County leads state in timeshare occupancy
Second quarter rates tick up to 94 percent
While Maui County hotels posted occupancy rates of 77.4 percent from April through June, timeshare complexes outperformed them with occupancy rates of 94 percent, the highest statewide, according to the Hawai’i Tourism Authority’s quarterly timeshare report.
Unlike hotels, timeshare units have multiple owners who each have the right to use them during certain times of year. Timeshares are usually in apartment or condominium units in resorts or vacation destinations.
Maui County occupancy rates for timeshare complexes were up 2 percentage points from 92 percent reported in the second quarter of last year, the authority said.
Meanwhile, Oahu timeshares in this year’s second quarter reported occupancies of 92.6 percent (up 1.8 percentage points), while Kauai properties were at 91.5 percent (up 0.7 percentage point) and Hawaii island units were at 84 percent (up 1 percentage point).
With hotel occupancies, Oahu hotels led the four island counties in the second quarter, averaging 84.5 percent (up 1.7 percentage points). Kauai hotels showed occupancy rates of 77.5 percent (up 2.6 percentage points) and Big Island hotels were at 71.8 percent (up 0.4 of a percentage point). Occupancy at Maui County hotels increased by 0.1 percentage point.
Statewide, the average occupancy rate for timeshare properties was 91.5 percent (up 1.6 percentage points) in the second quarter, the authority reported. Hotel occupancies on all islands in the same period were at 80.6 percent (up 1.3 percentage points).
Jennifer Chun, the authority’s tourism research director, said the high occupancy rates came despite worldwide news coverage of flooding on Kauai in April and lava flows damaging Big Island homes in May and June.
“Timeshare owners were undeterred by these images and continued to come to Hawaii,” she said. “The increase in total timeshare occupancy was achieved even though inventory grew with hundreds of new units added to Hawaii’s mix in the second quarter of last year. Timeshare’s growth in units and occupancy rates did not seem to adversely affect demand for hotel stays. It’s noteworthy timeshare and hotel occupancy both grew at similar rates during the second quarter at a statewide level.”
Approximately 220,000 visitors stayed at a timeshare resort for all or part of their stay in the Hawaiian Islands during the second quarter, similar to last year, the authority said. Of the total timeshare visitors, more than 172,000, 78.3 percent, stayed exclusively at a timeshare resort while in Hawaii. In total, timeshare visitors represented 8.9 percent of Hawaii’s total visitor count in the second quarter.
On average, timeshare visitors stayed an average of 9.9 days during the second quarter, which was higher than the combined average length of stay of 8.8 days for all visitors staying in Hawaii.
The breakdown of visitors occupying timeshare units in the second quarter statewide was: timeshare owners staying in their units, 54 percent; exchangers (timeshare owners staying in a unit they do not own via a timeshare exchange program), 20.2 percent; transient rental of timeshare units to owners and exchangers beyond their allotted stay or the general public, 17.3 percent; and marketing use, 8.5 percent, of occupied room nights.
The authority’s timeshare report was prepared by Kloninger & Sims Consulting LLC. The survey findings were based on data provided by 52 individual timeshare properties, representing 81.3 percent of Hawaii’s 11,233 timeshare units.
To see the full report, visit www.HawaiiTourismAuthority.org.
* Brian Perry can be reached at bperry@mauinews.com.