Hotel rates, revenue hit May records
The increases come despite a slight decline in Hawaii's hotel room occupancy last month
A strong luxury market drove statewide average daily hotel room rates to record levels for May, a Honolulu consulting firm reported yesterday.
Average daily rates rose to $172.66 for the month, a 13.2 percent increase over May 2005, Hospitality Advisors LLC reported in its monthly market survey.
Statewide revenue per available room, another key industry indicator, rose to a record $130.57, an increase of 11.6 percent over the same month a year ago.
The increases in room revenues came alongside a slight decline in statewide hotel occupancy, which dropped about 1 percentage point to 75.6 percent.
Joseph Toy, president of Hospitality Advisors, attributed the decline to more visitors choosing to stay in alternative accommodations such as condominiums and timeshares, rather than hotels. That trend hurt the mid-priced and budget categories enough to offset occupancy gains posted in the luxury and upscale segments, Toy said.
But Toy said the occupancy levels were less notable than the revenue per available room, which increased on the four major islands included in the survey. Maui showed the greatest increase as room revenue rose 16 percent to $173.02.