Features » Travel

Subscribe

Report: Hawaii hotels lost $741M last year

  • Print
  • •
  • •
  • Post a Comment
  • •
  • Favorite
  • •
  • Report an error Report error
    • Thank you for your submission.
      Error report or correction
      Contact name (optional) Contact phone/e-mail (optional)  
      Sending report
    • Close
  • •
  • Originally published February 16, 2010 at 12:48 p.m., updated February 16, 2010 at 5:07 p.m.

HONOLULU (AP) — Hotels in Hawaii lost $741 million last year, raising the total to $1.1 billion since the tourism slump began in 2008, according to a new report released by industry consulting firm Hospitality Advisors LLC.

Hotel occupancy throughout the state averaged 66.5 percent in 2009, down from 70.5 percent in 2008, according to the report released Tuesday.

Last year's rate was the lowest since Hospitality Advisors began reporting hotel data in 1987.

"2009 has been a very tough year for the visitor industry both in Hawaii and nationally," said Joseph Toy, president and CEO of Hospitality Advisors.

"Since April 2008 when the sharp downturn began, Hawaii has had 21 consecutive months of hotel revenue losses that now amounts to over $1.14 billion, with $741 million of the decline occurring in 2009," Toy said.

The speed and depth of the downturn was unprecedented, and the hotel industry has never experienced the level of rate discounting that is continuing, Toy said.

Hotels have been heavily discounting room rates to generate demand.

Toy noted that both visitor arrivals and hotel demand in the Hawaii market seem to have moderated somewhat during the fourth quarter.

"While there has been some modest recovery in occupancy over the last few months, it has been uneven, and in some cases property specific," he said. "However, it will take a much longer period to recover from the substantial price reductions that have occurred in the market."

The occupancy rate for Hawaii hotels was 64.9 percent in December, up from 60.8 percent in December 2008, the survey said. At the same time, the average daily room rate fell from $214.28 to $195.07, it said.

December saw the occupancy rate climb from 67.7 percent to 72.5 percent on Oahu, 57.4 percent to 62.3 percent on Maui and 48.4 percent to 51.2 percent on the Big Island. On Kauai, the rate dropped from 52.3 percent to 51.4 percent.


Sign Up
CLOSE

  • Print
  • •
  • •
  • Post a Comment
  • •
  • Favorite
  • •
  • Report an error Report error
    • Thank you for your submission.
      Error report or correction
      Contact name (optional) Contact phone/e-mail (optional)  
      Sending report
    • Close
  • •