March 2021 numbers much lower compared to first three months of 2020

Hawaii quarantine order for travelers due to the COVID-19 pandemic immediately resulted in dramatic declines for the hotel industry

• Hawaii hotel room revenues statewide declined to $192.4 million in March
• In March 2021, the top and bottom price classes showed growth compared to March 2020
• Vacation rental and timeshare properties were not included in this survey

In March 2021, Hawaii hotels statewide reported similar revenue per available room (RevPAR), average daily rate (ADR), and occupancy compared to March 2020. This was the first time in a year where those performance indicators were not substantially down. However, results differed by county. Year-to-date, the statistics for statewide hotel RevPAR, ADR, and occupancy were much lower compared to the first three months of 2020 as Hawaii’s quarantine order for travelers due to the COVID-19 pandemic began on March 26, 2020, which immediately resulted in dramatic declines for the hotel industry.

According to the Hawaii Hotel Performance Report published by the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s (HTA) Research Division, statewide RevPAR in March 2021 was nearly the same as last year at $123 (-0.3%), ADR was slightly higher at $285 (+1.4%), and occupancy was 43.1 percent (-0.7 percentage points) (Figure 1). The report’s findings utilized data compiled by STR, Inc., which conducts the largest and most comprehensive survey of hotel properties in the Hawaiian Islands. For March, the survey included 150 properties representing 43,889 rooms, or 82.6 percent of all lodging properties and 86.9 percent of operating lodging properties with 20 rooms or more in the Hawaiian Islands, including full service, limited service, and condominium hotels. Vacation rental and timeshare properties were not included in this survey.

During March 2021, most passengers arriving from out-of-state and traveling inter-county could bypass the State’s mandatory 10-day self-quarantine with a valid negative COVID-19 NAAT test result from a Trusted Testing Partner through the state’s Safe Travels program. All trans-Pacific travelers participating in the pre-travel testing program were required to have a negative test result before their departure to Hawaii. Kauai County continued to temporarily suspend its participation in the state’s Safe Travels program, making it mandatory for all trans-Pacific travelers to Kauai to quarantine upon arrival except for those participating in a pre- and post-travel testing program at a “resort bubble” property as a way to shorten their time in quarantine. The counties of Hawaii, Maui and Kalawao (Molokai) also had a partial quarantine in place in March.

Hawaii hotel room revenues statewide declined to $192.4 million (-7.1%) in March. Room demand was 675,700 room nights (-8.4%) and room supply was 1.6 million room nights (-6.8%). Many properties closed or reduced operations starting in April 2020. If occupancy for March 2021 was calculated based on the pre-pandemic room supply from March 2019, occupancy would be 14.1 percent for the month.

In March 2021, the top and bottom price classes showed growth compared to March 2020. Luxury Class properties earned RevPAR of $297 (+36.4%), with higher ADR at $776 (+33.6%) and occupancy of 38.2 percent (+0.8 percentage points). Midscale & Economy Class properties earned RevPAR of $93 (+2.8%) with ADR at $193 (+7.5%) and occupancy of 48.2 percent (-2.2 percentage points).