Despite a still-struggling economy, but bolstered by one of the best snow seasons in recent memory, Colorado’s ski resorts hosted between 2.6 and 3.9 percent more skiers and riders this season than last season. I use the word “between” since Colorado Ski Country USA’s 22 member resorts posted a 2.6 percent increase while Vail Resorts, a publicly-traded company that’s not a member of Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA), posted a 3.9 percent increase.
CSCUSA’s member resorts brought in 6.9 million skier visits this season, or 179,371 more than last season. Add in Vail Resorts' skier visit numbers, subtracting Vail's Northstar-at-Tahoe and Heavenly properties in California, and the total is about a tick or two above 12 million skier visits statewide.
How those skier visits panned out amongst individual ski resorts is anybody’s guess, excepting CSCUSA and the ski resorts, who know the numbers and obviously don't need to guess. Most resorts don’t release individual numbers, but some may over the next couple of weeks, so check back here for more stats as they become available.
My guess is that the resorts along the I-70 corridor and Steamboat fared best in skier visits, simply based on the fact that the constant lineup of storms mostly favored the northern and central mountains. Great snow tends to bring bigger numbers and though none of Colorado’s resorts suffered from a lack of snow, word gets out about who’s having a truly epic season.
However, great snow, coupled with bitterly cold temps can also keep people away at key times. It was around Christmas and New Year’s that the snow was falling nicely, but so was the mercury. Road closures were more frequent this winter and that short bout of extra-cold temps probably kept some people who may have headed up otherwise to stay home.
Early season snow allowed resorts to open earlier and to open more terrain by Thanksgiving, contributing to an early season year-over-year increase of around 10 percent. CSCUSA also reported an increase in international and in-state skier visits, while domestic destination skier visits were slightly down, thanks or no thanks to good snowfall across the U.S.
The National Ski Areas Association reported in early May that preliminary survey results showed national skier visits rose 0.6 percent from last season to 60.1 million skier and snowboarder visits this past season, just short of the 60.5 million visit record set in 2007-2008.
CSCUSA did not report on retail sales, lodging, dining, rentals and other revenue, but there was more good news from Vail Resorts, which posted 8-9 percent revenue increases, and the Mountain Travel Research Program’s summary of Colorado lodging properties.
According to the Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP),the 2010-11 winter season ended with a 5.3 percent increase in occupancy compared to the 2009-10 season. Results were obtained from the Reservations Activity Outlook report that collects lodging data from 10 major Colorado resorts including the Vail Resorts.
The summary also revealed that the average daily rate among participating resorts was up 1.6 percent and that increases in both occupancy and nightly rate combined for a 7.0 percent increase in the Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR), a commonly used measurement in the lodging industry.
“MTRiP’s lodging data is distinct from skier and snowboard visits because it tracks destination guests,” explained Ralf Garrison, MTRiP’s director. While occupancy dropped during the early part of the recent recession, it is bouncing back. The long-haul destination guest started traveling again and it is certainly good news that Colorado enjoyed increases in both overall skier visits and destination occupancy.”
The analysis also revealed that MTRiP resorts outside of Colorado outperformed the state in occupancy with non-Colorado resorts reporting an aggregate increase of 11 percent in occupancy while cumulatively, those resorts experienced a 1.6 decrease in average daily rate.
“Though other western resorts experienced a greater increase in occupancy than Colorado, those destinations were unable to increase rates from last season’s level as Colorado did, albeit modestly,” said Tom Foley, MTRiP analyst. “It is another example of how rate sensitivity continues to be key to the strategic decision-making process, and shows how even moderate year-over-year discounting has an impact on occupancy.”
Don’t forget that the season has not officially ended since Arapahoe Basin is open for at least two more three-day weekends, starting today through Sunday, and then back up and running the following weekend, June 17-19. July 4 weekend is up in the air, but still a distinct possibility. A-Basin currently has a 77-inch mid-mountain base so it will be a race against warmth and the resulting snow melt to see if July 4 is viable. As always, keep it tuned here for the latest…
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