Winter Park, Colo. Aug. 14, 2026—Although occupancy, daily rates, and revenue were almost unchanged from June at western mountain destinations during July, the booking pace during July for arrivals from July through December was up 3.1 percent—as customers opted for lower-priced months and properties. Early strength for December played a role as customers jumped on early ski season lodging offers that were below last season’s rates in some cases. However, new tariff threats dampened bookings from Canada while increasing cancellations from that country. Results for the full summer remain strong and steady according to the most recent monthly Market Briefing from DestiMetrics, released by Inntopia.* The data is compiled from 17 mountain destinations across seven western states through July 31. Price sensitivity continued to emerge as customers pursued lower rates by opting for lower demand times or capturing attractive promotional offers.

July was good, not great

Occupancy for the month of July was up 1.8 percent year-over-year compared to July 2025, while the Average Daily Rate (ADR) was up a solid six percent leading to a 7.9 percent gain in monthly revenue. The 4^th of July weekend gets most of the credit for the small occupancy gain with a strong visitation performance while much of the rest of the month was essentially flat. However, moderately strong room rates delivered solid revenues.

Summer edges up

As of July 31, full summer occupancy from May through October is up 2.7 percent with improvement in all six months—most notably a 7.4 percent gain for the month of September. ADR captured a solid 5.7 percent gain—also with increases in all six months led by May with an 8.3 percent increase. Occupancy and rate gains combined to deliver an 8.6 percent gain in summer revenues.

“Thankfully there’s not much drama this month, and that’s good news for fans of strength and stability,” reported Tom Foley, director of Business Intelligence for Inntopia.  “Last month’s moderate occupancy gains, strong rates, and healthy revenue held steady this month, giving suppliers a little breathing room as they recover from lost ground last winter.” 

Also providing an encouraging boost to lodging properties was a 3.1 percent year-over-year gain in bookings made in July for arrivals between July 1 and Dec. 31. “Although 3.1 percent isn’t a significant gain, it does mark the second consecutive gain in booking pace and the third uptick in the past four months which is a welcome reversal from a consistently negative pace last winter,” added Foley. 

Strong, middling, and weak—the economy had something for everyone

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was essentially flat in July, rising only 0.3 percent or 165.83 points and marks the weakest month for the DJIA since the Iran war triggered a 5.4 percent decline in March. However, it is still the fourth consecutive monthly record close for the index.  “Traders were bullish about strong earnings in July but energy instability and continued high inflation continues to put a damper on consumers—including higher-end travelers who are starting to feel the same pinch that more moderate and economy-centric consumers are experiencing according to our data,” noted Foley. 

As is frequently the case this year, the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) tracked by the Conference Board and the Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) from the University of Michigan moved in different directions during July. The CCI dipped 1.4 points to 92.2 and is the nineteenth consecutive year-over-year decline in the CCI which has been below the crucial benchmark of 100 points since January 2025. In contrast, the CSI moved up 5.7 points to 55.2 but even with the bump, remains far below its historic average. “Both indices have been below historical averages since early 2025 and consumer negativity that has been posing some challenges for economy-priced properties has now spread to the Moderate tercile and more recently, the Luxury category,” explained Foley.

Job creation and the National Unemployment Rate were both down in July as new job creation fell considerably below estimates—losing 23,000 positions during the month when 80,000 new jobs were expected—a net decline of 103,000. May and June job creation numbers were also adjusted down. However, the unemployment rate dipped from 4.2 to 4.1 percent—mainly due to worker and job seekers leaving the workforce. The Accommodations sector lost 23,500 positions while Food Services added a modest 2,600.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) edged up a slight 0.1 percent in July, but the National Inflation Rate remained high at 3.4 percent—although it has retreated from the 4.2 percent rate recorded in May. This is the fifth consecutive month that inflation has been above three percent. Although gas prices dipped slightly, they remain up a dramatic 24.6 percent from July 2025 while airfares are up 25.5 percent in a year-over-year comparison. Foley pointed out that “these high prices coupled with consumer prices rising faster than wages is putting pressure on lodging rates and we are seeing that in the data as even luxury consumers are pulling back and economy-minded consumers remain tentative.”

Watching closely….

International bookings, mostly Canadian cool off: Earlier this summer, bookings from Canadian visitors were building until a fresh round of tariff threats in July put the brakes on that recovery. While May, June, and early July bookings were starting to outpace 2025, the tariff announcements prompted Canadian consumers to pull back sharply on new bookings while cancellations for travel to US mountain destinations spiked. However, total international gains are still being posted because of the huge volume of Canadian visits. Despite the announcement, Canadian bookings are up 16.6 percent compared to last summer (down from 20.1 percent at the beginning of July), Mexican bookings are down 23.9 percent, Western Europe is down 9.3 percent, and Oceania is down 15.6 percent. All four markets have declined in the last month.

Length-of-Stay was almost unchanged during July but for the remaining three summer months—August through October, are up appreciably—from 0.42 nights in August to a dramatic 0.57 nights in October. These fractional numbers translate into significant dollars with the aggregated revenues for these bookings generating an additional $20.4 million in August, $13.7 million in September, and $6.3 million in October. Additionally, less turnover of rooms offers cost savings by turning rooms for new guests less frequently. 

Booking Lead Times Keep Extending: The time between the date a booking is made, and the arrival date is continuing to extend this year—quite a bit further than any time in the past. The lead-time for bookings made during July was for 51.1 days in advance—about six days longer than last year and 18 days longer than in 2019. “Lead times have been up since January when consumers were deferring winter bookings to the summer months due to the sketchy snow conditions,” assessed Foley. “Now, higher summer prices are driving some consumers into the more attractively priced fall months while other consumers are booking winter trips early as many destinations are promoting discounted early season pricing in an effort to ward off the hesitancy that follows a low snowfall year—a ‘snow hangover’ as we call it.”

Luxury properties still dominate—but some guests are trading down: The Luxury category at $401/night and above still dominates in pricing with an 11.5 percent gain in summer revenues. The moderate tercile at $251 to $400/night posted modest gains in occupancy and rates leading to revenues that were up 5.3 percent while the economy-priced category up to $250/night eked out a 0.1 percent gain in occupancy, but rates were down and revenues finished down 1.8 percent for the month. “Despite the strong performances this summer, there are some interesting things going on that may have long-term consequence heading into the winter booking season,” observed Foley. “Some price pressure warnings that appeared back in November are starting to clearly play out in the data. Luxury consumers are the core of mountain travelers and they have been economically resilient until now. “But they are changing their behavior, focusing on less-expensive products, off-season bargain hunting, and shorter stays in peak periods.”

“From a performance perspective, this is shaping up to be an excellent summer both compared to last year and overall and better than expected given the extreme lack of precipitation for much of the past year and the challenges posed by some big wildfires and smoky conditions,” Foley acknowledged. “But there are clues in the data that reveal that the reliable, high-end consumer is also feeling the economic pinch as evidenced by weaker bookings in the pricier month of July while the more affordably priced months of September and October posted healthy increases. And December is seeing a nice booking boost right now that can likely be attributed to significantly lower daily rates for the early ski season,” he continued. “At this point, we’ll be watching closely to see if these trends continue since they could have a significant impact on the upcoming winter season,” he concluded.

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

Inntopia was acquired by Outside Interactive in 2025 to bring travel booking and marketing functionality to Outside’s audience of more than 190 million active users across outdoor leading brands like Outside Magazine, SKI, GaiaGPS, MapMy Fitness, Pinkbike, Yoga Journal, and more.