It was a rough September for Hawaii hotels -- arrivals, spending and hotel performance down quite dramatically

Arrivals and Spending – Month of September

Arrivals for the state were down 1.3 percent but this was misleading because Maui data was skewed because of the wildfires in August of 2023. Oahu was down 1%, Kauai was down 14% and Hawaii Island was down 12%. Expenditures were down 7% on Oahu, 11% on Kauai and 12% on Hawaii Island.

Arrivals and Spending – Year-to-Date

Arrivals were up 4% YTD on Oahu, but down 4% on Kauai and 3% on Hawaii Island. Expenditures were up 3% on Oahu, 6% on Kauai and 7% on Hawaii Island.

Air Seats – September

Demand has dropped more than airlines cut back on seats in September. Honolulu was up 2%, Lihue was up 2% and Kona was down 6%. International seats were up 9% because seats from Japan increased by 22%.

Air Seats – Outlook

Looking at the fourth quarter of 2024, the state should have 4% more seats than in the fourth quarter of 2023 with Honolulu up 4%, Lihue up 11% and Kona down 5%. The good news for our industry is that the airlines are providing plenty of seats. The bad news is that they can quickly pull those back if the demand continues to falter as it did in September. International seats are flat for this quarter relative to 2023 as Japan’s growth in seats slowed dramatically.

Hotel Performance – Month of September

Total revenue was down 15% for the month of September. Maui county led the way with a 27% drop with the Lahaina/Ka’anapali/Kapalua market down 45%. Oahu did the best with a 9% drop, while Hawaii Island was down 13% and Kauai was down 10%. All major islands had both an occupancy and a rate drop.

Hotel Performance – Year-to-Date

For the year-to-date 2024, RevPAR was down 4% driven mostly by rate declines. Oahu is still up 3% for the year despite the poor September showing. Hawaii Island was down 2% but the island of Kauai is up 1%. The neighbor islands all have lower occupancy than in 2023.

Investment Market Happenings

After a successful exit at Turtle Bay, Blackstone is rumored to be selling the Grand Wailea Resort. While it is still quiet on the investment front, we have been receiving more inquiries from investors recently.