Hawaii hotel
occupancy rises
But Oahu falls for the 27th
By Rob Perez
straight month as the Asia crisis
continues to impact tourism
Star-Bulletin
Boosted by strong showings on Maui and Kauai, Hawaii's hotel occupancy rate increased in July for the second consecutive month, according to a monthly survey released today.
But Oahu hotels, continuing to feel the sting of Asia's economic malaise, saw their occupancy rates fall for the 27th straight month.
Statewide occupancy in July totaled 76.54 percent, up 1.59 percentage points from 74.95 percent a year earlier, said PKF-Hawaii.
The increase primarily was due to surges in occupancies on Maui and Kauai. Maui had the state's highest occupancy rate at 82.17 percent, up substantially from last July's 72.55 percent, according to PKF.
Kauai also posted a significant jump, going from 73.02 percent a year earlier to 80.3 percent last month.
"It is very encouraging to see a second consecutive month of increase in hotel occupancy," said Ernie Watari, chairman of the accounting and management consulting firm that has been tracking the hotel industry since 1972.
The June statewide increase to 71.42 percent from 70.99 percent a year earlier ended 26 straight months of declines.
The average daily room rate statewide also increased last month, up 2.3 percent to $140.86 from $137.68 a year earlier. The Kohala Coast on the Big Island reported the highest average rate at $242.99.
In Waikiki, the slowdown in visitor traffic from Asia was evident in the occupancy numbers. Waikiki's rate dropped more than 2 percentage points to 76.67 percent last month. For all of Oahu, it wasn't any better: occupancy fell to 75.37 percent, compared with 77.92 percent a year earlier.
The numbers were similarly discouraging for the Big Island, which slipped 1.24 points to 69.90, and Molokai, which dropped nearly 10 points to 35.65 percent.
For the first seven months of the year, the statewide occupancy rate totaled 73.53 percent, off slightly from the 73.81 percent posted for the same period in 1998, according to PKF.
The average daily room rate also was down at $141.91, compared with $142.50 for the first seven months of last year.
On an island basis, Maui and Kauai had year-to-date increases, while Oahu, the Big Island and Molokai reported declines.
Maui's occupancy was 79.42 percent, up from 74.12 percent; Kauai, 72.95 percent, up from 67.95 percent; Oahu, 72.56 percent vs. 75.52 percent; the Big Island, 67.73 percent, off from 71.35 percent; and Molokai, down from 47.37 percent to 44.23 percent.
PKF's statistics were based on a survey of 146 hotel properties with 40,123 rooms, or about 56 percent of the total statewide.
