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Hawaii hotels: Flat average daily rate, lower occupancy so far in 2019

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For the first three months of 2019, Hawaii hotels statewide reported flat average daily rate (ADR) and lower occupancy, which resulted in lower revenue per available room (RevPAR) compared to the first quarter of 2018.

According to the Hawaii Hotel Performance Report published by the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), statewide RevPAR declined to $236 (-3.3%), with ADR of $292 and occupancy of 80.8 percent (-2.7 percentage points) in the first quarter of 2019.

HTA’s Tourism Research Division issued the report’s findings utilizing data compiled by STR, Inc., which conducts the largest and most comprehensive survey of hotel properties in the Hawaiian Islands.

For the first quarter, Hawaii hotel room revenues fell by 4.7 percent to $1.13 billion compared to the $1.18 billion earned in the first quarter of 2018. There were more than 74,300 fewer available room nights (-1.5%) in the first quarter and approximately 190,500 fewer occupied room nights (-4.7%) compared to a year ago. Several hotel properties across the state were closed for renovation or had rooms out of service for renovation during the first quarter.

All classes of Hawaii hotel properties statewide reported RevPAR declines in the first quarter of 2019 except Upper Midscale Class properties ($134, +0.6%). Luxury Class properties reported RevPAR of $452 (-5.4%) with ADR of $594 (-1.2%) and occupancy of 76.1 percent (-3.3 percentage points). At the other end of the price scale, Midscale & Economy Class hotels reported RevPAR of $155 (-5.0%) with ADR of $187 (-0.5%) and occupancy of 83.1 percent (-3.9 percentage points).

Comparison to Top U.S. Markets

In comparison to top U.S. markets, the Hawaiian Islands earned the highest RevPAR at $236 in the first quarter, followed by the San Francisco/San Mateo market at $210 (+15.9%) and the Miami/Hialeah market at $208 (-3.5%). Hawaii also led the U.S. markets in ADR at $292 followed by San Francisco/San Mateo and Miami/Hialeah. The Hawaiian Islands ranked fifth for occupancy at 80.8 percent, with Miami/Hialeah topping the list at 83.0 percent (-2.1 percentage points).

Hotel Results for Hawaii’s Four Counties

Hotel properties in Hawaii’s four island counties all reported RevPAR decreases in the first quarter of 2019. Maui County hotels led the state overall in RevPAR at $337 (-2.7%), with ADR at $428 (-0.9%) and occupancy at 78.6 percent (-1.5 percentage points).

Kauai hotels earned RevPAR of $228 (-10.2%), with flat ADR at $305 (+0.2%) and lower occupancy of 74.8 percent (-8.7 percentage points).

Hotels on the island of Hawaii reported a decline in RevPAR to $225 (-9.7%), due to a combination of decreases in both ADR ($285, -2.0%) and occupancy (79.1%, -6.7 percentage points).

Oahu hotels earned slightly lower RevPAR at $196 (-0.9%), with ADR at $236 (+0.8%) and occupancy of 83.0 percent (-1.4 percentage points).

Comparison to International Markets

When compared to international “sun and sea” destinations, Hawaii’s counties were in the middle of the pack for RevPAR in the first quarter of 2019. Hotels in the Maldives ranked highest in RevPAR at $575 (+4.5%) followed by Aruba at $351 (+11.2%). Maui County ranked third, with Kauai, the island of Hawaii, and Oahu ranking sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively.

The Maldives also led in ADR at $737 (+5.2%) in the first quarter, followed by French Polynesia at $497 (-1.1%). Maui County ranked fifth, followed by Kauai and the island of Hawaii. Oahu ranked ninth .

Oahu trailed Phuket (84.5%, -6.3 percentage points) in occupancy for sun and sea destinations in the first quarter. The island of Hawaii, Maui County and Kauai ranked fourth, fifth and ninth, respectively.

March 2019 Hotel Performance

In March 2019, RevPAR for Hawaii hotels statewide declined to $227 (-4.3%), with ADR of $285 (-1.1%) and occupancy of 79.6 percent (-2.7 percentage points).

In March, Hawaii hotel room revenues fell by 5.9 percent to $373.3 million. There were more than 27,200 fewer available room nights (-1.6%) in March and approximately 66,850 fewer occupied room nights (-4.9%) compared to a year ago. Several hotel properties across the state were closed for renovation or had rooms out of service for renovation during March. However, the number of rooms out of service may be under-reported.

