LIHU‘E — The rising cost of travel is likely keeping many visitors from readily returning to Kaua‘i, said New Jersey resident Arthur Shaffer.
Last year, Shaffer paid $500 for a ticket to Kaua‘i from New Jersey. This year the cost is more than $700, he said in an e-mail Thursday.
Additional charges for baggage and hotel amenities which used to be complimentary, vanishing resort discounts and parking prices “getting higher than New York City” could be reasons people might not be opting to travel to the island, he said.
Perhaps it could also help explain why February’s hotel-occupancy rates dropped from around 67 percent in 2009 to some 62 percent this year, according to recent statistics from Hospitality Advisors.
But, Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau Executive Director Sue Kanoho said “on the whole, the industry is still” doing “very good,” and the statistics acquired by Smith Travel Research for Hospitality Advisors are merely a “temperature reading, not an end-all-be-all.
“Looking at one report doesn’t always give you a true read,” she said Thursday, adding that only some of the island’s hotels actually participate in the survey.
In addition, it’s hard to judge occupancy rates when “everyone’s booking window is ridiculously short, much to the dismay of all of us.
“You don’t know who’s coming,” she said. “Hotels can fill up in the blink of an eye.”
And as far as fewer visitors traveling to the island, Kanoho said, “People have in their head an amount they’re willing to pay. If it goes past that point people may not come.”
Even kama‘aina are “at a point where some people’s income has been affected by the downturn,” she said regarding inter-island travel.
It is “just a matter of ‘when do I treat myself to a nice weekend?’” said Kaua‘i Chamber of Commerce President Randy Francisco.
With “challenging” airfares, booking a night or two at a hotel on island is a refreshing get-away, or “staycation,” for families who may not be able to afford to travel elsewhere, he said.
Not only are kama‘aina discounts enticing on neighboring islands, there are just as many deals for residents who wish to patronize businesses on Kaua‘i, Francisco said.
“We need to support our hotels and properties because they could really use our help,” he said Thursday.
But how long can hotels sustain themselves at occupancy rates hovering around 60 percent?
It depends on the “size of the hotel, the level of service and amenities it provides, as well as the financial stability of the hotel’s ownership and their credit and capital reserves,” wrote county Office of Economic Development Director George Costa in an e-mail. “Hotels may be able to ‘weather the storm’ for a few years.”
Part of the “weathering process” often involves labor-cost cuts.
And aside from labor, “utilities are another huge expense,” Costa said. “It’s not uncommon for some of our larger Kaua‘i hotels to pay from $1 million to $5 million a year for electricity.”
“Most companies that remain in business have used the economic downturn as an opportunity to downsize, streamline and do more with less,” said Costa, formerly a hotel manager on the island.
But “for the most part,” hotels would “need to consistently operate with occupancies of 75 to 80 percent to break even,” Costa said.
• Coco Zickos, business and environmental writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com.
