A slow arrival of snow this winter could mean fewer travelers making plans to visit Central Oregon, leaving hotel rooms unoccupied and tour companies without customers.

Winter is normally a slower season for visitors in Central Oregon than the summer months, when hotels operate at 80% to 90% occupancy. In the winter occupancy hovers around 50% and room rates are generally lower.

But too much snow could make it more difficult for visitors — who mostly come by car and come from Seattle, Portland and parts of California — to cross the Cascades. The sweet spot for tourism in Central Oregon is clear roads and a solid snow depth, said Nate Wyeth, Visit Bend vice president of marketing and communications.

“If we get a snow storm, winter adventures are more appealing for folks,” Wyeth said. “But if we don’t have snow, it eliminates the barrier to travel.

“Our historical data shows that when we have more favorable travel conditions, the clearer the roads, we see more people come here because they get here easier and are not daunted by road conditions.”

According to the American Automobile Association, Bend is among the top regional destinations for Oregonians. This coming holiday season is projected to be the second busiest on record behind 2019, with more than 115.2 million Americans expected to travel nationwide.

That’s up 2.2% from last year. More than 1.6 million Oregonians are expected to travel too, according to AAA.

With travel dependent on weather, however, many destinations are seeing a short booking window. Destinations like Sunriver Resort then need to be flexible in staffing and providing resources, said Lindsay Borkowski, Sunriver Resort director of sales and marketing.

“Since the pandemic, our booking window has become very short-term with our guests making decisions within the week of travel,” Borkowski said. “We have grown accustomed to the short-term nature of travel and have adapted our business to it in the last few years.”

In Bend, this past summer, occupancy June through August was about 75%, according to STR data, a travel research company. But last winter, December 2022 through March, hotel occupancy dipped to about 51% according to the data. Only about a third of the visitors to Bend come for skiing, Wyeth said.

Such wide swings mean as a destination, Bend and Central Oregon need to offer a variety of activities. Hiking in the Badlands and mountain biking east of Bend are two winter activities that draw visitors.

“Our marketing budget is spent during the non-peak months,” Wyeth said. “Our goal is to balance the industry throughout the year rather than just a few months so employees can work year round.”

Looking a bit slow in town

Longtime restaurant operator Joe Kim, owner of Yoli restaurant on NW Wall Street, said he can tell when the town is light on visitors: there usually are fewer customers dressed in ski gear.

Normally, the Mt. Bachelor ski area opens the day after Thanksgiving. This year it opened Dec. 2 and then closed to protect the base of 29 inches of snow. Normally the mountain receives an average of 410 inches of snow a year.

In 2022, the ski area didn’t open until Dec. 13.

When it is slower, Kim said, he’ll drive around downtown peering into long-established restaurants to gauge how busy they are.

“I feel like it’s been slower,” Kim said. “I think the snow drives people here. You can tell when people are visitors, they order different food and will come right off the slopes.

“Our reservations look good for Christmas and New Year’s.”

Winter season

Wanderlust Tours offers year-round activities, said Courtney Braun, owner. Every November, Braun said she finds herself living on her National Weather Service app checking weather conditions to see when the snowshoe activities can begin.

When there’s not enough snow, the recreational company offers hikes or cave walks, Braun said.

“In past years there have been times where Wanderlust Tours has been lucky enough to start snow shoeing in October and some sad years where it is December and we are still not on the snow,” said Braun. “This year, we’re not able to run any snowshoe trips in November and had to cancel many reservations.

“We’ve had some luck so far in December finding weather windows post-snow and pre-rain. We need more snow.”

At the Campfire Hotel on Third Street in Bend, the 100-room hotel is humming at 90% occupancy. Bookings are generally made three months in advance for the July and August travel, said James Pearrow, hotel revenue manager.

Having advanced bookings enables the hotel to plan how many staff to bring in, Pearrow said. “As with most hotels, the closer you get to the arrival day, the lower the rates,” he said. “It’s par for the course that we’re slower in the winter.”

On Century Drive is the Loge, a 79-room hotel that offers gear rentals along with a hotel room. The low snow levels has lessened demand for snow shoes right now, said Slate Olson, Loge chief marketing officer.

“The reality is that the lack of snow and uncertainty of weather has an impact,” Olson said. “We’re watching the weather. We’re hoping for a strong late season. We are seeing a lot of bookings within 48 hours of stay, especially in Bend.”

Olson suggested that travelers pay attention to the rates. Some are discounted but don’t allow for cancelations, others charge a slightly higher rate, but allow for a 24-hour cancelation period in order to get a full refund.

“Right now it feels like selling summer gear in February,” Olson said. “Bend should be firing right now. There’s a big snow board event this weekend. Last year we had snow. This year they’ll be standing in mud.”