Posted on: Friday, September 5, 2003
Hotels enjoy strong July
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| A sweeping view of Waikiki Beach, the heart of Hawai'i tourism, is seen from the Hanohano Room at the Sheraton Waikiki. Hawai'i hotels enjoyed a strong July, with occupancy rates near the high-water mark of 2000, in a sign that tourism is coming out of a three-year slump.
Eugene tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser |
| • | July hotel occupancy |
By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai'i hotels in July enjoyed the best occupancy rates for that month since 2000, the year considered the high-water mark for the local tourism industry.
The numbers were seen as another sign of the industry's continuing recovery from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that sent tourism worldwide into a tailspin.
Statewide, hotels in July were 79.6 percent full as more business travelers and strong visitor counts on Maui and Kaua'i kept properties busy, according to data released by Hospitality Advisors LLC.
"July was an outstanding month," said Joseph Toy, president of Hospitality Advisors. "The summer of 2003 has been welcomed news for Hawai'i's hotel industry after the past two difficult years."
The showing that beat results from July 2001 and 2002 came in 1.4 percentage points behind July 2000.
Kaua'i had the highest occupancy level for July, at 87.7 percent (up 5.7 percentage points), followed by Maui at 84.1 percent (up 5.9 percentage points).
O'ahu hotels were 77.3 percent full, up 3.6 percentage points, led by gains at midprice and budget hotels.
Big Island hotels were 73.9 percent full, up 5.3 percent percentage points.
Maui and Kaua'i hotels have far outpaced O'ahu and the Big Island for most of the year, Toy said.
Despite the healthy numbers, some hoteliers are concerned about slow group bookings for next year. A nationwide trend sees travelers putting off making early vacation plans.
Budget properties had the best performance, with an average 83.7 percent occupancy. Economy hotels had an average occupancy of 76 percent, while luxury, upscale and midprice hotels were about 80 percent full.
Statewide, the average daily hotel room rate in July was $143.50, up 0.2 percent.
For the year through July, hotels were 72.3 percent full, up from 70.4 percent in the same period last year. The average daily rate was $144.76, up from $141.74 a year ago.
Toy said August results are expected to be exceptional, based on daily occupancy surveys. Preliminary results show an average 83.5 percent occupancy for the month, the highest for August since 1991.
Hospitality Advisors surveys an average of 160 properties representing about 50,300 rooms, 75 percent of all Hawai'i lodging properties with 20 rooms or more.
Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at 535-2470, or at kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com.
