Mountain Travel News

Ski/Snowboard Industry 2011/12 Season Wrap-up: Bright Spots Emerge but Skier Visits Plunge

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:55:13 +0000

After a record-setting season in the prior year, the 2011/12 ski season came up
against a formidable foe: the third-warmest winter on record in the U.S.
Although snowfall totals improved in the latter part of the season, particularly
in the west, anemic snowfall across much of the U.S. caused total skier visits
to plunge over 15% from last year. According to a preliminary report released by
the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), this season resulted in 51 million
visits, the fewest since 1991/92. This was in comparison to a record 60.54
million visits last year.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

More Americans plan on summer travel, surveys say

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:52:48 +0000

Americans plan to travel in slightly higher numbers this summer, according to surveys, starting with the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.

But many will hold the line on spending for items such as hotel stays and entertainment because of high fuel costs and rising airfares.

Source: The Boston Herald

Brands don’t scare boutiques in shaky economy

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:20:10 +0000

Though the broader market still remains challenging in the United Kingdom, boutique operators in the region are not deterred by the growing presence of several branded players in their sector.

The entry of brands such as InterContinental Hotel Group’s Indigo, with its seven properties in the U.K., and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide’s Aloft, with its lone hotel in London, will only raise the game of existing independents—if they compete at all, sources said.

Source: HotelNewsNow.com

Leveraging Pinterest, Instagram for hotels

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:18:46 +0000

Last time, I wrote some tips for busy hoteliers looking to save some time executing social-media strategies. Let’s say you have the basics under control, but now you’re looking to stay ahead of the curve and your competition by reaching new audiences with the latest social-media platforms. Pinterest and Instagram are the latest big social networks making a splash, and both provide opportunities for the travel and leisure industry to boost engagement.

Source: HotelNewsNow.com

The best trip planning sites might be those that focus on motivation, not inspiration

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:28:03 +0000

For many people travel is all about realising dreams, a brief respite from the daily grind of life and the chance to get inspired by places that they visit.

Perhaps.

At least that is what dozens of sites out there are trying to achieve – inspire people to travel, where are the cool places to go to make dreams a reality, etc, etc (to use some marketing-speak).

Source: tnooz

With the forecast for summer gas prices dropping, tourism officials are optimistic

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:26:10 +0000

Turns out that summer travelers may get some relief at the pump, as the government last week lowered its gasoline price forecast through the end of September, after initially estimating that filling up could cost almost $4 per gallon. Crediting falling oil prices, the Energy Information Institute adjusted its outlook through the summer driving session, setting average gas prices at $3.79 per gallon, about 16 cents per gallon below the previous outlook. On the year, gasoline prices are expected to average about $3.71 per gallon in 2012, and drop to $3.67 per gallon next year.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Snowboarding numbers trending downhill

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:16:55 +0000

Last November was a mirror image of November 2002 at Southern California’s
Mountain High ski area. The same amount of terrain was open for the same number
of days — and under nearly identical weather.

But in November 2002, the 80 percent snowboarder-filled Mountain High swarmed
with almost 80,000 visits. Last November, the 290-acre ski area saw barely
42,000 visits.

Source: The Denver Post

Americans traveling abroad in bigger numbers

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:49:25 +0000

Americans are dusting off their passports and seeing the world in big
numbers.

In the first two months of 2012, 8.1 million U.S. citizens traveled abroad, a
6% increase over the same period in 2011, according to data released Wednesday
by the U.S. Office of Travel & Tourism Industries.

Source: The Los Angeles Times

Summer air travel outlook: Packed flights

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:47:27 +0000

Travelers can expect U.S. airlines’ planes to
be full this summer as a record number of people make international flights, the
industry association Airlines for America reported Wednesday.In its annual summer forecast, the trade group for major U.S. airlines estimated
that 179.4 million passengers will fly on their planes inside the USA
from June to August, largely unchanged from last summer.

Source: USA Today

Summer Air Travel Forecast: Crowds

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:44:20 +0000

Vacation season promises to be crowded this summer, especially on overseas flights, and rising fuel prices will keep flying expensive.

The Airlines for America (A4A) annual summer forecast released today predicts more international fliers than ever before, while domestic flights hold steady at 2011 rates.

