Conventions raise Hawaii’s occupancy numbers

Hawaii’s hotel occupancy was up in October for the second month in a row due to large group bookings. The statewide occupancy in October rose 1.2 percentage points to 68.3 percent, representing the second straight gain in occupancy since the tourism downturn.

“The occupancy increase underscores the importance of business and group travel for Hawaii,” says Keith Vieira, senior vice president of operations for Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Hawaii and French Polynesia. “But we need our group business to double. It should be about 25 to 30 percent of our business.”

According to Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, statewide convention traffic rose 1.6 percent, while corporate meetings fell 36.8 percent and incentives fell 42.52 percent.

“The bleeding has stopped, but growth is going to be slow to come back,” says Brad Mettler, director of marketing at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort and Spa. “Our 2010 group business is somewhat north of fair, but we’ve got a ways to go.”