The slopes could be a little less crowded this winter.
And while that may be good news for powder enthusiasts, it’s bad news for local businesses that depend on tourism traffic.
Reservations between the opening day of ski season and Jan. 11 are down more than 20 percent relative to this date a year ago, according to Aspen Skiing Co. spokesman Jeff Hanle. But while early season bookings are dragging, late-season bookings are ahead of schedule. Bookings from now through spring are currently only down 5 percent.
“We’re not pushing the panic button,” SkiCo spokesman Jeff Hanle said. “We’re still going to open all our restaurants, all of our lifts and continue to keep the foot on the gas as far as marketing and sales.”
With potentially fewer skiers and riders able to afford ski vacations, resorts are ramping up their advertising to compete for those who can.
The town of Vail this week announced it will dump $500,000 from its reserve funds into advertising — an unprecedented move for the municipality. Vail Resorts, which reported advance lodging bookings through central reservations are down 17.7 percent compared to the same period last year, will spend millions of dollars more on ads.
Here in Aspen, SkiCo is pushing its existing deals hard to try to drum up business at the start of the season and through the holidays. It is heavily promoting a deal through StayAspenSnowmass.com that sells two days of skiing and two nights of lodging with the third day of skiing and third night of lodging free. The offer also applies to longer stays.
“Our view is things will turn around at some point and we want to be in a position to take advantage of it when it does,” Hanle said. “But we’re not going to have a fire sale on the product. We’re going to keep doing what we do to run a quality operation.”
Deals can be had, however. The newly remodeled Limelight is only charging $58 per person per night between Nov. 19 and Dec. 10.
Marketers are also promoting a $25 rental discount for visitors who buy their lodging, ski tickets and rental gear all at the same time.
“The $25 off rentals may not seem like a big deal but you’ll save $100 each way on baggage fees so it’s really a $225 value,” said Hanle, adding that the rental equipment is new and superior to that of many visitors’ equipment.
How the season will turn out is unknown. SkiCo’s top brass is projecting reservations could be down anywhere between 5 and 15 percent when the season comes to a close.
A lot of factors are at play. Industry insiders maintain that if enough snow falls, visitors and their money will eventually follow. Michael Berry, president of the Colorado-based National Ski Areas Association, says the impact of the economy could be “negligible” if enough snowflakes fly.
Whether next Tuesday’s election falls Barack Obama’s way or is handed to John McCain may also influence the nation’s vacation planning.
“People are waiting for something,” Hanle said. “If the election changes the mood of the country, or the markets do something based on it, that could make a difference. People may say, ‘Well, that’s over. Let’s go on vacation.’”
hoop@aspendailynews.com