Source: ABC News

Summer Travel to Match Last Year’s Level

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:42:23 +0000

U.S. airlines are expected to carry 206.2 million passengers in the
June-August peak flying season, a number comparable to summer of 2011, according
to a trade group for the leading carriers.

The forecast by Airlines for America is 5% below the peak reached in the
summer of 2007, said John Heimlich, the group’s chief economist, when 217.6
million fliers boarded U.S. airlines.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Skier visits at US resorts fall in 2011-2012

admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 20:09:42 +0000

A trade group says preliminary numbers show U.S. ski areas tallied an estimated 51
million skier and snowboarder visits this past season, which represents a
roughly 15 percent drop from the previous season.Read More

Source: The Denver Post

Gas Prices Fall Just in Time for Summer

admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 20:02:50 +0000

You wouldn’t usually confuse the U.S. Energy Information Administration with the
Beach Boys, but the government says conditions are improving for drivers hoping
for an endless summer.The EIA slashed its forecast Tuesday for average gasoline prices during the
summer driving period, which runs from April to September. Instead of the
$3.95-per-gallon estimate it put out in April, the EIA now expects prices to average just $3.79 during the
period.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Snowless ski race helps connect dots between climate change, real problems

admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:53:49 +0000

Gnarly terrain greeted a group of climate change activists in Aspen over the weekend.

With skis strapped to their feet, the activists maneuvered around racing gates and through the grass and dirt on Aspen Mountain, where snow has mostly melted and the ski season closed weeks ago.

Source: The Colorado Independent

Ski areas in Rockies see 7.2 percent drop in visits; U.S. data worse

admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:51:38 +0000

In the worst ski season in 20 years, the winners stayed flat and the losers
lost big.

“I think we dodged a bullet,” said Dave Riley , chief of Telluride ski area,
where visitation remained steady through the 2011-12 season while nationally
visits fell 16 percent to 51 million, a 20-year low.

Source: The Denver Post

Survey Shows Americans Plan to Travel More This Summer with Value as Top Priority

admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:48:25 +0000

Nearly one-in-five (18%) Americans plan to take more vacation trips during this
summer than last summer but are keeping value for their travel dollars top of
mind, according to a national survey conducted online by Harris Interactive on
behalf of Choice Hotels International among 2,199 U.S. adults in April.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

RESULTS FROM SURVEY GIVE INSIGHT INTO MOUNTAIN TRAVEL INDUSTRY’S SOCIAL MEDIA SOPHISTICATION

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:12:39 +0000

BCF, a marketing communications firm specializing in marketing travel, hospitality and lifestyle brands, recently partnered with the Mountain Travel Symposium (MTS) to launch the inaugural MTS | BCF Social Media Survey, querying resort leaders about their current social media practices. Results of the survey were presented at the recent MTS annual conference, held in Squaw Valley, California, and prompted a call for industry leaders to implement key findings into prescriptions for change and improvement. The goals of the study were to gauge the effectiveness of social media marketing in the mountain travel industry, to demonstrate how to improve the use of social media and to help ski areas, destinations and hotels of calculate a meaningful return on their social media investment.

Huge snow storms in March saved the season for Lake Tahoe ski resorts

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:03:28 +0000

The “Miracle March” that became the battle cry for all Lake Tahoe resorts actually arrived, saving the season somewhat.

Two Tahoe ski resorts are still open for skiing and snowboarding in May – Kirkwood and Alpine Meadows. Kirkwood will close on Sunday (May 6), while Alpine is open next Friday through Sunday (May 13), when it will be the last Lake Tahoe ski resort to shut down for skiing and snowboarding for the 2011-12 season.

Source: examiner.com

Employment Situation Summary

admin — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:24:49 +0000

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 115,000 in April, and the unemployment
rate was little changed at 8.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today. Employment increased in professional and business services,
retail trade, and health care, but declined in transportation and warehousing.

Read More
Source: US Department of Labor

The Navigator: In vacation rentals, negative reviews and non-disparagement clauses

admin — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:22:58 +0000

Tom and Terri Dorow didn’t like their recent vacation rentalin Scottsdale, Ariz.

Their online review is clear about that. It’s a laundry list of complaints about equipment, appliances and even the appearance of a house they felt didn’t meet the expectations of a $3,500 price tag for five nights.

Source: The Washington Post

STR: Strong results forecasted this summer

admin — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:21:34 +0000

The U.S. hotel industry is expected to report strong performance results in summer 2012, according to STR’s summer forecast.

