Lodging is open in Summit County, but while some lodging businesses are bouncing back quickly, others are waiting on further loosening of restrictions to bring back core business.
Lodging opened across Summit County on June 1 after months of empty hotels, condos and short-term rentals. Now nearing the end of the first month open after the shutdown, occupancy in Summit County is still low compared to typical June numbers, but it is no longer nonexistent.
“April and May were basically unoccupied due to the Summit County Public Health Order — essential workers made up what little occupancy there was in town. As of May 31, Inntopia’s Destimetrics reported that Breckenridge’s June occupancy is down 77% (year over year),” Breckenridge Tourism Office Public Relations Director Austyn Dineen said in an email. Breckenridge Lodging Association President Toby Babich said that while things aren’t “back to normal,” people are excited to be open in any capacity.
“People are excited to open. It’s just nice to be able to function again and actually feel like we’re back in business but in terms of the business levels, we’re not seeing any dramatic spikes in demand,” Babich said.
Babich reported DestiMetrics industry numbers for Breckenridge, which show, in addition to June occupancy being down nearly 80%, July is anticipated to be about 50% down with August down about 30%. The overall aggregate summer total is down about 50% in occupancy. Babich said that while “it’s nice to be open,” the lodging industry is still really struggling.
