling a unit—it changes the calculation and we need to understand both equations.”

4^th of July weekend improved, but the rest of the month is faltering.  Expectations for the three-day holiday weekend were high and bookings for occupancy picked up from the end of May for some modest year-over-year increases with July 4 up 2.8 percent while July 5 rose 4.2 percent. However, much of the rest of the month remains down with only four of the 31 days in the month posting gains over last July.

Economy properties are struggling as Moderate and Luxury properties show more resilience. Although economy-priced lodging at $250/night and below had a good month in May, they are currently dealing with a 7.8 percent decline in summer occupancy along with a 5.3 percent decline in revenue. Moderate properties at $251-$400/night and Luxury at $401/night and above both posted increases in occupancy, rate, and revenues with Luxury showing the greatest strength with rates up 3.2 percent and occupancy up three percent.

Daily Rates continue to strengthen. June recorded the strongest seasonal gain in the ADR since April 2023, moving up 0.3 percent to reach a four percent increase in a year-over-year comparison. While absolute demand is down, suggesting some rate intolerance among some consumers, other visitors, particularly those booking in the Luxury category are still booking.

“We’re definitely seeing a mixed bag of news this month with better economic news and a monthly booking pace that has finally stopped declining,” observed Foley. “Although most nights in the crucial month of July are weak compared to last year and summer demand is sinking, lodging suppliers appear to have found a sweet spot by getting higher value guests even though they are seeing fewer of them—and that balancing act between rate and occupancy is keeping revenue in the black for now,” he concluded.

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*DestiMetrics, part of the Business Intelligence platform for Stowe-based Inntopia, tracks  lodging performance in resort destinations. Each month, the forward-looking reservation data is compiled and aggregated with individualized results for each region and distributed monthly to subscribers at participating resorts. Approximately 28,000 lodging units in 17 mountain destination communities across Colorado, Utah, California, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho contribute to the data pool, and represent an aggregated 55 percent of all available rental units in those regions. Results may vary significantly among/between resorts and participating properties.