Hotels in Hawai’i saw a 4.1 percentage increase in average room occupancy in December to reach 80.2%.

According to the Hawai‘i Hotel Performance Report published by the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA), hotel performance was strong statewide in December 2019.

RevPAR statewide grew by 12.5% to $282. 36, with ADR growing by 6.8% to $352.12 and occupancy growing by 4.1 percentage points to of 80.2%.

HTA’s Tourism Research Division issued the report’s findings utilizing data compiled by STR, Inc., which conducts the largest and most comprehensive survey of hotel properties in the Hawaiian Islands.

In December Hawai‘i hotel room revenues statewide increased by 11.7% to $469.2 million. There were nearly 58,000 more occupied room nights (+4.5%) and nearly 13,000 fewer available room nights (-0.8%) compared to December 2018. Several hotel properties across the state were closed for renovation or had rooms out of service for renovation during December. However, the number of rooms out of service may be under-reported.

All classes of hotel properties reported growth in December compared to 2018. Luxury Class properties earned RevPAR of $582 (+10.9%), with ADR at $794 (+4.7%) and 73.3 percent occupancy (+4.1 percentage points). Midscale & Economy Class hotels reported RevPAR of $175 (+13.4%) with ADR at $214 (+6.5%) and occupancy of 81.5 percent (+5.0 percentage points).
In December, Maui County hotels reported the highest RevPAR of all four counties at $415 (+18.4%), which was supported by increases in both ADR to $540 (+7.7%) and occupancy of 76.8 percent (+6.9 percentage points). Maui’s luxury resort region of Wailea reported RevPAR of $760 (+18.7%), with growth in both ADR ($890, +13.7%) and occupancy (85.4%, +3.6 percentage points).

O‘ahu hotels earned 8.6 percent RevPAR growth to $237, driven by higher ADR ($286, +6.4%) and occupancy of 82.8 percent (+1.7 percentage points). Waikīkī hotels reported growth in RevPAR, ADR, and occupancy for December.

Hotels on the island of Hawai‘i saw increases in RevPAR to $263 (+20.5%), ADR to $330 (+5.9%), and occupancy to 79.5.5 percent (+9.6 percentage points) in December compared to a year ago. In May 2018, Kīlauea volcano started erupting in lower Puna, which contributed to a downturn in visitors to the island of Hawai‘i in succeeding months.

RevPAR for Kaua‘i hotels was $245 (+3.9%) in December, with growth in occupancy (72.5%, +3.3 percentage points) offsetting slightly lower ADR ($338, -0.8%).

Hotel occupancy grew by 0.9 percentage points in 2019 to 81.2%
During calendar year 2019 statewide RevPAR rose by 3.6% to $229.32 with ADR growing by 2.5% to $282.56 and with occupancy growing by 0.9 percentage points to 81.2% compared with CY 2018.

In 2019, statewide hotel room revenues of $4.49 billion were 1.8% higher than in 2018. There were nearly 356,000 fewer available room nights (-1.8%) and more than 111,000 fewer occupied room nights (- 0.7%) compared to 2018. Several hotel properties across the state were closed for renovation or had rooms out of service for renovation during 2019.

Luxury Class properties reported RevPAR of $431 (+4.0%), with ADR at $567 (+1.9%) and occupancy of 76.0 percent (+1.5 percentage points). Midscale & Economy Class hotels reported RevPAR of $144 (-0.7%), with ADR at $177 (-0.5%) and occupancy of 81.2 percent (-0.2 percentage points).

Hotel Results by County
In 2019, Maui County hotels led Hawai‘i’s four island counties in RevPAR at $310 (+5.8%), with ADR at $399 (+3.4%) and occupancy of 77.7 percent (+1.7 percentage points).

O‘ahu hotels earned higher RevPAR of $203 compared to 2018 (+2.5%), with ADR at $241 (+2.0%) and occupancy of 84.2 percent (+0.4 percentage points).

Hotels on the island of Hawai‘i reported RevPAR growth to $205 (+6.6%), with increases in both ADR to $267 (+3.2%) and occupancy of 77.1 percent (+2.5 percentage points).

Kaua‘i hotels’ RevPAR decreased to $216 (-3.4%), with declines in both ADR to $283 (-1.8%) and occupancy of 76.3 percent (-1.2 percentage points).

Comparison to International Markets
When compared to international “sun and sea” destinations, Hawai‘i’s counties ranked among the top 10 markets for RevPAR during 2019. Hotels in French Polynesia ranked highest in RevPAR at $393 (+7.3%), followed by Maldives at $356 (-0.2%). Maui County ranked third, with Kaua‘i, the island of Hawai‘i, and O‘ahu ranked fifth, sixth, and seventh.

French Polynesia also led in ADR at $566 (+2.9%), followed by Maldives at $542 (+1.8%). Maui County ranked third, with Kaua‘i, the island of Hawai‘i, and O‘ahu ranked sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively.

O‘ahu led in occupancy for sun and sea destinations, followed by Maui County, the island of Hawai‘i, and Kaua‘i.

Tables of hotel performance statistics, including data presented in the report are available for viewing online at: https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/research/infrastructure-research/

About the Hawai‘i Hotel Performance Report
The Hawai‘i Hotel Performance Report is produced using hotel survey data compiled by STR, Inc., the largest survey of its kind in Hawai‘i. The survey generally excludes properties with under 20 lodging units, such as small bed and breakfasts, youth hostels, single-family vacation rentals, cottages, individually rented vacation condominiums and sold timeshare units no longer available for hotel use. The data has been weighted both geographically and by class of property to compensate for any over and/or under representation of hotel survey participants by location and type.

For December 2019, the survey included 166 properties representing 46,980 rooms, or 87.6 percent of all lodging properties with 20 rooms or more in the Hawaiian Islands, including full service, limited service, and condominium hotels.