Credit card sales climb

Visitor arrivals to the state have flattened out this year, but that hasn’t stopped tourists and Hawaii residents from pulling out their plastic.

Credit and debit card transactions for 16 sectors statewide rose 8.3 percent in the third quarter from the year-earlier period, according to First Hawaiian Bank’s quarterly business activity report that is due to be officially released Friday. The total card volume of $833 million for same-store sales, or businesses open at least a year, was the highest since the bank began producing the report at the start of 2010.

It was the 19th straight quarter of growth in card transactions as all but one sector posted increases. Hotels (up 14.8 percent), shipping (14.7 percent), home improvement (14.6 percent), utilities/communications (12.3 percent), supermarkets (12.3 percent) and medical services (10.7 percent) all posted double-digit percentage gains. Only travel activities (down 1.3 percent) decreased from the year-earlier quarter.

"The consumer in Hawaii and across the nation has done a great job of paying down debt and getting their financial house in order," said Bob Harrison, chairman, president and chief executive officer of First Hawaiian Bank. "But the consumer is also the primary driver of our economy. If they don’t spend, then the economy can’t grow. Hopefully with some of the numbers in the broad consumer categories increasing, people are feeling more comfortable spending."

At the Halekulani, a five-star, 97-year-old independent Waikiki hotel known for its brand character, personalized service and amenities, credit and debit card sales surged 21 percent despite a dip in occupancy, the average length of stay getting shorter and the mix of visitors shifting more to the U.S. West from high-spending Japan due to a weakened yen.

"Prior to 2013 the industry here tended to use 2007 as the ultimate benchmark year for performance. That was where the revenue set records for the industry," said Peter Shaindlin, chief operating officer of the Halekulani.

"Then 2013 surpassed 2007. The third quarter of 2013 was tremendous. It was a historic third quarter for many hotels, including our own. So 2014 overall for the industry was a little bit off that pace for the third quarter, but it still was one of the strongest third quarters in decades."

Card transactions increased at the Halekulani even in the face of sluggish visitor arrivals, which were up 2.5 percent in July, down 1.3 percent in August and ahead just 0.1 percent through the first eight months of the year, according to the most recent data from the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Over that same period, visitor spending was up 2.6 percent in July, down 0.5 percent in August and up 2.1 percent through the first eight months.

Shaindlin said when a destination flattens out in the number of visitor arrivals, there are two dynamics in play that might affect hotels and not be easily spotted. He said there can be a mix of visitor arrivals where more people are staying in time shares, rooms rented through the Airbnb website, and at villas where hotel arrivals might drop. Visitors’ spending habits also can be different, he said.

"What we find (at Halekulani) is that when demand levels off, the first traveler that drops away is the lower-tiered traveler, so in our hotel the guy who normally buys the entry-level room drops off," Shaindlin said.

"But the guy who can afford a suite is still coming even if the economy is softening. That explains in my mind why spending is higher. The traveler in the high end is still coming and makes up more of the pie."

Staying at the Halekulani isn’t for the frugal. Rates at the hotel range from $520 to $900 a night for rooms and $1,055 to $7,000 a night for suites.

Shaindlin said he attributes some of last quarter’s increase in card spending to the relaunch of the hotel’s website earlier this year that maximizes direct bookings.

"It’s quite possible that we had more direct bookings in the third quarter than through traditional wholesalers (like JTB) the previous year," he said.

Card spending has been picking up overall in the state since the fourth quarter of 2013 when it was up just 2.3 percent from the year-earlier period. Spending was up 3.8 percent in the first quarter of this year and up 5 percent in the second quarter. Last quarter’s 8.3 percent gain marked the third straight quarterly increase and was the highest year-over-year gain since sales rose 8.4 percent in the second quarter of 2013.

"What we’re seeing this year is kind of an acceleration of spending," said Jack Suyderhoud, a First Hawaiian Bank adviser and professor of business economics at the University of Hawaii Shidler College of Business. "The first quarter was pretty slow. The second quarter picked up some speed, and in the third quarter we’re seeing even more growth. That suggests to me that things have been picking up after a slow start for the year."

The breadth of the spending across multiple categories is a good sign, Suyderhoud said.

"I find encouraging in the numbers that for the last couple of quarters, the expenditure categories have been more kind of a local type of spending — utilities, home furnishings and supermarkets," Suyderhoud said.

"They’ve been among the leading sectors, which means we’re seeing an internal momentum to the economy."

As usual, hotels processed the greatest volume of card transactions at $163.1 million, with restaurants close behind at $130.6 million.

"Hotels, which grabbed the top spot this quarter with 14.81 percent, may have received a boost from increased visitor activity from (the naval exercise) RIMPAC and the popular Japan band Arashi concert," said Keith Nagata, First Hawaiian senior vice president and business services division manager.

Higher room rates likely helped as well.

Hotel revenue reached a new single-month record of $508 billion in July as it surpassed the half-billion mark for the first time, according to the most recent data from Hospitality Advisors.

Statewide average daily rates hit a new July record of $254.45 while occupancy rose 2.3 percentage points to 81.4 percent, the third straight month of occupancy gains.

Last quarter marked the first time that hotels occupied the top spot in the business activity report since the second quarter of 2013 when they rose 20.6 percent. It also was only the fourth time overall in 19 quarters that hotels were the leading sector. For all of 2013, hotels were the top sector with a gain of 12 percent.

Shaindlin said the fourth quarter looks "steady and pretty strong" for the visitor industry.

"The question for tourism in 2015 and for all of us in the industry is the yen, and there’s no crystal ball so no one knows what direction it is going," he said. "The good news is the Japanese economy itself, and the mood in Japan is very upbeat and vigorous. We think Japan is a very healthy economy overall, and we think it bodes well for tourism going forward here for our hotel and others."