Kaua’i luxury hotels top state in occupancies

PRINCEVILLE — Luxury hotels on Kaua’i, like the Princeville Hotel here, led

the state in occupancy rates among classes of hotels in March, with a rate of

92.2 percent.

But there was good news for nearly every size and quality of

hotel on the island that month, according to figures released recently by

PKF-Hawai’i, a management and accounting firm based on O’ahu.

This island’s

deluxe hotels posted the largest gain in average daily room rate (ADR) in the

state in March among quality classes, to $128.21 from $106.82 in March of 1999,

a 20 percent increase.

Hotels under 100 rooms on Kaua’i recorded the

largest increase in ADR among all hotels characterized by size, at $143.90 in

March of this year compared to $112.13 in March of 1999, an increase of 28.3

percent.

Bottom line: Kaua’i remains a hot property. More people are coming

to the island, staying in hotels, and spending more money on

accommodations.

And the outlook for summer is sizzling as well, with some

hotels sold out for portions of July and August already.

Among luxury

hotels on the island, the March, 2000 occupancy rate of 92.2 percent eclipses

the robust 88.8 percent rate recorded in March of 1999.

Average daily room

rates at luxury properties on the island soared to $254.41 per night in March

of this year, compared to $238.82 in March of 1999.

Deluxe and standard

properties on Kaua’i showed increased occupancies in March of this year

compared to March of 1999, while first-class hotels showed a slight dip, from

79.5 percent in March of 1999 compared to 79.1 percent in March of this

year.

On Kaua’i, only standard properties experienced a drop in ADRs, from

$67.05 a night in March of 1999, compared to $64.66 a night in March of this

year.

Kaua’i’s overall occupancy rate in March of this year was 80.6

percent, up from 76.8 percent in March of 1999.

Luxury hotels paced the

island’s occupancy rate for the first quarter of this year, at 81.0 percent, up

from 79.9 percent last year.

All classes of hotels showed increased

occupancy levels in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period

last year.

The first-quarter occupancy rate for Kaua’i this year was 73.0

percent, up from 71.7 percent for the same period last year.

Hotels with

100 to 200 rooms had the best occupancy rate for March of this year, at 77.3

percent, compared to 75.3 percent for the same period in 1999.

For the

first quarter of this year, hotels in that same size class on the island had

the best occupancy rate as well, at 73.1 percent, compared to 71.3 percent for

the first quarter of 1999.

Statewide, all classes of hotels (luxury, first

class, deluxe, standard and budget) showed occupancy increases in March of this

year compared to March of 1999, with the exception of the budget class.

The

statewide occupancy rate in March was 83.2 percent, compared to 77.4 percent in

March of 1999, paced by the luxury hotels coming in at 87.2 percent, compared

to 78.6 percent in March of 1999.

Hotels from 351 to 500 rooms had the

greatest occupancy statewide in March, at 87.3 percent, compared to 81.3

percent in March of 1999.

PKF-Hawai’i has tracked the hotel industry for

the Hawai’i Hotel Association since 1972. Its most recent report surveyed 147

properties representing 57 percent of available rooms in the state (hotel and

resort condominium).