Mainland visitors help lift hotel occupancy figures
By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer
Thrifty travelers helped to fill Hawai'i hotel rooms in November, when hotels in the state were 69.3 percent occupied, beating last year's numbers.
The fullest hotels on average for the month were midprice, economy and budget properties, according to figures released yesterday by hotel consultancy Hospitality Advisors LLC. Luxury and upscale hotels trailed close behind.
The average hotel room rate in the state increased 3.7 percent to $134.64 over November 2002, raising revenue per available room by 8.3 percent to $93.35.
The November and latest year-to-date figures added to the evidence of a steady recovery in tourism from the effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, SARS and the Iraq war.
Among the major islands, O'ahu hotels had the highest average occupancy rate at 72.7 percent, up 3.2 percentage points from the previous year's November. O'ahu also had the lowest average room rates in the state at $113.47 per day.
Every major island beat last year's occupancy levels except for the Big Island, which saw a 1.5 percentage point drop to 60.6 percent.
On Maui, the strongest growth in hotel performance was in luxury, upscale and midprice hotels. Maui also had the most expensive hotel rooms on average in the state with a rate of $167.94, up from $161.95 a year ago.
Outrigger Hotels & Resorts is one of the chains benefiting from the strong performance among moderately priced hotels, particularly its OHANA-branded properties.
"Both November and December — they were good months for the end of the year," said Perry Sorenson, Outrigger chief operating officer. "It seemed like we had some Japanese resurgence," and travel from North America was also strong, he said.
More Mainland tourists and travelers coming to Hawai'i for meetings, conventions or sales incentive trips also helped boost hotel occupancy.
"I think that the whole economy will see a lift from the improved outlook for tourism," Sorenson said. "We're sort of going day-by-day and thankful that the business is pretty good."
For the year through November, hotel occupancy in Hawai'i was 72.6 percent, up from 70 percent in the same period of 2002. The average daily rate for the first 11 months was $143.25, an increase from $139.85 a year ago.
O'ahu, Maui, Kaua'i and the Big Island each posted year-to-date increases in occupancy rates and room rates.
The hotel survey covers about 160 properties representing approximately 50,300 rooms, or 75 percent of all lodging properties with 20 rooms or more in the state.
Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at 535-2470 or kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com.
