Maui island resorts were about as full - or empty - in October as they were in October 2008, but they were taking in a whole lot less money.
While Oahu enjoyed a modest bump from conventioneers, the Neighbor Islands continued to slog along with two out of five rooms unwanted on any given night. The figures are compiled by Smith Travel Research for Hospitality Advisors.
Hospitality's President Joseph Toy noted that even when 24,000 dentists and their families flooded Waikiki, the occupancy rate rose only to an unexciting 78.8 percent - not terrible for a shoulder month like October but nothing special, either.
The dentists got good room rates, too, down $10 a night from the year before to $149.
Besides dentists, Japanese and Canadian visits improved, no doubt thanks to the relative strength of the yen and the loonie.
Canadians do come to Maui, but not many Japanese, so the effect was muted here. Maui island's occupancy rate in October was 59.5 percent, down from 61.5 percent the year before.
The stock market crashed in September 2008, and October was the first full month to show the effects of that, although Maui's visitor industry was already reeling from the closure of Aloha Airlines and ATA in April 2008, as well as the increasing malaise in the real estate and financial markets.
While room rates were down significantly on Oahu, they were down sharply on Maui, more sharply even than on Kauai or the Big Island. Maui's average rate dropped $27 a night to $196, and pricey Wailea nosedived $50 to $295.
That was still way above the Kohala Coast, the second most expensive place to stay in the survey. Kohala occupancy ticked up from 47.5 percent to an anemic 52.5 percent, while Wailea was almost unchanged at 60.3 percent.
When Wailea and Kohala are taken as the most expensive resorts in the state, that leaves out Lanai, small but expensive. However, Castle & Cooke does not take part in Hospitality Advisors' voluntary survey. It can be deduced, however, that Lanai's room rates are well above Wailea's, because the state does publish per person per day spending totals, and Lanai's are much above anyplace else.
Oahu's occupancy in October was 76.8 percent, up from 73.3 percent. But convention business did not escape very much from Waikiki, because the remainder of the island's hostelries declined to 63.9 percent from 64.4 percent.
On Maui, Kihei played the role of the rest of Oahu to the big destinations. While Wailea's occupancy was 60.3 percent, and West Maui's was 61.7 percent, "other Maui" declined from 61.3 percent to 56.9 percent. Anything under 60 percent in any region of Maui is unheard of, or it was until Wall Street's woes washed up along South Kihei Road.
The Big Island's occupancy rose from an anemic 54.0 percent to an anemic 56.7 percent slightly better than "other Maui," which is almost unprecedented.
Kauai's rate slipped from 70.3 percent to 64.4 percent. Big Island and Kauai accommodations, like Oahu, cut rates around $10 a night.
RevPAR, or revenue per available room, which really tells who is doing poorly, was about steady on Oahu ($115) and the Big Island ($91). But it took a big hit on Kauai (down $15 to $116) and on Maui (down $20 to $116). It is rare for Maui's RevPAR to be lower than Kauai's, and it used to be rare for it to be as low as Oahu's, although that has changed this year because Oahu has done relatively better though still not well thanks to Japanese tourism.
Toy said he detected some bright notes in the numbers. September and October both showed gains over the lousy numbers of the previous year, although not by much. The statewide occupancy rate rose from 67.1 percent to 68.3 percent in October.
"Initial indicators point to a softer first quarter of 2010 than normal," said Toy, "but we believe that the market is beginning to move in the right direction."
* Harry Eagar can be reached at heagar@mauinews.com.
