Maui Leads State in Timeshare Occupancy at 96%

Background photo: Westin Nanea Ocean Villas

Timeshare properties in Maui County averaged a 95.6% occupancy rate for the first three months of 2018, according to the Hawaiʻi Timeshare Quarterly Report released today by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority. By comparison, hotel properties in Maui County averaged an 80.2% occupancy rate for the same quarter.

The Maui timeshare occupancy rate was the highest among the islands and represented a 1.5 percentage point increase compared to the prior year.

The average Maui County timeshare visitor had a 10 day length of stay during the first quarter, also the highest among the islands. Maui County welcomed 70,042 timeshare visitors during the first three months of 2018, a 4.5% increase from the prior year. Timeshare visitors represented 9.7% of Maui County’s visitor market during the quarter.

Owner occupancy accounted for 61.6% of occupied room nights at Maui timeshare resorts during the quarter. Marketing use represented 9% of occupied room nights in Maui County timeshares, the highest share among the islands. Transient Guests contributed 13.8% of occupied room nights, the lowest share among the islands during the quarter.

Maui County timeshare properties that provided survey data reported a total of $8.5 million in state and county taxes during the first quarter. Property taxes accounted for $2.5 million of the total taxes during the quarter.

In the first quarter, Maui County timeshare properties reported a 0.2% decrease in the total number of resort operations employees during the quarter and a 17.1% increase in the number of sales and marketing employees. Maui timeshare properties providing survey data reported total resort operations payroll expense of $21 million during the first quarter and another $11.4 million in sales and marketing payroll expense for a total of $32.4 million in total payroll expense.

Across the state:

Statewide, timeshare properties in Hawaiʻi averaged a 92% occupancy compared to an 83% occupancy rate for hotel properties for the same quarter.

Occupancy at Oʻahu timeshare properties (92.8%, +0.1 percentage points) in Q1. Hawaiʻi Island occupancy for timeshares was (91%, -0.1 percentage points); and timeshare occupancy on Kauaʻi (86.6%, -4.9 percentage points) was lower than the same period in 2017.

Owners of Hawaiʻi timeshare units accounted for 58.8% of occupied room nights in the first quarter, while exchangers (timeshare owners staying in a timeshare they do not own via a timeshare exchange program) represented 17.5% of the occupied room nights. Transient rental of units to owners and exchangers beyond their allotted timeshare stay, as well as to the general public, represented 15.2% of occupied room nights. Marketing use represented 8.4% of occupied room nights.

A total of 192,172 visitors stayed at a timeshare resort in the Hawaiian Islands for all or part of their stay during the first quarter, an increase of 8.1% year-over-year. Of that total, 144,415 visitors, or 75.1%, stayed exclusively at a timeshare resort, with the remaining 47,757 visitors, or 24.9%, extending their visit in Hawaiʻi with other lodging arrangements. Altogether, timeshare visitors represented 7.9% of total visitors to Hawaiʻi in the first quarter.

Timeshare visitors’ average length of stay in the Hawaiian Islands for the first three months of 2018 was 11.1 days, which was higher than the average length of stay of 9.3 days for all visitors.

Timeshare properties participating in the survey for the Hawaiʻi Timeshare Quarterly Report generated a total of $27.1 million in state and county taxes in the first quarter, including real property tax, general excise tax, timeshare occupancy tax, transient accommodations tax and conveyance tax. Real property tax accounted for the largest share of taxes paid by timeshare owners at $10.8 million, or 40%, of the total amount.

Statewide payroll expenses for the first quarter totaled $86.8 million, as reported by timeshare survey participants.

HTA’s Hawaiʻi Timeshare Quarterly Report was prepared by Kloninger & Sims Consulting LLC. The timeshare survey findings for the first quarter are based on data provided by 49 individual timeshare properties representing 79.3% of Hawaiʻi’s 11,233 timeshare units statewide.