David Y. Ige

 

Kauai Led the State in RevPAR Growth in Spite of Record-Setting
Rainfall and Flooding on the North Shore in Mid-April

HONOLULU – April is a traditionally off-peak travel month, however, Hawaii hotels statewide reported solid increases in revenue per available room (RevPAR), average daily rate (ADR) and room occupancy, according to the Hawaii Hotel Performance Report issued today by the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA).

In April, hotels statewide averaged RevPAR of $217 (+7.9%) and ADR of $269 (+4.2%), with occupancy increasing to 80.5 percent (+2.8 percentage points) compared to a year ago (Figure 1).

Midscale & Economy Class hotels led all classes of Hawaii hotel properties in growth of RevPAR (+18.7% to $130) in April, bolstered by increases in ADR to $159 (+10.5%) and occupancy of 82.2 percent (+5.7 percentage points). Upper Upscale Class hotels recorded the highest occupancy in April at 85.7 percent (+2.0 percentage points), along with RevPAR of $226 (+6.4%) and ADR of $263 (+3.9%).

Jennifer Chun, HTA director of tourism research, said, “All classes of properties on the four island counties recorded increases in RevPAR and ADR. The industry continues to benefit from the additional air seat capacity serving the state, which helped to bolster what is typically a slower month for visitor travel to the Hawaiian Islands.”

Year-to-date through April, hotels statewide averaged RevPAR of $236 (+8.7%) and ADR of $287 (+6.3%), with occupancy at 82.3 percent (+1.8 percentage points) compared to last year (Figure 2). Each of the four island counties reported year-over-year growth in all three categories, highlighted by Kauai, the island of Hawaii and Maui County all recording double-digit increases in RevPAR.

In April, Kauai hotels earned the state’s highest RevPAR growth (+18.7% to $218), boosted by ADR of $284 (+12.8%) and occupancy of 76.9 percent (+3.8 percentage points).

“It’s satisfying to see that Kauai did so well in April considering the inundation of rainfall and flooding the north shore suffered in mid-April and the images of devastation that were shown by media outlets worldwide,” said Chun. “We are thankful that travelers continued to come to Kauai throughout April to support the island’s leading industry.”

Oahu hotels performed well in April, with increases in RevPAR to $189 (+6.6%), ADR to $228 (+3.4%), and occupancy of 82.6 percent (+2.5 percentage points). Waikiki hotels earned RevPAR of $185 (+6.8%), boosted by a 3.5 percent increase in ADR to $222 and occupancy to 83.1 percent (+2.6 percentage points).

Chun commented, “Waikiki’s positive performance in April is both notable and encouraging. With Waikiki having the bulk of the state’s hotel room inventory, the state’s tourism industry is lifted up whenever Waikiki has a good month.”

In April, Maui County hotels reported the highest RevPAR at $293 (+5.9%), with modest increases in ADR at $371 (+5.4%) and flat occupancy of 79.0 percent (+0.4 percentage points). Wailea hotel properties led the state’s resort regions in RevPAR at $514 (+7.5%), ADR at $575 (+4.8%), and occupancy of 89.4 percent (+2.3 percentage points).

Hotels on the island of Hawaii reported the highest occupancy growth in April (+7.4 percentage points to 76.4%). RevPAR rose to $199 (+12.8%), supported by an increase in ADR to $261 (+1.9%). Kohala Coast hotels enjoyed a good April, with RevPAR increasing to $274 (+9.6%), supported by growth in ADR to $379 (+4.7%) and occupancy of 72.2 percent (+3.2 percentage points).

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

About the Hawaii Hotel Performance Report
The Hawaii Hotel Performance Report is produced using hotel survey data compiled by STR, Inc., the largest survey of its kind in Hawaii. 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 April 2018, the survey included 164 properties representing 48,667 rooms, or 90.0 percent of all lodging properties with 20 rooms or more in the Hawaiian Islands, including full service, limited service, and condominium hotels.

About the Hawaii Tourism Authority
The Hawaii Tourism Authority is responsible for strategically managing the State of Hawaii’s marketing initiatives to support tourism. HTA’s goal is to optimize tourism’s benefits for Hawaii, while being attentive to the interests of travelers, the community and visitor industry. Established in 1998 to support Hawaii’s leading industry and largest employer, HTA continually strives to help ensure the sustainability of tourism’s success.

For more information about HTA, please visit www.hawaiitourismauthority.org. Follow updates about HTA on Facebook, Twitter (@HawaiiHTA) and its YouTube Channel.

Media Contacts:
Charlene Chan
Director of Communications
Hawaii Tourism Authority
808-973-2272 (o)
808-781-7733 (m)
[email protected]

Jennifer Chun
Director of Tourism Research
Hawaii Tourism Authority
(808) 973-9446 (o)
[email protected]

Patrick Dugan
Senior Vice President
Anthology Marketing Group
808-539-3411 (o)
808-741-2712 (m)
[email protected]

Erin Kinoshita
Anthology Marketing Group
(808) 539-3428 (o)
(808) 349-3746 (m)
[email protected]