More tourists to Hawaii are bypassing hotels and finding alternate accommodations such as timeshare units, bed-and-breakfast inns or simply a couch at a friend's house.
Despite record arrivals in May, hotel occupancy fell 6.5 percentage points to 69 percent because of increased use of non-hotel accommodations, according to the latest report by Hospitality Advisors LLC. Hotel occupancy dipped 6 percentage points to 74.4 percent for the first five months of the year.
Meanwhile, the numbers of visitors who stayed in vacation condominiums, timeshares, cruise ships or with friends and relatives have all increased, the state said.
Joseph Toy, chief executive of Hospitality Advisors, said on Friday that he first noticed the trend about four years ago, especially with repeat visitors.
Toy said a sharp decline in tourists from Japan also has affected hotel occupancy. About 95 percent of Japanese to Hawaii stay in hotels, as opposed to about three-quarters of Americans.
Another factor is that more than 2,000 Waikiki hotel rooms were being renovated last year and are now back online. Hotels are also charging record-high rates.
However, guests are not necessarily saving money by avoiding hotels. Each of the six rooms at the Ho'oilo House, a Balinese-inspired bed-and-breakfast in West Maui, runs US$315 a night.
Amy Wisthoff-Martin, a partner of the B&B, said her guests are seeking luxury and privacy.
"The resort areas in general have just gotten a little crazy," she said. "Even though you've got all these great amenities, you have a lot of people to deal with."
Hal Nordblom, general manager of the Holualoa Inn, which sits on a 12-hectare coffee farm on the Big Island, said his guests are usually couples seeking a relaxing, intimate and personal experience.
"We'll know them by first name right when we greet them," he said. "Most people don't want to be a number at the front desk checking in."
So some are forsaking the resorts and their sprawling swimming pools, 24-hour room service and spas for a little privacy and space. But hotel chains are not suffering. They're leading the way in the timeshare movement.
Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott and Starwood have timeshare divisions using a club concept where timeshare buyers receive points that offer the flexibility of staying at other properties, including some hotels.
"I think it's a complementary product to the hotels," Toy said. "Hotels are expanding their brand through timeshares."
"There are just more options than ever before," said Daniel Nahoopii of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
EMBRACING TAIWAN: US lawmakers have introduced an act aiming to replace the use of ‘Chinese Taipei’ with ‘Taiwan’ across all Washington’s federal agencies A group of US House of Representatives lawmakers has introduced legislation to replace the term “Chinese Taipei” with “Taiwan” across all federal agencies. US Representative Byron Donalds announced the introduction of the “America supports Taiwan act,” which would mandate federal agencies adopt “Taiwan” in place of “Chinese Taipei,” a news release on his page on the US House of Representatives’ Web site said. US representatives Mike Collins, Barry Moore and Tom Tiffany are cosponsors of the legislation, US political newspaper The Hill reported yesterday. “The legislation is a push to normalize the position of Taiwan as an autonomous country, although the official US
CHANGE OF TONE: G7 foreign ministers dropped past reassurances that there is no change in the position of the G7 members on Taiwan, including ‘one China’ policies G7 foreign ministers on Friday took a tough stance on China, stepping up their language on Taiwan and omitting some conciliatory references from past statements, including to “one China” policies. A statement by ministers meeting in Canada mirrored last month’s Japan-US statement in condemning “coercion” toward Taiwan. Compared with a G7 foreign ministers’ statement in November last year, the statement added members’ concerns over China’s nuclear buildup, although it omitted references to their concerns about Beijing’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong. Also missing were references stressing the desire for “constructive and stable relations with China” and
RSS