us hotel occupancy hawaii 111009
On the homepage
Crimefighting
Out There
Mental health
Health care
Hawaii hotel occupancy rises in September after 18 months of declines, but revenue still down
Print this story
E-mail this story
Save to del.icio.us
Share on Facebook
Share on Digg
Minnesota business by the numbers
See Minnesota's top earning companies, CEOs and non-profits
More from Business
HONOLULU - Hotel occupancy in Hawaii rose slightly in September, the first increase after 18 months of declines, Hospitality Advisors LLC reported.
Hotel occupancy statewide was 64.6 percent, up from 63 percent in the same month last year, the hotel, tourism and real estate consulting services company said Monday.
The increase coincided with a 7.2 percent jump in the number of visitors coming to the islands in September.
State Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert has attributed the increase in visitor numbers to the American Dental Association's 150th annual convention in Honolulu, Japan's Silver Week holiday period and additional marketing efforts.
But while visitor numbers were up last month, revenue continued to suffer, with room rates falling 10.2 percent in September to $160.29.
Over the first nine months of 2009, Hawaii hotel revenues fell 19.8 percent to $1.8 billion, or $455 million less than the revenues tallied in the same time period in 2008, Hospitality Advisors said.
"The losses that Hawaii's industry has had to absorb over the past 20 months have been unprecedented," said Joseph Toy, president and CEO of Hospitality Advisors. "While the losses have been steep, we should keep in mind that the global recession has had a tremendous impact not only on Hawaii's visitor industry, but also well as its primary competitors."
Hawaii remains competitive in the U.S. market as well as among other island destinations, Toy said.
"We are beginning to see the rate of loss narrow, which hopefully will lead to the start of a sustainable recovery beginning in summer 2010," he said.
Recent Business stories
NC state treasurer issues gift ban for employees, limits on soliciting for charity - November 10, 2009
NC state treasurer issues gift ban for employees, limits on soliciting for charity - State Treasurer Janet Cowell unveiled new rules Friday banning employees from taking gifts from companies that do substantial business with the agency and setting a limit on charitable solicitations. More
Blog: Patent Pending
Lights out at U energy conference. Irony police notified.
Just as Lawrence Kazmerski, a top official at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, was about to give the keynote address at the University of Minnesota's annual E3 conference at the RiverCentre in St. Paul, the lights went out, bathing the audience in darkness and a deep sense of irony.
Comment on this story | Be the first to comment | Hide reader comments