Hawaii hotels generated a record-breaking $3.26 billion in room revenue last year, outpacing the previous peak of $3.12 billion, set in 2006, by 4.5% and 2011’s total by 13.8%.
The state’s average daily room rate also climbed 7.5% year over year, to $204.15, according to figures released earlier this month in a 2012 year-end report by Hospitality Advisors and Smith Travel Research.
Occupancy across the Hawaiian Islands was 76.9% in 2012, up 3.7 percentage points from the year prior.
“Although Hawaii’s hotel industry had a record-breaking year, it was primarily driven by the Oahu market,” said Joseph Toy, president and CEO of Hospitality Advisors, noting that a persistent gap in occupancy remains between the Big Island and Oahu. “As the market continues to strengthen in 2013, we expect that gap to narrow.”
Oahu hotels posted an 84.7% occupancy rate in 2012, an increase of 4% year over year, while the occupancy on the Big Island was just 62% last year and up less than 2 percentage points from 2011.