Heber Valley Tourism deputy director Jessica Broadhead said it’s getting pricier to visit Wasatch County.
“Our average daily hotel room rate was $476.68, which is the highest average daily rate in the state,” she said.
She shared 2025 tourism numbers with the Heber City Council at a meeting March 17. The price tag is increasing as Deer Valley East Village opens more high-end hotels and amenities.
Historically, high average hotel costs in Wasatch County have been driven by the St. Regis Deer Valley. Midway’s resorts also increase the average.
Those properties have combined with the new East Village hotels to make staying the night, on average, about $65 more expensive in Wasatch County than in neighboring Summit County.
Costs in the Wasatch Back far outstrip the rest of state, according to data from the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.
That study also shows average hotel costs rose 15% in Wasatch County from 2024 to 2025.
Room rates went up in Summit County too, but only by about 4%.
Although hotels are becoming more costly, the Gardner Institute report shows short-term rental rates are dropping across the Wasatch Back. Renting a condo or house in Summit County typically costs several hundred dollars more per night than renting a Wasatch County home.
Broadhead said every year, visitors bring millions of dollars to the county and support more than 2,000 local jobs.
“Seventeen percent of our local jobs, 25.4% local sales tax revenue and $54.4 million visitor-generated tax revenue,” she said. “Tourism is a flourishing economy for Wasatch County, and we’re quite proud of that.”
Heber Valley Tourism and Economic Development is a financial supporter of KPCW.
