Timeshare visitors to
Hawaii decreased in the third quarter, and occupancy was flat, according
to the Hawaii Timeshare Quarterly Report released Friday by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
There were 222,980 visitors, nearly 6 percent fewer than came from July to September 2017, who stayed at a Hawaii timeshare in the third quarter, according to the report, which was prepared by Kloninger &Sims Consulting LLC. The report was based on data from
53 individual timeshare properties, representing more than 82 percent of Hawaii’s 11,766 timeshare units.
The timeshare industry, whose visitors represented just under 9 percent of all Hawaii visitor arrivals during the third quarter,
historically has been an important market for Hawaii because timeshare properties tend to have better occupancy and their visitors stay longer. Third-quarter occupancy at timeshares across the state came in just over 90 percent, which was flat compared with the same period last year. In comparison, third-quarter hotel occupancy statewide was just under 80 percent. On average, HTA reported that third-quarter timeshare visitors stayed 9.7 days as compared with 8.8 days, which was the average length of stay for all visitors.
Third-quarter occupancy on Oahu rose nearly 2 percentage points year over year to just over 94 percent. Timeshare properties on Maui rose 1 percentage point year over year to nearly 92 percent occupancy. However, these
gains weren’t high enough to offset third-quarter occupancy decreases on Kauai, which fell nearly 3 percentage points to almost 87 percent, and Hawaii island, which dropped almost 1 percentage point to nearly
84 percent.
Erik Kloninger, principal of Kloninger &Sims Consulting, said third-quarter timeshare decreases do not appear to be part of a trend. Kloninger said he expects some of the drops were related to storms as well as the April flooding that disrupted Kauai’s north shore and the volcanic eruption on Hawaii island that stretched from May to
August.
“Certainly these disruptions could have had an
impact on the timeshare market just like they did
on any other market,”
Kloninger said.
Kloninger said he’s also monitoring how the supply of new timeshare and vacation rental inventory might affect the market. There’s still plenty of timeshare demand, especially on Oahu
as evidenced by Hilton Grand Vacations’ recent
purchase of the former King’s Village site and discussions of timeshare conversions at The Modern Honolulu. However, Kloninger said it could take a while for the market to absorb the new timeshare inventory.
The growth of vacation rentals also could affect the timeshare market, he said.
“I don’t know if the increase in supply of vacation rentals would have an impact. But if you look at year-over-year growth in accommodation choices such as rental houses, you see that this market continues to be growing at double-digit rates,” Kloninger said. “One of the appeals of the timeshare market is that it offers larger accommodations for families and those traveling in groups. Timeshare, vacation rentals and condominium hotels all compete in this space.”
