Hawaii vacation rentals report 5 per cent occupancy in April
US: Vacation rentals in the destination state of Hawai’i reached only 5 per cent of total occupancy in the month of April.
This represents a 68 per cent drop in total occupancy from last year.
Covid-19 travel restrictions have created a global drop in travel demand which has led to record low visitor numbers for the islands. According to Pacific Business Journal, the number of arriving travellers fell 99.5 per cent year over year from 2019 to 2020.
This lack of visitation has also followed a drop in unit supply, with many properties coming off the short-term rental market. According to the Hawaii Vacation Rental Performance Report, unit supply fell 62% year-over-year in April to 319,500 unit nights, while demand dropped 97.4% to 16,000 unit nights.
A significant part of the drop is also impacted by all four major Hawai’i counties, including the largest of Oahu, declaring short term rentals non-essential businesses. All properties were ordered to be temporarily suspended until further notice.
The compiled report used data compiled by transparent intelligence from properties listed across Airbnb, Booking.com, TripAdvisor, and HomeAway. Notably, the report does not differentiate between permitted and non-permitted properties.
ADR per unit dropped less substantially, falling 5.8 per cent to $190. Notably, however, hotels saw a similar fall, with an 8.9 per cent occupancy rate in total, with an ADR of $131.
Declines in most of the key metrics were consistent across the four main counties, with Maui, one of the islands which relies the most on tourism, seeing a 75 per cent drop to 3.8 per cent occupancy. Year to date drops were less dramatic, with occupancy only dropping by 12 per cent, with demand down 20 per cent.
Though Hawai’i has continued its downturn, many other rental markets have begun to see recovery. Colorado rentals reopened this Monday, while AirDNA reported a 127 per cent bookings jump driven by domestic tourism.
