Western mountain destinations are coming off a strong spring and are on pace for another record-setting season of lodging, according to travel technology provider Inntopia.
Compared to 2017, occupancy was up 8.7 percent in May with revenue up 10.4 percent. Looking forward, the outlook is equally positive with occupancy pacing ahead of last year in four of the next six months and revenue up 5.0 percent with positive gains in each of the next six months.
Whether performance can remain above the pace set in 2017 is yet to be determined after bookings made in May for summer months dropped 4.3 percent compared to 2018. An additional challenge is presented in the 4th of July holiday falling on a midweek. Thus far, numbers for July look promising with revenue pacing up 4.5 percent in July despite a slight decline of -0.7 percent in occupancy.
“One of the challenges lodgers and communities will face this year will be the 4th of July holiday, which falls on Wednesday in 2018 and may impact what is traditionally the strongest summer month for mountain destinations,” observed Tom Foley, vice president of Business Intelligence for Inntopia. “Without the holiday falling closer to a weekend, it hurts the opportunity for guests to extend their stays and will certainly play a role in July’s final performance.”
