Hotel occupancy declines

The monthly rate fell by 2.7 percentage points although room prices continued to increase

Fewer of Hawaii's hotel rooms were filled in August than last year, new data shows, although hotel rooms continued to command higher prices, even setting a record in Wailea.

The statewide hotel occupancy rate fell by 2.7 percentage to 81.2 percent for August -- typically the peak of the summer season -- according to Hospitality Advisors LLC in its report yesterday.

The numbers came as no surprise to Joseph Toy, president and chief executive of Hospitality Advisors, who expects hotel revenue to be down slightly overall this year.

The bright spots, however, are that the average daily rate for a Hawaii hotel room continued to grow, up 5.7 percent over last year to $213.60. In Wailea, the average daily rate reached a new high of $487.77. Luxury hotels continued to perform better than all other classes of hotel properties.

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Hawaii's hotel occupancy rate in August fell by 2.7 percentage points to 81.2 percent, according to the monthly survey released yesterday by Hospitality Advisors LLC.

The number of hotel room nights sold also fell short of last year by 3.8 percent for August, typically the peak of the summer season.

Hotel room rates, however, remained high, with the luxury sector outperforming all classes.

The average daily rate for a Hawaii hotel room continued to grow by 5.7 percent to $213.60. Statewide revenue per available room also reached a high of $173.45, a 2.2 percent gain over last year.

The softer results for August this year were as expected, according to Joseph Toy, president of Hospitality Advisors.

"We're pretty much on track with our forecast for the year," said Toy. "We expected our peak months would be shallower than prior peaks, while the off-seasons will likely be deeper."

Overall hotel revenue for the year is expected to show a 1 percent to 3 percent decline, according to Toy.

Luxury hotels continued to perform better than all other classes of hotel properties, with an average occupancy of 84 percent, and an average room rate of $325.74.

Occupancy slipped for upscale, midprice, economy and budget properties, with the steepest decline at the lowest rung. The average daily rate of budget hotels also slipped in August to $100.31 compared to $113.56 last year.

Kauai continued to be the bright spot, with a hotel occupancy of 85.6 percent -- a 3.8 percent increase over last year.

The average daily rate on the Garden Isle also improved by 5.7 percent to $217.23. The revenue per available room increased by 10.6 percent to $185.95.

Maui hotel rooms continued to record the highest average daily rates statewide, at $287.97 -- with rooms in Wailea setting a new record of $487.77. Occupancy, however, slipped 2.8 percentage points to 81.6 percent in August.

On Oahu, the hotel occupancy in Waikiki slipped by 4.5 percentage points to 83.1 percent. The Big Island fared worse, with occupancy falling to 72.8 percent.