Cheaper room rates fail to fill Hawai'i's hotels
| • | Table: April hotel business |
By Susan Hooper
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai'i hotels dropped room prices in April to lure guests, but the statewide occupancy rate continued to lag behind year-ago levels, according to a report from Hospitality Advisors LLC.
The average daily rate for the state was down 5.1 percent from April 2001 levels, to $143.94 a night, according to the report.
Statewide hotel occupancy in April was 64.8 percent, down 4.6 percentage points from April 2001, Hospitality Advisors said.
"The market hasn't seen this level of room-rate discounting since the 1993 to 1995 period, when the market was trying to come out of its last downturn," said Joseph Toy, president of Hospitality Advisors LLC. "The pattern was very similar in that we again are seeing value packages with free additional nights, which encourages visitors to stay longer. This helps offset, to some degree, the fall-off in visitor arrivals."
O'ahu luxury hotels showed the steepest decline in room prices over the 12-month period, with the average daily rate down by 12.1 percent to $166.80 in April, the report said. The occupancy rate for all O'ahu hotels in April was 63 percent, down from 67.2 percent in April 2001.
At $184.60, Maui's average daily rate was the highest of all the islands in April, but it was still 5.4 percent lower than Maui's April 2001 rate, the report said.
Maui's occupancy rate was the highest of all the islands in April, but at 71.5 percent it was still off from Maui's 77.7 percent occupancy rate of April 2001.
Kaua'i and the Big Island bucked the statewide trend and showed average daily rate increases in April as compared with April 2001.
On Kaua'i, the average daily rate rose by 3.7 percent to $162.77. The Garden Isle's occupancy rate was 66.8 percent in April — down from 70 percent in April 2001.
On the Big Island, the average daily rate rose by 1.1 percent to $181.85 in April. The island's occupancy rate was 57.4 percent down from 61.7 percent in April 2001.
Discounted room rates, combined with fewer guests, took a toll on hotel revenues in April. Statewide, revenue per available room was $93.22, down 11 percent from April 2001.
For the first four months of 2002, revenue per available room statewide was $100.95, down 13.7 percent from April 2001.
Hospitality Advisors' report is based on a monthly survey of 151 hotels representing 49,934 rooms, or 72.7 percent of the state's hotel rooms.
Reach Susan Hooper at 525-8064 or shooper@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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