Aspen Sees Higher Winter Occupancy Than Last Year

Despite sporadic ski conditions this season, Aspen lodging has seen higher overall rates than last year. 

The combined Aspen Snowmass occupancy rate since November is 52%, compared to 51.4% between last November and April, according to a report conducted by the Aspen Skiing Company, the Aspen Chamber Resort Association, and Snowmass Tourism.

And that’s with a current Roaring Fork Valley snow water equivalent at 92% of the median, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The snow water equivalent measures the total amount of water contained in a snowpack.

“Specific to Aspen, while snowfall is important, we seem to enjoy pretty steady occupancy regardless of snowfall,” said Eliza Voss, vice president of destination marketing at the Aspen Chamber. 

Aspen’s January occupancy was 2.4% higher than last January, with a rate of 72.2%, while Snowmass’ January occupancy was 2.4% less than the same month last year, at a rate of 70.8%, according to the report. As of Jan. 31, Aspen Snowmass combined occupancy in February was 71.8%, 1.2% higher than last year’s rate.

“The season is shaping up nicely and continues to deliver balanced and well spread-out visitation, which is a key goal for us to maximize returns, employee satisfaction, and guest experience,” SkiCo and Stay Aspen Snowmass wrote in a press release. 

However, they predicted mid-month storms during high travel times to have affected end of month numbers. This year, large snowfall lined up with both President’s Day weekend and Thanksgiving week.

“It has been the case this season where our high snowfall days have also been high volume of traffic days,” Voss said. “So it impacts people’s ability to get here.”

Nevertheless, current trends point to higher occupancy than last year, according to the report. 

But Voss said it’s worth noting that occupancy doesn’t necessarily mean more rooms in Aspen are booked. While it accounts for the percentage of open rooms booked, the total number of available rooms varies depending on how many lodging businesses are operating, which could skew the numbers.

Compared to the 2023/24 winter, January 2025 had more “room nights” booked, while December 2024 had fewer, Voss said.

By: Skylar Stark-Ragsdale I The Aspen Times I March 3, 2025