Hotel industry reaped record $561M in January

While hotel occupancy rose only slightly in January, the industry saw record revenue of $561 million.

Statewide occupancy climbed to 81.4 percent in January, up 1.1 percentage points from a year earlier, according to the latest hotel flash report released by Hospitality Advisors LLC and Smith Travel Research.

Total revenue — including earnings from room sales, food and beverage, retail, parking and other sources — was bolstered by higher average daily rates that rose 9.4 percent to a monthly high of $281.23 and revenue per available room (revPAR), up 10.9 percent to $228.92, also a record for January. The hotel revenues do not include alternative accommodation statistics from Airbnb and similar vacation rentals brokers.

“The overall emphasis as you run reasonably full is to optimize room revenue. Most of the major hotels have been successful at raising their average rates to take advantage of the demand,” said David Carey, outgoing CEO of Outrigger Hotels and Resorts. “Demand’s been good. It’s driven by good marketing for the destination.”

The report noted there were more than 1,000 rooms brought back into the market on Oahu after renovations and conversions of office space into hotel use at properties including the Waikiki Trade Center.

With the added supply of rooms, Oahu occupancy fell slightly to 83.1 percent, down 0.9 percent from last year. Room rates increased 8.5 percent to $245.22, while revPAR was up 7.5 percent to $203.78, both records for the month. Waikiki properties were 84.8 percent full and posted records for both the average daily rate and revPAR at $241.21 and $204.55, respectively, the report said.

Meanwhile, Maui hotels benefited from more visitors from the U.S. West and East, with a 0.9 percentage point growth in occupancy to 77.7 percent and a 14.7 percent jump in the average daily rate to $382.72. RevPAR spiked 16.1 percent to $297.37, both highs for the month.

Kauai hotels also saw record gains in both occupancy and room rates with a 2.7 percentage point increase to 80.6 percent and 7.9 percent spike to $278.91. RevPAR also reached an all-time high at $224.80, up 11.7 percent.

Properties on the Big Island were on par with their counterparts with record occupancy at 81.2 percent, a 9.5 percentage point increase, and room rates up 3.7 percent to $267.27. RevPAR also grew 13.6 percent, to $217.02.