All classes of Hawaii hotel properties statewide reported RevPAR declines in March. Luxury Class properties reported RevPAR of $443 (-7.2%) with ADR of $583 (-3.1%) and occupancy of 75.9 percent (-3.4 percentage points). Midscale & Economy Class hotels reported RevPAR of $150 (-2.9%) with ADR of $182 (+0.8%) and occupancy of 82.0 percent (-3.1 percentage points).

Hotel properties in Hawaii’s four island counties all reported lower RevPAR for March. Maui County hotels reported the highest RevPAR in March at $336 (-1.4%) with ADR of $421 (-1.6%) and flat occupancy (79.8%, +0.2 percentage points).

Oahu hotels reported lower occupancy (80.4%, -2.3 percentage points) and flat ADR ($230, -0.2%) for March.

Hotels on the island of Hawaii continued to face challenges in March, with RevPAR dropping 11.2 percent to $216, ADR to $272 (-4.9%) and occupancy to 79.2 percent (-5.7 percentage points).

RevPAR for Kauai hotels fell to $213 (-14.6%) in March, with declines in both ADR to $286 (-4.5%) and occupancy to 74.4 percent (-8.8 percentage points).

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Hainan Airlines announces nonstop Beijing-Oslo service

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Hainan Airlines Holding Co., Ltd. (Hainan Airlines) plans to formally launch nonstop service between Beijing and Oslo on May 15. This will be the first direct route between mainland China and Norway as well as the airline’s first nonstop Nordic service. The Beijing-Oslo route, with three round trip flights weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, will be serviced by an Airbus A330-300 aircraft with 32 seats in business class and 262 seats in economy class. Business class will be equipped with 180-degree flatbed seats, while every seat on the aircraft comes wired with an exclusive on-demand entertainment system and every passenger will be served sumptuous offerings from both Western and Oriental cuisines. In addition, the use of portable electronic devices on board will be allowed.

The airline now operates 21 routes with destinations in Europe including Berlin, London, Paris, Rome, Brussels, Edinburgh, Zurich, Vienna, Manchester, Madrid and Moscow. Tickets for Beijing-Oslo flights can now be reserved.

Hainan Airlines’ Beijing-Oslo Flight Schedule (All times are local):

Flight No.

Aircraft

Schedule

Departure City

Departure Time

Arrival Time

Arrival City

HU769

A330

Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Beijing

1:30 am

5:30 am

Oslo

HU770

A330

Monday/Friday

Oslo

2:30 pm

5:30 am+1

Beijing

HU770

A330

Wednesday

Oslo

1:55 pm

5:00 am+1

Beijing

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Nonstop between Washington Dulles and Acrra, Ghana grows on SAA

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Starting today, South African Airways (SAA) has increased its frequency on nonstop flights between Washington, D.C.-Dulles International Airport and Accra’s Kotoka International Airport to 5 days weekly.

SAA offers the only nonstop flight between Washington D.C. and Ghana and offers travelers convenient connections to and from over 100 cities across the U.S. and Canada through its Star Alliance partner, United Airlines via Washington, D.C.- Dulles.

South African Airways’ flights to Accra now operate 5 days a week with continuing service to Johannesburg, South Africa, operating on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. SAA’s increase of flights on the route will also serve to support the partnership with Africa World Airlines by offering seamless connections between Accra and additional destinations in West Africa including; Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria; Monrovia, Liberia and Freetown, Sierra Leone. In addition, SAA will continue to operate flights between Washington D.C.-Dulles and Dakar, Senegal and onwards to Johannesburg, two days per week.

SAA’s flights between Washington-Dulles and Accra will be operated with both the Airbus A330-300 and the Airbus A330-200 aircraft. The A330-300 features 46 full-flat 180° beds with direct aisle access at every seat in Premium Business Class and 203 seats in Economy Class. The A330- 200 offers 36 full-flat beds in Premium Business Class and 186 seats in Economy Class. Customers traveling in both Premium Business Class and Economy Class will have on-demand audio and visual entertainment options, in-seat power ports, freshly-prepared meals, and complimentary bar service featuring South African wines.

For information, visit flysaa.com.

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Hawaii Tourism: Hawaii hotels’ occupancy, revenue down in February 2019

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In February 2019, Hawaii hotels statewide reported decreases in both average daily rate (ADR) and occupancy, which resulted in lower revenue per available room (RevPAR) compared to February 2018.

According to the Hawaii Hotel Performance Report published by the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), statewide RevPAR declined to $242 (-4.2%), with ADR of $290 (-1.2%) and occupancy of 83.4 percent (-2.6 percentage points) (Figure 1) in February.

