Hotels enjoy recovery
Hawaii's hotel performance continued to sizzle in April, and visitor industry experts say summer should be even hotter.
Statewide hotel occupancy experienced a 11.6 percent increase to 74.1 percent, reflecting a significant recovery in visitor arrivals over the same period last year when SARS and the Iraq War had adversely impacted overseas travel. Statewide room rates improved by 3.6 percent to $154.25, according to Hospitality Advisors LLC.
"The strong recovery that we are currently enjoying should provide positive momentum going into our busy summer season," said Joseph Toy, president of Hospitality Advisors.
Total room nights sold statewide in April approximated 1.44 million, a gain of 10.6 percent, which compared favorably with the preliminary visitor arrival increase of 14 percent that was reported by the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism.
Waikiki showed an impressive 9.5 percentage point occupancy increase to 72.6 percent while managing a 4.7 percent increase in average daily room rates to $117.63 for the month. Waikiki's revenue per available room surged 20.5 percent above the prior year to $85.40.
"We had tremendous increases in the month of April, with occupancy running at about 79 percent," said John Limper, director of marketing at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa.
Occupancy at the hotel increased 28 percent over the same period last year, Limper said, adding he anticipates summer occupancy to run in the high 80s.
"People are going to be getting back on the road and traveling again," he said.
The United States and Japanese economies are improving and people who postponed their trips due to SARS and the beginning of the War on Iraq have begun traveling, Limper said.
While all islands enjoyed growth in hotel performance, Maui hotels outperformed other island destinations with occupancy numbers rising by 9.2 percent to 80.9 percent islandwide for the month of April. Maui also posted the highest average daily room rate at $198.21, for a gain of 3.2 percent.
Kauai properties posted an 11.1 percent increase in occupancy to 76.2 percent while average daily room rates improved by 7.1 percent to $180.94. The Big Island showed a 9.7 percent gain in occupancy to 70.1 percent and enjoyed a modest 3.3 percent growth in room rates to $172.07.
Although the hotel industry is recovering statewide, Oahu's upscale and luxury properties enjoyed the strongest improvement after having suffered the most from last year's SARS and initial Gulf War impacts, Toy said.
Statewide upscale properties outpaced other hotel segments as revenue per available room recorded a 18.4 percent increase to $119.65. Oahu's upscale hotels, in particular, experienced a 22.8 percent gain in revenue per available room. Statewide economy properties also showed significant improvement.