The Estes Park visitor season looks to be promising for local businesses

Story by Suzy Blackhurst

Just before the three-day Memorial Day weekend – the traditional vacation season kickoff – optimism was the order of the day at the May 22 Visit Estes Park board meeting.

“We’re cautiously optimistic,” said interim CEO Mike Zumbaugh, reflecting on the forecasting reports presented by Rachel Ward Oppermann, VEP’s marketing director.

Zumbaugh pointed to Opperman’s report on 2025 vacation insights from Key Data, which gathers statistics from companies specifically booking short-term rental vacations. Opperman told the board that, according to Kelly Kessler, owner of Ride-a-Kart, Key Data reported that occupancy rates in the greater Estes Park area from May to September are currently 10% higher than last year, with average daily rates holding steady. 

“Even more promising, guest nights for June through September are up by 23% year-over-year,” Ward-Opperman said. While Key Data only reports short-term rental data, the information for Estes Park is considered a bellwether for the travel industry here.

Ward-Opperman’s report is consistent with that of AAA. That company’s forecast calls for a strong summer travel season in 2025, with a record number of Americans expected to travel domestically.

Reports from lodging property owners in Estes Park show that travelers are “booking on shorter windows,” Zumbaugh said. “They’re making decisions on shorter time frames,” he added.

Even Estes Valley Recreation and Park District is noticing the trend. Camping operations are important to EVRPD’s overall seasonal operation income, and waiting for campground reservations at the Mary’s Lake Campground and East Portal can be difficult, Mary Davis, finance director, said at a board meeting last week.

“We normally get filled, and that’s probably what’s going to happen,” Davis said. Last summer, at the beginning of the booking season, reservations lagged, “then we had all the walk-in traffic at the last minute. It’s usually not a problem at all,” she said.

“I know some hotel owners, and they’re down. People might be a little bit leery,” of traveling Tom Carosello, executive director of EVRPD, said, in light of reports of a possible national economic downturn.

Locally, first quarter lodging sales taxes collected for VEP only use year-to-date are down 1%. Collections were off $8,389, or 4.9%, from the money collected in March 2024. However, most of that can be attributed to lodging owners who did not meet the deadline for remitting their taxes to the state, or whose accounts have been delinquent for more than one month, Zumbaugh said last week. 

The state revenue department is responsible for collecting all money due, plus interest on delinquent accounts, Zumbaugh told VEP board members.

According to data released early in May, town sales tax revenues received for March purchases increased 1.41% over 2024.  Staff is expected to provide an analysis showing classifications on sales soon.