Denver, Colo., May 18, 2020—Approximately two months after destination resorts scattered throughout the Southeast were expected to launch their all-important summer season, widespread uncertainty due to the Covid-19 pandemic have brought destination visits to participating resorts to an almost virtual halt. According to the Monthly Market Briefing released last by DestiMetrics and Inntopia, occupancy, rates, and revenue are being battered by the health and economic …

Hopes for a “normal” summer are 120 days out of reach

Denver, Colo., May 15, 2020—Just six weeks after the winter season was abruptly ended on March 15 in the wake of complete ski resort closures mandated by the Covid-19 pandemic, mountain destinations “officially” ended the 2019-20 ski season at the end of April. As mountain towns emptied out quickly, lodging properties in six western …

Destination travel is still extremely low even as golf courses reopen. The result? An increased focus on local markets.

Like all constraints, the need to skew your visitors towards locals is driving some impressive creativity, smart ideas, and effective marketing. Here are a few things resorts are doing that caught our attention.

Frequency Products

Products and offers designed for golfers who are able to stop …

As talk around the country turns to reopening, recovery, and steps toward a return to normal, the same discussion is taking place around destination travel. As we ponder what that looks like, there are a lot of opportunities to explore the who, what, when, where, why, and how of it all. Below are questions prompted by a few ideas. Some are obvious, some less-so, but …

Based on Inntopia transactional data, average daily rate (ADR) for lodging transactions across destination travel markets is beginning to show some pattens. Some of the early ADR shock that followed the February 24 market freefall and then the cascade of events in early March have softened. ADR for bookings and rebookings being transacted April 15 for arrival dates up to the end of July is …

Denver, Colo., April 17, 2020—What was looking like a strong finish to the winter season at destination mountain resorts in mid-February has become a dramatically different picture since the Covid-19 pandemic swept the United States and the entire globe in the past weeks. The complete shutdown of nearly every ski resort at the height of the spring break crowds has left resorts, lodging properties, and …

BRADENTON, Fla., April 17, 2020—In less than 30 days, the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the entire U.S. and the world and left five destination resorts in three Southeast states with a completely reversed scenario for the coming summer months. In the most recent Monthly Market Briefing released yesterday by DestiMetrics and Inntopia, dramatic declines were reported for bookings and revenues for the full summer season …

In last weeks Inntopia Family Kitchen Table conversation, I kicked off the call with a dive into what numbers we are all watching to know how and when to ramp up our marketing. It’s a tough place to be in. Nobody wants to insensitive or say the wrong thing during a tricky time, but we’ve gotta get some revenue in the door ASAP.

So we …

You may not realize it, but your experience has probably given you skills that local clinics and first responders could benefit from.

We’d encourage everyone in travel to get out there and offer their skills. Reach out to local clinics or friends in healthcare. Post an offer to help on social media. Text a few friends. I think you’ll be surprised by how many small, …

We’re providing this narrative as a proactive discussion about the potential impacts of the spreading COVID-19 virus, its economic consequences, and the potential impact on the destination travel industry.

We’re watching the global outbreak of the virus with concern for those whose health is directly impacted, and – more to our expertise – for the potential impact on the destination travel industry. For the past …

Let me try to summarize a sentiment I’ve heard over and over again within travel.

“It’s kind of ironic that they had 10 people at the booth when they sold me on their platform, yet now that I need some help I can’t seem to get a single person on the phone.”

What travel professionals across the industry are describing in this sentiment is what …

Whether it’s Black Friday, Cyber Monday or Travel Tuesday, the Cyber 5 or Cyber Week, the week after Thanksgiving is big for online shopping. Travel bookings have increased during this traditional retail shopping stretch, and more and more consumers actively seek out travel experiences and deals.

In 2013 we published our first email domain analysis. In 2015, we followed up on that analysis to look at what, if any, changes had occurred in the email provider landscape. Now, in 2019, we figured it was time to run the numbers one more time. Here’s what we found.

The Goods
To find our answer, we once again took a sample of golf resorts, …

Denver, Colo., July 18, 2019—After nearly seven years of consistent year-over-year growth, aggregated lodging results among 18 mountain communities in six western states is starting to experience small but measurable declines. The DestiMetrics’* monthly Market Briefing released yesterday by Inntopia, revealed that modest declines that started appearing more than a year ago are emerging as a slight, but consistent, negative trend.

For the month of …

DENVER, COLO., June 18, 2019— With four of the six summer months (March through August) already “in the bank” or on-the-books, Southeast destination resorts in five states are on a solid path to surpass last summer’s occupancy, room rate, and revenue figures. All six summer months are pacing ahead of last year according to the most recent DestiMetrics* Market Briefing released yesterday by Inntopia with …

Almost a decade ago during the first few months of SlopeFillers, I made a list of all the 2-for-1s I could find. I stopped at 28, but the list could have gone on and on. Likewise, there are dozens of perks offered by resorts in an effort to push season pass sales through the spring and summer. For example:

• Ski free in the spring
• Free

I want you to imagine two scenarios.

The first is getting invited to speak at a big university in a town you’ve never been to. “Just meet us at the back entrance of the Ray Bowen building at 6:00pm for a quick rehearsal” they say. The second is that same invitation but at your alma mater.

Picture in your mind being a few blocks away …

Guess what? This July 15 – 16, your guests are going to be primed to make a purchase. Yes, it’s a bit corny, but it’s true.

In just over two weeks, there’s an online shopping bonanza coming called Amazon Prime Day. Except this year, it’s actually two days. Your guests and prospects will likely have their wallets out, ready to pounce on a deal on …

Another year of email has come and gone. Time flies when you’re helping resorts send hundreds of millions of data-driven emails.

Before we jump into the results, some quick data behind the data:

• Data comes from a sample of 50 mountain resorts.
• In total, these charts represent tens of thousands of campaigns sent to more than 2 billion recipients.
• This is a review of winter

Denver, Colo., March 19, 2019—A winter season that began on a downward trend in the wake of last year’s disappointing snow conditions, is now moving towards new records for occupancy and revenue, thanks to a strong economy and generous snowfall across most of North America. Inntopia released their monthly DestiMetrics* Market Briefing for the West yesterday and as of Feb. 28, actual occupancy for the …