HTA’s Tourism Research Division issued the report’s findings utilizing data compiled by STR, Inc., which conducts the largest and most comprehensive survey of hotel properties in the Hawaiian Islands.

In February, Hawaii hotel room revenues fell by 5.6 percent to $360.0 million. There were more than 22,000 fewer available room nights (-1.5%) in February and approximately 58,000 fewer occupied room nights (-4.5%) compared to a year ago (Figure 2). Several hotel properties across the state were closed for renovation or had rooms out of service for renovation during February.

All classes of Hawaii hotel properties statewide reported RevPAR declines in February, except Upper Midscale Class properties ($149, +2.5%). Luxury Class properties reported RevPAR of $447 (-6.2%) with ADR of $574 (-2.2%) and occupancy of 77.9 percent
(-3.4 percentage points). At the other end of the price scale, Midscale & Economy Class hotels reported RevPAR of $154
 (-10.3%) with ADR of $181 (-6.8%) and occupancy of 85.3 percent (-3.4 percentage points).

Among Hawaii’s four island counties, only Oahu hotels reported ADR growth for February ($237, +1.2%). This increase was counter-balanced by a 1.0 percentage point decrease in occupancy to 86.4 percent, resulting in no RevPAR growth in February ($205) compared to a year ago.

Maui County hotels reported a decline in RevPAR to $337 (-4.5%) in February but led the state overall. Both ADR ($420, -2.9%) and occupancy (80.3, -1.3 percentage points) decreased year-over-year.

Hotels on the island of Hawaii reported a drop in RevPAR to $233 (-13.5%) in February, with lower ADR ($285, -5.8%) and occupancy (81.8%, -7.3 percentage points) compared to February 2018.

Kauai hotels’ RevPAR fell to $230 (-12.3%) in February, with declines in both ADR to $306 (-1.3%) and occupancy to 75.1 percent (-9.4 percentage points).

All of Hawaii’s resort regions reported RevPAR and occupancy losses in February. Only Waikiki properties were able to raise ADR for the month ($232, +1.0%) compared to a year ago.

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All Nippon Airways takes delivery of its first Airbus A380 Superjumbo

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Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) has taken delivery of its first A380 at a special ceremony in Toulouse, becoming the 15th operator of the world’s largest passenger aircraft. The delivery ceremony was attended by ANA HOLDINGS President and CEO Shinya Katanozaka and hosted by Airbus CEO Tom Enders.

ANA has ordered three A380s and will operate the aircraft on the popular route between Tokyo Narita and Honolulu from May 24. Each ANA A380 will feature a special livery depicting the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle, also known as the Honu. The livery on the first aircraft is painted in blue, while the second will be green and the third orange.

ANA’s A380 is configured in a premium layout seating 520 passengers. The upper deck features eight suites in First Class, 56 Business Class seats that convert to fully flat beds and 73 Premium Economy seats. Economy Class is located on the main deck, where ANA offers a spacious layout seating 383 passengers, including 60 Couch Seats. The aircraft features ANA’s very latest in-flight entertainment systems, as well as full connectivity in all classes.

“We will commit all three of our Airbus A380 to the Tokyo Honolulu route with the goal of introducing a new level of luxury service to our passengers flying ANA on the number one resort route for Japanese travelers,” said Shinya Katanozaka, President and CEO of ANA HOLDINGS INC.

“We believe the A380 will become a game changer for ANA and will enable us to increase our market share by doubling the number of seats connecting Honolulu and Tokyo by 2020,” he added. “The FLYING HONU is designed to offer unprecedented comfort and convenience and a world of new possibilities to ANA passengers, something that would not have been possible without the combined efforts of the Airbus and Rolls-Royce teams working closely with the dedicated professionals at ANA.”

“Airbus is proud to deliver this beautiful aircraft to ANA,” said Airbus CEO Tom Enders. “Offering unrivalled levels of passenger comfort, the A380 will enable ANA to increase its capacity on the busy route to Hawaii with maximum efficiency. We are confident that the aircraft will be highly successful in service with ANA and are committed to providing full support to the airline all along the way.”

The A380 offers airlines the most efficient option to meet demand on the world’s most heavily travelled routes. It is also firmly established as the aircraft of choice by passengers worldwide, offering more personal space in all classes, a super-quiet cabin and smooth ride. Around 250 million passengers have already flown on the aircraft.

Following today’s delivery to ANA, there are currently 232 A380s in service with 15 airlines worldwide, flying on 120 routes across the globe.

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