Maui's June Not Impressive

Aloha Kakou:

Despite a promising start to 2010, Maui's hotel occupancy began slowing in April. That slowdown continued through June.

Maui's June occupancy was only one percentage point higher than that of June, 2010, at 66.7%.

Rate gains for the first six months of 2011 may seem impressive but they're coming in comparison to the low, low rates of 2010. RevPAR for Maui was up 16.2% to $179 from $154.

http://mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/552531/Occupancy-recovery-slows.html?nav=10

Hotel Rates To Stay Flat

Aloha Kakou:

Recent economic events have lead at least one analyst to conclude that hotel rates for the remainder of 2011 and through 2012 will remain flat.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9P001A00.htm

April Room, Occupancy Rates Rise

Aloha Kakou:

Maui's hotel occupancy numbers showed a modest increase of 2.5% this April compared to last year. Hotel occupancy was 69.2% overall during the month.

Maui's ADR rose $30, from $229 to $259 during the same period.

http://mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/550403/April-occupancy-numbers-up-to-69-.html?nav=10

Free Wi-fi, Discounted Rates To Attract 2011 Guests

Aloha Kakou:

In a recent TripAdvisor survey, 91% of hotels say they will offer complimentary wi-fi service in 2011. Over 60% of hotels are planning on using discounted rates to attract guests in 2011.

http://www.hotelsmag.com/MembersOnly/webNews/details.aspx?item=21784

December Occupancies Up At The Price Of Rate

Aloha Kakou:

December's statewide occupancies were higher than than those of 2009 but rates are still down.

Lowering rates attracted more guests in 2010 but those guests will be reluctant to return to the rates they paid in 2006 and 2007.

"The occupancy has returned to more normal levels, but the average rate is still down about 15 to 20 percent from the peak and costs have risen 5 to 10 percent," said David Carey, president and CEO of Outrigger Enterprises Group. "Hotels and their owners continue to be squeezed."

"We are still six years away from even achieving the profitability of 2006 and 2007," said Keith Vieira, senior vice president and director of operations for Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Hawaii and French Polynesia.

http://mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/546141/Deals-help-raise-2010-Maui-occupancy-rates.html?nav=10





http://www.staradvertiser.com/business/20110214_Hotels_ended_2010_with_higher_rates_occupancy.html

Tourism Up, Still Behind Banner Years

Aloha Kakou:

While 2010's visitor arrivals and spending topped that of 2009, those metrics were so low in 2009 that it seemed we had nowhere to go but up. And 2010's increases over 2009 were not significant.

Please see the comments below from some of Hawaii's leaders as quoted in today's Star Advertiser:

"2010 finished ahead of the prior year and ahead of our expectations, but you have to take into account that it's being measured against 2009, when we fell into a very deep hole," said Barry Wallace, vice president of hospitality services for Outrigger Enterprises.

Profitability for the hotel sector is at least another three to five years out, said Jerry Gibson, Hilton Hawaii's area vice president. "We are coming off of 2010 with higher occupancies, but rates are still about a decade behind where they need to be," Gibson said.

Rising oil prices, which are at $90 a barrel, also could play havoc with visitor industry profitability, said Jack Richards, president and chief executive officer for Pleasant Holidays LLC, Hawaii's largest wholesaler.

"It's the wild card," Richards said. "If consumers have to pay more for long-haul travel, hotels, wholesalers and other travel sellers will have to work harder to drive demand."

http://www.staradvertiser.com/business/20110127_hawaii_experiences_a_refreshing_turnaround_for_tourism.html

State's ADR & Occupancy Up For November

Aloha Kakou:

While a return to previously high room rates and occupancies may yet be three to four years away, November's increase in both metrics is a step in the right direction.

November's statewide ADR was $168.81, a 3.9% increase over 2009. Occupancy was up 6.7% to 67.8% over last November.

Experts attribute the increase in occupancy to the lower rates.

http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2010_4th/Dec10_HawaiiUp.html

Hotel Defects Negatively Affect RevPAR

Aloha Kakou:

I know you're tired of hearing me carp on upgrades, but I've found a study that reinforces the notion that the fewer defects found in a lodging property, the higher the revenue. Note that this study takes into account the entire property and not individual units. Also note that, while the study does have some age, I would expect that today's more demanding guest would make for an even greater RevPAR loss.

Here are some of the salient parts of the article:

Financial performance is affected by higher quality in two ways: (1) firms can charge a premium price and (2) firms can increase market share. Although quality does not always have a direct impact on return on investment (ROI), the increase on market share may indirectly influence ROI.

Having even a single defect seemed to cost the hotels money. For example, in February 1990, hotels with at least one defect in the exterior had a RevPAR of $3.12 less than hotels with no defects in the exterior. Hotels with at least one defect in the guest room had a RevPAR of $2.01 less than hotels with no defects in the guest room. Hotels with at least one defect in the guest bath had a RevPAR of $1.32 less than hotels with no defects in the guest bath.

The RevPAR for the deficient hotels was consistently lower than that of the not-deficient hotels for all six test periods.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/79382266.html

August Best Month In A While

Aloha Kakou:

August was a good month for Hawaii's tourism business compared to the recent past, but we have a way to go to reach rates and occupancies of years like 2006 and 2007.

Maui had almost a 10% increase in visitors this August compared to August, 2009.

According to the Maui News, " On Maui, gains were substantial in every price category but especially so in the midprice and economy categories. Economy rooms, charging $115 a night, zoomed from 47.4 percent occupancy to 66.1 percent." Rate is still the driver of occupancy.

