Demand Strong But Fear Remains

Aloha Kakou:

Despite Maui's overall lower occupancy numbers, there still remains the desire by mainland folks to visit the island.

The Executive Director of the Maui Visitor's Bureau said, "People want to come (to Maui)" following her recent extensive marketing tours on the Mainland.

Joseph Toy, president of Hospitality Advisors, said, "It is notable that despite the fall in the market, we continue to remain competitive both in the U.S. market as well as other island destinations."

http://mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/525612.html?nav=10

Alaska Air Lands At Kahului

Aloha Kakou:

Monday marked the start of Alaska Air's nonstop service from Oakland. The flights will arrive on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

http://mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/525615.html?nav=10

Making More Views

Aloha Kakou:

Yesterday the tree trimmers were at work on the autograph trees around D, E and F buildings. A little off the top and, voila, instant partial ocean view!

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

More On OTAs & Taxes

Aloha Kakou:

The Attorney General of Florida, Bill McCollum, said tuesday that the state would file lawsuits against against the two largest Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) to recover unpaid taxes on the difference between the travel agency's net rate and the rate those agencies ultimately charged the consumer.

"The customer is paying the tax already," said McCollum, who is running for governor in 2010. "Orbitz and Expedia are not remitting to the state all the taxes they have collected."

"The decision to file a lawsuit will hurt the interest of millions of travelers and tourism workers in Florida," said Andrew Weinstein, spokesman for the Washington-based Industry Travel Services Association. "It will make it more expensive for visitors to come to the state."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jLLh9RsaCtGJT7bzkLP5fxazSRGwD9BOD2MO0

Aloha Kakou:

According to Forbes Travel, Hawaii is the number one honeymoon destination for American newlyweds.

http://www.forbestraveler.com/best-lists/most-popular-honeymoons-slide.html?partner=msnbc

Lucky G Building Owners

Aloha Kakou:

The painting of G building was scheduled to take two weeks, but it seems no one told the painters! They finished up the brush work today, about a week ahead of schedule. While the painters wanted to move on to H building, they will instead next week be working on some handrails in H & J buildings (ahead of schedule) and touching up in buildings where the majority of the painting has been completed.