Hawai‘i Hotels Continue to Struggle in August

Hawai‘i Tourism Authority. PC: HTA

The hotel industry in Hawai‘i continues to struggle mightily amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as August numbers dipped significantly year over year.

According to the Hawai‘i Hotel Performance Report published by the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority’s (HTA) Tourism Research Division, statewide revenue per available room (RevPAR) declined to $34 (-85.9%), average daily rate (ADR) decreased to $158 (-45.5%), and occupancy fell to 21.7 percent (-62.4%).

The report’s findings utilized data compiled by STR, Inc., which conducts the largest and most comprehensive survey of hotel properties in the Hawaiian Islands.

In August, Hawai‘i hotel room revenues statewide fell by 92.1 percent to $32.3 million from $408.4 million a year ago. Room supply declined to 941,200 room nights (-43.8%) and room demand dropped to 204,400 room nights (-85.5%).

Many properties closed or reduced operations starting in April 2020. During August, all passengers arriving from out-of-state were required to abide by a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine. On Aug. 11, a partial interisland quarantine was reinstated for anyone traveling to the counties of Kaua‘i, Hawai‘, Maui, and Kalawao.

All classes of Hawai‘i hotel properties statewide reported lower RevPAR, ADR, and occupancy in August compared to a year ago.

Hotels on the island of Hawai‘i earned RevPAR of $34 (-85.1%) in August, with ADR at $130 (-53.7%) and occupancy of 26.1 percent (-54.9 percentage points). Data for the month of August was not available for the Kohala Coast.

Maui County hotels reported RevPAR of $18 (-94.2%), with declines in both ADR to $207 (-47.2%) and occupancy of 8.6 percent (-69.4 percentage points). Data for the month of August was not available for Maui’s luxury resort region of Wailea. The Lahaina/Kaanapali/Kapalua region had RevPAR of $4 (-98.3%), ADR at $125 (-61.8%) and occupancy of 3.5 percent (-72.8 percentage points).

Oahu hotels reported RevPAR of $42 (-81.4%) in August, with ADR at $157 (-38.4%) and occupancy of 26.8 percent (-62.2 percentage points). Waikiki hotels earned $36 (-84.0%) in RevPAR with ADR at $152 (-38.9%) and occupancy of 23.4 percent (-65.8 percentage points).

Kaua‘i hotels reported RevPAR of $28 (-86.7%) in August, with ADR at $165 (-41.8%) and occupancy of 16.8 percent (-56.9 percentage points).