Hawaii hotel performance continues upsurge

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Written by Linda Hohnholz

Hawaii hotel performance to date continues upsurge

HONOLULU, Hawaii – The Hawaiian Tourism Authority’s (HTA’s) Tourism Research Division issued findings showing hotel performance in the Aloha State continues on an upswing.

Hotels in the Hawaiian islands earned more revenue per available room (RevPAR) in October at $189 (+3.8%) compared to a year ago, according to the Hawaii Hotel Performance Report released today by theHTA. The growth in RevPAR was driven by a higher average daily rate (ADR) in October of $240 (+3.6%) by hotel properties statewide, as occupancies remained virtually unchanged from last year.

Luxury Class hotels achieved the best overall results on a statewide level in October of all hotel classes covered in the report compared to a year ago. Luxury Class hotels reported increases in RevPAR to $323 (+5.7%), ADR to $438 (+4.3%), and occupancy to 73.6 percent (+1.0 percentage points).

Midscale and Economy Class hotels also realized year-over-year growth in all three categories in October, with increases reported in RevPAR to $110 (+4.8%), ADR to $144 (+1.4%), and occupancy to 76.4 percent (+2.5 percentage points).

The other hotel classes covered by HTA’s Hawaii Hotel Performance Report – Upper Upscale Class, Upscale Class, and Upper Midscale Class – all reported growth in ADR compared to last October.

Jennifer Chun of HTA commented, “October was a solid month in what has been a good year overall for hotel properties statewide that reflects the tourism industry’s ability to attract travelers at different price points, particularly visitors seeking high-end accommodations. This is especially true for neighbor island hotel properties, which are largely realizing excellent year-over-year growth in revenues generated on a per room basis.”

Chun was recently appointed as Director of Tourism Research for HTA, a position that takes effect on December 1. She has analyzed tourism data for more than 20 years and worked in HTA’s Tourism Research Division since 2014.

Among Hawaii’s four island counties, hotels in Maui County recorded the highest RevPAR in October at $221 (+7.0%), driven by a strong increase in ADR to $295 (+6.4%) year-over-year.

Hotels on the island of Hawaii earned the largest gain in RevPAR to $167 (+13%), boosted by increases in ADR to $229 (+5.6%) and occupancies to 72.9 percent (+4.7 percentage points).

Kauai hotels achieved the highest rate of growth in occupancy, up 6.0 percentage points in October year-over-year, completing the month at 77.1 percent occupancy.

Oahu hotels reported a slight decline in RevPAR at $182 (-0.5%) with an increase in ADR to $223 (+2%) offset by lower occupancy at 81.8 percent (-2.0 percentage points).

Hotels in Hawaii’s luxury resort areas produced good results in October compared to a year ago, with Wailea leading the state in growth of RevPAR to $350 (+17.3%) and ADR to $448 (+15.7%), with occupancy recording a small increase to 78.2 percent (+1.1 percentage points).

The Lahaina-Kaanapali-Kapalua resort area reported growth in RevPAR to $194 (+3.4%) and ADR to $252 (+2.1%) in October, with occupancy increasing slightly to 76.9 percent (+0.9 percentage points).

The Kohala Coast resort area reported strong growth in RevPAR to $214 (+13.9%) and ADR to $307 (+11.1%), with occupancy also increasing to 69.6 percent (+1.7 percentage points) in October.

Year-to-Date 2017

Year-to-date through October 2017, Hawaii hotels collectively reported increases in RevPAR to $210 (+5.6%) and ADR to $261 (+4.4%), with occupancy at 80.3 percent (+0.9 percentage points) compared to the same period in 2016.

For the first 10 months of 2017, Luxury Class hotels reported overall increases in RevPAR to $387 (+7.3%) and ADR to $511 (+5.0%), with occupancy at 75.8 percent (+1.6 percentage points).

On the other end of the price spectrum, Midscale and Economy Class hotels earned increases in RevPAR to $117 (+3.9%) and ADR to $152 (+3.3%), but no growth in occupancy (76.8 percent) year-over-year.

On a monthly basis in 2017, hotels statewide generally outperformed 2016 numbers (Fig. 1) highlighted by a strong summer travel season with July producing peak ADR totals at $282 (+3.4%) and occupancy at 84.5 percent (+2.0%). These results were consistent with increases realized in visitor spending and visitor days for July.

In September, despite increased visitor volumes, hotels statewide averaged a lower ADR (-1.7%) and flat occupancy compared to September 2016. There was also a 38.0 percent drop in meetings, conventions and incentive visitors, a market that typically has a strong preference for hotels. A significant factor for this decrease was the Hawaii Convention Center’s hosting of the IUCN World Conservation Congress (10,000 delegates) and an insurance underwriter convention (11,000 delegates) in September 2016.

Island Highlights:

• Oahu: Year-to-date through October, Oahu hotels reported the highest occupancy among the four island counties at 83.4 percent (-1.0 percentage points). Hotels reported an average increase in RevPAR to $193 (+1.7%) and ADR to $232 (+2.8%) through the first 10 months of 2017. On a monthly basis thus far in 2017, hotels have generally reported higher ADRs in 2017, while occupancies remained similar, compared to 2016 (Fig. 2). Hotels in Waikiki reported an ADR of $277 (+1.4%) and occupancy of 84.7 (-1.2 percentage points) year-to-date through October.

• Maui County: Hotels in Maui County led the state in ADR at $344, an increase of 7.6 percent, for the first 10 months of 2017. On a monthly basis, hotels have had higher ADRs and achieved generally higher occupancies than in 2016 (Fig. 3). Properties in the luxury resort area of Wailea led the state in both ADR at $520 (+9.2%) and occupancy at 85.0% (+4.0 percentage points).

• Island of Hawaii: Year-to-date through October, hotels on the island of Hawaii reported the largest average growth in occupancy statewide, increasing 5.5 percentage points to 74.4 percent occupancy. The growth was in line with increased visitor volumes reported through September, due largely to the new nonstop flights from Japan and the U.S. mainland added within the past year. However, despite this growth, average hotel occupancy was the lowest of the four island counties. On a monthly basis, hotels achieved significantly higher occupancies through October than in 2016 (Fig. 4). During this period, hotels collectively increased ADR to $245 (+3.6%). ADRs were also higher each month in 2017, year-over-year, with the exception of September.

• Kauai: Through the first 10 months of 2017, hotels on Kauai had a higher ADR at $262 (+4.3%) and experienced higher occupancy at 77.2 percent (+3.9 percentage points) compared to the same period in 2016. Hotels achieved a higher ADR in each month of 2017 (Fig. 5) and, except for July, recorded higher occupancy year-over-year compared to 2016.

STR, Inc. conducted the research of hotel properties in the Hawaiian Islands.

Tables of hotel performance statistics for March through October 2017, including data presented in the news release are available for viewing online by clicking here.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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