At Aspen Snowmass, an prolonged ski season and uptick in occupancy, tourism | Information

A year into the pandemic, this week has not only delivered goods of the snow type, but also via promising signs at Aspen Snowmass to return to a sense of normalcy: a surge in tourism in one of the traditionally busiest months of the year, along with news about an extended ski season.

Aspen Skiing Co. announced Wednesday that the Snowmass ski area will remain open for skiing and horse riding until April 25, a week later than originally planned. At the same time, SkiCo published its occupancy report and the summary for the month of March, in which a “healthy dynamic” was advertised for all bookings.

“All [of] The positive news about our COVID-19 level switching to yellow, the opening of restaurants, vaccination rates, snowfall, events and a strong flight service all contribute to our success, “wrote Kristi Kavanaugh, Vice President of Sales at Aspen Skiing Co., in the report. In an interview with the Daily News in late January, Kavanaugh also predicted that tourism would pick up again in the second half of the ski season due to a “natural” surge in domestic tourism in the spring.

While SkiCo’s report was currently underutilized as the final numbers won’t be available until the end of the month, it was just under 50% two weeks ago. That number is likely higher now, however, as Aspen and Snowmass Village saw an increase in last minute bookings, likely due to one of the factors above.

“March also benefited from a strong booking month in February,” the report said. “We booked over 85% more stores for March arrivals in February than last year.”

In a “normal” year, Aspen Snowmass has a 75-80% utilization rate in March, according to Kavanaugh, who was unavailable by phone this week but answered questions by email.

“The story is clear that bookings are improving and we expect a strong end to the season,” Kavanaugh wrote in an email on Wednesday.

As of the February 28 report, March was down 30.7%. “However, given the rate of bookings we are currently experiencing, we should see improved performance by the end of the month,” the summary says.

The Aspen 2021 FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Championships, followed by the US Grand Prix, which takes place in Buttermilk today through March 21, will also affect occupancy in March, although it is not known to what extent this is unknown. Kavanaugh and other SkiCo executives were unable to quantify the impact of the international event from a tourism perspective on Wednesday.

More than 300 athletes are here for the World Championship, compared to less than 100 for X Games Aspen 2021. In accordance with COVID-19 guidelines and in line with other winter sports events at Buttermilk this season, X Games and the US Revolution Tour, spectators are not allowed to gather at the venue. Even those traveling with the athlete are not allowed to watch on-site, said Jeff Hanle, vice president of communications for Aspen Skiing Co.

Retrospective

Looking back over the past month, when February was “a much brighter month in terms of performance and overall good news,” the report said occupancy was still considerably low compared to historical averages.

The novel coronavirus, which was first documented in the US in January 2020 and closed the ski area until March 14, is also likely to have skewed the numbers early last year, the report said.

At the beginning of the month, February was 54.7% below the previous year’s figure, but rebounded at 46.4% at the end. Overall, February was down 42.3% from the previous year.

The occupancy rate in Aspen was 45.8% last month, a decrease of 42.3%. Snowmass occupancy reached 47.3% and also decreased 42.3%.

According to the report, bookings in the same month (i.e. planning a month of travel in February) exceeded last February’s by a staggering 193.7%.

‘Make up for lost time’

Despite the below-average snowpack through December and January, conditions have improved so much that Snowmass will remain open for skiing and horse riding until April 25th.

In terms of snow cover and general conditions, February “definitely caught up”, said Hanle on Wednesday.

“If we have the opportunity to extend the season, which we believe in one way or another, we will. We’re trying to say that if there’s good skiing out there and we can be open, we’ll be open, ”he said. “We’re going to throw it out there and try to find some light at the end of that long, dark tunnel.”

Details about the snow mass lift and the terrain will be announced closer to the extended week. “For now, keep doing your snow dances and make sure you finish your fun and funky spring ski costumes,” the announcement reads.

Under the heading “Compensate for lost time, ski an additional week”, SkiCo also reminded people that all four mountains extended their operating hours and that selected lifts ran until 4 or 4:15 pm

The news follows Pitkin County’s businesses that have been certified through the state’s 5-star program and given the green light to operate with blue-level restrictions. All SkiCo restaurants on and next to the mountain received the 5-star variant, which enables a capacity of 50% for up to 175 people. The resort recommends using the online ordering and Qless technology available on the Aspen Snowmass app to minimize waiting times and get the best experience possible.