The summer season comprises June, July and August. When comparing against those three months combined in 2011, STR predicts occupancy for those three months combined to rise 1.8 percent to 69.0 percent, average daily rate to increase 3.9 percent to US$106.64 and revenue per available room to increase 5.7 percent to US$73.59.

Source: HotelNewsNow.com

Group business remains relatively anemic

admin — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:19:19 +0000

Although transient travel is showing signs of a sustained recovery, group business is lagging significantly behind.

For luxury, upper-upscale and upper-tier independent properties, year-over-year transient occupancy increased 4.5% in March, while group occupancy rose just 2.1%, according to data from STR, parent company of HotelNewsNow.com. Transient average daily rate grew 4%, while group ADR increased 2.3%.

Source: HotelNewsNow.com

Vail Resorts Reports Certain Ski Season Metrics for the Season-to-Date Period Ended April 22, 2012

admin — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:17:46 +0000

Vail Resorts, Inc. /quotes/zigman/173702/quotes/nls/mtn MTN
+7.19% today
reported certain ski season metrics for the comparative periods from the
beginning of the ski season through April 22, 2012, and for the prior year
period from the beginning of the season through April 24, 2011. The data
mentioned in this release are interim period data, exclude Kirkwood, which was
acquired on April 12, 2012, and are subject to fiscal quarter end review and
adjustments.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Revenue managers adapt to longer lead times

admin — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:15:59 +0000

Booking windows continue to lengthen, shifting direction in 2011 and steadily increasing on both the business and leisure sides through the first quarter of 2012, according to data from Pegasus Solutions.

In North America, the average lead time for leisure travelers is approaching pre-recession levels; globally, leisure lead times are meeting and exceeding pre-recession levels.

Source: HotelNewsNow.com

Ski Lift Retailer Liftopia Goes White Label, Lets Resorts Add E-Commerce To Their Own Sites

admin — Tue, 01 May 2012 18:20:47 +0000

Liftopia, the startup offering consumers discounts on ski tickets and other snow-related activities, is today launching a new e-commerce platform for the ticket sellers themselves called “Cloud Store by Liftopia.” The service will be offered for free to any mountain resort for use on their own websites (including mobile), starting first in North America, then followed by resorts in Europe. Once up-and-running, Cloud Store allows the resort to sell tickets using variable pricing – similar to how airline tickets, hotel stays and car rentals are sold today.

Source: TechCrunch

Expedia stock price soars after Q1 report

admin — Tue, 01 May 2012 17:51:29 +0000

Expedia Inc. shares soared to their highest value in seven years after
first-quarter results beat analysts’ expectations.

According to Bloomberg, Expedia’s stock was the best performer on Friday in
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

The results
were driven by 37% increase in room nights at Expedia’s Hotels.com brand,
contributing to a 24% total increase in hotel bookings.

Source: Travel Weekly

Ski areas not rushing ahead with summer projects

admin — Tue, 01 May 2012 17:47:09 +0000

A bill that was touted by Sen. Mark Udall as helping mountain resort economies won’t be having much impact this year, as very — if any — ski areas in Colorado are taking advantage of the new streamlined opportunity to install ziplines, rope courses, mountain bike terrain parks and trails and disk golf facilities.

Source: Summit County Citizens Voice

Airfares up for summer travel, likely to keep climbing

admin — Tue, 01 May 2012 17:35:12 +0000

If you’re flying this summer, you’ll probably pay more than you did last year.
And the price for a ticket to ride will likely keep rising for months to come.

Summer fares for trips in the USA
are up 3% on average over last year and 18% compared with 2010, according to
booking site Travelocity.

Source: USA Today

Have hottie? Will travel

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:31:02 +0000

“Traveling.” So, that’s what they’re calling it these days?

MissTravel.com, a new site
that launched in early April, aims to pair the beautiful people of the world
with the deep-pocketed for travel on the rich partner’s dime.

Delta, US Airways see strong travel demand

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:28:56 +0000

Rising fares haven’t kept passengers away, judging by financial results at Delta Air Lines and US Airways.

Both airlines reported quarterly profits on Wednesday. And both said travel demand appears to be holding up, suggesting that planes will be full and fares will be higher for the busy summer travel season.

Source: The Associated Press