Big Island Hotels Sees Growth

Hawai‘i hotels had the highest revenue per available room (RevPAR) and average daily rate (ADR) through the first three quarters of 2019 when compared to other top US markets, according to a report released by the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority.

Through the first nine months of 2019, hotels statewide reported slight growth in both RevPAR and ADR compared to the same period in 2018. Hotels on the Big Island also saw increases.

For the month of September, hotels on the island of Hawai‘i saw increases in RevPAR to $150 (+20.9%), ADR to $222 (+8.6%), and occupancy to 67.5 percent (+6.8 percentage points) compared to a year ago. In May 2018, Kīlauea volcano started erupting in lower Puna, which contributed to a downturn in visitors to the Big Island in succeeding months.

For the first nine months, hotels on the Big Island reported RevPAR growth to $204 (+3.7%), with increases in both ADR to $264 (+2.7%) and occupancy of 77.1 percent (+0.8 percentage points).

For the month of September, RevPAR statewide grew to $193 (+4.4%), with ADR at $247 (+3.2%) and occupancy of 78.2 percent (+0.9 percentage points).

According to the Hawai‘i Hotel Performance Report published by the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA), statewide RevPAR rose to $228 (+1.5%), with ADR at $281 (+1.9%) and occupancy of 81.3 percent (-0.3 percentage points) year-to-date through September 2019.

Year-to-date through September 2019, statewide hotel room revenues of $3.37 billion were similar to the same period in 2018. There were nearly 230,000 fewer available room nights (-1.5%) and slightly more than 226,000 fewer occupied room nights (-1.9%) compared to a year ago. Several hotel properties across the state were closed for renovation or had rooms out of service for renovation during the first three quarters of 2019.

Luxury Class properties reported RevPAR of $433 (+3.2%), with ADR at $560 (+1.0%) and occupancy of 77.4 percent (+1.6 percentage points). Midscale & Economy Class hotels reported RevPAR of $144 (-2.6%), with ADR at $176 (-0.7%) and occupancy of 81.8 percent (-1.6 percentage points).

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.