Hawaii Hotel Rates are HIGH.
Hotels on Hawaii's Big Island, which include the Fairmont Orchid, seen here, saw the greatest growth in occupancy and room revenue during the first quarter,
Hawaii hotels took in room revenue of $973.5 million during the first quarter of this year as the average statewide daily room rate jumped 13 percent to the highest of the top five hotel markets in the United States, according to a new report by Hospitality Advisors LLC and Smith Travel Research.
Total hotel revenues, when food and beverage, retail, parking and other revenue sources are factored in, reached a record $1.43 billion for the quarter, a 14.7 percent increase from the same quarter in 2012.
Hawaii's average daily room rate of $233.33 during the first quarter beat the Miami-Hialeah market in Florida, where the average rate was $223.71, New York City, where the average rate was $210.57 and San Francisco, where the average rate was $165.68. New Orleans rounded out the top five with an average daily rate of $160.51.
Hawaii hotels also saw revenue per available room, or RevPAR, increase by 15 percent during the first quarter to $190.40, which was higher than New York, San Francisco and New Orleans and second only to Miami-Hialeah, where RevPAR for the quarter was $192.38.
Hawaii was also second for occupancy, with a rate of 81.6 percent for the quarter, second, again, to Miami, which had an 86 percent occupancy rate.
“With such momentum coming off a record 2012, it was clear that Hawaii would have an outstanding first quarter in 2013,” Joseph Toy, president and CEO of Hospitality Advisors LLC, said in a statement. “Oahu and Maui had an outstanding first quarter, with Kauai and the Big Island finally starting to make up ground that was lost during the severe downturn."
Room rates and revenue at Oahu hotels soared by more than 18 percent, compared to last year, to an average daily room rate of $208.77 and RevPAR of $179.96. Occupancy was flat compared to last year at 86.2 percent.
Occupancy on Maui increased by just 0.01 percentage points to 80.2 percent in the first quarter, while the average daily room rate rose 7.4 percent to $296.15 and RevPAR rose 7.5 percent to $237.51.
On Kauai, the average daily room rate rose 7.5 percent to $224.35, while RevPAR jumped 14.4 percent to $164.22. Occupancy on Kauai increased 4.4 percentage points from last year to 73.2 percent.
The Big Island saw the greatest amount of growth during the first quarter, with RevPAR jumping 21 percent to $162.56, the average daily room rate rising 11.8 percent to #223.91 and occupancy growing 5.5 percentage points to 72.6 percent.
The growth ion each of the islands is likely to taper off as the year progresses, Toy said.
“While the start of 2103 has been spectacular, we will likely see some moderation in the market as the strong pent up demand for Hawaii travel begins to tail off,” Toy said. “We also note that although hotel revenues are at record levels, profit margins continue to be squeezed due to higher operating expenses, including labor and energy costs."
