Hawaii’s travel industry has not been having a good year. Even before the Lahaina fire, visitor arrivals were declining year-over-year. Of course, the fires annihilated any hope of keeping up with 2022. That’s why I’m closely following our monthly performance and why I’m excited to see Hawaii hotel performance in October 2023.
Before we get into the numbers, it’s worth reminding that Maui’s figures include rooms being used to house survivors, first responders, and recovery workers. So, while Maui’s numbers continue to not look bad, it’s not an accurate picture of what’s really going on over there. That said, let’s get into it.
Hawaii Hotel Performance in October 2023
Hawaii’s overall performance held pretty steady last month, with our average daily rate (ADR) increasing just a smidge to $347 per night versus $346 in September. However, occupancy declined slightly from 75.5% in September to 74.5% last member. If you’re wondering, compared to pre-pandemic, rates were 35.9% higher in October 2023 than in the same month in 2019. Yeesh.
Maui
Hawaii Hotel Performance in October 2023 in Maui continued to suffer. Specifically, despite West Maui beginning to reopen, ADR saw another month of declines, falling from $534 to $506, though occupancy ticked up a bit to 66.5% from 62.7%. That said, while the island-wide ADR continued to fall last month, that wasn’t the case in Wailea, where prices spiked up from an average of $646 per night in September to $708 in October. Occupancy for the region also jumped up last month to 62.6% from 50.6% in September.
Over in West Maui, ADR fell quite a bit in October, declining from $535 to $458, and that’s with the area’s phased reopening beginning early in the month. Occupancy held steady at 66.1%, compared to 66.2% in September.
Kauai
The Garden Isle’s Hawaii hotel performance in October 2023 figures were surprisingly weak. ADR on the island declined from $398 to $396, while occupancy dropped from 80.9% to 76.4%. Compare that to August, when the island’s ADR was $444, and the occupancy rate was at 80.4%. Of course, October is traditionally a slow month for Hawaii, so we’ll have to see how things go when we head into the holidays, but we’ll see.
Big Island
Over on the Big Island, ADR rebounded a bit in October, coming in at $399, up from $373 in September but still lower than $436 in August. Occupancy also saw some recovery, coming in at 68.5% last month, which is up from 66.4% in September but still just a tad lower than August’s 69.3%. Of course, Kohala Coast remains the island’s primary statistical driver, with an ADR of $501, which is up from $484 in September but is still off from August’s $584. Occupancy out West came in at 73.8%, up from 70.2% in September but still lower than August’s 75.3%
Oahu
In recent times, Oahu was comparatively stable, But in the Hawaii hotel performance in October 2023 figures, the overall trend is a little negative. ADR came in at $271 last month, which is about the same as September’s $270 but down compared to August’s $292. Occupancy also continued its slow decline, coming at 79%, which is down from 82.2% in September and 84.4% in August.
Final Thoughts
Hawaii’s hotel performance continued to be a mixed bag. Where will things go? It’s hard to say. Of course, West Maui, with the exception of Lahaina, has fully reopened to tourism, so it’ll be interesting to see if that has any impact. But, realistically speaking, it’ll likely take a bit of time for things to recover, at least on Maui. But will Hawaii’s weaker performance continue to persist? It’s hard to say. I’m sure our soaring prices and the availability of more options aren’t helping. However, the only thing we can do is see how things unfold over the next three, six, or even twelve months.