Hawaii’s December 2021 Hotel Stats Higher Than Pre-Pandemic Times

The state of Hawaii has just revealed that its hotels reported markedly higher revenue per available room (RevPAR), average daily rate (ADR) and occupancy in December 2021 in comparison to the same month of the previous year. In December 2020, the islands’ hotel industry experienced a dramatic drop in these numbers, due to Hawaii’s quarantine restrictions imposed on out-of-state travelers. Held against December 2019 figures, December 2021 had higher ADR and RevPAR statewide, although occupancy was lower.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority’s (HTA) ‘Hawaii Hotel Performance Report’ revealed that statewide RevPAR during December 2021 was $305, up 342 percent from the same period the previous year; while ADR was at $419, up 44 percent; and occupancy was 73 percent, up 49 percentage points over December 2020. By contrast, December 2019’s RevPAR was nearly eight percent higher, thanks to a higher ADR, which was up 19 percent and served to offset lower occupancy levels, which were down seven-and-a-half percentage points.

“Hawaii’s hotels continued their upward momentum in December, with strong RevPAR and ADR helping to end the year on a high note and sustain employment across the islands,” John De Fries, HTA president and CEO, said in a release. “Domestic leisure market demand remained strong through the holidays, despite global uncertainty of the Omicron variant’s impact on travel. However, business, group and international travel continue to lag behind pre-pandemic levels of performance.”

The report’s findings are based on data compiled by STR, “which conducts the largest and most comprehensive survey of hotel properties in the Hawaiian Islands,” according to today’s release.

The company surveyed more than 85 percent of the Aloha State’s lodging properties with 20 or more rooms, which wound up encompassing 148 properties representing 46,751 rooms.

In December 2021, statewide hotel room revenues came in at $518 million, up 376 percent from 2020 and almost 10 percent higher than in 2019. Room demand was 1.2 million room nights, representing a 230-percent rise over 2020, but an almost eight-percent decrease from 2019. Room supply was 1.7 million room nights, up nearly eight percent over 2020 and close to two percent over 2019.

2021 year-end figures showed that Hawaii hotels’ performance statewide continued to be affected by the global pandemic. The state’s hotels brought in $189 in annual RevPAR, up 89 percent from 2020, but down 17 percent compared with 2019; with ADR at $329, 23 percent higher than in 2020 and 16 percent higher than in 2019; and occupancy of over 57 percent, up 20 percentage points from 2020, but down 23 percentage points from 2019.

Set side by side with other top U.S. markets, the Hawaiian Islands earned the highest RevPar in 2021 at $189, up 89 percent from the previous year; trailed by Miami at $149, up 74 percent; and New York City at $126, up 76 percent. In terms of ADR, Hawaii also ranked first among U.S. markets at $329 (up 23 percent), followed by Miami at $224, up 21 percent; and NYC at $210, up 38 percent.