Hawai‘i Island Hotel Revenue Rose 13% in Oct 2017

Hotels in the Hawaiian Islands earned more revenue per available room (RevPAR) in October at $189 (+3.8%) compared to a year ago. Hawaiʻi Island earned the largest gain in RevPAR to $167 (+13%), according to the Hawaiʻi Hotel Performance Report released by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority (HTA). Year-to-date through October, hotels on Hawaiʻi Island reported the largest average growth in occupancy statewide, increasing 5.5% to 74.4% occupancy.

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.

HTA’s Tourism Research Division issued the report’s findings utilizing data compiled by STR, Inc., which conducts the largest and most comprehensive survey of hotel properties in the Hawaiian Islands.

As seen in the accompanying tables, 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% (+1.0%).

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% (+2.5%).

The other hotel classes covered by HTA’s Hawai‘i 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 Dec. 1. She has analyzed tourism data for more than 20 years and worked in HTA’s Tourism Research Division since 2014.

Among Hawaiʻi’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.

While Hawaiʻi Island  hotels, earned the largest gain in RevPAR to $167 (+13%), boosted by increases in ADR to $229 (+5.6%) and occupancies to 72.9% (+4.7%).

Kauaʻi hotels achieved the highest rate of growth in occupancy, up 6.0% in October year-over-year, completing the month at 77.1% occupancy.

Oʻahu 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% (-2.0%).

Hotels in Hawaiʻi’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% (+1.1%).

The Lahaina-Kāʻanapali-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% (+0.9%).

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% (+1.7%) in October.

Year-to-Date 2017

Year-to-date through October 2017, Hawaiʻi hotels collectively reported increases in RevPAR to $210 (+5.6%) and ADR to $261 (+4.4%), with occupancy at 80.3% (+0.9%) 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% (+1.6%).

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%) year-over-year.

On a monthly basis in 2017, hotels statewide generally outperformed 2016 numbers highlighted by a strong summer travel season with July producing peak ADR totals at $282 (+3.4%) and occupancy at 84.5% (+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% 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 Hawaiʻi 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

• Island of Hawaiʻi: Year-to-date through October, hotels on the island of Hawaiʻi reported the largest average growth in occupancy statewide, increasing 5.5% to 74.4% 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. 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.
• Oʻahu : Year-to-date through October, O‘ahu hotels reported the highest occupancy among the four island counties at 83.4% (-1.0%). 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. Hotels in Waikiki reported an ADR of $277 (+1.4%) and occupancy of 84.7 (-1.2%) year-to-date through October.
• Maui County: Hotels in Maui County led the state in ADR at $344, an increase of 7.6%, for the first 10 months of 2017. On a monthly basis, hotels have had higher ADRs and achieved generally higher occupancies than in 2016. 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%).
• Kauaʻi: 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% (+3.9%) compared to the same period in 2016. Hotels achieved a higher ADR in each month of 2017 and, except for July, recorded higher occupancy year-over-year compared to 2016.

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