"We had busy months, and we're seeing volume being built back into the market but we're still well below our peak years," said Joseph Toy, Hospitality Advisors' president and chief executive officer.

http://mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/541529/Maui-s-hotel-occupancy-up-considerably-in-August---firm.html?nav=10

http://www.staradvertiser.com/business/20101011_August_hotel_occupancy_up.html

Good News From July Compared To Last Year

Aloha Kakou:

Maui's occupancy and room revenue were up this year in July as compared to last year.

Last year's occupancy of 61.5 was bested by 2010's 73.1 July's room revenue was up 18.1% compared to last year.

Rates were down, though, this year with ADR coming in about $18 lower than 2009.

Of course, the numbers were so low last year that any increase in actual dollars or arrivals would have an impact on this year's numbers.

http://mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/540993/Pleasant-news-for-hoteliers.html?nav=10

Hawaii Third Highest In Hotel Rates

Aloha Kakou:

While hotel rates have begun to rebound in other parts of the US, Hawaii's have remained steady from last year, making hotel rates here the third highest in the country.

Corporate and incentive travel has yet to rebound in the Hawaii market. Without that underlying demand, it's difficult to increase rates as rooms are not as full as they had been in prior years.

http://www.staradvertiser.com/business/businessnews/20100914_Isle_hotel_rates_third-highest.html

Rate Recovery "Years Away"

Aloha Kakou:

We know that occupancy is up because rates are down. According to Joseph Toy, president and CEO of Hospitality Advisors LLC, while rates may begin to recover mid-2011, rates may not fully recover to pre-downturn levels until 2014.

http://www.travelweekly.com/Hawaii/article3_ektid219682.aspx

Competitor's Rate Information

Aloha Kakou:

Just in case you're wondering what the neighbors are up to:

http://www.travelzoo.com/hotels/hawaii/866473/?utm_source=top20_us&utm_medium=email_top20

Rates Down, Occupancy Up For Last Week

Aloha Kakou:

Compared to the other three main islands, Maui had the largest increase in occupancy for the week ending April 14 compared to last year. Island occupancy was 67.3%, up 5.5% from last year. Unfortunately, even though Maui had the highest ADR for Hawaii of $218.35, that is down 10% from the same period last year.

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2010/04/19/daily40.html?ana=from_rss&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bizj_pacific+%28Pacific+Business+News+of+Honolulu%29&utm_content=Twitter

Rates Down, Occupancy Up

Aloha Kakou:

Hotel room occupancy on Maui increased to 76.4% for the week ending March 20th.

Revenue, however, is a different story, falling 14% from the same period a year ago to $221.

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2010/03/22/daily29.html?s=industry&i=travel

Worldwide Hotel Rates Down 14%

Aloha Kakou:

Around the world, hotel rates declined 14% in 2009 from their 2008 levels. The bulk of the decline was seen at the beginning of 2009, however, with rate dropping tapering off toward the end of the year.

"Despite some possible first signs of hotel prices recovering in Europe and the U.S. in the last quarter of 2009, the promotions and great value look set to continue for some time yet," said David Roche, president of Hotels.com.

"We have seen some stabilization but we will still see prices more in favor of the traveler rather than the hotelier," said Nigel Pocklington, global marketing director for Hotels.com in London.

http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/uLrYcWuDoMzrppqkajbHyyigDi?format=standard

October Hawaii Visitors Up But Maui Down

Aloha Kakou:

Visitor numbers to Hawaii in October increased this year compared to last. Maui's visitor numbers, however, lagged last year by 2%.

"Room rates are down and all other costs are rising," said Barry Wallace, executive vice president for Outrigger Enterprises Group. "It's nice to see people on the streets and beaches and in the hotels and restaurants, but it's not a pretty picture."

http://www.starbulletin.com/business/20091204_Group_travelers_give_hotel_occupancy_a_lift.html

Aloha Kakou:

While most higher-end Maui properties are appealing to lower-end travellers strictly with rate, the article linked below discusses other ways that luxury properties are attempting to muscle in on business normally associated with lower ranked hotels.

As I have mentioned in the past, this strategy is somewhat of a concern for us at the Outrigger Maui Eldorado as hotels and oceanfront properties reduce their rates into our usual territory. That means that we either need to lower our rates (which we've done), offer some kind of competitive deal (like we're doing with the golf and spa deals and the restaurant discounts), or improve the property and units so the Outrigger Maui Eldorado is seen as a good value as compared to our now new luxury competitors.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10625691/1/high-end-hotels-lure-huddled-masses.html

September Occupancy Up, Spending Down

Aloha Kakou:

Hawaii's hotel occupancy was up in September, the first time in more than a year that year-over-year numbers increased.

The cost of that occupancy came at the expense of room rates, with hotels having to offer reduced rates to attract guests. And guests who do come are spending less money on more discretionary items, such as dining out and activities.

Maui hotels continued to report declines in occupancy and average daily rate, falling 1.0 percentage point and 14.6 percent, respectively, Joseph Toy of Hospitality Advisors said.


Demand for the luxury regions of Wailea and Lahaina-Ka'anapali-Kapalua experienced a slight uptick in September 2009 compared to the prior year.

Don't forget that you can get the most recent hotel occupancy data by clicking on the Hawaii Hotel Occupancy link on the right.

http://www.starbulletin.com/business/businessnews/20091109_isle_hotels_see_more_rooms_filled.html
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20091109/BUSINESS02/911090314/Hotel+occupancy+up+in+September

Hawaii Occupany and Room Rates

Aloha Kakou:

In case you hadn't noticed, the Hawaii Hotel Occupancy link in the Links You Might Enjoy section (to your right, there) gives you occupancies and room rates, by island, for the previous week.