Posted on: Friday, June 22, 2001

Hotel occupancy woes continue

By Michele Kayal
Advertiser Staff Writer

May brought a fourth consecutive month of occupancy declines for Hawai'i hotels, according to figures released yesterday.

In a year that already has tourism executives worried, consulting firm PKF Hawai'i said yesterday that Island hotels filled 68 percent of their rooms in May, a decrease of nearly 8 percent from May 2000.

Room rates rose, however, hitting an average of $154.88 per night, 4.5 percent higher than a year earlier.

Hawai'i companies have been bracing for a slower 2001, as a softening Mainland economy and continued uncertainty in Japan cuts into travel plans of companies and individuals.

Maui fared the best in the survey, though its 72 percent occupancy rate represented a decline of 5 percentage points from the same period last year.

Oahu had 69 percent of its rooms filled, a decline of 4 points from last May, followed by Kaua'i, at 68.8 percent, a decline of more than 10 points from last May.

Moloka'i made the weakest showing, with a 42 percent occupancy rate for the month, a 3-point decline from last year.

Maui continued to maintain the highest room rates in the state, at an average of $197 a night, compared to the weakest performer, Moloka'i, at $89 a night. Both, however, represented increases over last May.

So far for the year, state wide occupancy is running at 72 percent, a decline of 5 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Room rates, however, are up about $12 to $144 a night. Revenue per available room, a key indicator of the industry's profitability is flat, around $104 per night.

The PKF survey covers about 56 percent of the Islands' available rooms, but does not include properties owned by Outrigger, the largest purveyor of Waikiki accommodations. The omission of Outrigger tends to project lower occupancy rates and higher average daily charges for rooms state wide and for O'ahu, PKF analysts have said.