Lodging numbers looking up this summer
Telluride area growing as a summer destination
By Collin McRann
Staff reporter
It’s shaping up to be another busy summer in Telluride and Mountain Village as hotel bookings are up, and a full roster of festivals is on the way.
According to the Telluride Tourism Board, bookings are up over last summer. Compared with those made during May of last year, reservations for June, July and August are all ahead. That’s good news because last summer more people came and stayed in Telluride than the previous one and some records were broken.
Last May, local lodgers reported that around 33 percent of their rooms were booked for June, and this May bookings shot up to 38 percent. Though it’s just the beginning of summer, President of the TTB Michael Martelon said the outlook is good.
“If that pacing stays steady as we go, then we will have an opportunity to do better overall than last summer,” Martelon said. “Which of course was better than the summer before. We had a record summer last year in town.”
According to the Telluride Tourism Board, bookings are up over last summer. Compared with those made during May of last year, reservations for June, July and August are all ahead. That’s good news because last summer more people came and stayed in Telluride than the previous one and some records were broken.
Last May, local lodgers reported that around 33 percent of their rooms were booked for June, and this May bookings shot up to 38 percent. Though it’s just the beginning of summer, President of the TTB Michael Martelon said the outlook is good.
“If that pacing stays steady as we go, then we will have an opportunity to do better overall than last summer,” Martelon said. “Which of course was better than the summer before. We had a record summer last year in town.”
July’s bookings are looking good as well — up about five percentage points, and August is up around four points. And on top of the increase in reservations, the average daily rate (ADR) is also up. The ADR is a measure of the average amount charged for rooms in the region. Martelon said the predicted ADR for June is $215, up about $16. It is up $8 for July and $20 for August. Though September’s numbers are looking flat they could easily improve as the summer goes on.
Martelon said it’s hard to nail down a single reason for the increasing lodging numbers, but he said the area really sells itself. Along with the beautiful scenery of the San Juans, each festival brings its own set of visitors, and the Ride the Rockies event provided an extra boost this year. The tour started in Telluride on June 9 and brought thousands to town, and Martelon said some lodgers were fully booked, which is not common so early in the season.
At the New Sheridan Hotel on Colorado Avenue, summer has been in full swing since May.
“May was really strong for us, and this June is right on track, even up a little bit, from last year,” said Mike Johnson, manager of the New Sheridan Hotel, on Friday. “Bluegrass and Wine Festival are always really strong for us. And we just had a really strong early season with the bike tour. And this weekend there’s a couple weddings in town, and a lot of people are here for Jerry Joseph playing at the Opera House.”
Over the past few years there has been a lot of discussion in Telluride and Mountain Village about how to get occupancy rates up. There have been numerous suggestions, but in January the TTB, Telluride Ski & Golf and the Colorado Flights Alliance (formerly TMRAO) announced they would be collaborating to bring the average occupancy levels up to 50 percent within the next five years. The plan involves offering more flights to the region, new marketing efforts and other measures.
Officials are happy to see the numbers increasing and attribute it to a number of reasons.
“Ultimately people are gravitating toward our destination,” Martelon said. “Why that is: It can be the marketing of the lodging properties, it can be the public relations push that we’ve been putting on for the past two years and it can be being ranked No.1 in ski resorts by the readers of Condé Nast.”
This summer, Martelon said the TTB will also be utilizing information it collected about its marketing from last summer to better target its efforts.
The Telluride Bluegrass Festival, which is set to begin on Thursday, is one of the busiest weeks of the year in Telluride.
Martelon said it’s hard to nail down a single reason for the increasing lodging numbers, but he said the area really sells itself. Along with the beautiful scenery of the San Juans, each festival brings its own set of visitors, and the Ride the Rockies event provided an extra boost this year. The tour started in Telluride on June 9 and brought thousands to town, and Martelon said some lodgers were fully booked, which is not common so early in the season.
At the New Sheridan Hotel on Colorado Avenue, summer has been in full swing since May.
“May was really strong for us, and this June is right on track, even up a little bit, from last year,” said Mike Johnson, manager of the New Sheridan Hotel, on Friday. “Bluegrass and Wine Festival are always really strong for us. And we just had a really strong early season with the bike tour. And this weekend there’s a couple weddings in town, and a lot of people are here for Jerry Joseph playing at the Opera House.”
Over the past few years there has been a lot of discussion in Telluride and Mountain Village about how to get occupancy rates up. There have been numerous suggestions, but in January the TTB, Telluride Ski & Golf and the Colorado Flights Alliance (formerly TMRAO) announced they would be collaborating to bring the average occupancy levels up to 50 percent within the next five years. The plan involves offering more flights to the region, new marketing efforts and other measures.
Officials are happy to see the numbers increasing and attribute it to a number of reasons.
“Ultimately people are gravitating toward our destination,” Martelon said. “Why that is: It can be the marketing of the lodging properties, it can be the public relations push that we’ve been putting on for the past two years and it can be being ranked No.1 in ski resorts by the readers of Condé Nast.”
This summer, Martelon said the TTB will also be utilizing information it collected about its marketing from last summer to better target its efforts.
The Telluride Bluegrass Festival, which is set to begin on Thursday, is one of the busiest weeks of the year in Telluride.
For more information on this or Telluride real estate, please contact Telluride Real Estate Corp. at 970.728.3111, info@telluriderealestatecorp.com, or visit www.telluriderealestatecorp.com.
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