Hawaii Sees Increase in Hotel Occupancy

Good news for Hawaii's hotel scene: Pacific Business News is reporting that hotel room rates throughout the state rose by 2 percent last week, while occupancy increased by 3 percent, according to a report by Hospitality Advisors LLC and Smith Travel Research.

Hotels on all the islands were more than 75 percent full during the week ending May 19, an increase of almost 3 percent over the same week in 2011. The average daily room rate rose 2 percent to $187.81.

Of the islands, Oahu saw the greatest gain in average daily room rates with a 4.4 percent increase to $176.27, while occupancy rose 2.2 percent to 86.5 percent. Maui hotels saw a 2.5 percent occupancy increase to 68.3 percent, and the average daily room rate rose 1.7 percent to $228.34. Occupancy was essentially flat at Hawaii Island hotels year-over-year, while the average daily room rate fell 6.4 percent to $164.90.