Winter tourism to finish strong while summer is trending down in Snowmass
Audrey Ryan/The Aspen Times
While paid occupancy in Snowmass is still slightly below last year’s levels, revenue is trending upward, according to the latest Destimetrics report.
The report, which is a collaboration among the Aspen Skiing Co., the Aspen Chamber Resort Association, and Snowmass Tourism, states paid occupancy as of Feb. 28 in Snowmass for the winter season is at 53.2% compared to 56.3% last year.
“I think we’re going to finish the season pretty strong from an occupancy perspective,” said Rose Abello, director of Snowmass tourism, at the monthly Tourism Talk in Snowmass.
She added that occupancy numbers are slightly “wonky” due to the Viewline and Wildwood being closed for a portion of last year, changing the denominator.
Revenue for both the month of February and the winter season is up from the past year. The average daily rate (ADR) is up 13.9%.
As of the Feb. 28 report, Snowmass ended the month of February down 5% from 2022 at 74.3 % paid occupancy. However, the daily occupancy report from Snowmass Tourism as of March 15 shows occupancy may finish strong.
“Overall, the winter season is up slightly in terms of occupancy but way up in terms of revenue,” Abello said.
According to Abello, Snowmass went into March down 4% in occupancy. April looks to be trending up 11% as of Feb. 28.
As for actual rooms sold year of year, the winter season is up 4.8% from last year, selling 113,790 rooms compared to last year’s 109,226.
“March is down about 1,000 room nights as of Feb. 28, so I think there’s some upside there. April’s looking strong,” said Abello.
Looking toward summer, reports show May through August is currently pacing down 17% from last year, a deficit shared between both resorts.
“June is doing well, up about 9%,” said she about Snowmass summer occupancy. “July and August are down 28-29% in terms of occupancy.”
She said she believes there is opportunity for group bookings in July and August because there is group space available. They do not have visibility into September as of yet.
Because summer numbers are low, the Snowmass Tourism marketing team has started planning how to increase tourism throughout the summer.
“Seeing how summer is pacing, we feel like it’s really important to make sure we are to market early. We’re planting the seed of inspiration for people to come here this summer,” said Virginia McNellis, Snowmass Tourism marketing director.
The summer campaigns launch April 1 and are focused on the “fly” markets, specifically markets that have nonstop flights into Aspen such as San Francisco, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York State, and the Front Range, she said. The “drive” markets will launch later in May.
“We’re definitely going to build on last summer’s campaign success,” she said. “We’re using what we learned about which messages performed, which channels performed to be able to get the best messages out.”
To reach Audrey Ryan, email her at aryan@aspentimes.com.
